The Coat of Arms of the British Indian Ocean Territory was granted in 1990 on the 25th anniversary of the territory's establishment. The centrepiece of the arms, the shield, bears a

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

and

St. Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at Coronation of the British monarch, the ...

on a base of three white wavy lines representing the ocean, a

sun in splendour A representation of the sun is used as a heraldic charge. The most usual form, often called sun in splendour or in his glory, consists of a round disc with the features of a human face surrounded by twelve or sixteen rays alternating wavy and ...

in the upper-left corner, and the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

in a

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

at the top. Two

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...

s are used as

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. H ...

hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...

and a

green turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. It is the only species In biology, a spec ...

), representing the local native wildlife. The

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

comprises a naval crown through which rises a red tower bearing the territory's flag; there is no

helm Helm may refer to: Common meanings * a ship's steering mechanism; see tiller and ship's wheel * another term for helmsman * an archaic term for a helmet, used as armor Arts and entertainment * Matt Helm, a character created by Donald Hamilton * ...

mantling In heraldry, mantling or "lambrequin" (its name in French) is drapery tied to the Helmet (heraldry), helmet above the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of linen) worn by knights from their helmet ...

. The motto is ''In tutela nostra Limuria'',

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for “Limuria is in our charge/trust”. This latinised name refers to the non-existent continent of

Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the di ...

, once thought to occupy the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. The palm tree and royal crown also feature in the

flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory The flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the upper hoist-side corner. The palm tree and crown are symbols of the Indian Ocean Territory. ...

References

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...

British Indian Ocean Territory culture

{{Heraldry-stub

See also

References