Round Island (Mauritius)
Encyclopedia
Round Island is an uninhabited islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....

 22.5 kilometers north of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

. It has an area of 1.69 square kilometers and a maximum elevation of 280 meters. The island is a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 under the jurisdiction of the Mauritian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Rare reptiles that are endemic to Round Island include the Round Island skink
Round Island skink
The Round Island skink or Telfair's skink , is a species of skink endemic to Round Island . Other members of the genus Leiolopisma occur on New Caledonia and New Zealand but the Round Island skink is closely related to the two extinct Mascarenes taxa, L. mauritiana from Mauritius and L. ceciliae...

, Round Island day gecko
Round Island day gecko
The Round Island day gecko, Phelsuma guentheri, also known as Gunther's Gecko, is a species of gecko. It lives on the islet Round Island , and typically dwells on different palm trees. The Round Island day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.- Description :This lizard belongs to the largest living...

, Round Island Boa
Round Island boa
The Bolyeriidae are a family of snakes native to Mauritius and a few islands around it, especially Round Island. In the past they also occurred on the island of Mauritius, but were extirpated there due to human influence and foraging pigs in particular. These snakes were formerly placed in the...

, and the extinct Round Island Burrowing Boa.
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