Mussau Island is the largest island of
St Matthias Islands,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, at . It is currently part of the
New Ireland Province
New Ireland Province, formerly New Mecklenburg (german: Neu-Mecklenburg), and Nova Hibernia, is the northeasternmost province of Papua New Guinea.
Physical geography
The largest island of the province is New Ireland.
Also part of the province a ...
of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. The island is a noted
Biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
hotspot with pristine
primeval
Primeval may refer to:
* Primeval forest, an area of forest that has attained great age
* Primeval number, a positive integer satisfying certain conditions
* Primeval history, name given by biblical scholars to the first eleven chapters of the Bo ...
Rainforest covering most of Mussau's hilly landscape. The island has over 243 endemic plant species as well as at least 47 native butterfly species.
References
https://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/mapsonline/base-maps/mussau-island
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280134331_A
External links
OrchidsPNG.com
Islands of Papua New Guinea
Bismarck Archipelago
New Ireland Province
Volcanoes of Papua New Guinea
{{NewIrelandProvince-geo-stub