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Fonualei
Fonualei is an uninhabited volcanic island in the kingdom of Tonga. It 70 km northwest of Vavaʻu and is part of the highly active Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone and its associated volcanic arc, which extends from New Zealand north-northeast to Fiji, and is formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-Australian Plate. The closest island to Fonualei is Tokū 19.7 km to the southeast. Geography The island is the peak of an active volcano which rises 1000m from the seafloor. It has a diameter of 2 km and a maximum height of 188m. The coast is surrounded by cliffs, with only two beaches suitable for a landing. The western, southern, and north-eastern sides have narrow fringing reefs. History In the 1830s the inhabitants of Tokū used Fonualei for their gardens. The first European to sight the island was Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rua on the ''La Princesa'' on 26 February 1781. He reported the island to be barren from eruptions, and called it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokū, Tonga
Tokū is an uninhabited, volcanic island in Tonga. It is located in the very north of Vavaʻu group in the north of the country. It is about long and up to wide, yielding an area of . It is up to above sea level near its east coast. The closest island is Fonualei 19.7 km to the northwest. The island was inhabited in the 1830's, the inhabitants living on Tokū and having gardens on Fonualei. Following the 1846 eruption of Fonualei they relocated to 'Utulei in Vavaʻu. See also * Desert island * List of islands References Uninhabited islands of Tonga Vavaʻu {{Tonga-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Volcanoes In Tonga ...
This is a list of active and extinct volcanoes in Tonga. References * See especiallFigure 1 * D. Stanley; South Pacific handbook * Government of Tonga, official 1962 land survey {{reflist Tonga Volcanoes A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vavaʻu
Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongatapu and Vavau, but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises above sea level at Mount Talau. The capital is Neiafu, situated at the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-a-Halaevalu). History Myths and legends In Polynesia, it is said that the islands were created by the god Maui, who reached into the bottom of the sea with his magic hook, caught something on it, and pulled it up to the sea surface, and it became the islands of Vavau. Recorded history Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa, commanding the Spanish frigate ''Princesa'', was the first European to come to Vavau, which he did on 4 March 1781. He charted Vavaʻu as ''Martín de Mayorga'', naming it after the man who was the Viceroy of New Spain at that time. Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Bounty
HMS ''Bounty'', also known as HM Armed Vessel ''Bounty'', was a small merchant vessel that the Royal Navy purchased in 1787 for a botanical mission. The ship was sent to the South Pacific Ocean under the command of William Bligh to acquire breadfruit plants and transport them to the West Indies. That mission was never completed owing to a 1789 mutiny led by acting lieutenant Fletcher Christian, an incident now popularly known as the mutiny on the ''Bounty''. The mutineers later burned ''Bounty'' while she was moored at Pitcairn Island. An American adventurer helped land several remains of ''Bounty'' in 1957. Origin and description ''Bounty'' was originally a collier, ''Bethia,'' reputedly built in 1784 at Blaydes Yard in Hull, Yorkshire in England. The Royal Navy purchased her for £1,950 on 23 May 1787 (), refit, and renamed her ''Bounty.'' The ship was relatively small at 215 tons, but had three masts and was full-rigged. After conversion for the breadfruit expedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Frigatebird
The great frigatebird (''Fregata minor'') is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific (including the Galapagos Islands) and Indian Oceans, as well as a tiny population in the South Atlantic. The great frigatebird is a large and lightly built seabird up to 105 cm long with predominantly black plumage. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism; the female is larger than the adult male and has a white throat and breast, and the male's scapular feathers have a purple-green sheen. In the breeding season, the male is able to distend his striking red gular sac. The species feeds on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (mostly flying fish), and indulges in kleptoparasitism less frequently than other frigatebirds. They feed in pelagic waters within 80 km (50 mi) of their breeding colony or roosting areas. Taxonomy The great frigatebird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynesian Starling
The Polynesian starling (''Aplonis tabuensis'') is a species of starling of the family Sturnidae. It is found in the Samoan Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, the Santa Cruz Islands and Wallis and Futuna. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and tropical moist forests. Various subspecies exist throughout this wide range, some darker in coloration and some lighter. Its call is a raspy buzz or rattle. Diet is fruit and insects. On islands where the Samoan starling is present, the Polynesian starling is less conspicuous and keeps to the forest, feeding on harder, less edible fruit. Gallery Image:Polynesian starling matei jun08.JPG, Matei, Taveuni, Fiji Isles File:AplonisBrunnescensSmit.jpg, Subspecies ''A. t. brunnescens'', illustration by Joseph Smit Joseph Smit (18 July 1836 – 4 November 1929) was a Dutch zoological illustrator. L.B. Holthuis, Leiden, (1958, 1995) ''Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, 1820 - 1958''. page 47reprint manuscript, PDF Bac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynesian Wattled Honeyeater
The Polynesian wattled honeyeater (''Foulehaio carunculatus'') or the eastern wattled honeyeater, is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It was considered conspecific with the Fiji wattled honeyeater and the kikau. The species is endemic to the islands of the Central Pacific, occurring on American Samoa, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests, tropical mangrove forests, and tropical moist montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial .... References Polynesian wattled honeyeater Birds of Polynesia Birds of Tonga Birds of Fiji Birds of Samoa Polynesian wattled honeyeater Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meliphagid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australasian Swamphen
The Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus'') is a species of swamphen (''Porphyrio'') occurring in eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is known as the pukeko (from the Māori ). The species used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen. Distribution The Australasian swamphen occurs in mainland Australia, eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, and in Papua New Guinea. It is also found on New Zealand's main islands and in the Chatham and Kermadec Islands. It has a small shield, black upperparts, and a purple throat and breast. ''P. p. pelewensis'' (Hartlaub & Finsch, 1872) from Palau, resembles ''melanotus'' but has greener upperparts and is smaller. ''P. p. melanopterus'' (Bonaparte, 1856) is found from the Lesser Sundas and Moluccas to New Guinea. It is as ''melanotus'' but smaller, more variable and less blue in the upperparts. ''P. p. bellus'' (Gould, 182 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotless Crake
The spotless crake (''Zapornia tabuensis'') is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is widely distributed species occurring from the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia, across the southern Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas Islands and south to New Zealand. Taxonomy The spotless crake was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other crakes and rails in the genus ''Rallus'' and coined the binomial name ''Rallus tabuensis''. Gmelin's account is taken from that of the "Tabuan rail" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham's description was probably based on a plate painted by the German naturalist Georg Forster who had accompanied the British explorer James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The genus name is an anagram of the genus '' Porz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Imperial Pigeon
The Pacific imperial pigeon (''Ducula pacifica'') is a widespread species of pigeon in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Taxonomy The Pacific imperial pigeon was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other doves and pigeons in the genus ''Columba'' and coined the binomial name ''Columba pacifica''. Gmelin based his description on the "Ferruginous-vented pigeon" from the "Friendly Isles in the South Seas" (now the Tonga Islands in the South Pacific) that had been described in 1783 by English ornithologist John Latham. The Pacific imperial pigeon is now placed with 40 other Imperial pigeons in the genus ''Ducula'' th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongan Ground Dove
The Tongan ground dove (''Pampusana stairi''), also known as the shy ground dove or friendly ground dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... This species was formerly in the genus ''Alopecoenas'' Sharpe, 1899, but the name of the genus was changed in 2019 to ''Pampusana'' Bonaparte, 1855 as this name has priority. References External linksBirdLife Species Factsheet. Tongan ground dove Birds of Tonga Birds of the Pacific Ocean Tongan ground dove Tongan ground dove Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Tern
The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, returning to land only to breed on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Taxonomy The sooty tern was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 as ''Sterna fuscata'', bearing this name for many years until the genus ''Sterna'' was split up. It is now known as ''Onychoprion fuscatus''. The genus name is from ancient Greek , "claw" or "nail", and , "saw". The specific ''fuscatus'' is Latin for "dark". Colloquially, it is known as the wideawake tern or just wideawake. This refers to the incessant calls produced by a colony of these birds, as does the Hawaiian name ''ʻewa ʻewa'' which roughly means " cacophony". In most of Polynesia its name is ''manutara'' or similar – literally "tern-bird", though it might be better rendered in English as "the tern" or "common tern". This refers to the fact that wherever Polynesian seafarers went on their long voyages, they usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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