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Animals in Wake Island
Wake Island is the largest of three islands that make up an atoll, a circle of coral reefs enclosing a lagoon, in the western part of the Central Pacific. Wakes Island is in the shape of a 'V' and the other two islands, Wilkes and Peale, are on opposite sides of the lagoon, acting as extensions of Wakes Island to enclose the water. These islands are a part of the Marshall Islands, a former territory of the United States.

The atoll is made up of coral, surrounding a sunken volcano. As such, there is no source of fresh water available for any animals to live off of. The climate is the typical tropical climate found in the Pacific and the only vegetation on the island is grass and scrub, which can survive off of the rain.

The main species currently found on Wake Island are insects. One of these, a plant bug with the scientific name of Campylomma wakeana, can only be found on Wake Island. This plant bug has never been given a common name and is known only by its scientific name.

At one time, there was a bird that was unique to the island, the Gallirallus wakensis. The Wake Island Rail could not fly and was a close relative of the Buff-banded Rail, a bird that can still be found in the Philippines. The Wake Island Rail lived on two of the three islands, Wake and Wilkes, unable to cross a stretch of water that separates Peale from the other two islands. The bird was able to exist without easy access to a fresh water supply.

Unfortunately, this unique bird became extinct in 1945, due to World War II. Japanese soldiers on the island were cut off from suppliers and forced to eat the birds to survive.


Information about the animals living in Wake Island is brought to you by "List of countries of the world", your first stop in discovering all countries and animals of the world.

The animals displayed on this page are grouped in their scientific order. View also countries of the world ordered by:
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