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Specimens are being collected and preserved where reasonable, photographed when preservation is too complex and/or would require killing of “higher” life forms (birds, mammals, etc.). Representative photos have been obtained from other sources (i.e. photos available on the web) when available. While the intent is to have a complete list of all macroscopic animal life, there is little doubt that this list does not include all species – particularly small insects. This is a work in progress – collection and identification is ongoing. Total species count is 332 as of October 2018.
Species are listed by common name and scientific name whenever possible. However, some species do not have a common name. For example the beetle Psammoechus insularis does not have a common name so it is listed simply as “small beetle”. Another example would be when an animal is listed as an unknown such as “unknown millipede”. In a number of cases the names are followed by a question mark which is to indicate that the identification is tentative and subject to change. Names preceded by an asterisk indicate common names that I have made up.
There are surprisingly few endemic species ("endemic" means exclusively native to a place or biota) and it is interesting to note that the wide variety of non-native animals appear to have established a functioning ecosystem. In this regard, it should be noted that the plant life is also all or almost all non-native. |
