Illa de l'Aire (also ''Isla del Aire'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

) in an

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

on the southeast coast of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

, in the

Baleric Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and a P ...

, close to Punta Prima,

Sant Lluís Sant Lluís (in Spanish: San Luis) is a municipality on the tip of south-east Menorca in the Spanish Balearic Islands. The area is most noteworthy for its varied coastline, with fine sand beaches and cliffs, and the beautiful coves of Binissafú ...

. It is administrated by the municipality of Sant Lluís. The island covers 34 hectares and has a circumference of 3.3 km. Its highest point was 15 m above sea level until the construction of the

Illa de l'Aire lighthouse The Illa de l’Aire Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the islet of Illa de l'Aire, on the southeast coast of the Spanish island of Menorca. See also * List of lighthouses in Spain This is a list of lighthouses in Spain. Lighthou ...

. The island is defined as the most southernly area of the

Balearic Sea The Balearic Sea ( endotoponym: ''Mar Balear'' in Catalan and Spanish) is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea between the Balearic Islands and the mainland of Spain. The Ebro River flows into this small sea. Islands and archipelagoes Th ...

, a small body of water that is generally accepted a region of the Mediterranean Sea. The island has an endemic

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

subspecies, ''

Podarcis lilfordi Lilford's wall lizard (''Podarcis lilfordi'' ) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Balearic Islands, Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, and r ...

lilfordi'' (Günther, 1874). On Menorca, it is better known as the ''sargantana negra'' (''black lizard''), though the lizards are able to change their skin colour to blend in with their surroundings. Very few people are actually allowed to land on the island as this would affect the lizards' unadvanced immune systems. Indeed, the Illa de l'Aire is sometimes known as "Lizard Island", and forms a scenic backdrop for the resort of Punta Prima and the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Sant Lluís. The island has a population of 300

rabbits Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...

, an introduced animal, these were used as part of a self-spreading vaccine field trial in 2000 aimed at generating immunity to

myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by ''Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus ''Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North Ame ...

and

rabbit hemorrhagic disease Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD), also known as viral hemorrhagic disease (VHD), is a highly infectious and lethal form of viral hepatitis that affects European rabbits. Some viral strains also affect hares and cottontail rabbits. Mortality rate ...

References

# Ferran Ramón-Cortés, "La Isla De Los 5 Faros", del Nuevo Extremo, 2005.

External links

Isla del Aire en Google Maps
Islets of Menorca {{Balearics-geo-stub