ABOUT NEW CALEDONIA

New Caledonia is a hotspot of an exceptional biodiversity. New Caledonia is one of the world's smallest hotspots (19,000 km2 of lands and 1,500,000 km2 of marine area), yet it is very diverse and, like the other remnants of the ancient super-continent Gondwanaland supports high levels of endemism. This rich biodiversity and high endemism are due to its long-isolated evolution, as well as the variety of precipitation levels and very particular ultrabasic soils that cover more than one third of the country.
   
Left: Tree Fern in the Rain Forest © IAC/P.Birnbaum
Centre: Madeleine falls area is an Ultrabasic Landscape © E.Bonnet-Vidal Picture
Right: The heart of Voh is a well known mangrove swamp

It contains some 3371 native species of vascular plants, of which 74% are considered endemic. It includes 108 endemic genera, and five endemic plant families. Gymnosperms are well represented for a sub-tropical region with 44 species of gymnosperms, of which all but one species are endemic with the the world's only parasitic conifer, Parasitaxus ustus. The genus Araucaria, an ancient group of Gondwanaland gymnosperms is constituted by 13 endemic species for 19 worldwide. Furthermore, New Caledonia is home to the endemic, monotypic family Amborellaceae, which comprises a single species, Amborella trichopoda, recently shown to represent the basal-most branch in the evolutionary tree of the flowering plants. Also, New Caledonia's ecosystems include several natural vegetation types such as evergreen rainforests, dryforets, maquis, savanna, mangrove swamp.

 
Left: Amborella trichopoda© IAC/G.Gâteblé     Right: Nepenthes vieillardii© E. Bonnet-Vidal

Plants are not the only richness of the terrestrial ecosystems. More than 100 birds are found in New Caledonia, 20% of which are endemic. There are three endemic genera. One of the most famous bird is the Kagu or Cagou (Rhynochetos jubatus).

All of New Caledonia's nine land mammal species are bats : five Microchiropters and four Megachiropters or flying foxes.

There is an extremely high level of reptile endemism in this hotspot. More than 60 of about 70 terrestrial reptiles are endemic, as are 11 of 23 genera. Nearly all of these species are lizards in two families of geckos and one family of skinks. The best known among these are the giant geckos of the endemic genus Rhacodactylus. Rhacodactylus leachianus is the largest gecko in the world.

Among invertebrates, the hotspot supports a rich endemic diversity of land snails, although only 200 species have been described out of an estimated 400 to 600 species. The largest of these snails, Placostylus fibratus, can grow to more than 15 centimeter long and weigh up to 100 grams. The hotspot has an estimated 37 species of macro-crustaceans, of which 40 percent are endemic. About 4,000 insect species have been catalogued to date, showing high endemism at the species and genus levels. The total insect fauna in the hotspot is projected to be between 8,000 and 20,000 species, including more than 70 native species of butterfly, more than 300 species of moth, and 16 tiger beetles. Nearly 200 spiders have been recognized thus far, including the only family of spiders endemic to a single island, the Bradystichidae.
 
Left: The Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus © E. Bonnet-Vidal
Right: Marmorosphax taom, a critically endangered and endemic skink - © IRD-IMBE / Marc Manceau

The inscription of New Caledonia's lagoons into UNESCO's world heritage list in 2008 provides international recognition of their natural wealth. The tropical lagoons and coral reefs of New Caledonia are an outstanding example of high diversity coral reef ecosystems and form one of the three most extensive reef systems in the world. They are the location for the world's most diverse concentration of reef structures, with an exceptional diversity of coral and fish species and a continuum of habitats from mangroves to seagrasses and a wide range of reef forms, extending over important oceanic gradients. They still display intact ecosystems, with healthy populations of top predators, and a large number and diversity of large fish. They are of exceptional natural beauty, and contain diverse reefs of varying age from living reefs through to ancient fossil reefs, providing an important source of information on the natural history of Oceania.

 
Left: The Barrier Reef
Right: Life of a Coral Reef This exceptional biodiversity is threatened by the increase of human disturbances such as open-cast mining, fires, along with urbanisation and exotic species introductions that have led to a great reduction of endemic species since the arrival of man 3500 years ago.

For more information: http://iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/europe/resources/country_focus/new_caledonia/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity_of_New_Caledonia
http://www.conservation.org/where/priority_areas/hotspots/asia-pacific/New-Caledonia/Pages/default.aspx