Island Gigantism

Article Index for
Island

Website Links For
Island

Information About

Island Gigantism

Examples of island gigantism include:

Mammals

---Extinct giant Rabbit s, Shrew s and Dormouse from Mediterranean islands

--- Flores Giant Rat s

--- Giant Hutia s from the West Indies

---the extinct giant Lemur genera '' Archaeoindris , Palaeopropithecus '' and '' Megaladapis '' of Madagascar (strictly speaking, Madagascar is not an island but a mini-continent in the context of Biogeography )

Birds

--- Dodo and Rodrigues Solitaire , gigantic extinct pigeon relatives from the Mascarenes , and the extinct flightless Fiji Giant Pigeon

---'' Sylviornis Neocaledoniae '' a huge extinct Megapode from New Caledonia

---the extinct Moa of New Zealand

---'' Aepyornis '', the world's largest bird, formerly living on Madagascar

--- Moa-nalo , extinct giant ducks from Hawai'i

---the Takahe from New Zealand

---the extinct Spectacled Cormorant from Bering Island

---the extinct Broad-billed Parrot from Mauritius

Reptiles

--- Giant Tortoise s on the Seychelles , Galápagos Islands and formerly the Mascarenes

--- Komodo Dragon , a rare example of a giant insular carnivore (Islands tend to offer limited food and territories, thus island carnivores are usually smaller in size than continental ones)

--- Yellow Giant Chuckwalla (''Sauromalus varius'') of San Esteban

---'' Leiolopisma Mauritiana '' and '' Macroscincus Coctei '' extinct Skink s from Mauritius and Cape Verde , respectively, and the rare New Caledonian skink '' Phoboscincus Bocourti ''

--- the extinct Rodrigues Giant Day Gecko and New Zealand Giant Gecko , and the extant New Caledonian Giant Gecko

Insects

--- Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

--- St. Helena Earwig

--- Lord Howe Island Phasmid

--- giant Weta of New Zealand

Many Rodent s grow larger on islands, whereas Lagomorph s, Carnivore s, Proboscidean s and Artiodactyl s usually become smaller.

SEE ALSO

Island Dwarfing

Island Rule

Deep-sea Gigantism

EXTERNAL LINKS

PBS NOVA: Why Do Islands Breed Giants (And Sometimes Dwarfs)?