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Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern Part Of Okinawa Island, And Iriomote Island
is a serial UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of five component parts on four Japanese islands in the Ryukyu Chain of the Nansei Islands. The site was selected in terms of biodiversity ( World Heritage criterion x) for having a diverse ecosystem of plant and animal species that are unique to the region. History First selected as a candidate site in 2003, the original nomination was added to the Tentative List in 2016; after initial IUCN evaluation, in 2018 the nomination was withdrawn for revision, prior to resubmission the following year; after further evaluation, in 2021 IUCN recommended inscription in July of the revised nomination. UNESCO voted to list it as a World Heritage Site in 2021. Naming dispute In the long history of the campaign for registration, this candidate site was renamed at least twice. When a panel of natural scientists formally added it to Japan's tentative list of nomination, it was given the name of ''Ryūkyū Shotō''. This followed a convention of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amami Beach
The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of Kyushu. Administratively, the group belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan and the Japan Coast Guard agreed on February 15, 2010, to use the name of for the Amami Islands. Prior to that, was also used. The name of Amami is probably cognate with , the goddess of creation in the Ryukyuan creation myth. Geography The Amami Islands are limestone islands of coralline origin and have a total area of approximately , of which constitute the city (''-shi'') of Amami, and constitute the district (''-gun'') of Oshima. The highest elevation is ''Yuwandake'' with a height of on Amami Ōshima. The climate is a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') with very warm summers a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Okinawa Island
is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an area of . It is roughly south of the main island of Kyushu and the rest of Japan. It is north of Taiwan. The total population of Okinawa Island is 1,384,762. The Greater Naha area has roughly 800,000 residents, while the city itself has about 320,000 people. Naha is the seat of Okinawa Prefecture on the southwestern part of Okinawa Island. Okinawa has a humid subtropical climate. Okinawa has been a critical strategic location for the United States Armed Forces since the Battle of Okinawa and the end of World War II. The island was under American administration until 1972, and today hosts around 26,000 US military personnel, about half of the total complement of the United States Forces Japan, spread among 32 bases and 48 training sites ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryukyu Spiny Rat
The Ryukyu spiny rat (''Tokudaia osimensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Endemic to Amami Ōshima island in the Amami Islands of the Ryukyu archipelago of Japan, its natural habitat is subtropical moist broadleaf forest. The karyotype has an odd diploid number, 2n = 25. Like its relative '' T. tokunoshimensis'', it has lost its Y chromosome and ''SRY'' gene. The species is threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation, predation by feral cats and dogs and introduced mongooses, and competition with introduced black rats. See also * ''Ellobius lutescens'' * ''Ellobius tancrei The Zaisan mole vole (''Ellobius tancrei''), or eastern mole vole, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in central Asia. Description The Zaisan mole vole is highly adapted to life underground. It grows to a head and body ...'' References Y-chromosome - Will it or will it not, hold on? Rats of Asia Endemic mammals of Japan Endemic fauna o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kampira Falls Frog
The Kampira Falls frog (''Nidirana okinavana''), also known as the Yaeyama harpist frog or harpist brown frog, is a species in the true frog family ( Ranidae). Until recently known as ''Rana psaltes'', it is found on Ishigaki and Iriomote in the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, as well as on Taiwan.Matsui, Masafumi (2007): Unmasking ''Rana okinavana'' Boettger, 1895 from the Ryukyus, Japan (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae). '' Zool. Sci.'' 24: 199–204. (HTML abstract) It is a mid-sized, stout brown frog, with a distinctive suprabrachial gland and a fold of skin running from the shoulders to the hips. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss. Taxonomy This frog has a confusing taxonomic history which is entwined with that of the Ryūkyū brown frog. Oskar Boettger described a frog species from the Ryūky ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EDGE Species
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species are animal species which have a high 'EDGE score', a metric combining endangered conservation status with the genetic distinctiveness of the particular taxon. Distinctive species have few closely related species, and EDGE species are often the only surviving member of their genus or even higher taxonomic rank. The extinction of such species would therefore represent a disproportionate loss of unique evolutionary history and biodiversity. Some EDGE species, such as elephants and pandas, are well-known and already receive considerable conservation attention, but many others, such as the vaquita (the world's rarest cetacean) the bumblebee bat (arguably the world's smallest mammal) and the egg-laying long-beaked echidnas, are highly threatened yet remain poorly understood, and are frequently overlooked by existing conservation frameworks. The Zoological Society of London launched the EDGE of Existence Programme in 2007 to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iriomote Cat
The Iriomote cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis'') is a subspecies of the leopard cat that lives exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote. It has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008, as the only population comprises fewer than 250 adult individuals and is considered declining. As of 2007, there were an estimated 100–109 individuals remaining. In Japanese, it is called . In local dialects of the Yaeyama language, it is known as , , and .今泉(1994), Pp.8–13, Pp. 144-147戸川(1972), Pp.13–92 Description The fur of the Iriomote cat is mostly dark gray and light brown, with lighter hair on the belly and insides of the limbs. Hair along the jaw is white. There are two dark brown spots on each cheek. There are 5–7 stripes spanning from the forehead to the back of the head, but, unlike the leopard cat, the stripes stop before reaching the shoulders. Dark brown spots cover the sides of the body, and there are 3–4 bands of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Okinawa Rail
The Okinawa rail (''Hypotaenidia okinawae'') is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the . Its existence was only confirmed in 1978 and it was formally described in 1981 although unidentified rails had been recorded on the island since at least 1973 and local stories of a bird known as the ''agachi kumira'' may refer to this species.Brazil, Mark A. (1991) ''The Birds of Japan'', Christopher Helm, London. It is a medium-sized and almost flightless rail with short wings and tail, olive-brown upperparts, black underparts with white bars and a red bill and legs. It occurs in subtropical moist forests and in neighboring habitats. It nests and feeds on the ground but usually roosts in trees. It is classified as an endangered species and is threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators. Taxonomy The species was first described in 1981 by Yoshimaro Yamashina and T. Mano in the ''Journal of the Yamashina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amami Rabbit
The Amami rabbit (''Pentalagus furnessi''; ), or , also known as the Ryukyu rabbit is a dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima, two small islands between southern Kyūshū and Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture (but actually closer to Okinawa) in Japan. Often called a living fossil, the Amami rabbit is a living remnant of ancient rabbits that once lived on the Asian mainland, where they died out, remaining only on the two small Japanese islands where they live today. Evolution ''Pentalagus'' is thought to be a descendant of '' Pliopentalagus,'' known from the Pliocene of China and Eastern to Central Europe. Biology Diet The amami rabbit feeds on over 29 species of plants, which incorporates 17 species of shrubs and 12 species of herbaceous plants, consuming mostly the sprouts, young shoots and acorns. It also eats nuts and cambium of a wide variety of plant species. It is observed that the amami rabbit also feeds on the bark of stems a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iriomote Pinaisara Fall
is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. The island has an area of and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors — over 390,000 in 2006 — arrive from Ishigaki by ferry, a ride to on Iriomote's northeast coast or on the southeast coast. Administratively the island belongs to Taketomi Town, Okinawa Prefecture. Infrastructure is limited to a single coastal road connecting the hamlets on the northern and eastern shores. Wildlife The island is famed for the Iriomote cat, a '' Critically Endangered'' wild cat found only on Iriomote. the population size is estimated to be 100–109 individuals. The island has a venomous snake—''Trimeresurus elegans'', known locally as the ''habu'', a species of pitviper whose bite has a fatality rate of 3% and a permanent disability rate of 6–8%.U.S. Navy (1991). ''Poisonous Snakes of the World''. New York: Dover P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaeyama Islands
The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 ''Yaeyama-rettō'', also 八重山諸島 ''Yaeyama-shotō'', Yaeyama: ''Yaima'', Yonaguni: ''Daama'', Okinawan: ''Yeema'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Yapema'') are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and cover . The islands are located southwest of the Miyako Islands, part of the Ryukyu Islands archipelago. The Yaeyama Islands are the remotest part of Japan from the main islands and contain Japan's most southern (Hateruma) and most western (Yonaguni) inhabited islands. The city of Ishigaki serves as the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands. Natural history The Yaeyama Islands are home to numerous species of subtropical and tropical plants, and mangrove forests. The islands produce sugarcane and pineapples. Coral reefs around the islands are ideal habitats for dolphins, sea turtles, and larger fish such as manta rays and whale sharks. Before being wiped out by humans, whales and dugongs wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iriomote Island
is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. The island has an area of and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors — over 390,000 in 2006 — arrive from Ishigaki by ferry, a ride to on Iriomote's northeast coast or on the southeast coast. Administratively the island belongs to Taketomi Town, Okinawa Prefecture. Infrastructure is limited to a single coastal road connecting the hamlets on the northern and eastern shores. Wildlife The island is famed for the Iriomote cat, a '' Critically Endangered'' wild cat found only on Iriomote. the population size is estimated to be 100–109 individuals. The island has a venomous snake—''Trimeresurus elegans'', known locally as the ''habu'', a species of pitviper whose bite has a fatality rate of 3% and a permanent disability rate of 6–8%.U.S. Navy (1991). ''Poisonous Snakes of the World''. New York: Dover P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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