Flora and fauna in Bermuda
Encyclopedia
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
forms part of a unique ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
thanks to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
's isolation from the mainland of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. There are a wide range of endemic species and the islands form a distinct ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
, the Bermuda subtropical conifer forests.
Setting
Located in the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
900 km off the American coast Bermuda is a crescent-shaped chain of 181 islands and islets that were once the rim of a volcano. The islands are slightly hilly rather than having steep cliffs with the highest point being only 79m and the coast has many bays and inlets, with sandy beaches especially on the south coasts. Bermuda has a wet tropical climate, warmed by the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
current. Twenty of the islands are inhabited and Bermuda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
Being so remote they have only wildlife which were able to fly to the island or were carried by winds and currents. Therefore there are no native mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s other than bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, and only one reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
, but large numbers of birds, plants, and insects. Once on the island, organisms had to adapt to local conditions such as the humid climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, lack of fresh water, frequent storms and salt spray. The islands shrank as water levels rose at the end of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
epoch
Epoch (geology)
An epoch is a subdivision of the geologic timescale based on rock layering. In order, the higher subdivisions are periods, eras and eons. We are currently living in the Holocene epoch...
and fewer species were able to survive in the reduced land-area. Nearly 8,000 different species of flora and fauna are known from the islands of Bermuda and the number is likely to be considerably higher if all micro-organisms, cave-dwellers and deep-sea species were counted.
Today the variety of species on Bermuda has been greatly increased by introductions
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
, both deliberate and accidental. Many of these introduced species now pose a threat to the native flora and fauna.
Plants
Vascular plant
Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
are found on the islands, the majority of which are introduced. Of the 165 native species, 15 are endemic.
At the time of the first human settlement, by shipwrecked English sailors in 1593, Bermuda was dominated by forests of Bermuda Cedar
Juniperus bermudiana
Juniperus bermudiana is a species of juniper endemic to Bermuda. This species is most commonly known as Bermuda cedar although, like most "cedars" it is not a true cedar ; a more botanically accurate name would be Bermuda juniper, but this term is extremely rare.It is an evergreen tree growing up...
with mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
swamps on the coast. Clearance of planting began immediately and by the 1830s, the shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
industry had denuded the landscape, but the forest was able to recover. In the 1940s the cedar forests were devastated by introduced scale insect
Scale insect
The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...
s which killed roughly 8 million trees. Replanting using resistant trees has taken place since then but the area covered by cedar is still only 10% of what it formerly was. Another important component of the original forest was Bermuda Palmetto
Sabal bermudana
Sabal bermudana, commonly known as the Bermuda Palmetto or Bibby-tree, is one of 15 species of palm trees in the genus Sabal and is endemic to Bermuda...
, a small palm tree
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
which now only grows in a few small patches, notably at Paget Marsh. Other trees and shrubs include Bermuda Olivewood
Elaeodendron laneanum
Cassine laneana, commonly known as the Bermuda Olivewood, is a species of large tree in the staff vine family, Celastraceae, that is endemic to the islands of Bermuda. Although once found in the extensive subtropical coniferous forests that covered the islands, it is currently restricted to small...
and Bermuda Snowberry.
There are remnant patches of mangrove swamp around the coast and at some inland sites including Hungry Bay Mangrove Swamp and Mangrove Lake, where Black Mangrove and Red Mangrove
Rhizophora mangle
Rhizophora mangle, known as the red mangrove, is distributed in estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its viviparous "seeds," in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree...
are the northernmost mangroves in the Atlantic. The inland swamps are particularly interesting as mangroves thrive in salty water, in this case provided through underground channels rather than the usual tidal wash of coastal mangrove swamps. There are also areas of peat marsh including Devonshire Marsh, Pembroke Marsh, and Paget Marsh.
Bermuda has four endemic fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s: Bermuda Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum bellum
Adiantum bellum is a species of fern in the genus Adiantum , and is native to Bermuda.It is 1 of 19 ferns native to Bermuda, the only native maidenhair, and the most prolific fern on the island. It is found only on Bermuda; however the IPNI reports it also found in Guiana.A. bellum is deciduous...
, Bermuda Shield Fern (Goniopteris bermudiana), Bermuda Cave Fern (Ctenitis
Ctenitis
Ctenitis is a genus of large ferns in the Dryopteridaceae.-References:*World species list for Ctenitis: http://homepages.caverock.net.nz/~bj/fern/ctenitis.htm...
sloanei) and Governor Laffan's Fern (Diplazium
Diplazium
Diplazium is a genus of the cliff fern family that specifically includes the approximately 400 known species of twinsorus ferns. The Greek root is diplazein meaning double: the indusia in this genus lie on both sides of the vein...
laffanianum). The latter is extinct in the wild but is grown at Bermuda Botanical Gardens
Bermuda Botanical Gardens
Bermuda Botanical Gardens features of flowers, shrubs, and trees. The Botanical Gardens are located in Paget Parish, Bermuda a short drive from downtown Hamilton....
. The endemic flora of the island also includes two moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es, ten lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s and forty fungi
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
.
Among the many introduced species are the Beach Sheoak (Casuarina equisetifolia
Casuarina equisetifolia
Casuarina equisetifolia is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina. The native range extends from Burma and Vietnam throughout Malesia east to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu, and south to Australia...
) and Surinam Cherry (Eugenia uniflora)
Native
- Forestiera (ForestieraForestieraForestiera is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the olive family, Oleaceae. Members of the genus are often called swampprivets. Most are shrubs.-Selected species:...
segregata) - Lamarcks Trema (Trema lamarckiana)
- Black Mangrove (Avicennia nitida)
- White Stopper (Eugenia axillaris)
- Wild Coffee Shrub (Psychotria undata)
- Yellow Wood (Zanthoxylum flavumZanthoxylum flavumZanthoxylum flavum is a medium-sized tree in the citrus family, Rutaceae. Common names include Noyer,West Indian Satinwood, Yellow Sanders, Tembetaria, and Yellow Sandalwood...
)
Amphibians
Bermuda has no native amphibianAmphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s. However, one species of toad, Rhinella marina, and two species of frog, Eleutherodactylus johnstonei, and Eleutherodactylus gossei were introduced by humans and subsequently became naturalized. R. marina and E. johnstonei are common, but E. gossei is thought to have been recently extirpated.
Reptiles
Four species of lizard and two species of terrapin comprise Bermuda's non-marine reptilian fauna. Of the lizards, the endemic Bermuda Skink, Eumeces longirostris, is the only non-introduced species. Once very common, the Bermuda Skink is now critically endangeredCritically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
. The Jamaican Anole, Anolis grahami, was deliberately introduced in 1905 from Jamaica and is now by far the most common lizard in Bermuda. The Antiguan Anole, Anolis leachii, was accidentally introduced from Barbados about 1940 and is now common. The Barbados Anole, Anolis roquet, was accidentally introduced about 1940 and is rarely seen. The Diamond-Back Terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin, is native to Bermuda. The Red-Eared Slider, Trachemys scripta elegans, was introduced as a pet, but has subsequently become invasive
Invasive
Invasive may refer to:*A military invasion*An invasive species*An invasive medical procedure*The invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer...
.
Mammals
All mammals in Bermuda are human introductions, except for four species of migratory North American batBat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s of the genus Lasiurus
Lasiurus
Lasiurus is the genus comprising hairy-tailed bats. The name Lasiurus is derived from the Greek lasios and oura . It contains some of the most attractive bats in the whole continent of North America including such species as the red bat, L. borealis, and the hoary bat, L. cinereus...
: the Hoary Bat
Hoary bat
The hoary bat is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It occurs throughout most of North America and much of South America, with disjunct populations in the Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands...
, Eastern Red Bat
Eastern Red Bat
The Eastern Red Bat is a species of bat from the family Vespertilionidae. See also the Desert red bat , a related species....
, Seminole Bat
Seminole Bat
The Seminole Bat is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States....
and Silver-haired Bat
Silver-Haired Bat
The Silver-haired Bat is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae and the only member of the genus Lasionycteris.- Habitat :...
. The House Mouse
House mouse
The house mouse is a small rodent, a mouse, one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus.As a wild animal the house mouse mainly lives associated with humans, causing damage to crops and stored food....
, Brown Rat
Brown Rat
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
and Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
were accidentally introduced very soon after the settlement of Bermuda and feral cat
Feral cat
A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
s are common. Early accounts also refer to wild hogs.
Birds
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
have been recorded on Bermuda. The majority of these are migrants
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
or vagrants from North America or elsewhere. Only 24 species breed; 13 of these are thought to be native.
There is one endemic species, the Bermuda Petrel
Bermuda Petrel
The Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow, is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the Cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda, and a symbol of hope for nature conservation. It was thought extinct for 330 years...
or Cahow (Pterodroma cahow), which was thought to be extinct until a breeding pair was spotted in the 1950s and a recovery program began. There is also an endemic subspecies, the Bermuda White-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
The White-eyed Vireo, Vireo griseus, is a small songbird. It breeds in the southeastern USA from New Jersey west to northern Missouri and south to Texas and Florida, and also in eastern Mexico, northern Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas....
or Chick-of-the-village (Vireo griseus bermudianus). The national bird of Bermuda is the White-tailed Tropicbird
White-tailed Tropicbird
The White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...
or Longtail which is a summer migrant to Bermuda, its most northerly breeding site in the world. Other native birds include the Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York....
, Grey Catbird and perhaps the Common Ground-Dove. The Common Moorhen
Common Moorhen
The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...
is the commonest native waterbird with very small numbers of American Coot
American Coot
The American Coot is a bird of the family Rallidae, inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies. Measuring in length and across the wings, adults have a short thick white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes...
and Pied-billed Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
The Pied-billed Grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Since the Atitlán Grebe, Podilymbus gigas, has become extinct, it is the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.-Description:...
breeding. Small numbers of Common Tern
Common Tern
The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
nest around the coast. The Barn Owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
and Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove
The Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family . The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds...
colonized the island during the 20th century and the Green Heron
Green Heron
The Green Heron is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron , and together they were called "Green-backed Heron"...
has recently begun to breed.
Of the introduced birds, the European Starling
European Starling
The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...
, House Sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
, Great Kiskadee
Great Kiskadee
The Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus, is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher; sometimes its genus Pitangus is considered monotypic, with the Lesser Kiskadee The Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus, is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher; sometimes its genus Pitangus...
, Rock Dove and American Crow
American Crow
The American Crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America...
are all very numerous and considered to be pests. Other introduced species include the Mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
, Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico...
, European Goldfinch
European Goldfinch
The European Goldfinch or Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family.-Habitat and range:The goldfinch breeds across Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia, in open, partially wooded lowlands. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions...
and small numbers of Orange-cheeked
Orange-Cheeked Waxbill
The Orange-cheeked Waxbill Estrilda melpoda is a common species of estrildid finch native to western and central Africa, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,600,000 km².-Lifestyle:...
and Common Waxbill
Common Waxbill
The Common Waxbill , also known as the St Helena Waxbill, is a small passerine bird belonging to the estrildid finch family. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa but has been introduced to many other regions of the world and now has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km²...
s. The Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron , also called the American Night Heron or squawk, is a fairly small heron, similar in appearance to the Black-crowned Night Heron...
was introduced in the 1970s to replace the extinct native heron.
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
, an owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
and the Short-tailed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus, is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean...
. Some of these became extinct as the islands' land-mass shrunk while others were exterminated by early settlers. The Bermuda Petrel was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1951.
Among the many non-breeding migrants are a variety of shorebirds, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s and duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s. In spring many shearwater
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
s can be seen of the South Shore. Over 30 species of New World warbler
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
are seen each year with the Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Four closely related North American bird forms—the eastern Myrtle Warbler , its western counterpart, Audubon's Warbler , the northwest Mexican Black-fronted Warbler , and the Guatemalan Goldman's Warbler —are periodically lumped as the Yellow-rumped Warbler .-Classification:Since...
being the most abundant. The arrival of many species is dependent on weather conditions with low-pressure systems moving across from North America bringing many birds. Among the rare visitors to have occurred are the Siberian Flycatcher from Asia and the Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
The Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus savana, is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family, and is the member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds.-Description and ecology:...
and Tropical Kingbird
Tropical Kingbird
The Tropical Kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the USA through Central America, South America as far as south as central Argentina and western Peru, and on Trinidad and Tobago...
from South America.
Terrestrial invertebrates
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
are found on Bermuda including 41 endemic insects and a possibly endemic spider. 18 species of butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
have been seen, about six of these breed including the large Monarch and the very common Bermuda Buckeye
Junonia coenia
The Buckeye is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and all parts of the United States except the northwest, and is especially common in the south, the California coast, and throughout Central America and Colombia...
(Junonia coenia bergi). More than 200 moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s have been recorded, one of the most conspicuous is Pseudosphinx tetrio
Pseudosphinx tetrio
The Tetrio sphinx is a moth in the family Sphingidae. It ranges from Brazil in South America to the southern United States. This moth has been recorded as far north as Nebraska and Pennsylvania, but in the United States it can only breed in Florida and sometimes Texas.The wingspan is 127-140 mm...
which can reach 9 cm (3.5 in) in length.
Bermuda has lost a number of its endemic invertebrates including the Bermuda Cicada (Tibicen
Tibicen
The Tibicen genus of cicadas are large-bodied Cicadidae appearing in late summer or autumn. Like other members of the subfamily Cicadinae, they have loud, complex songs, even distinct song phrases. Tibicen are the most common cicada in the United States...
bermudiana), which became extinct when the cedar forests disappeared. Some species feared extinct have been rediscovered including a Bermuda land snail
Bermuda Land Snail
Bermuda land snails, scientific name Poecilozonites, are an endemic genus of pulmonate land snail in the family Gastrodontidae ....
(Poecilozonties circumfirmatus) and the Bermuda Ant (Odontomachus
Odontomachus
Odontomachus is a genus of carnivorous ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world.-Overview:Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in Odontomachus have a pair of large, straight mandibles capable of opening 180 degrees...
insularis).
Marine life
Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea is a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This...
, an area with high salinity and temperature and few currents. Large quantities of seaweed of the genus Sargassum
Sargassum
Sargassum is a genus of brown macroalga in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs. However, the genus may be best known for its planktonic species...
are present and there are high concentrations of plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
but the area is less attractive to commercial fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
species and seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s.
Greater diversity is present in the coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s which surround the island.
A variety of whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s, dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s and porpoise
Porpoise
Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...
s have been recorded in the waters around Bermuda. The most common of these is the Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
which passes the islands in April and May during its northward migration.
Threats and preservation
Bermuda was the first place in the Americas to pass conservation laws, protecting the Bermuda PetrelBermuda Petrel
The Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow, is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the Cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda, and a symbol of hope for nature conservation. It was thought extinct for 330 years...
in 1616 and the Bermuda Cedar in 1622, and continue to have a well-organised network of protected areas including Spittal Pond
Spittal Pond, Bermuda
Spittal Pond is the third largest pond in Bermuda, and is surrounded by Bermuda's largest wildlife sanctuary, the Spittal Pond Nature Reserve. It is located close to the Atlantic coast of Smith's Parish....
, marshes in Paget
Paget Parish, Bermuda
Paget Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for William Paget, 4th Baron Paget de Beaudesert .The parish is located in the central south of the island chain, immediately south of Hamilton Harbor on the main island. It is joined to Warwick Parish in the southwest, and Devonshire...
and Devonshire
Devonshire Parish, Bermuda
-Location:It is located in the centre of the territory, close to the junction between the main part of the main island and the peninsula containing the capital, Hamilton, and Pembroke Parish . To the northeast, it is joined to Smith's Parish, and to the southwest it borders Paget Parish. As with...
and Pembroke Parish
Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Pembroke Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named after English aristocrat William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke ....
es, Warwick Pond
Warwick Parish, Bermuda
Warwick Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick .It is located in the central south of the island chain, occupying part of the main island to the southeast of the Great Sound, the large expanse of water which dominates the geography of western...
and the hills above Castle Harbour
Warwick Parish, Bermuda
Warwick Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick .It is located in the central south of the island chain, occupying part of the main island to the southeast of the Great Sound, the large expanse of water which dominates the geography of western...
. However only small areas of natural forest remain today as most has been cleared since colonisation began in the 17th century, while the Bermuda Petrel and Bermuda skink are highly endangered and Bermuda Cedar, Bermuda palmetto and Bermuda olivewood are all listed as threatened species, and some wildlife including a spike rush
Eleocharis
Eleocharis is a genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. They are known commonly as spikerushes, although spikesedges is a more technically appropriate name and most scientists who study them in earnest refer to them as such...
have disappeared. Introduced plants and animals have also had an impact on the wildlife of the islands, and the thriving tourist industry brings its own challenges to wildlife and habitat protection.