Cosmoledo

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Cosmoledo

Cosmoledo is an atoll

Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
of the Aldabra Group

Aldabra Group

The Aldabra Group are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, lying in the southwest of the island nation, 1000 kilometres from the capital, Victoria, Seychelles, on Mah?, Seychelles Island....
and belongs to the Outer Islands

Outer Islands (Seychelles)

The Outer Islands or Coralline Seychelles is a collective term for those islands of the Seychelles that are not on the shallow Seychelles Bank which defines the location of the Inner Islands....
of the Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an archipelago Country of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
. The atoll is 14.5 km long east-west, and 11.5 km north-south. The total land area is about 5.2 km², while the lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed Bar , reef, or similar feature....
measures 145 km² in area (total 152 km²). It is located at .

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Encyclopedia

Cosmoledo is an atoll

Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
of the Aldabra Group

Aldabra Group

Outer Islands (Seychelles)

Seychelles

Lagoon

Astove Island

Astove Island is part of the Aldabra Group of the Seychelles. It is 38 km SSE of Cosmoledo Atoll, located at . It is a raised coral island of most peculiar form: a single stretch of land, more than 1 km at the widest, almost entirely encloses a shallow lagoon....
, 38 km farther south. Cosmoledo Atoll and Astove Island are together sometimes known as Cosmoledo Group, which is part of the larger Aldabra Group

Aldabra Group

Islands

There are 16 individual islets and cay

Cay

A cay is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people....
s along the rim of the atoll, with Menai (in the west) and Wizard Island (Grande Île, in the southeast) being the largest. The islands, islets and cays are listet clockwise

Clockwise

A clockwise motion is one that proceeds 'like the clock's hands': from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top....
, starting with the northernmost island:

north

West North Island
East North Island

east

Île du Trou
Goelette Island
Grand Polyte Island
Petit Polyte Island
Wizard Island (Île Grande) (with fishermen's huts) 1.6 km²

south

Pagoda Island
South Island

west

Île Moustique
île Baleine
Menai Island (with the former main settlement, now abandoned) 2.3 km²
Île Chauve Souris
Île Manaque
Observation Islet
Middle Islet

Fauna

Cosmoledo holds Seychelles' largest colonies of all three species of booby

Booby

The Booby, a type of seabird, is part of the Family Sulidae and the genus Sula. It is closely related to the gannets , which were often included in Sula in former times....
that breed in Seychelles. The atoll holds the last viable population of Brown Booby

Brown Booby

The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about 76 cm. in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white....
, breeding mainly on Ile du Sud Ouest, with a few on Ile du Nord. It also has the Indian Ocean's larget population of Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

The Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings....
censused by the Island Conservation Society

Island Conservation Society

Island Conservation Society was registered as an NGO in Seychelles in April 2001. The articles state the goal and mission of the organisation as follows:...
as about 15,000 pairs. Exploitation has wiped out the Lesser Frigatebird

Lesser Frigatebird

The Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....
and has almost done the same to the Great Frigatebird

Great Frigatebird

The Great Frigatebird is a large bird migration#Irruptions and dispersal seabird in the frigatebird family . Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
, which is down to just 10-20 pairs compared to hundreds of pairs in the 1970s. Despite this, hundreds of non-breeding frigatebirds of both species are to be seen, these being probably from Aldabra

Aldabra

Aldabra is a raised coral atoll in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that form part of the Seychelles. The island is more than 700 miles from Mah? and is closer to the coast of Africa and Madagascar....
. The Lesser Frigatebird also once bred but now may be extinct. Cosmoledo also has Seychelles' largest colony of Sooty Tern

Sooty Tern

The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone....
breeding on the northern end of Grand Ile (Wizard). Second only to Aldabra are the numbers of breeding Red-tailed Tropicbird

Red-tailed Tropicbird

The Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans. It is the rarest of the tropicbirds, yet is still a widespread bird that is not considered threatened....
, Black-naped Tern

Black-naped Tern

The Black-naped Tern is an oceanic tern mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is rarely found inland....
and Crested Tern.

The lagoon is an important feeding ground for migratory waders, with Crab Plover

Crab Plover

The 'Crab Plover' is a bird related to the waders, but sufficiently distinctive to merit its own family 'Dromadidae'. Its relationship within the Charadriiformes is unclear , some have considered it to be closely related to the thick-knees, or the pratincoles, while others have considered it closer to the auks and gulls....
and Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wader bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae....
most common. There are three endemic races of land bird: the Madagascar White-eye (race menaiensi), the Souimanga Sunbird (race buchenorum) and a particular form of Madagascar Turtle Dove. The Madagascar Cisticola is also common and there are a few Pied Crow present. The most interesting islands are Grande Ile, Ile Sud Ouest, Ile du Nord, Ile du Nord Est and Ile du Trou.

The Island Conservation Society

Island Conservation Society

Island Conservation Society was registered as an NGO in Seychelles in April 2001. The articles state the goal and mission of the organisation as follows:...
is carrying out conservation and rehabilitation work on the atoll, including the eradication of introduced rats and cats.

Cosmoledo

Islands

north

east

south

west

Fauna

External links