The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands - Pew Environment ...

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands 

The Marine Environment 

of the Pitcairn Islands 

by 

Robert Irving 

Principal Consultant, Sea-Scope Marine Environmental Consultants, Devon, UK 

and 

Terry Dawson 

SAGES Chair in Global Environmental Change, School of the Environment, 

University of Dundee, UK 

Report commissioned by 

The Pew Environment Group 

Global Ocean Legacy 

August 2012 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands

Dedication 

This book is dedicated to the memory of Jo Jamieson, underwater photographer extraordinaire and Robert Irving’s diving 

colleague in 1991 on the Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands, who sadly died just five years 

after what she described as “the adventure of her lifetime”. 

Acknowledgements 

The authors are grateful for the support of the Pew Environment Group and a Darwin Initiative Overseas Territories 

Challenge Fund (Ref. no. EIDCF003) awarded to Terence Dawson. 

In addition, we should like to thank the following for commenting on the final draft of this report: 

Dr Michael Brooke and Dr Richard Preece (University of Cambridge); Jonathan Hall (RSPB); The Pew Environment Group’s 

Global Ocean Legacy staff; The Government of the Pitcairn Islands and the Head of its Natural Resources Department 

(Michele Christian); and especially the entire community of Pitcairn. 

While the majority of photographs featured in the report have been taken by the authors, we should like to thank the 

following for the use of their photographs, namely Dr Enric Sala (National Geographic Society), Dr Michael Brooke, 

Kale Garcia, Jo Jamieson (posthumously), Andrew MacDonald, Dr Richard Preece, Dr Jack Randall, Tubenoses Project 

©Hadoram Shirihai and Dr Stephen Waldren. [The photo credit SPSCEPI stands for the Sir Peter Scott Commemorative 

Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands in 1991/92]. 

Citation 

Irving, R.A. and Dawson, T.P. 2012. The marine environment of the Pitcairn Islands. A report to Global Ocean Legacy, 

a project of the Pew Environment Group. 

Cover 

Galapagos reef sharks Carcharhinus galapagensis swimming above the reef at Ducie atoll. © Enric Sala / National 

Geographic. 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands 

The warm-hearted and welcoming people of Pitcairn, whose good fortune it is 

to live on a wonderful island and be surrounded by a beautiful and plentiful sea. 

Photo: Courtesy of Pew Environment Group/Global Ocean Legacy

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by 

Dundee University Press 

University of Dundee 

Dundee 

DD1 4HN 

Dundee 

University 

Press 

Copyright – The Pew Charitable Trusts 

ISBN – 9781845861612 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, 

or by any means electronic or mechanical or photocopying, or recording or otherwise without the express 

written permission of the publisher. 

The rights of Robert Irving and Terry Dawson to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted 

in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. 

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data 

A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library 

Typeset by Communications Inc 

Printed by Dundee University Press 

CONTENTS 


Executive summary i 

1. Introduction 1 

1.1 Historical background 1 

1.2 The Islands today 2 

1.3 Geology / geomorphology 4 

1.4 Marine biogeography 4 

2. Information relevant to all four islands 6 

2.1 Differences and similarities 6 

2.2 Endemism 9 

2.3 Measures of protection 10 

3. Nearshore waters 11 

3.1 Pitcairn Island 11 

3.1.1 Introduction 12 

3.1.2 Intertidal zone – habitats and species 12 

3.1.3 Bathymetry and marine habitats 13 

3.1.4 Marine species 14 

3.1.5 Nearshore fisheries 19 

3.2 Henderson 21 


3.2.2 Intertidal zone – habitats and species 22 




3.3 Oeno 29 


3.3.2 Lagoon – habitats and species 30 




3.4 Ducie 33 


3.4.2 Lagoon – habitats and species 34 




4. Offshore waters 38 

4.1 Introduction 38 

4.2 Geology/geomorphology 38 

4.3 Marine species 38 

4.4 Fisheries 41 

4.4.1 Non-commercial 41 

4.4.2 Commercial 42 

Appendix 1: Bibliography 45 

Appendix 2: Additional data sources 49 

Appendix 3: IUCN Red List Species 50 

Appendix 4: Scientific research expeditions to the Pitcairn Islands 54 

Appendix 5: Marine species recorded from the Pitcairn Islands 57

0 km 100 

0 nautical miles 

100 

©2012 Pew Environment Group; used by permission 

Oeno Island 

Pitcairn Island 

130° 

* 

* 

Bounty Seamount 

40 Mile Reef 

(Adams Seamount) 

Henderson 

Island 

* 

Ducie Island 

Crough 

Seamounts 

Submarine volcano (seamount) 

Pacific Ocean 

* 

* 

200-nautical-mile limit / 

EEZ boundary 

Pitcairn Exclusive 

Economic Zone 

/ 

120° 

20° 

Tropic of Capricorn

Executive summary 

The extent of the Pitcairn Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone 

(EEZ), which defines the geographic extent of this report. 

Introduction 

The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four near-pristine small 

islands which can claim to be some of the most remote 

islands in the world. They are situated between latitudes 

23° and 26° south and longitudes 124° and 131° west 

and located in the crystal-clear waters of the central South 

Pacific, about 2,200 km south-east of Tahiti and 2,100 km 

west of Easter Island. The group comprises: 

l Pitcairn Island, a high volcanic island of 450 ha with 

lava cliffs and rugged hills rising to a peak at 347 m; 

it is the only inhabited island, with a population of 

around 60 as of 2012; 

l Henderson (200 km east-north-east of Pitcairn) is the 

largest island in the group with an area of 4,310 ha. 

It is a raised fossilised coral atoll which rises to 33 m. 

It is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 

account of its unique natural history and ecological 

intactness, and it has been described as “a South 

Pacific conservation jewel” 1 ; 

l Ducie (472 km east of Pitcairn), the most southerly 

coral atoll in the world, consists of a central lagoon 

surrounded by four islets covering an area of 70 ha; 

l Oeno (120 km north-west of Pitcairn) is a low coral 

atoll of 65 ha comprising a central low-lying island 

surrounded by a shallow lagoon and a fringing reef 

(diameter approximately 4 km). 

Together, all four islands and their surrounding waters out 

to the 200 nautical mile limit – also known as the Exclusive 

Economic Zone (EEZ) – span a vast area of ocean of about 

836,000 km 2 , more than three times the size of the UK. 

A brief history 

It is believed that Pitcairn and Henderson were first 

colonised by Polynesians in about AD 900 and their 

The extent of the Indo-West Pacific biogeographic 

province (shown in dark blue). 

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indo-Pacific_ 

biogeographic_region_map-en.png) 

occupation lasted until about 1450 2 . In 1606, Fernández 

de Quirós was the first European to discover Henderson 

Island (by now uninhabited) and Ducie Island. British 

interest in the islands (and in Pitcairn in particular) began 

more than a century-and-a-half later in 1767 when HMS 

Swallow, under the command of Captain Philip Carteret, 

encountered Pitcairn and mistakenly plotted its position 

188 nautical miles west of its actual location. This mistake, 

however, was to be of great benefit to the island’s next 

inhabitants, the mutineers from HMS Bounty, who were 

looking for a safe island hideaway in 1790, and remained 

undiscovered there for 18 years. Pitcairn Island officially 

became a British dependency on 29 November 1838. The 

other three islands (Henderson, Oeno and Ducie) were 

annexed by Great Britain in 1902 and were included in the 

dependency in 1938. The Pitcairn Islands remain the only 

UK Overseas Territory in the Pacific. 

Biogeography 

The Pitcairn Islands are located at the south-eastern 

extremity of the Indo-West Pacific biogeographic province, 

resulting in a number of barriers to the establishment of 

species. 

l Prevailing winds and currents are dominantly from the 

east in the central South Pacific, with the Islands lying 

upwind and upstream of all Indo-Pacific source areas. 

l The Islands lie south of the Tropic of Capricorn 

(23°26’S), with relatively cool waters and climates 

imposing further barriers to the establishment of 

tropical species. 

Studies of groups as diverse as corals, reef fishes, vascular 

plants and land birds support the arguments that 

colonisation has been from the biologically rich source 

areas to the west on the margins of South-East Asia, 


i

taking advantage of the inter-island connectivity of the 

south-west Pacific Ocean 3 . As a consequence of these 

factors, the diversity of marine species present within the 

nearshore waters of the EEZ 4 , when compared to island 

groups further to the west, is limited 5 . It also reflects 

the lack of some marine and coastal habitats at the four 

islands, such as mangroves and seagrass beds, due to 

their limited dispersal capabilities. The Islands’ isolation, 

however, has led to a number of endemic species evolving 

in the nearshore zone i.e. they are found at the Pitcairn 

Islands and nowhere else. 

Seafloor bathymetry and geological history 

The seafloor within the EEZ is made up of a complex of 

abyssal plains, troughs and seamounts. An unusual feature 

of the region is that within an area of about 7,000 km 2 

(or less than 1 percent of the EEZ), submarine volcanic 

activity has led to a particularly high density of volcanic 

cones or seamounts (over 90 in total) rising from the 

seafloor at 3,500 to 3,800 m depth, the summit of the 

tallest seamount rising to just 55 m beneath the ocean’s 

surface. The seamounts have arisen along two geological 

‘hotspot’ regions, each aligned east-south-east to westnorth-west. 

The first, with the youngest features in the 

south-east, has along it: Ducie (8 Myr); Henderson (13 

Myr); and Oeno (16 Myr) [all ages given ± 1 Myr – one 

million years] 6 . The second active hotspot region has been 

located in a zone 40 km to 110 km south-east of Pitcairn, 

and extends through the Gambier Islands to the Duke of 

Gloucester Islands. This hotspot region was responsible for 

the creation of Pitcairn Island itself, which is the youngest 

of the four islands being formed as the result of volcanic 

activity around 0.8 to 0.9 million years ago 7 . 

When Pitcairn erupted, the weight of the new volcanic 

island caused the Earth’s crust beneath it to depress, with 

a consequential uplift approximately 200 km from the 

load, a see-saw process known as ‘lithospheric flexure’. 

Over thousands of years, this uplift caused Henderson 

to be raised above sea level and thus form an uplifted 

fossilised reef. The island has been emergent for about 

380,000 years. Today, Henderson remains the world’s only 

raised coral atoll which has its ecology largely intact. 

Marine natural history 

The nearshore marine life associated with each of the four 

islands is distinct in its own right, reflecting the habitats 

available and the prevailing environmental conditions. To 

date, around 1,250 marine species (including seabirds) 

have been recorded from the waters of the Pitcairn Islands 

EEZ. However, it should be noted that, largely due to the 

Islands’ inaccessibility, much still remains to be discovered 

about their marine fauna and flora. 

One of the first things to strike the underwater explorer 

is the stunning clarity of the water surrounding each of 

the four islands. This reflects the low levels of suspended 

organic matter in the water column as well as the fact that 

the waters are almost totally pollution-free 8 . 

The three islands of Henderson, Oeno and Ducie play 

host to internationally important seabird populations, 

ii 

with each of the islands being declared Important Bird 

Areas. Henderson is, without question, one of the petrel 

capitals of the world 9 . It is the only location in the world 

where the Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata is known 

to breed, with over 16,000 pairs being resident (>95% of 

the world population). The species is listed by the IUCN as 

Endangered 10 . Nearly all of the world’s Murphy’s petrels 

nest in the Pitcairn Islands at Henderson, Ducie and Oeno, 

even though the species has a widespread distribution in 

the Pacific. In addition, there are around 11,100 breeding 

pairs of Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica on Henderson. 

Of the non-breeding species, the bristle-thighed curlew 

Numenius tahitiensis (with a world population of just 

7,000) is of international importance as a passing visitor 

at Henderson and Oeno. With the intention of allowing 

the populations of these breeding seabirds to stabilise and 

enlarge, the Pacific rat Rattus exulans, a major predator 

on petrel chicks, has been cleared from both Ducie and 

Oeno Islands in the past 15 years; and a major programme 

of eliminating rats from Henderson was undertaken in 

2011 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds with 

assistance from the Pitcairn Islanders, though this has 

recently been found to have been unsuccessful. 

Most of the major groups of marine life have now been 

studied (corals, molluscs, echinoderms, fishes, turtles, 

seabirds and cetaceans), although others remain to be 

investigated in full. Those species whose worldwide 

conservation status has been assessed and which 

have been found to be Endangered are listed in the 

table overleaf. 

Offshore 

Far less is known of the marine life of the EEZ’s offshore 

waters than is known for the nearshore waters. The 

northern extremities of the EEZ overlap with migration 

routes for stocks of tuna species (skipjack Katsuwonus 

pelamis, yellowfin Thunnus albacares and bigeye Thunnus 

obesus). Prior to the declaration of the Pitcairn Islands 

EEZ in 1980, the oceanic waters were fished by the fleets 

of three distant-water fishing nations (Japan, Taiwan 

and South Korea), all using longline vessels to catch tuna 

and billfish. Migration routes for several species of whale 

(four of which are classified as Endangered) and other 

cetaceans, as well as for green turtles, pass through the 

waters of the EEZ. A number of oceanic shark species have 

also been recorded, such as the oceanic whitetip shark 

Carcharhinus longimanus. 

Endangered marine species* known to be present within the Pitcairn Islands EEZ 

Species Status* Notes** 

Humpback whale 

Megaptera 

novaeangliae 

Sei whale 

Balaenoptera borealis 

Blue whale 

Balaenoptera musculus 

Fin whale 

Balaenoptera physalus 

Hawksbill turtle 

Eretmochelys imbricata 

Green turtle 

Chelonia mydas 

Phoenix petrel 

Pterodroma alba 

Henderson petrel 

Pterodroma atrata 

Polynesian storm petrel 

Nesofregetta 

fuliginosa 

Black-browed albatross 

Thalassarche 

melanophrys 

Great hammerhead shark 

Sphyrna mokarran 

Humphead wrasse 

Cheilinus undulatus 

EN Has a circumglobal distribution but subpopulations now recognised in 

the South Pacific and Australia. The individuals present within the Pitcairn 

Islands EEZ belong to the F2 (French Polynesia) breeding sub-stock, and it 

is this sub-stock specifically which is Endangered (other populations are of 

Least Concern). 

EN Worldwide population estimated at 80,000 with that of the Southern 

Pacific at just over 9,000. Those seen within the Pitcairn Islands EEZ likely to 

be migrating between feeding and nursery grounds. 

EN B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale) is a subspecies 

found in the South Pacific Ocean. The population occurring off Chile and 

Peru may be a distinct population. Those seen within the Pitcairn Islands EEZ 

likely to be migrating between feeding and nursery grounds. 

EN Found in all the world’s major oceans, from polar to tropical waters. Fewer 

than 15,000 currently remain in the Southern Hemisphere (out of a total 

population of approx. 120,000). 

CR Has a circumglobal distribution throughout tropical and, to a lesser extent, 

subtropical waters. Hawksbills are migratory and individuals undertake 

complex movements through geographically disparate habitats during their 

lifetimes. 

EN Has a circumglobal distribution throughout tropical and, to a lesser extent, 

subtropical waters (including the eastern Central Pacific Ocean). Known 

to nest on Henderson (an estimate of 10 laying females in 1991, approx. 

1% of the French Polynesian population). Known to migrate long distances 

between feeding grounds and nesting beaches. 

EN Breeds in the Line and Phoenix Islands (Kiribati) and Marquesas Islands 

(French Polynesia). Believed to have once bred in the Pitcairn Islands but not 

currently. Observed offshore in 2010. 

EN Known to breed only on Henderson Island, but may have also bred on 

Pitcairn Island in the past and has apparently become extirpated from Ducie. 

In 1991–1992, the breeding population on Henderson was estimated at 

approx. 16,000 breeding pairs and it was suggested that the species could 

be undergoing a long-term decline, largely due to rat predation. >95% of 

world population on Henderson. 

EN Worldwide population in the region of 1,000 mature individuals. Known to 

breed at the Gambier Islands and further west. Observed offshore within 

EEZ. 

EN Has a circumpolar distribution ranging from subtropical to polar waters, 

with 67% of breeding pairs in the Falkland Islands. 

EN Heavily fished for its large fins, which are extremely valuable on the 

Asian market. As a result, great hammerhead populations are declining 

substantially worldwide. 

EN A large fish, with males reaching 2 m in length. Found on steep coral 

reef slopes from 1–100 m. Adults prefer to occupy limited ‘home ranges’. 

Recorded from Henderson. 

* Information from the IUCN Red List (2012). CR = Critically Endangered; EN = Endangered. 

Information on whales, turtles and fish species from IUCN Red List (2012); 

** Information on birds from Birdlife International species factsheets (http://www.birdlife.org). 


iii

No. of marine species in major taxonomic groups recorded from within the Pitcairn Islands EEZ. 

1. Brooke, M. de L., 2010. Important Bird Areas: 

Henderson Island. British Birds, 103: 428–444. 

2. Weisler, M.I., 1995. Henderson Island prehistory: 

colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian 

island. Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 56: 

377–404. 

3. Stoddart, D.R. 1992. Biogeography of the tropical 

Pacific. Pacific Science, 46: 276–293. 

4. The EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) extends to 200 

nautical miles (370 km) around each of the four 

islands in the group and covers an area of 836,108 

km 2 (or 322,823 mls 2 ). 

5. Benton, T.G. & Spencer, T., 1995b. Biogeographic 

processes at the limits of the Indo-West Pacific 

Province. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 56: 

243–244. 

iv 

Group No. of 

species 

recorded 

to date 

(May 2012) 

No. of 

endemic 

species 

Most endangered 

conservation 

status 

represented 

Species richness Level of 

study 

Cetaceans 22 0 Endangered (EN) Low/intermediate Poor/ 

intermediate 

Marine birds 

(breeding) 

13 1 Endangered (EN) Intermediate Good 


(non-breeding) 

20+ 0 Endangered (EN) Low/intermediate Poor 

Turtles 2 0 Critical (CR) Low Poor 

Pelagic fishes 13 0 Near-Threatened (NT) Low Poor/ 

intermediate 

Reef fishes 352 5 Endangered (EN) Low/intermediate Good 

Echinoderms >64 3 Not Evaluated (NE) Intermediate Intermediate 

Molluscs >502 5+ Not Evaluated (NE) Low Intermediate 

Crustacea >42 ? Not Evaluated (NE) Low? Poor 

Ostracods 47 ? Not Evaluated (NE) Intemediate Intermediate 

Hard corals 87 1 Vulnerable (VU) Intermediate Intermediate 

Hydroids 8 0 Not Evaluated (NE) Low Intermediate 

Sponges 12 0 Not Evaluated (NE) Low Poor 

Forams 32 ? Not Evaluated (NE) Low Intermediate 

Algae 29 0 Not Evaluated (NE) Low Poor/ 

intermediate 

Blue-green algae 4 0 Not Evaluated (NE) Low Poor 

Totals 1,249+ 15+ 

6. Okal, E.A. & Cazenave, A., 1985. A model for the 

plate evolution of the east-Central Pacific based 

on SEASAT 

7. Blake, S.G. 1995. Late Quaternary history of 

Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group. Biological Journal 

of the Linnean Society, 56: 43–62. 

8. Note, however, that a surprising amount of waterborne 

litter can collect on remote oceanic atolls 

(Benton, T. G., 1995. From castaways to throwaways: 

marine litter in the Pitcairn Islands. Biological Journal of 

the Linnean Society, 56: 415–422. 

9. Brooke, M. de L. 2010. Important Bird Areas: 

Henderson Island. British Birds, 103: 428–444. 

10. IUCN Red List 2012. 


v

vi 

Introduction 1 

Four islands make up the Pitcairn group. There is 

little reason to group the islands together other than 

geographical proximity (they happen to be neighbouring 

islands although the outliers, Oeno and Ducie, lie 

approximately 560 km apart) and political expediency 

(they were all claimed by Britain during the nineteenth 

century). Two are coral atolls (Oeno and Ducie); one is 

an uplifted coral atoll (Henderson); and one is an extinct 

volcano (Pitcairn). Of the four, Pitcairn is the only inhabited 

island, supporting a population of about 60 people at the 

present time. 

These South Pacific islands are exceptionally remote. 

From Pitcairn itself, the nearest island group is that of 

the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia which lie some 

540 km to the west-north-west, while Easter Island is over 

2,000 km to the east. The continental land masses of New 

Zealand and South America are over 5,500 km distant 

(Figure 1). 

The four islands themselves are well spread out, each 

being the emergent pinnacle of a submarine volcano. 

Oeno is located 128 km north-north-west of Pitcairn; 

Henderson is 195 km east-north-east of Pitcairn; and 

Ducie is 475 km east of Pitcairn. Although their combined 

land area extends to only 49 km 2 , their Exclusive Economic 

Zone (EEZ) is just over 836,108 km 2 (or 322,823 square 

miles) in extent, a vast area that is more than three times 

the size of the UK (Figure 2). 

1.1 Historical background 

The first known settlers to Pitcairn were Polynesians. 

Archaeological evidence points to their occupying much 

of the island where any reasonably flat land was found 

(Weisler, 1995). Resources at their disposal would have 

included timber, fruit and planted crops, seabirds, fish and, 

perhaps most tellingly, suitable hard basalt for making 

adzes (woodworking tools). Indeed, Weisler (1995) states, 

“Despite its small size, Pitcairn had the best stone-tool 

resources in the region and was a source of cultivated 

foods and probably very large trees for canoe making.” It 

is believed that Pitcairn and Henderson were first colonised 

by Polynesians in about AD 900 and that the occupation 

of both islands lasted until about 1450 – possibly up to 

200 years later in the case of Henderson (Weisler, 1995). 

Early European exploration of the Pacific led the 

Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernández de Quirós to 

encounter both Ducie and Henderson in 1606 (though 

no mention is made in his journal of the presence 

of Polynesians at Henderson). He named them ‘La 

Encarnación and San João Baptista respectively – the 

anglicised names of the islands came later. He did not 

come across Pitcairn. The first European encounter with 

Pitcairn had to wait for a further 161 years when Captain 

Philip Carteret aboard HMS Swallow chanced upon it in 

Figure 1. The location of the Pitcairn Islands in the central 

South Pacific. (Illustration: R.A. Irving) 

Figure 2. The extent of the 200-nautical-mile EEZ, which 

defines the geographic extent of this report. (Illustration 

adapted from Gillet, 2009) 

Plate 1. As this signpost confirms, positioned at the 

highest point (347 m) on the island, Pitcairn is a long way 

from anywhere. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 


1

1767 and named it Pitcairn’s Island after the man onboard 

who had first sighted it. Its position was marked as 133° 

30’ west, which is actually 188.4 nautical miles west of 

its true location. It was also noted that the island was 

uninhabited and difficult to land at, two key facts which 

were of great relevance some 22 years later when the 

mutineers from HMS Bounty were seeking a safe refuge. 

It is the appearance of Fletcher Christian and his fellow 

eight mutineers which initiates the modern history of 

the island. Together with six Polynesian men and 12 

Polynesian women they brought with them from Tahiti, 

they discovered Pitcairn on 15 January 1790 after a 

journey of four months spent searching for a suitable 

refuge. Their island was not to remain a paradise for 

long, however. Within three-and-a-half years, all bar four 

mutineers and 10 women (and their children) remained 

– the others murdered, mostly the result of ill treatment 

or jealousy. By 1800, there was just one survivor of the 

original mutineers, John Adams. The island was to remain 

undiscovered for a further eight years when an American 

whaling ship happened past, but it wasn’t until 1814 that 

two British ships arrived at the island and the full story of 

the mutineers’ hideaway became public knowledge. 

In 1838, Pitcairn Island became a British dependency. 

By 1856 the population had grown to 193 and was 

increasing rapidly. It was feared that the island’s resources 

would not be able to support this number for much longer 

and a compulsory evacuation of all islanders took place 

to Norfolk Island, east of Australia. However, by 1859, 16 

had decided to return to Pitcairn to start afresh, followed 

by a further 27 in 1864. In 1902, Oeno, Henderson and 

Ducie were annexed by Great Britain and were included in 

the dependency in 1938 (Carter, 1981). 

Recent history has seen the Islands’ 200-nautical-mile EEZ 

established in 1980, and Henderson become a UNESCO 

World Heritage Site in 1988. One of the incentives to 

designate Henderson resulted from the interest in the 

island shown in the early-1980s by an American millionaire 

who wanted to build a holiday home with its own airstrip 

on the island. As Henderson was recognised, albeit only 

by a select group of scientists and conservationists, to be 

one of the world’s remaining raised coral atolls with its 

ecology largely intact, moves were made to widen this 

recognition. However, it wasn’t to be until after the Sir 

Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn 

Islands in 1991/92 that the composition of that ecology 

began to be known. A Management Plan for the period 

2004–2009 was subsequently drawn up (Brooke et al., 

2004), published by the Foreign and Commonwealth 

Office, London in conjunction with the Pitcairn Islands 

Administration and the Royal Society for the Protection 

of Birds. This consolidated much of the earlier literature 

and scientific knowledge of Henderson Island as a 

consequence of UNESCO designation. 

Most recently, the Pitcairn Islands Environment 

Management Plan (PEMP) (Smyth, 2008), which covers 

all four islands, has been published. This develops 

10 key objectives for managing the environment of 

2 

the Pitcairn Islands, based upon the Environmental 

Charter jointly signed by the Mayor of Pitcairn Island 

and the UK Government in 2001. Although the UK 

Government ratified the Convention on Biological 

Diversity (CBD) in 1994, this has not been extended 

to the Pitcairn group. A review of the progress on the 

CBD in UK Overseas Territories, commissioned by the 

Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), highlighted that 

the main area of CBD legislation with which the Pitcairn 

group was not complying, was in connection with the 

ongoing monitoring of biodiversity (Cross & Pienkowski, 

1998). A UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum 

(UKOTCF) review of existing and potential Ramsar sites 

in UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, 

commissioned by the Department of Environment, Food 

and Rural Affairs (Defra), identified the coastal waters of 

the Pitcairn group as potential Ramsar Convention sites 

of International Importance (Pienkowski, 2005), but data 

remain inadequate to determine designations. 

1.2 The islands today 

Pitcairn remains geographically remote and isolated today, 

though the installation of a satellite link on the island in 

2002 has allowed internet access and the immediacy of 

e-mail communications. However, getting to and from the 

island still remains a challenge. For international travellers, 

a flight to Tahiti in French Polynesia is required, followed 

by the once-weekly (or twice-weekly in the summer) flight 

to the Gambier Islands group (of which the main island is 

Mangareva), located over 1,600 km to the south-east of 

Tahiti. As there is no airstrip on Pitcairn, the only access 

route is by sea from this point. The island’s supply ship 

Claymore II visits it once every three months and takes 

about 32 hours to sail to Pitcairn from Mangareva. Access 

may also be privately arranged through other travel 

companies 11 . At present, the only landing place on Pitcairn 

is at Bounty Bay on the north-east side of the island. 

Visitors are ferried to shore in one of the island’s two 

longboats or by means of smaller local skiffs. However, 

plans are in place (and funding has been approved) to 

build an alternative landing at Tedside on the north-west 

side of the island, to increase the options for landing 

passengers. 

Pitcairners have always been very welcoming to visitors. 

The island has no hotel, so visitors stay as guests of 

individual families. Recently, two units have been built 

to house visitors as families prepare for a growing 

tourism industry. Typically, stays are either of three or 10 

days’ duration, dependent upon the sailing schedule of 

the Claymore II 12 or of other vessels. Access to Oeno, 

Henderson or Ducie is considerably harder logistically, 

usually requiring the charter of a private vessel such as 

the SV Xplore, but not impossible. Very few commercial 

tour operators, private yachts or scientific expeditions 

visit the other islands (for which special permits are 

required). Pitcairners themselves visit Oeno and Henderson 

occasionally and Ducie extremely rarely. 

Table 1. Pitcairn facts and figures. (Adapted from the UK FCO website: http://fco.gov.uk) 

Status British Overseas Territory Population About 60 

Religion(s) Seventh Day Adventist Currency New Zealand Dollar 

Languages English and Pitkern. The latter is a mixture of English and 

Tahitian and became an official language in 1997. 

Governance Pitcairn Islanders manage their internal affairs through 

the Pitcairn Island Council. The Council is made up of 

Councillors and a Mayor elected by the community every 

two years. A new Governance Structure, introduced 

in April 2009, established for the first time public 

service positions to head up four Divisions: Community 

Development; Operations; Natural Resources; Finance and 

Economic. 

Administration Pitcairn is administered by the Government of Pitcairn 

Islands (GPI), made up of the Governor’s Office in 

Wellington, the Pitcairn Islands Office (PIO) in Auckland 

and the Pitcairn Island Council. 

National Day 23 January is Bounty Day, which commemorates the day 

in 1790 when HMS Bounty was set alight and sank. 

Economy The working population is either self-employed or 

works for local government. There is no formal taxation. 

Pitcairn’s primary source of income was traditionally the 

sale of postage stamps. However, the decline in philatelic 

sales worldwide, the advent of the internet and the 

increased cost of the service, have all had an impact. 

Individual income derives from subsistence horticulture, 

fishing and the sale of handicrafts (traded with visiting 

ships and also marketed by mail order through the 

internet). The Pitcairn Government is trying to boost 

revenue through the sale of .pn domain names, honey 

production and increasing tourist arrivals. 

National ties Many Pitcairn Islanders have strong links with New 

Zealand – some are dual UK/New Zealand nationals. There 

are also increasing links with French Polynesia, Pitcairn’s 

nearest neighbour, and Pitcairn is a member of the 

Secretariat of the Pacific Community. 

Education The island school takes children up to the age of 15. 

Further education is undertaken in New Zealand. 

Correspondence courses are undertaken via the internet. 

UK responsibilities The UK is responsible for Pitcairn’s external relations, 

defence and internal security. Over the last decade the 

UK Government has provided extensive development 

assistance for a range of projects designed to help provide 

an environment which encourages economic and social 

development and to meet the needs of the community. 

These have included a health centre, rebuilding the 

school, upgrading satellite communications (to include 

telephones in all homes, a stable internet connection 

and television reception) bringing the island closer to the 

outside world, a sealed road from the jetty to the main 

settlement, other equipment and improved infrastructure. 

A new regular shipping service, which started in 

December 2009, has improved access to the island. Work 

is also progressing on projects to provide sustainable wind 

energy and an alternate harbour to make the landing 

of supplies, tourists (particularly from cruise ships) and 

islanders easier and safer. 


3

Figure 3. Seafloor bathymetry in the vicinity of the Pitcairn Islands, showing the two main zones (shaded) of hotspot 

activity. (Adapted from satellite altimetry data [Smith & Sandwell, 1997]). 

1.3 Geology / geomorphology 

The seafloor within the EEZ is a complex of abyssal 

plains, troughs and a series of seamounts (Figure 3). The 

deepest part of the seafloor is in the region of 4,000 m, 

with the summit of the tallest seamount rising to just 

55 m beneath the ocean’s surface. To the east of Ducie 

is a major structure topped by two seamounts reaching 

1,000 m below present sea level at 25.0° south, 122.2° 

west and 24.8° south, 121.7° west. Okal (1984) proposed 

that this feature be known as Crough Seamount. This 

particular seamount is the youngest (4 Myr) in an area 

of hotspot activity on which are aligned Ducie (8 Myr), 

Henderson (13 Myr) and Oeno (16 Myr) [all ages given 

± 1 Myr – one million years] (Okal & Cazenave, 1985). A 

second active hotspot region has been located in a zone 

40 km to 110 km south-east of Pitcairn, which extends 

through the Gambier Islands and Mururoa atoll to the 

Duke of Gloucester Islands (Spencer, 1989a). This hotspot 

region was responsible for the creation of Pitcairn Island, 

which is the youngest of the four islands and was formed 

as the result of volcanic activity around 0.8 to 0.9 million 

years ago (Blake, 1995). Two particularly large submarine 

volcanoes along this second hotspot lineation, which lie 

to the south-east of Pitcairn, were discovered in 1989 

by Stoffers et al. (1990). They were named ‘Adams’ and 

‘Bounty’ by Binard et al. (1992) and rise to within 55 m 

and 450 m of sea level respectively. They have also been 

found to show evidence of very recent lava flows and 

hydrothermal activity (Hekinian et al., 2003). The relatively 

shallow apex of Adams Seamount is known locally as ’40mile 

Reef’ (see also section 4.2). 

The weight of the ‘new’ volcanic island of Pitcairn caused 

the crust beneath it to depress, with a consequential 

4 

uplift approximately 200 km from the load by means of 

a ‘see-saw’ process known as ‘lithospheric flexure’. Over 

thousands of years, this uplift caused Henderson, a former 

sea-level atoll, to be raised above sea level and thus form a 

raised fossilised reef with a dry, fossil lagoon. This process 

(which is still continuing at a rate of 0.1 mm/yr) has caused 

Henderson to be elevated to a maximum of 33.5 m above 

sea level. The island has been emergent for about 380,000 

years (Blake, 1995). 

1.4 Marine biogeography 

In considering the origin of the Pitcairn Islands’ marine life, 

one might reasonably expect that the nearest land mass to 

the east (i.e. South America) would act as the main source, 

as it is from the east that the dominant winds and currents 

come. However, this is not the case. The vast majority of 

nearshore species, including fishes, molluscs, echinoderms 

and corals, all have their sources of origin to the west (Kay, 

1980 & 1984). This is enabled by the scattering of island 

‘stepping stones’ between the extremely biodiverse waters 

of the western Pacific (around New Guinea) and the 

Pitcairn Islands or Easter Island (further east still), but there 

are no island stepping stones between Pitcairn or Easter 

Island and South America. This situation is as true for the 

Islands’ terrestrial biota as it is for the nearshore marine 

component (Diamond, 1995). 

Take the nearshore fish fauna of the Pitcairn Islands, for 

example. Compared to that of archipelagos to the west, 

it is impoverished. To date, a total of just 352 species 

are known from the four Pitcairn islands, of which 13 

are pelagic species. There are 593 species of shore fishes 

known from the Society Islands, which lie approximately 

Figure 4. The extent of the Indo-West Pacific biogeographic province (shown in dark blue). 

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indo-Pacific_biogeographic_region_map-en.png) 

1,500 km to the west (Randall, 1985), yet Easter Island, 

some 1,900 km further east of Pitcairn, has just 126 shore 

species (Disalvo et al., 1988). So it is likely that Pitcairn 

too has acted as a stepping stone (to some degree) for a 

number of species to reach Easter Island. In addition, the 

fish fauna of the Gambier Islands (south-eastern Tuamotu 

archipelago) is very similar to that of the Pitcairn Islands 

but there are about a dozen species which have yet to 

make the ‘hop’ to the Pitcairn Islands. 

The mollusc fauna has a similar tale to tell. The recorded 

molluscan fauna from the whole of French Polynesia is 

1,159 species (Richard, 1985); for the Pitcairn Islands, 

Preece (1995a) put the figure at 419 species (though 

the present review has increased this to 502), while for 

Easter Island only 133 species are known (Rehder, 1980). 

Rehder & Randall (1975) point out that Ducie atoll is the 

most eastern atoll of the vast Indo-Pacific biogeographical 

region (Figure 4) that possesses a pure, though 

impoverished Polynesian biota. 

Corals exhibit considerable geographic variation in 

morphology and it may be difficult to determine whether 

unusual forms at peripheral locations (such as the Pitcairn 

Islands) are due to genetic or ecophenotypic differences 

(Paulay, 1989). Paulay (1989) found that several species 

in the Pitcairn group did not fit well the described species 

into which they were assigned. He commented that, 

“The Pitcairn coral fauna exhibits considerably more such 

odd geographic variation than the Cook Islands’ fauna”. 

Interestingly, coral fauna connectivity between south, 

central and eastern tropical Pacific sites indicates that 

there is a strong affinity between those of Easter Island, 

the Galapagos Islands and the coasts and islands of 

Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica further to the 

east (Glynn et al., 2007). 

One should not forget that the amount of research 

carried out in any one location is also likely to have a 

bearing on the number of species recorded from that 

location. Not only is Pitcairn an isolated spot for nearshore 

marine species to reach, it is quite a challenge for marine 

biologists to get to as well! 

Of course, the story is a little different for offshore pelagic 

species and for those that inhabit the ocean depths. Here, 

though the water volumes concerned are much greater, 

there is far more connectivity and so the same restrictions 

do not apply. The offshore waters within the Pitcairn 

Islands EEZ are known to feature in the migratory routes 

of several species (humpback whales and green turtles 

to name just two), and it is quite possible that the deep 

waters are as rich in species as other deep-water areas 

elsewhere in the Central Pacific. However, until further 

exploratory research is undertaken into these abyssal 

areas, these will remain suppositions. 

11. Pitcairn Travel, a locally owned business, arranges 

passenger charters to Pitcairn and the other islands 

on the yacht SV Xplore (www.pitcairntravel.pn). 

Less regular, one-off expeditions are run by other 

companies (e.g. www.uncharteredworldtravel.com). 

12. The sailing schedule of the MV Claymore II can 

be found at: 

www.visitpitcairn.pn/visitpitcairn/shipping/index.html 


5

6 

Taxon 

Pitcairn is the only island of the four which has prolific 

seaweed growth; this makes it stand apart from the others 

and probably reflects its southerly position in the group. 

Extensive carpets of mostly brown macroalgal species 

(predominantly Sargassum odontocarpum and Lobophora 

variegata) cover bedrock outcrops in depths between 14 

and 22 m. Cover of live coral varies considerably around 

the island, with some areas (such as off the east end 

of the north coast) having 80 percent cover and other 

areas just 0 to 10 percent cover. The only algae apparent 

at neighbouring Henderson Island are either hard, 

coralline species, or small wispy strands of red and green 

species, which have yet to be identified. While relatively 

inconspicuous, these latter species are heavily grazed upon 

by herbivorous fish and also by sea urchins. Huge numbers 

of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema savignyi are seen in 

aggregations on the fore-reef during the day, as there are 

so few places for them to hide away. Though Henderson 

boasts the greatest number of coral species in the group 

(60 in all), these do not grow into large reef formations 

but rather exist, on the whole, as solitary or low growing 

forms. Indeed, most of the fore-reef is composed of coral 

rubble, broken and dead pieces of coral which are likely to 

have been damaged periodically by fierce storm events. 

Information relevant to all four islands 2 

Although each of the Pitcairn Islands is unique, a number 

of considerations are pertinent to all four. From a scientific 

point of view, it is often easier to group the four together 

and compare and contrast their marine faunas with 

neighbouring French Polynesia or Easter Island. 

That said, it has not always been possible for visiting 

research expeditions to visit all four islands, even though 

they might well have done had time allowed or if the 

elements were in their favour. Initial collections of material 

were often undertaken on an ad hoc basis. The first truly 

scientific studies (including the collection of various marine 

shells) in the Pitcairn Islands were under the guidance of 

Captain F.W. Beechey onboard HMS Blossom in 1825. He 

was also responsible for the first full description of Ducie 

atoll (Rehder & Randall, 1975). Since that time there have 

been several individual visits and six major expeditions to 

the four Pitcairn Islands (Whitney South Seas Expedition 

[1922]; Magarevan Expedition [1934]; Westward 

expedition [1971]; Smithsonian Expedition [1987]; Sir Peter 

Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands 

[1991/92]; and most recently, the National Geographical 

Society Pristine Seas expedition to the Pitcairn Islands 

[2012]). Details of these are summarised in Appendix 4. 

Figure 5. The location of the four Pitcairn Islands (Oeno, 

Pitcairn, Henderson and Ducie) in the central South Pacific. 

(Illustration: R.A. Irving) 

2.1 Differences and similarities 

Each of the four islands which make up the Pitcairn group 

is different. Not only is this true and obvious above sea 

level, but it is also true, maybe more so to the trained 

eye, below sea level. While each of the islands is perched 

on the very tip of its own huge submarine volcano, with 

steeply sloping sides descending to the abyssal depths, 

the shallower, nearshore sublittoral environment of each is 

very different. 

The atoll of Oeno is characterised by its central island 

and surrounding shallow lagoon. Proportionately fewer 

marine studies have been undertaken at Oeno than at 

the other three islands and so our knowledge is that 

much less. Beyond the reef margin, the fore-reef has 

approximately 50 to 60 percent live coral cover, with 

patches of sand and coral rubble in between. While Ducie 

is also a coral atoll, its four islets make up the perimeter 

of the atoll, with a lagoon in the centre. The lagoon is 

noticeably deeper (up to 15 m) than that at Oeno (3 m) 

but it is also dotted with patch reefs and sandy channels. 

On the surface the islets appear largely barren from 

the point of view of vegetation, with just one species 

of shrub (Heliotropium foertherianum formerly known 

as Tournefortia argentea) predominating, though there 

are thousands of petrels which make the most of the 

island’s isolation. By contrast, the reefs below the surface 

are surprisingly well developed, with an average live 

coral cover of 90 percent in depths between 11 to 20 m 

decreasing to 70 percent in deeper water, from 21 to 40 m. 

The dominant corals are a number of Acropora species 

and Montipora cf. aequituberculata, all of which are 

uncommon at neighbouring Henderson. The coral fauna 

shows remarkable resilience here as Rehder and Randall 

(1975) commented on a mass mortality of fore-reef corals 

which must have happened at some time prior to their 

visit in 1971. They speculated this might have been the 

result of an influx of cold water around the atoll. 

One aspect of the underwater scenery which is common 

to all four islands (though is most noticeable at Henderson 

and Ducie) is the stunning clarity of the seawater. On a 

Table 2. A summary of the total number of known marine taxa (in most cases species, but these numbers also 

include genera) recorded from within the Pitcairn Islands EEZ. Note that the vast majority of records are from 

nearshore or intertidal studies. 

No. of taxa recorded Total no. of 

Pit Hen Oen Duc Offshore taxa present 

at all 4 islands 

Macroalgae (seaweeds) 24 5 - - ? 29+ 

Cyanophyta (blue-green algae) 4 - - - ? 4 

Foraminifera (forams) 11 26 2 0 ? 32 

Porifera (sponges) - 6 4 6 ? 12 

Cnidaria: Hydrozoa - 7+ 4 0 ? 8+ 

Cnidaria: Anthozoa (incl. corals) 15 60 17 27 ? 87 

Crustacea: Ostracoda ? ? ? ? ? 47 

Crustacea (all groups except Ostracoda) 12+ 32+ 18+ 11+ ? 42+ 

Mollusca: Polyplacophora 1 ? ? ? ? 1+ 

Mollusca: Gastropoda (snails, etc.) 71 270 192 62 ? 415+ 

Mollusca: Bivalvia 16 40 46 18 ? 81+ 

Mollusca: Cephalopoda 1+ 1+ 0 0 4 5+ 

(Molluscs: all groups)* (88) (326) (255) (80) (4) (502) 

Echinodermata: Echinoidea (sea urchins, etc.) 2+ 12 5 6 ? 15 

Echinodermata: Asteroidea (starfish) 7 7 1 0 ? 10 

Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea (brittlestars) 12 6 6 1 ? 24 

Echinodermata: Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers) 2+ 10 7 5 ? 15 

Pisces: all species (reef & open water) 270 173 165 127 13 365 

Reptilia (turtles) ? 1 ? ? 2 2 

Aves (marine): breeding seabirds 5 12 12 13 14 13 

Aves (marine): non-breeding/migrants 6 4 6 2 19 20 

Cetacea (whales & dolphins) 1 ? ? 1 22 22 

Totals: 459+ 672+ 485+ 279+ 74+ 1,249+ 

* This row of the table provides sub-totals for the previous three rows, with entries in parentheses indicating they are 

excluded from the totals at the foot of the table. 

UK Joint Services diving expedition to the Islands in 2003, 

which visited Pitcairn and Henderson, the underwater 

horizontal visibility at 20 m depth at Henderson was 

measured at 75 m (R.A. Irving, pers. obs.). It was less 

at Pitcairn (at 50 m), which was to be expected as the 

inshore water there has a higher suspended sediment 

loading. However, while the clarity of the water may be 

good news for visiting divers, it is not so good for filterfeeding 

organisms. There is a distinct lack of these at all 

four islands, with sponges, hydroids, sessile polychaetes, 

bryozoans, crinoids and ascidians all under-represented 

on account of the lack of organic matter present in the 

water column. 

SEABIRDS 

The species of seabirds within the scope of this review 

include those which are resident (and breeding) on one 

or more of the islands, and those that are merely visiting 

(i.e. migrants or non-breeding). From observations made 

during the Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition 

to the Pitcairn Islands in 1991/92, the migrants visiting 

the islands were all waders with Northern Hemisphere 

breeding grounds. Their numbers showed the expected 

annual pattern, reaching maxima during the northern 

winter. Those numbers were generally very modest (Brooke 

1995a). Only bristle-thighed curlews were present in 

significant numbers; the Pitcairn Islands support almost 

2 percent of the global population (Collar et al., 1992). 

Other observations of offshore seabirds have come from 

charter boat passages to and from the Islands, particularly 

those carrying ornithologists (see also section 4.3, Table 17). 

The various seabirds which nest and raise young at the 

islands show varying breeding seasons throughout the 

year. In the absence of both information about the birds’ 

diets and annual fluctuations in abundance of marine prey, 

the causes of the occurrence of these breeding seasons 

remains unknown (Brooke 1995a). However, they do 

confirm the seasonal nature of the marine environment 

surrounding the Pitcairn Islands (Spencer, 1995b). 


7

Table 3. Estimates of the breeding populations in pairs [standard error] of Pterodroma species breeding in 

the Pitcairn Islands in 1991/92 (after Brooke, 1995b). 

Pitcairn Island itself is not listed because no petrel species were breeding there. 

The Phoenix petrel P. alba is not listed because none were found breeding during the 1991/92 expedition. 

8 

Henderson Oeno Ducie Red Data List status 

Kermadec petrel P. neglecta 10,000 [3,000] < 100 30,000 [10,000] LC 

Murphy’s petrel P. ultima 2,500 [500] 12,500 [2,500] 250,000 [29,000] NT 

Herald petrel P. heraldica 11,100 [2,000] 0 10,000 – 99,999 [?] LC 

Henderson petrel P. atrata 16,000 [3,000] 0 0 EN 

Plate 2. Kermadec petrel Pterodroma neglecta 

(Photo: M. Brooke) 

Plate 4. Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica 

(Photo: Tubenoses Project © H. Shirihai) 

Plate 3. Murphy’s petrel Pterodroma ultima 


Plate 5. Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata 


The problem with rats… 

A clear association has been established between the 

decline of certain bird populations on islands and the 

introduction of rats Rattus spp. Brooke (1995b) observed 

intense predation by Pacific rats Rattus exulans on newly 

hatched Murphy’s and Kermadec petrel chicks while 

resident on Henderson Island for 15 months in 1991/92. 

He also attributed the loss of chicks of Henderson petrels 

and Herald petrels as likely due to Pacific rats (Brooke 

et al., 2010a). 

Rats were introduced by the Polynesians to Henderson 

about 700 years ago (Weisler, 1994). Brooke (1995b) 

postulated that the combined population of Herald and 

Henderson petrels on Henderson Island at that time could 

have been in the region of six million pairs. A steady and 

constant decline in that number (which Brooke [1995b] 

calculated as being 0.77 percent per annum) as a result of 

both human and rat predation, would leave a combined 

population of the two species at between 4,500 and 

45,000 respectively by the late twentieth century. In 1991, 

Brooke (1995b) estimated the combined population 

of Herald and Henderson petrels to be in the region of 

27,000 pairs. 

In 1997, successful rat eradications took place on 

both Oeno and Ducie atolls (G. Wragg, pers. comm.). 

Two attempts to eradicate rats from the larger, more 

rugged and more logistically complex Pitcairn have been 

unsuccessful, however. In August 2011 the much larger 

task of eradicating rats from Henderson was undertaken 

by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds/Pitcairn 

Islands Government with on-the-ground assistance from 

Pitcairn Islanders. Unfortunately, this eradication attempt 

was also unsuccessful, with live rats being sighted by 

members of the National Geographic expedition to the 

islands in April 2012 13 . 

2.2 Endemism 

The definition of an endemic species is “a species which is 

only found in a given region or location and nowhere else 

in the world” (http://www.biodiversity-worldwide.info) 14 . 

Corals, Molluscs and Echinoderms 

Paulay (1989), who studied corals, molluscs and 

echinoderms at all four islands during the 1987 

Smithsonian Expedition, concluded that seven out of the 

310 species or subspecies he identified (or 2.2 percent) 

were known only from the Pitcairn group. These were 

the asteroid Allostichaster peleensis, the ophiuroids 

Amphilimna tanyodes and Amphiura bountyia, the coral 

Porites aff. annae, and the gastropods Engina rosacea, 

Fusinus galatheae bountyi and Ziba cernohorskyi. Five of 

the seven were only known from Pitcairn Island at the 

time. However, these five species were all obtained by 

dredging from fairly deep water (40-100 m), a habitat 

which has been minimally sampled in Polynesia (Paulay, 

1989). Preece (1995a) doubled the number of marine 

molluscs known from the Pitcairn Islands and described 

several new species, including a few additional endemics 

with non-planktotrophic larvae, but concurred that the 

overall level of endemism for the marine molluscan fauna 

was about 2 percent. This is the percentage level of 

endemism seen in the fish fauna too (see below). These 

levels of endemism are relatively low. However, in terms 

of the number of endemic nearshore fish species per 

unit area, the Pitcairn Islands are among a select group 

of remote islands with the highest concentrations (Allen, 

2008), the others in the group being Clipperton, Isla del 

Coco, Easter and Rapa. 

Reef fishes 

There are five species of bony fishes which are currently 

believed to be endemic to the Pitcairn Islands (Randall, 

1999; FishBase, 2011). These are the Pitcairn sandlance 

Ammodytoides leptus, the many-spined butterflyfish 

Hemitaurichthys multispinosus (both only found at 

Pitcairn); the Henderson triplefin Enneapterygius ornatus 

and the squirrelfish Sargocentron megalops (both found 

only at Henderson). There is also an undescribed species 

of combtooth blenny Alticus sp. (Randall, 1999), found 

both at Pitcairn and Henderson. Thirty-three species of 

fishes were new to science when first collected from the 

Islands in 1971 and have since been described. A further 

15 species were only recorded to genus when collected, 

although a number have since been identified to species 

level (Randall, 1999). 

As indicated above, a number of species that were new to 

science at the time of their discovery have been recorded 

from the Pitcairn Islands. Several of these species now 

bear a name which refers to their place of origin (their 

type locality) in some way. Thus we have Fusinus galatheae 

bountyi (a neogastropod mollusc); Cypselurus pitcairnensis 

(a flyingfish); Amphiura bountyia (a brittlestar); and 

Neonesidea blighi and Loxoconcha hendersonislandensis 

(both ostracods). 

For the curious, the Pitcairn Islands also have a number of 

endemic non-marine terrestrial species, including five land 

birds – the Pitcairn reed warbler, the Henderson fruit dove, 

the Henderson lorikeet, the Henderson rail or crake and 

the Henderson reed warbler (Brooke, 2010). Henderson 

also has nine endemic plants; Oeno had one but it could 

not be found in 1991; and Pitcairn has two endemic 

ferns and seven endemic flowering plants (Florence et al., 

1995). There are seven species (or subspecies) of terrestrial 

gastropod molluscs which are endemic to Henderson and 

a further eight from Pitcairn (Preece, 1995b). There is 

also an undetermined number of endemic insects to the 

islands (Benton, 1995a) as well as of non-flying arthropods 

(Benton & Lehtinen, 1995). It should be remembered, 

however, that this list is not complete nor is it definitive – 

it simply reflects those groups which have been studied in 

detail. 


9

2.3 Measures of protection 

The UK Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands and their 

marine waters are included within the UK’s ratification of 

the following Conventions: 

l World Heritage Convention 15 

l Ramsar Convention 16 

l Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 

l Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources 

and Environment for the South Pacific Region (signed 

June 1988) 

l International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling 

l Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species 

(CMS) – the Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata is 

included in the appendices and a Memorandum of 

Understanding has been signed by the Pitcairn Islands 

Council with CMS concerning the conservation of 

cetaceans. 

National legislation pertaining to species protection and 

protected areas includes: 

l The Fisheries Zone Ordinance 

l Local Government Regulations 1971 (Part IV) 

– see below 

l UK Overseas Territories Environmental Charter. 

Local Government Regulations 

Under Chapter XI (Local Government Ordinance), Part IV 

(Animals and Wildlife), Section 5, of the Laws of Pitcairn, 

Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands (Revised edition 

2010), it states that: 

“No person shall take, hunt, fish, capture, harass or 

intentionally kill, or attempt to take, hunt, fish, capture, 

harass or kill, any member of the following species: 

blue whale (Balaenoptera m[a]usculus); humpback 

whale (Megaptera novaeangliae); right whale 

(Eubalaena glacialis); short-tailed albatross (Diomedea 

albatrus); cahow (Pterodroma cahow); dark-rumped 

petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia); green sea turtle and 

related species (Cheloniidae); leather back sea turtle 

(Dermochelys coriacea); hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys 

imbricata); loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta); Ridley turtle 

(Lepidochelys olivacea). 

Penalty: $50.” 

The list of species presented here clearly requires updating 

as, according to the authors’ research, seven (of the 11) 

have never been recorded from the waters surrounding 

the islands: right whale Eubalaena glacialis; short-tailed 

albatross Diomedea albatrus; cahow Pterodroma cahow); 

dark-rumped petrel Pterodroma phaeopygia; leather back 

sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea; loggerhead turtle Caretta 

caretta; and Ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea. 

13. See the National Geographic Newswatch blog 

article at http://newswatch.nationalgeographic. 

com/2012/04/28/mike-fays-pitcairn-journal- 

tragic-sighting 

14. This definition requires that the region to which 

the species is endemic be defined. Thus one can 

have a ‘habitat endemic’ (e.g. only found within a 

certain habitat such as a cave or a seagrass bed); an 

‘island endemic’ (e.g. just found at Pitcairn Island); a 

‘group endemic’ (e.g. found only at two or more of 

the Pitcairn Islands), or even a ‘geographical range 

endemic’ (e.g. only found within the central South 

Pacific). 

From these examples it is clear that the use of 

the mere term endemic as such is rather vague and 

without too much value by itself. It should be noted 

that the concept of endemism very much depends on 

the knowledge of the geographical range of a species. 

Usually, a newly discovered species has only been 

found at just one limited site, and with the knowledge 

of that moment, it should be considered an island and 

probably a group endemic. However, this only lasts 

until the time when someone discovers it at another 

island group. At that moment its original status of 

Pitcairn Islands endemism will be lost. This is bound to 

be the case for many endemic organisms which are 

difficult to see or recognise, as is the case with most 

marine invertebrates. 

15. Henderson became a World Heritage Site in 1988. 

16. Five sites are currently under consideration: Oeno, 

Henderson and Ducie (totalling an area of 5,300 ha), 

and two sites at Pitcairn – Brown’s Water and the 

Coastal Waters of Pitcairn. 

Nearshore waters 17 3 

3.1 Pitcairn Island 

KEY FACTS 

Name PITCAIRN Island type Volcanic island (extinct) 

Location 25°04’S, 130°06’W Distance/bearing from 

nearest island(s) 

Dimensions 3.2 km (2 miles) long by 

1.6 km (1 mile) wide 

Oeno is 120 km to the NW. 

Henderson is 200 km to the ENE. 

Land area 4.5 km 2 (450 ha) 

Altitude Sea level to 347 m Length of coastline ~ 9.5 km long 

Origin of name First discovered by Europeans in 1767 by Capt. Philip Carteret onboard HMS Swallow, who 

named it after the look-out who had first sighted the island. Occupied by Polynesians from 

~900 to ~1450 AD. 

Population/visitors 2011 population: 65 (56 native residents and 9 non-residents). Max. population of 250 in 1936. 

Status Nearest inhabited island: Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia (480 km away). 

Important Bird Area (2010). Proposed Ramsar Site – ‘Coastal Waters’ and ‘Brown’s Water’ 

(2005) 

Overview A small, isolated rocky island, being the emergent tip of a volcano thought to be < 1 million 

years old. Has one endemic bird species (the Pitcairn warbler), a number of endemic plant 

species and two endemic fishes. The island’s waters have recently (since the early 1990s) 

become a regular haunt of small numbers of humpback whales during the austral winter. 

(Information extracted from various sources including the RSPB’s A Directory of Wetlands in Oceania 

http://www.wetlands.org/RSIS/WKBASE/OceaniaDir/Pitcairn.htm) 

Figure 6. Map of Pitcairn Island. 

(Illustration: R.A. Irving) 

Plate 6. Aerial view of Pitcairn from the west. 

(Photo: A. McDonald, 2011) 

10 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Pitcairn 

11

Plate 7. Sea-level view of Pitcairn from the east. 

(Photo: R.A. Irving) 

Plate 8. The jetty and boat shed, Bounty Bay, Pitcairn 

2011. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

3.1.1 Introduction 

Pitcairn is a rugged island with steep cliffs forming much 

of its coastline. The only two places on the island which 

offer a reasonably safe landing are Bounty Bay (on the 

north-east coast) and Tedside (on the north-west coast) 

(Figure 6; Plate 8). 

At 24° south, the subtropical nearshore waters around 

Pitcairn lack the typical coral reef formations found on 

most Pacific islands. Annual sea surface temperatures 

taken from an area to the north-east of Pitcairn (23.5°S, 

128.0°W) show the monthly mean surface temperature 

to range from 22.5°C (Aug/Sept) to 26.3°C (Feb/Mar) 

(Streten & Zillman, 1984). This is just above the lower 

limit for structural coral reef construction which is 

typically taken as 20°C in the coldest month of the year 

(Stoddart, 1969). 

Plate 9. Rockpools at Down Isaacs, Pitcairn. 


Plate 10. St Paul’s Pool, Pitcairn. 

(Photo: T.P. Dawson) 

3.1.2 Intertidal zone – habitats and species 

Accessible intertidal habitats are few and far between on 

Pitcairn. Five which can be reached without too much 

difficulty are: Down Rope (largely consisting of a coarse 

sand beach with low-lying bedrock platforms either 

side and surrounded by very high vertical cliffs); Tedside 

(fissured bedrock platforms with shallow pools and large 

angular boulders); Down Isaacs, to the west of Bounty Bay 

(bedrock platforms with shallow pools); Bounty Bay (large 

and small boulders to the east of the jetty); and St Paul’s 

Pool (a large pool with a maximum depth of 3 m at the 

eastern extremity of the island) (Plate 10). 

The pools at Down Isaacs as well as the large one at St 

Paul’s feature a number of macroalgal species including 

Sargassum obtusifolium and Caulerpa racemosa (Plates 15 

& 16). They also support a number of winkles and limpets, 

electric blue hermit crabs Calcinus elegans, Sally Lightfoot 

crabs Grapsus tenuicrustatus, and various fishes within 

them, such as blennies, damselfishes, mullets, goatfishes 

and wrasses. 

Plate 11. Shallow vertical rock face, Adam’s Rock, east of 

Bounty Bay, Pitcairn. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

Plate 12. 100 percent coral cover evident at 18–22 m 

depth off Down Isaacs, north-east coast of Pitcairn. 

(Photo: R.A. Irving). 

3.1.3 Bathymetry and marine habitats 

One might imagine that, as Pitcairn is just the tip of a 

submarine volcano which rises from the surrounding 

seafloor at a depth of some 2,500 to 3,750 m, there 

would be dramatic drop-offs and near-vertical cliffs close 

to low water mark all around the island. But this is not the 

case. The seabed appears to shelve very gradually from 10 

m to 30 m in depth for approximately 300–500 m all the 

way round the island. In places, a level terrace-like seabed 

exists, with very little discernable difference in depth for 

stretches of 150–200 m perpendicular to the shoreline. 

It is likely that, over tens of thousands of years, the 

pounding surf affecting the nearshore zone has created a 

wave-cut platform as the volcanic sand has scoured away 

the underlying bedrock to a uniform depth. 

Cover of live coral varies from 5 percent to 80 percent 

depending on the depth and the location around the 

island. Coral growth seemed most prolific in the 12–22 m 

range. However, in 1971, Randall (1999) undertook some 

of his fish collecting dives in deep water. On one such 

occasion, when diving a feature known as ‘The Bear’ off 

the north-east coast, which rises about 9 m above the 

seabed at 45 m, he recorded the live coral cover as being 

almost 100 percent. One of the most extensive areas of 

12 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Pitcairn 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Pitcairn 

Plate 13 Coral monitoring studies at 13 m depth off Pitcairn’s 

north-west coast. (Photo C. Rives &Y. Chancerelle, CRIOBE). 

Plate 14. Automatic data recorder set at 36 m depth 

off Pitcairn’s north-west coast. 

(Photo: C. Rives & Y. Chancerelle, CRIOBE) 

live coral growth is present off Adamstown at a depth of 

18–30 m, covering an area of about 2 km 2 . 

In 2009 a reef monitoring programme off Pitcairn’s 

north-west coast was initiated by the Institut des Récifs 

Coralliens du Pacifique / Centre de Recherches Insulaires 

et Observatoire de l’Environnement (Institute for Pacific 

Coral Reefs / Centre for Island Research and Observatory 

of the Environment, or IRCP / CRIOBE), based in Moorea, 

French Polynesia. The programme is part of an ongoing 

16-year long-term project monitoring the outer reef slopes 

of 20 islands spread over the four French Polynesian 

archipelagos (Australs; Marquesas; Society; Tuamotu) and 

six Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) (Cook 

Islands; Niue; Kiribati; Tokelau; Kingdom of Tonga; Wallis 

and Futuna). The project focuses on the effects of natural 

disturbances on coral reef ecosystems. 

At Pitcairn, monitoring will be of fish populations (species 

richness, sizes and abundance) and of Scleractinia coral 

populations (photo surveys of genus richness, coverage 

percentages, landforms) at a location of 25°3.821’S, 

130°7.254’W. At a second survey site (25° 03.361’ S, 

130° 07.596’ W) certain hydrological parameters will 

be continuously recorded (temperatures to the nearest 

milli-degree, swell heights and frequencies, and sea 

13

level heights). A Memorandum of Understanding was 

signed to facilitate cooperation for this project in June 

2011 between the Pitcairn Island Government’s Natural 

Resources Division and IRCP / CRIOBE (Chancerelle & Lison 

de Loma, 2009). 

3.1.4 Marine species 

Those groups of marine taxa which have been investigated 

at Pitcairn are commented on below, together with any 

noteworthy species. 

SEAwEEDS 

Several species of macroalgae (seaweeds) occur in 

Pitcairn’s nearshore waters, whereas there is a noticeable 

lack of macroalgae at Henderson, Oeno and Ducie. Why 

this should be so is unclear, but it may be to do with 

Pitcairn’s position (it is the most southerly of the four 

islands) and the slightly lower temperature of its waters. 

There is also likely to be a higher nutrient input to the 

waters around Pitcairn accompanying rainwater run-off, 

compared with the other islands. The only published 

work on the island’s marine algae which the authors have 

come across (Tsuda, 1976) is based on samples collected 

during the 1970/71 expedition. As just five samples 

were collected at the time (three from the intertidal 

and two from the subtidal), it is likely that more species 

of macroalgae will be added to the current total of 13 

species. Some notes on the distribution of dominant 

species were made by the authors during their visits to 

Pitcairn in 2003 (RI) and 2011 (RI & TD) and, as this report 

was going to press, some initial findings of the National 

Geographical Society’s 2012 Pristine Seas expedition to the 

Pitcairn Islands announced a further eight algal records via 

its website, bringing the total number of species to 24. 

Bushy brown algae (Sargassum odontocarpum 18 ) dominate 

the upward-facing surfaces of bedrock outcrops which are 

present between 14 m to 22 m depth around much of the 

island, with local variations in percentage cover (10 to 70 

percent) depending on local sediment smothering, scour 

and grazing by sea urchins. Also present on these outcrops 

are clumps of Lobophora variegata and a Padina-like 

alga too. There are a number of encrusting coralline algal 

species too, which are both prolific in their coverage and 

Plate 15. Sargassum obtusifolium. Intertidal pool, 

Down Isaacs, Pitcairn. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

widespread around the island, but these have yet to be 

studied. 

FORAMS 19 

In 1991 a number of sediment and seaweed samples, 

collected by Richard Preece of the Sir Peter Scott 

Commemorative Expedition, were later analysed for 

Foraminifera (forams) by John Whittaker and Richard 

Hodgkinson of the Natural History Museum, London 

(Whittaker & Hodgkinson, 1995). Note that no 

Foraminifera were found in the sediment samples taken. 

A total of 11 species 20 of Foraminifera have been recorded 

from Pitcairn, although this is by no means a complete 

record (see Appendix 5). 

SPONGES 

As far as can be determined, no sponges have been 

collected from the intertidal nor from the subtidal at 

Pitcairn. However, small and cryptic encrusting forms are 

known to exist, though they are rare (R.A. Irving, pers. 

obs.). 

CORALS, etc. 

A total of 15 species of scleractinian (stony) coral are listed 

from Pitcairn by Paulay (1989), based on collections made 

from three expeditions: in 1967 (by H.A. Rehder, D.M. 

Devaney and B.R. Wilson using a dredge); in 1970–71 (by 

J.E. Randall and H.A. Rehder using scuba); and in 1987 

(by G. Paulay using scuba). However, as Paulay only spent 

four days at Pitcairn with specimens being brought to him 

by divers, he does not consider his list for Pitcairn to be 

comprehensive. 

A number of soft coral species (Order Alcyonarea) are 

present in the subtidal around Pitcairn, though these 

have yet to be identified. There are very few anemones 

(Order Actinaria) and those that are present are often well 

hidden (cryptic). The few species that are present have yet 

to be identified. Similarly, hydroids (Order Leptothecata) 

are small and sparse. It is likely that most of these forms 

struggle to become established as a result of grazing 

pressure from sea urchins and certain fish species. Fire 

coral (Order Milleporidae) Millepora sp. is also present 

at Pitcairn, but in much smaller abundances than at 

Henderson (R.A. Irving, pers. obs.). 

Plate 16. Caulerpa racemosa. Intertidal pool, Down Isaacs, 

Pitcairn. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

CRUSTACEANS 

While there are a number of different crustacean families 

represented both intertidally and subtidally at Pitcairn, 

these have yet to be studied in any detail. A total of 29 

non-ostracod species has so far been recorded, together 

with 47 ostracod 21 22 species. 

Of the larger decapods, two species of spiny lobster occur 

at Pitcairn – the pronghorn or red spiny lobster Panulirus 

penicillatus (Plate 17) and the Easter Island spiny lobster 

Panulirus pascuensis (Plate 18). The former species has 

white stripes along its legs and the latter has blue stripes. 

Individuals of both species are caught by divers on a 

regular basis, either for sharing with other islanders on 

‘feast days’, selling to the local restaurant when open, or 

for selling to chefs onboard visiting cruise ships. The Aesop 

slipper lobster Scyllarides haanii (Plate 19) is another 

commercially important crustacean which is caught using 

baited pots – see also section 3.1.5. 

Recently, the presence of a small population of a caridean 

shrimp Macrobrachium latimanus (von Martens, 1868) 

has been confirmed in an isolated freshwater pond on 

Pitcairn Island (Plate 20). It is intriguing to think how 

the population might have got there – by deliberate 

introduction or possibly as larval stages attached to the 

muddy feet of migrant birds? In fact, neither of these is 

the case. It turns out that this shrimp has an intriguing 

life cycle: although the adults live in freshwater pools, its 

larvae must develop in a saline environment in the open 

sea (known as obligate amphidromous migration). The 

adults have to journey to the sea in order to shed their 

eggs. After a period of some months passing through 

several larval development phases, the juveniles then 

migrate back upstream to the adult freshwater habitat. 

The population must have become established at Pitcairn 

from larvae that had got to the island from Mangareva in 

the Gambier Islands (or possibly other islands to the west), 

where the species has also been recorded. 

MOLLUSCS 

Over 80 marine molluscan taxa have been recorded from 

Pitcairn, although the molluscan fauna is still poorly 

known (Preece, 1995a). 



Table 4. Species of scleractinian coral recorded from Pitcairn (after Paulay, 1989) which are of conservation concern, 

with IUCN conservation status from Palomares et al. (2011) (excludes categories: LR, LC, DD & NE). 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Notes 

Acropora acuminate (Verrill 1864) VU Presence at Pitcairn queried by Paulay. Also recorded from Ducie & Oeno. 

Acropora secale (Studer 1878) NT Presence at Pitcairn queried by Paulay. Also recorded from Oeno. 

Porites cf. lobata (Dana 1846) NT Also recorded from Henderson & Ducie. 

Favia mathaii (Vaughan 1918) NT Also recorded from Henderson. 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened 

Pitcairn was the first place where the gastropod Fusinus 

galatheae bountyi (Plate 21) was found in depths of 

40–100 m (Rehder & Wilson, 1975). It is believed to still 

be a subspecies endemic to Pitcairn, although it may occur 

at neighbouring localities. It is a predatory gastropod and 

is frequently found in the baited pots set out around the 

island to catch slipper lobsters. 

A species of octopus, ‘Octopus’ oliveri, is regularly caught 

in shallow rocky areas around Bounty Bay (Plate 22). It 

is also found in the intertidal at Henderson, particularly 

around the north-west point. The octopus was thought to 

have been an undescribed species when encountered on 

Henderson in 1991 (Preece, 1995a), but it has since been 

found to be the same species as is found elsewhere in the 

Pacific – in the Kermadec Islands off New Zealand and also 

at Hawai’i (F.G. Hochberg, pers. comm.). However, it is still 

not clear as to whether it belongs to the genus Octopus 

(Norman & Hochberg, 2005), hence the inverted commas. 

Its population size at Pitcairn appears to be able to sustain 

the numbers which are fished there. 

STARFISH, SEA URCHINS & SEA CUCUMBERS 

(Echinodermata) 

A total of 23+ species of echinoderms (sea urchins [2+ 

spp]; starfish/sea stars [7 spp]; brittlestars [12 spp]; sea 

cucumbers [2+ spp]) are listed from Pitcairn by Paulay 

(1989). The number of brittlestar species is relatively high 

as most of these were collected by dredge (Devaney, 

1974). These species, together with their IUCN Red List 

status (all of which are ‘Not Evaluated’) are set out in 

Appendix 5. 

REEF FISHES 

From the literature searches carried out for this report, 

a total of 270 species of reef fishes have been recorded 

from Pitcairn. This equates to 77 percent of the total 

number of reef fishes (352) recorded from all four islands. 

Randall (1999) gave the figure of 271, which has been 

updated here to include some newly described species 

as well as discounting some dubious records. Many more 

species have been recorded from Pitcairn than from 

the other three islands in the group, which reflects the 

greater number of habitats available at Pitcairn. A total of 

15

Plate 17. Pronghorn or red spiny lobster Panulirus 

penicillatus. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

Plate 19. Aesop slipper lobster Scyllarides haanii. (Photo: 

T.P. Dawson) 

Plate 21. The shell of the gastropod Fusinus galatheae 

bountyi, a subspecies believed to be endemic to Pitcairn. 

(Photo: R.C. Preece) 

33 species (all collected by Dr J.E. Randall) were new to 

science when first discovered at Pitcairn in 1971 (Randall, 

1999), although several of these have now been found 

elsewhere. These are listed below in Table 5, together with 

those species regarded as being of conservation concern. 

The most common fishes observed at diving depths of 

about 10–20 m at Pitcairn are the wrasses Thalasoma 

lutescens and Coris sp., the surgeonfish Acanthurus 

leucopareius, the damselfishes Chrysiptera galba and 

Stegastes fasicolatus, and drummer/nanwi Kyphosus 

bigibbus (Randall, 1999; R.A. Irving, pers. obs.). Nanwi 

(the local vernacular name) occur in very large shoals 

(up to 300 or so) near rocky outcrops, upon which tens 

of individuals may suddenly swoop and feed voraciously 

Plate 18. Easter Island spiny lobster Panulirus pascuensis. 


Plate 20. The ‘freshwater’ shrimp Macrobrachium 

latimanus. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

Plate 22. The octopus ‘Octopus’ oliveri is often caught in 

shallow rocky areas around Bounty Bay. 

(Photo: T.P. Dawson) 

before being moved on by a dominant individual (which 

may well display different colouration). This species is 

an important food fish for the islanders (see also section 

3.1.5). 

The two shark species which are most likely to be 

seen at Pitcairn are the Galapagos shark Carcharhinus 

galapagensis and the whitetip reef shark Triaenodon 

obesus. The teeth of a caught shark will be used as teeth 

in hand-carved wooden sharks which are crafted for sale. 

To date, two tiger sharks Galeocerdo cuvier have been 

reported from Pitcairn, one in 1980 and one in 1985. In 

addition, a spotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari, with a 

disc width of 1.5 m, was caught off the jetty in Bounty Bay 

in 1974. 

Table 5. Noteworthy reef fishes occurring at Pitcairn. 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Notes 

Many-spined 

butterflyfish 

Hemitaurichthys 

multispinosus 

Pitcairn angelfish 

Genicanthus spinus 

Hotumatua’s angelfish 

Centropyge hotumatua 

Smith’s butterflyfish 

Chaetodon smithi 

Pitcairn parrotfish 

Scarus longipinnis 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Giant grouper 

Epinephalus lanceolatus 

Surge grouper 

Epinephalus socialis 

Moray eel 

Gymnothorax australicola 

Moray eel 

Uropterygius kamar 

Lizardfish 

Synodus capricornis 

Flyingfish 

Cypselurus pitcairnensis 

Squirrelfish 

Sargocentron hormion 

Doublespot perchlet 

Plectranthias 

fourmanoiri 

Dwarf perchlet 

Plectranthias nanus 

Redblotch perchlet 

Plectranthias winniensis 

Longfin anthias 

Pseudanthias ventralis 

Southern anthias 

Pseudogramma australis 

Cardinalfish 

Apogon caudicinctus 

Damselfish 

Chromis pamae 

Damselfish 

Chrysiptera galba 

Damselfish 

Dascyllus flavicaudus 



LC New species (first discovered at Pitcairn in 1971 by J.E. Randall) 

and endemic to Pitcairn Island. Depth range 40–44 m. Inhabits 

seaward reefs; apparently a deep dweller. Ref. Allen, G.R. (1985). 

(Photo: J.E. Randall) 

LC New species, first discovered at Pitcairn in 1971 by J.E. Randall. 

Depth range 30–60 m. Max. length: 35 cm. Distribution: Eastern 

Pacific, Cook Islands to Ducie Atoll (Pitcairn). 



Depth range 30–60 m. Max. length 35 cm. Distribution: All four 

Pitcairn Islands, the Australs, and Rapa. 



Depth range: 10-30 m. Max. length 17 cm. Distribution: Pitcairn 

Island, Rapa & Ilots de Bass. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

LC New species, first discovered at Pitcairn in 1971. Depth range: 

10-55 m. Max. length 40 cm. Distribution: Pitcairn & Henderson; 

Great Barrier Reef and southern Pacific islands. (Photo: J.E. Randall) 

Notes Species IUCN 

Code* 

VU Also recorded from 

Henderson. Vulnerable 

status due to overfishing 

elsewhere. 

NT Typically present in 

surge zone, 1–4 m. Near 

Threatened status due to 

overfishing elsewhere. 

White-tip reef shark 

Triaenodon obesus 

Spotted eagle ray 

Aetobatus narinari 

NE New species Tahiti damselfish 

Pomachromis fuscidorsalis 

NE New species Emery’s gregory 

Stegastes emeryi 

NE New species Feminine wrasse 

Anampses femininus 

NE New species Scott’s wrasse 

Cirrhlabrus scottorum 

Notes 

NT Present at all four islands. 

Near Threatened status due to 

practice of finning worldwide. 

NT Only recorded from Pitcairn, 

though has circumtropical 

distribution. Near Threatened 

status due to overfishing 

elsewhere. 

NE New species 




NE New species Wrasse Coris sp. NE New species 

NE New species Black-ear wrasse 

Halichoeres 

melasmapomus 


NE New species Wrasse 

Pseudocheilinus citrinus 


NE New species Tailspot wrasse 

Pseudocheilinus ocellatus 


NE New species Polynesian wrasse 

Pseudojuloides atavai 


NE New species Wrasse Thalassoma 

heiseri 


NE New species Blenny Alticus sp. NE New species 

NE New species Eyebar goby 

Gnatholepis cauerensis 

NE New subspecies 

NE New species Goby Trimmatom sp. NE New species 

NE New species Pitcairn sandlance 

Ammodytoides leptus 


* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened; LC = Least Concern; NE = Not Evaluated 

17

TURTLES 

Two species of turtles are likely to be seen in the waters 

surrounding Pitcairn, the hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata 

and the green turtle Chelonia mydas. During 1983 (one 

particular year when sightings were recorded) there were 

eight sightings of green turtles and six of hawksbill turtles 

(Groombridge & Luxmoore 1989). Neither of these species 

nest at Pitcairn, however, as there are no suitable sandy 

beaches. 

SEABIRDS 

Compared with the three uninhabited islands within the 

group, Pitcairn’s seabirds are relatively few in number. 

The likely reasons why this should be so are humans, feral 

cats and introduced rats. Prehistoric breeding seabird 

populations were likely to have been substantially higher. 

Those species presently breeding on the island include 

black noddy Anous minutus (20 pairs), brown noddy 

Anous stolidus (100 pairs), blue-grey noddy Procelsterna 

cerulea (10 pairs), red-tailed tropicbird Phaethon 

rubricauda (30-50 pairs) and Christmas shearwater 

Puffinus nativitatis (probably

Head 1 

body text 

Plate 27. The ‘Ocean Fish’ Pitcairn Islands stamp issue 

from 2007 depicting six species of open-water fish 

regularly caught off Pitcairn. Top row, from left to 

right: dogtooth tuna Gymnosarda unicolor; wahoo 

Acanthocybium solandri; mahi-mahi Coryphaena 

hippurus; bottom row, from left to right: yellowfin tuna 

Thunnus albacares; giant trevally Caranx ignobilis; bonito 

Sarda chiliensis lineolata. 

array of gastrointestinal, neurological and cardiological 

symptoms with treatment options being ineffective or 

very limited (Dickey and Plakas, 2009). In particular, the 

coral reefs of Mangareva in the Gambier Islands hold 

large amounts of the dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus 

toxicus, a ciguatoxin precursor which attaches itself to 

algae and traverses the food chain bioaccumulating in 

carnivorous fin fish. High subsequent and ongoing rates 

of intoxications by ciguatera recorded in the Gambier 

Islands have been associated with French nuclear testing 

in the area around Moruroa Atoll and associated military 

infrastructure development on Mangareva conducted 

during the period 1968 to the mid-1970s, although the 

environmental pathways to the outbreak have not been 

established. While the existing presence of ciguatera 

is a potential barrier to the development of small-scale 

commercial fisheries in the Pacific Islands more generally, 

the Secretariat of the Pacific Community has proposed 

that the Pitcairn community may be in a good position to 

develop their inshore reef fisheries commercially for export 

to Mangareva (Michel Blanc, pers. comm., Nov. 2011), 

although the purchase and installation of a blast freezer 

will be necessary to ensure production meets food safety 

regulation standards. However, as yet no assessment of 

stocks has been undertaken and the economics of such a 

venture have to be studied in detail. 

20 

17. ‘Nearshore waters’ here are defined as extending to 

approximately 2 km from low water mark or shallower 

than the 100 m depth contour. 

18. Note that Sargassum odontocarpum was originally 

recorded as Sargassum coriifolium by Tsuda (1976). 

The taxonomy of the genus Sargassum in French 

Polynesia was revised in 2008 (Mattio et al., 2008). 

19. The Foraminifera (“hole bearers”), or forams for short, 

are a large group of amoeboid protists which are 

among the commonest plankton species. They have 

reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm 

that branch and merge to form a dynamic net. They 

typically produce a test, or shell, which can have 

either one or multiple chambers, some becoming 

quite elaborate in structure. These shells are made of 

calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or agglutinated sediment 

particles. About 275,000 species are recognised, 

both living and fossil. They are usually less than 1 mm 

in size, but some are much larger, with the largest 

species reaching up to 20 cm. [Wikipedia entry, 

24Nov11. URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foraminifera]. 

20. Note that only eight species of Foraminifera were listed 

from all four Pitcairn Islands by Palomares et al., 2011. 

21. Ostracoda is a class of the Crustacea, whose members 

are sometimes known as seed shrimps because of their 

appearance. Some 65,000 species (13,000 of which are 

extant taxa) have been identified, grouped into several 

orders. Ostracods are small crustaceans, typically around 

1 millimetre in size. Their bodies are flattened from 

side to side and protected by a bivalve-like, chitinous 

or calcareous carapace or ‘shell’. Ecologically, marine 

ostracods can be part of the zooplankton or (most 

commonly) they are part of the benthos, living on or 

inside the upper layer of the seafloor. 

22. The figure of 47 species consists of 28 named species, three 

new genera and 16 new species (Whatley et al. 2004). 

23. (http://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/studycenter/ 

cruiseship.shtml, last accessed 7/12/2011). 

3.2 Henderson 

KEY FACTS 

Name HENDERSON Island type Elevated coral atoll 

Location 24°21’S, 128°19’W Distance/bearing from 


The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Pitcairn The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Henderson 

Approx. 200 km ENE of Pitcairn; and 

approx. 360 km W of Ducie 

Dimensions 9.6 km long x 5.1 km wide Land area 43 km 2 (4,310 ha)* 

Altitude Sea level to approx. 33 m Length of coastline 26.4 km 

Origin of name European discovery by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who passed without landing in 1606 and 

named it San João Baptista. Received current name in 1831 after it was visited by the British ship 

Hercules in 1819 under Capt. Henderson. From 1819–1831, however, it was known as Elizabeth 

Island. 

Population/visitors Uninhabited. Occasional 2–3 day visits by Pitcairners to harvest miro wood for carving. A stopoff 

for a few cruise ships (e.g. World Discoverer), whose passengers land for 2–3 hours on North 

Beach. 

Status World Heritage Site (1988); Endemic Bird Area; Important Bird Area; Alliance for Zero Extinction 

site (Brooke, 2010). Proposed Ramsar site (2005). 

Overview One of the least disturbed raised coral atolls in the world, with its terrestrial ecosystems largely 

intact. The island supports a large breeding population of seabirds, including the endemic 

Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata and also has four endemic landbirds, one of which is a 

flightless rail. The beaches and reef flats are important for wintering bristle-thighed curlews 

Numenius tahitiensis. An attempt was made to eradicate rats from the island in 2011 but this 

was unsuccessful. 

(Information extracted from various sources including the RSPB’s A Directory of Wetlands in Oceania: 

http://www.wetlands.org/RSIS/WKBASE/OceaniaDir/Pitcairn.htm) 

* Updated figure for land area obtained in 2011 using GPS. Previously, the figure was 37 km2 (3,700 ha) 

(RSPB, Henderson Island Restoration Project). 

Figure 8. Henderson Island (after Irving, 1995). 

Plate 29. (right) East Beach, Henderson. 


Plate 28. Aerial view of the north end of the East Beach, 

Henderson. (Photo: SPSCEPI) 

21


Henderson Island is a raised coral atoll composed of 

coralline limestone (makatea). The island consists of a flat 

plateau, some 30 m above sea level, densely covered by 

6 m-high scrub with a slight depression in the centre 

where there was once a lagoon. The island is surrounded 

by steep bare limestone cliffs, with sandy beaches present 

off the north, east and north-west coasts. 

The island has no surface freshwater except for some 

droplets which occur in caves. Fresh or brackish springs 

have been located below high tide level at North Beach 

and North-West Beach. No readily available source of 

groundwater has yet been located. The surface of the 

island is largely reef rubble, with some areas of dissected 

limestone, especially around the periphery. 

There is a fringing reef averaging 50–100 m in width 

around most of the island except in the south and west. 

In three places, North Beach, North-West Beach and 

East Beach, the reef extends up to 200 m offshore and 

is backed by a wide, gently shelving coral sand beach 

over bedrock which is partly exposed. The reef off the 

East Beach has a poorly developed lagoon; those off the 

North and North-West beaches are seawardly sloping reef 

platforms without a well-defined reef crest. There are two 

narrow channels through the reef on the north and northwest 

coasts. Tides are semi-diurnal, with a tidal range at 

spring tides of approximately 1.5 m. 

On 1 January 1989 Henderson Island was inscribed 

into the UNESCO World Heritage List under the 1972 

Convention concerning the Protection of the World’s 

Cultural and Natural Heritage. 

3.2.2 Intertidal zone – habitats and species 

Henderson has a reef platform adjacent to its North and 

East Beaches and, to a lesser extent, off the North-West 

Beach. The near-horizontal platform ranges from 

20–40 m wide at the North-West beach; 40–75 m wide 

at the North Beach; and 40–90 m wide at the East Beach 

(Irving, 1995). At low water on spring tides, large areas 

of smooth horizontal rock are exposed at these beaches. 

Narrow (

Table 7. Specimens of Crustacea collected from 

Henderson by R.A. Irving and J. Jamieson in 1991; 

these still have to be identified to species. 

Taxon Probable no. of species 

Majinae 1 

Xanthidae 9 

Grapsidae 4 

Portunidae 2 

Ocypodidae 1 

Scyllaridae 1 

Palinuridae 1 

Anomura (hermit crabs) 4 

Thalassinidae (lobsterlike) 

1 

Natantia (shrimp-like) 1 

Alphaeidae 1 

Stomatopoda 1 

Hapalocarcinidae 

(gall crab) 

1 

Cirrepedia: Thoracica 2 

Cirrepedia: 

1 

Acrothoracica 

Total probable 

no. of species: 31 

CRUSTACEANS 

Collections of crustaceans were made from Henderson 

by R.A. Irving and J. Jamieson in 1991. However, many of 

these specimens have still to be identified to species (they 

currently reside at the Natural History Museum, London). 

Table 7 sets out the probable number of species within this 

collection, all of which were collected from Henderson. 

Other crustaceans which have been identified from 

Henderson are included in Appendix 5. The marine 

Ostracoda have been examined by Whatley & Roberts 

(1995) who identified 33 species from Henderson (seven 

samples), Pitcairn (one sample) and Oeno (one sample), 

though more recent work by Whatley et al. (2004) has 

increased the number of species from these three islands 

to 47. Whatley & Roberts (1995) report that 25 of these 

species are likely to be endemic. 

MOLLUSCA 

A total of 326 taxa of marine molluscs have been recorded 

from Henderson Island (out of the 502 taxa recorded for 

the Pitcairn Islands as a whole). Preece (1995a), as part 

of the Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition to the 

Pitcairn Islands in 1991/92, made considerable additions 

to the earlier collections of Harald Rehder (in Rehder & 

Randall, 1975; Rehder & Wilson, 1975; Rehder in Fosberg, 

Sachet & Stoddart, 1983) and Gustav Paulay (Paulay, 

1989). 

Plate 31 (top) & 32 (above). Two species of the hermit 

crab family Paguridae which spend most of their time on 

land at Henderson but still need to shed their eggs in the 

sea. (top) The strawberry hermit crab Coenobita perlatus 

(Photo: J. Jamieson); and (above) the coconut crab Birgus 

latro (Photo: M. Brooke). 

Preece (1995a) added considerably to the known 

molluscan fauna by searching for and collecting many 

small gastropod species in particular. The figure of 502 

is by no means comprehensive. Indeed, Preece (1995a) 

estimates the shallow-water marine molluscan fauna of 

the Pitcairn Islands together to be composed of about 700 

species. A list of all molluscs recorded from Henderson 

(and the other islands in the group) is included in 

Appendix 5. 

The gastropod Engina rosacea was first described from 

Henderson by Smith (1913) and has yet to be reported at 

any other locations. A species of octopus ‘Octopus’ oliveri, 

thought to have been a new species when found at 

Henderson in 1991, has also been recorded from Pitcairn 

(Plate 22). However, it is still not clear as to whether it 

belongs to the genus Octopus (Norman & Hochberg, 

2005) – hence the inverted commas. 

STARFISH, SEA URCHINS AND 

SEA CUCUMBERS (Echinodermata) 

A total of 32 species of echinoderms (sea urchins [12 

spp], starfish/sea stars [4 spp], brittlestars [6 spp] and sea 

cucumbers [10 spp]) are listed from Henderson by Paulay 

(1989). These species, together with their IUCN Red 

List status (all of which are ‘Not Evaluated’), are set out 

in Appendix 5. Noteworthy species are commented on 

below. 

Plate 33. The nudibranch Dendrodoris tuberculosa, off 

North-West Beach, Henderson. This is one of the largest 

species of nudibranch in the world and this particular 

specimen (at ~25 cm long) was almost twice the size 

of the previous largest recorded individual (Edmunds & 

Preece, 1996). (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

Plate 34. The purple slate pencil urchin (Pitkern: fetuei) 

Heterocentrotus trigonarius in among various corals. 

North end of East Beach, Henderson. (Photo: M. Brooke) 

Plate 35. The red slate pencil urchin Heterocentrotus 

mammillatus. Intertidal pool, Down Isaacs, Pitcairn. 


24 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Henderson 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Henderson 

Slate pencil urchins Heterocentrotus trigonarius 

and H. mammillatus 

The distribution of the purple slate pencil urchin 

H. trigonarius (Plate 34) is widespread throughout 

Polynesia where it is found in the surf zone on reef fronts 

and on outer reef flats (Paulay, 1989). At Henderson, 

Oeno and Ducie populations are unusually dense (up to 

one to two individuals per square metre in places) and 

consist of very large individuals which have a different 

colour pattern (uniformly dark blue violet) and shape to 

those in central Polynesia. They occur in waters up to 3 m 

deep in the surf zone and on the fore-reef. Paulay (1989) 

suggests that their abundance within these Islands is at 

least in part the result of lack of human predation, as the 

species is frequently harvested by Polynesians elsewhere. 

Interestingly, H. trigonarius is not found at Pitcairn. 

The red slate pencil urchin H. mammillatus (Plate 35) has 

a much more limited distribution than H. trigonarius, 

extending from Ducie westwards to Raroia in the 

Tuamotus (Paulay, 1989). Typically, it lives in crevices on 

fore-reef from 10 to 20+ m depth at Pitcairn, Henderson 

and Ducie, though on occasion it may be found in 

shallower depths. 

The washed-up spines of both of these urchins on the 

strandline of Henderson’s beaches have recently started to 

be collected by Pitcairners and made into jewellery for sale 

locally and for export. 

Long-spined sea urchin Diadema savignyi 

Sea urchins are often nocturnal (they may be preyed upon 

by triggerfish and pufferfish in particular, despite their 

protective spines) and usually hide away during daylight 

hours, tightly wedged under rocks or in crevices. However, 

in exposed situations, such as at Henderson, where there 

are insufficient hiding places, they cluster together to form 

large aggregations. These aggregations may consist of 

as many as 2,000 individual D. savignyi, spine to spine, 

covering areas up to 100 m 2 in depths of about 8–30 m 

(Plate 36). D. savignyi is also found at Ducie and Oeno. 

Crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci 

In general, asteroids (starfish) and ophiuroids (brittlestars) 

are rare at Henderson. Prior to 1991, the only record of 

the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci within the 

Pitcairn Islands was from the lagoon at Ducie in 1970/71, 

where Rehder and Randall (1975) reported encountering 

just one individual. In December 1991, however, Irving 

(1995) found it at Henderson and counted 150 individuals 

in an area of approximately 100 m 2 within the depth 

range of 32–38 m off the North-West Beach (Plate 37). 

Acanthaster planci is known to be a voracious predator 

of corals and its presence at Henderson was a cause for 

concern. Large numbers of the starfish are known to 

suddenly appear on a reef, gorge themselves on live coral 

polyps – which then leaves the coral dead – and then 

disappear as mysteriously and rapidly as they arrived. Mass 

coral mortality events, such as was reported by Rehder 

& Randall (1975) at Ducie in 1971, may well have been 

caused by outbreaks of A. planci in the past. 

25

Head 1 

body text 

Plate 36. An aggregation of long-spined sea urchins 

Diadema savignyi on Henderson’s fore-reef. 


Plate 38. Whitetip reef shark Triaenodon obesus being 

followed by a grey reef shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos 

off the south-west coast of Henderson. (Photo: R.A. Irving) 

Table 8. Noteworthy reef fishes occuring at Henderson. 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Notes 

Squirrelfish 

Sargocentron 

megalops 

Henderson triplefin 

Enneapterygius 

ornatus 

Humphead wrasse 

Cheilinus undulatus 

Giant grouper 

Epinephalus 

lanceolatus 

Surge grouper 

Epinephalus socialis 

Grey reef shark 

Carcharhinus 

amblyrhynchos 

White-tip reef shark 

Triaenodon obesus 

Black-tip reef shark 

Carcharhinus 

melanopterus 

26 

NE Endemic to Henderson Island. Found at 49 m 

depth, which may be near the upper limit of its 

depth range. 

Ref. Randall (1998) 

NE Endemic to Henderson Island. Depth range 0–1 m. 

Found on rocky shores. 

Ref. Fricke (1997) 

Plate 37. Crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci at 

34 m depth off North-West Beach, Henderson in 1991. 


Plate 39. A female green turtle Chelonia mydas making 

her way up Henderson’s East Beach prior to laying. (Photo: 

S. Waldren) 

EN Solitary individual observed at Henderson in 30 m depth (Irving, 1995). 

Endangered status due to overfishing elsewhere. 

VU Also recorded from Pitcairn. Vulnerable status due to overfishing elsewhere. 

NT Typically present in surge zone, 1–4 m. Near Threatened status due to 

overfishing elsewhere. 

NT The commonest shark species at Henderson. Present all round the island, though 

fewer encounters off the east coast. Near Threatened status due to practice of 

finning worldwide. 

NT Tends to stay around the southern end of the island. Near Threatened status due 

to practice of finning worldwide. 

NT Present all round the island, though fewer encounters off the east coast. Near 

Threatened status due to practice of finning worldwide. 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened; 

NE = Not Evaluated. 


REEF FISHES 

A total of 173 species of reef fishes has been recorded 

from Henderson (49 percent), out of a total for the Pitcairn 

group as a whole of 352 species (Randall, 1999; Irving 

et al., 1995). Many more species have been recorded 

from Pitcairn (270), which reflects the greater number of 

habitats available there. 

The commonest shark encountered at Henderson is the 

grey reef shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, typically 

as singles or in small groups in open water or on the 

fore-reef. This species, however, has yet to be recorded 

at Pitcairn, and the Galapagos shark Carcharhinus 

galapagensis, present at Pitcairn, has only been recorded 

on one occasion in 2008 from Henderson (G. Wragg, pers. 

comm.). Whitetip reef sharks Triaenodon obesus, however, 

are found at both islands (Plate 38). 

TURTLES 

Green turtles Chelonia mydas (Plate 39) nest on 

Henderson’s East Beach. The main nesting season is 

around January to March. Observations in 1991–1992 

Breeding 

Non-breeding 


suggested about 10 females may be using the island. 

Individuals were seen, some in mating pairs, in the 

shallows off East Beach, as well as on the beach itself. 

While 10 is a low number in global terms, it is a total 

that represents about 1 percent of the French Polynesian 

population (Brooke, 1995c). In addition to activity on the 

East Beach, Brooke (1995c) also recorded one laying on 

North Beach (29 April 1991); one landing, but not digging, 

on the North-West Beach (late April/early May 1991); and, 

more recently, there were signs of two separate diggings 

on North Beach in July 2011 (M. Brooke, pers. comm.). 

Chelonia mydas is listed as Endangered on the IUCN’s 

Red List (IUCN, 2012). Very little is known about their 

migratory movements in this part of the world once they 

return to the sea from a nesting beach. The green turtle 

has a circumglobal distribution, occurring throughout 

tropical and, to a lesser extent, subtropical waters. They 

are highly migratory and undertake complex migrations 

through geographically disparate habitats. Nesting is 

known to occur in more than 80 countries worldwide 

(Hirth, 1997). 

Table 9. Seabirds noted at Henderson (all information taken from Brooke 1995a & b and Brooke et al., 2010a). 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Notes 

Great frigatebird Fregata minor LC Breeding population estimated to be 100 pairs. 

Black noddy Anous minutus LC Breeding population estimated to be 100 pairs. 

Brown noddy Anous stolidus LC Breeding population estimated to be 100 pairs. 

Fairy tern Gygis alba LC Breeding population estimated to be 5,000–10,000 

pairs. 

Blue-grey ternlet Procelsterna cerulea LC Breeding population estimated to be 10 pairs. 

Red-tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda LC Breeding population estimated to be 250 pairs. 

Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata EN Breeding population estimated to be 16,000 pairs 

(>95% of world population). 

Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica LC Breeding population estimated to be 11,100 pairs 

(20% of world population). 

Kermadec petrel Pterodroma neglecta LC Breeding population estimated to be 10,000 pairs 

(20% of world population). 

Murphy’s petrel Pterodroma ultima NT Breeding population estimated to be 2,500 pairs. 

Masked booby Sula dactylactra LC Breeding population estimated to be 50 pairs. 

Red-footed booby Sula sula LC Breeding population estimated to be 100–200 pairs. 

Christmas shearwater Puffinus nativitatis LC Present but not breeding. 

White-tailed tropicbird Phaethon lepturus LC A rare visitor. 

Sanderling Calidris alba NE Two birds visited from late-Nov 1991 to mid-Jan 1992. 

Bristle-thighed curlew Numenius tahitiensis VU Northern winter maximum of 40–50 birds. 

Wandering tattler Tringa incana24 NE Max. no. at any one time of 30 birds during the 

northern winter. 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened; LC = Least 

Concern; NE = Not Evaluated. 

27

SEABIRDS 

Being uninhabited, seldom visited and ecologically 

undisturbed, Henderson hosts large breeding populations 

of seabirds. The island is the only known breeding site 

in the world for the Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata 

(although there may be other sites in French Polynesia 

[M. Brooke, pers. comm.]) and, together with Oeno, 

the two islands have an internationally significant overwintering 

(Northern Hemisphere) population of bristlethighed 

curlews Numenius tahitiensis. A summary of the 

island’s seabird importance is given in Table 9. 

Henderson is, without question, one of the petrel capitals 

of the world (Brooke, 2010). The island is the only known 

site where the Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata breeds 

(16,000 pairs), and significant numbers of Herald petrels 

Pterodroma heraldica (11,100 pairs), Kermadec petrels 

Pterodroma neglecta (10,000 pairs) and Murphy’s petrels 

Pterodroma ultima (2,500 pairs) are also present (numbers 

given are breeding maxima in 1991). 

Of the migratory population of bristle-thighed curlew 

Numenius tahitiensis, 40–50 individuals have been 

recorded on Henderson as a maximum number over 

the northern winter (Brooke, 2010). Together with the 

numbers spending time on Oeno (approximately 100 

birds), this constitutes an internationally significant 

population (i.e. almost 2 percent of the world population 

of approximately 7,000). 

Before the arrival of the Polynesians to Henderson (and 

the rats they brought with them), seabird numbers on the 

island have been estimated to have been in the region of 

6 million pairs. This number has fallen to just 40,000 pairs 

today (Brooke, 1995b & Table 9 above). 

CETACEANS 

No published data on cetaceans are available for 

Henderson. However, humpback whales are known to be 

regular visitors, with four or five individuals being noted 

between July and September in 2003, 2009 and 2011 (M. 

Brooke, pers. comm.). 

3.2.5 Nearshore fisheries 

As Henderson is uninhabited, no nearshore fishing is done 

on a regular basis. Pitcairners are likely to catch a few 

fish for eating during their infrequent visits to the island, 

although no records exist of catches. The range of species 

which might be targeted is likely to be similar to those 

caught at Pitcairn. 

Figure 9. Around 50 pairs of masked booby Sula 

dactylatra nest on the North and East Beaches of 

Henderson. (Illustration: R.A. Irving) 

24. There is currently some confusion as to the 

accepted scientific name of the wandering tattler. 

Some authorities (such as BirdLife International) use 

the synonym of Heteroscelus incanus but the World 

Register of Marine Species (used in this report 

as the lead taxonomic authority) only recognises 

Tringa incana. 

3.3 Oeno 

KEY FACTS 

Name OENO Island type Atoll 

Location 23°56’S, 130°45’W 

Central South Pacific 

Dimensions Approx. 4 km in diameter 

(to perimeter reef) 

28 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Henderson 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Oeno 

Distance/bearing from 


Land area 

Land, reef & lagoon 

Pitcairn is 120 km to the SE. 

Henderson is 235 km to the E. 

65 ha; 

1,600 ha. 

Altitude Sea level to 3.6 m. Length of perimeter reef Approximately 11 km 

Origin of name First European sighting by Capt. Henderson of HMS Hercules in 1819, but actually named after 

an American whaler which sighted the island in 1824. 

Population/visitors Uninhabited. A ‘holiday resort’ for Pitcairn islanders, who may visit for 1–2 weeks at a time. Up 

to 5 passing yachts per year. 

Status Important Bird Area (Brooke 2010). Proposed Ramsar site (2005). 

Overview A low coral atoll comprising a central islet surrounded by a lagoon, mostly 3–6 m in depth, 

which in turn is surrounded by a fringing reef. Seldom visited and relatively ecologically 

undisturbed, it has an internationally significant wintering population of bristle-thighed curlews 

Numenius tahitiensis and large breeding populations of seabirds. One of the atoll’s most striking 

features is the large number of giant clams embedded within coral outcrops within the lagoon. 

(Information extracted from various sources including the RSPB’s A Directory of Wetlands in Oceania: 

http:// www.wetlands.org/RSIS/WKBASE/OceaniaDir/Pitcairn.htm) 

Figure 10. Oeno atoll (from Spencer, 1995 – re-mapped 

using GPS in 1991). 

Plate 40. Black-and-white aerial photograph of Oeno 

atoll, date uncertain. (Courtesy of Olive Christian, Pitcairn) 

Plate 41. Aerial photograph of Oeno atoll, August 2011. 

(Photo: K. Garcia) 

29


Oeno consists of a central, low-lying island surrounded 

by a shallow lagoon and a fringing reef. In 1991 a sand 

spit extended from the northern end of the main island, 

though this is known to have changed in shape over 

time as a result of water movements within the lagoon 

leading to sand accretion/erosion (Figure 10 and Plates 

40 & 41). Around 1990, Pitcairners planted a number of 

young trees to help stabilise the sand spit. However, it can 

be seen in Plate 41 (taken in 2011) that the sand bar has 

been breached and a small sandy islet has been formed. 

The main island, covered by a mix of trees and other 

vegetation, is fringed by a narrow beach of sand with 

bedrock apparent on the north-west side of the island. 

3.3.2 Lagoon – habitats and species 

The shallow lagoon surrounding the central island is about 

3 m deep and has an undulating bottom of sand and coral 

rubble (60 percent), reef pavement (20 percent) and patch 

reefs (20 percent) (Irving, 1995). These patch reefs have 

near-vertical sides, with some undercut at their bases to 

form small caves and overhangs. The most striking feature 

is the large number of giant clams Tridacna maxima 

(see Plate 45) embedded in these reefs, at an estimated 

maximum density of 8–10/m 2 . Paulay (1989) reported 

that several Montipora species dominated the coral fauna 

within the lagoon, with Acropora humilis, Acropora secale, 

Pavona varians, Montastrea curta and Cyphastrea cf. 

serailia also being common. Pandolfi (1995) reported large 

stands of monospecific coral rubble within the lagoon, 

upon which smaller corals were growing. Various species 

of wrasse were the commonest fish seen in the lagoon in 

November 1991 (R.A. Irving, pers. obs.). 


Outside the margin of the fringing reef, the fore-reef 

slopes gradually into deeper water, steepening beyond the 

30 m depth contour. The percentage of live coral cover on 

the fore-reef is greatest within the 11–20 m depth band 

(at a mean of 60 percent) and within the 21–30 m depth 

band (55 percent), decreasing to 10 percent cover within 

the 31–40 m depth band. The overall live coral cover 

recorded in 1991 was greater than that at Henderson but 

less than that at Ducie (Irving, 1995). In contrast to Ducie, 

large areas of sand were present, together with extensive 

areas of coral rubble. A series of sand channels, up to 

3 m wide, were found to run perpendicular to the reef 

between 5–20 m depth. 


SPONGES 

Just four sponge species have been recorded from Oeno’s 

nearshore waters during a five-day visit to the island by 

Irving in 1991 (Irving, 1995): Ascaltis sp. (a lime-green 

sponge); Batzella sp. (an orange sponge); Cliona sp. aff. 

vastifica (a black sponge); and Spirastrella decumbens 

(a rust-brown sponge). The conservation status of these 

species (as with most sponges) has yet to be assessed by 

the IUCN. 

CORALS, etc. 

A total of 17 species of scleractinian (stony) coral have 

been recorded from Oeno, which is a relatively low 

diversity and puts it on a par with Pitcairn’s coral fauna 

(15 species), but far fewer than either Ducie’s (27 species) 

or Henderson’s (59 species). Within the IUCN Red List 

(2012), one species (Acropora acuminata) is listed as 

Vulnerable; four species (Montipora foveolata, Montipora 

incrassata, Acropora humilis and Acropora secale) as 

Near Threatened; and eight as being of Least Concern 

(Montipora grisea, Montipora tuberculosa, Acropora 

cytherea, Psammocora haimeana, Pavona varians, 

Montastrea curta, Plesiastrea versipora and Leptastrea 

purpurea). The remaining four species are not considered 

to be of conservation concern. 

CRUSTACEANS 

Collections of crustaceans were made from Oeno by R.A. 

Irving and J. Jamieson in 1991. However, many of these 

specimens have still to be identified to species level (they 


Table 10 sets out the probable number of species within 

this collection which were collected from Oeno. 

Other crustaceans that have been identified from Oeno 

are included in Appendix 5. 

Table 10. Specimens of Crustacea collected from 

Oeno by R.A. Irving and J. Jamieson in 1991; these 

still have to be identified to species level. 


Xanthidae 6 

Grapsidae 3 

Portunidae 2 

Calappidae 1 


Natantia (shrimp-like) 1 

Alphaeidae 1 

Cirrepedia: Thoracica 1 



MOLLUSCS 

Approximately 255 species of marine molluscs have now 

been recorded from Oeno. During the present review a 

further 15 species have been added to the figure of 240 

given by Preece (1995a). Collections of molluscs were 

made by Rehder in 1970/71 (Rehder, 1974; Rehder & 

Wilson, 1975 – making use of a dredge), Paulay in 1987 

(Paulay, 1989 – only from the lagoon), and Preece in 1991 

(Preece, 1995a – only from the lagoon and the sand spit). 

A new genus and species of a prosobranch gastropod of 

the Family Liotininae (due to be described by J.H. McLean 

of Los Angeles) was found by Preece (1995a) during 

his visit to Oeno in 1991. Another new species Rissoina 

schubelae, also found by Preece in 1991, is believed to be 

endemic to Oeno (Sleurs & Preece, 1994; Preece, 1995a). 

The soft sediments present in the shallow lagoon are 

particularly favourable for bivalves, and of the four islands 

Oeno supports the largest number of bivalve species (45) 

(Preece, 1995a). 

STARFISH, SEA URCHINS AND SEA CUCUMBERS 


A total of 19 species of echinoderms have been recorded 

from Oeno to date, consisting of five sea urchins, 

one starfish, six brittlestars (five of which are from 

deeper water and were collected by dredge) and seven 

holothurians (Paulay, 1989; Devaney, 1974). 

REEF FISHES 

There have been 165 species of reef fishes recorded from 

Oeno (Randall, 1999), which amounts to 46 percent of the 

total number recorded from all four islands (352 species). 

Of the 165 species, 20 have been recorded from Oeno 

alone. Some of the species only recorded from Oeno are 

commented on below. 

l The black-saddled coral grouper Plectropomus laevis 

is found throughout the Indo-Pacific. Its Red List 

conservation status is Vulnerable because of its natural 

rarity, the heavy fishing pressure being experienced 

throughout its range (particularly the targeting of 

juveniles), and because it has shown declines in 

abundance of at least 30 percent (mature individuals). 

This trend is expected to continue into the future 

(IUCN, 2012). 

l Two species of frogfish have been recorded from Oeno: 

the freckled frogfish Antennarius coccineus and the 

tuberculated frogfish Antennarius tuberosus. Frogfishes 

are peculiarly shaped fish, often very well camouflaged, 

which stay motionless on the seabed and use a small 

lure to entice fish close to their mouths. 

l The rockmover wrasse Novaculichthys taeniourus is 

found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It feeds on a variety 

of small invertebrates by physically moving small rocks 

to expose them. 

TURTLES 

No recorded data exist for turtles seen either on the 

fore-reef or within the lagoon at Oeno. It would not be 

surprising, however, to find turtles within the lagoon here, 

though we are not aware of any nesting taking place. In 

a Secretariat of the Pacific Community report dating from 

1987 it states that “…Oeno Island is a turtle nursery of 

international interest”. This is clearly not substantiated by 

the evidence to date. 

SEABIRDS 

Being uninhabited, seldom visited and relatively 

ecologically undisturbed, Oeno hosts large breeding 

populations of seabirds and has an internationally 

significant wintering population of the bristle-thighed 

curlew Numenius tahitiensis. Note that the Pacific rat 

Rattus exulans was eradicated from the island in 1997 

(M. Brooke, pers. comm.). A summary of the island’s 

avian importance is given in Table 11. 

In the order of 12,500 pairs of Murphy’s petrel Pterodroma 

ultima (1991/92 estimates) may breed on Oeno in any one 

season. (Note that the breeding population may well have 

30 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Oeno 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Oeno 

increased since the 1997 rat eradication). This is some way 

short of the 250,000 pairs on Ducie, but is still impressive 

nonetheless. The worldwide population of Murphy’s petrel 

is estimated at 800,000 to one million individuals, though 

apart from Oeno and Ducie it is only known to breed in 

French Polynesia (Birdlife International Factsheet, 2012). 

The species was only described in 1949 (Murphy, 1949). 

Although there is now confirmation that breeding has 

taken place by Phoenix petrels Pterodroma alba on Oeno 

(H. Shirihai, pers. comm.), the number of breeding pairs is 

uncertain. 

In January 1990, Brooke (1995a) recorded a maximum of 

100 bristle-thighed curlew Numenius tahitiensis individuals 

on Oeno (Plate 42). With a world population believed 

to be around 7,000 birds (BirdLife International, 2012), 

the population here is of international significance (> 1 

percent of world population). 

CETACEANS 

No recorded data on cetaceans are available for Oeno. 

However, it is likely that the humpback whales which are 

known to visit both Pitcairn and Henderson may well visit 

Oeno too from July to September. 

3.3.5 Nearshore fisheries 

Fishing pressure at Oeno is negligible and is only likely to 

be undertaken by Pitcairners during their annual holidays 

to the island. No written records are available to determine 

which species (and in what quantity) are taken, but it is 

likely to be a similar range of species to those caught 

at Pitcairn. 

Plate 42. Bristle-thighed curlew Numenius tahitiensis. 


31

Table 11. Seabirds noted at Oeno (all information taken from Brooke [1995a & b]) 

Breeding 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Notes 

Great frigatebird 

Fregata minor 

LC Breeding population estimated to be 100 pairs. 

Black noddy 

Anous minutus 


Brown noddy 

Anous stolidus 


Fairy tern Gygis alba LC Breeding population estimated to be 500–1,000 pairs. 

Sooty tern 

Onychoprion fuscatus 

LC Likely to be breeding but only 2 nest sites counted. 

Red-tailed tropicbird 

Phaethon rubricauda 

LC Breeding population estimated to be 500–1,000 pairs. 

Kermadec petrel 

Pterodroma neglecta 

LC Breeding population estimated to be


Ducie is a small coral atoll, the easternmost island on the 

Pacific plate and also the most southerly atoll in the world 

(UKOTCF, 2004). It comprises a main island (Acadia) and 

three smaller islets or ‘motus’ (Edwards/Te Manu, Pandora 

and Westward) encircling a central lagoon. The islets for 

the most part are composed of coral rubble, echinoid 

remains and dead shells. Acadia is largely surrounded by 

reef flats, the reef to the north-west consisting for the 

most part of a somewhat uneven reef pavement flat. Most 

water exchange into and out of the lagoon takes place 

via a shallow channel between Westward and Pandora 

islets (Figure 11). Small channels between the lagoon 

and the ocean are found at the northernmost extension 

of Westward and western end of Acadia, but these have 

little influence on water exchange within the lagoon. The 

greatest seaward extension of the reef is at the southwest, 

where the shelf extends 270 m offshore to a depth 

of 30 m. There is a regular semi-diurnal tide, measured 

accurately in January 1971 as being 0.4 m (spring tide) 

(Rehder & Randall, 1975). 

In 1969, Ducie was proposed for listing as an ‘Island for 

Science’ (Elliot, 1973). This proposal has not effectively 

been taken up, although the island was visited on several 

occasions during 1991/92 by members of the Sir Peter 

Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands. 

Hepburn et al. (1992) recommended that the entire 

atoll be designated a Ramsar Site. This is still under 

consideration, as it is for Oeno. 

In 1970 there was evidence of a relatively recent mass 

mortality of corals, the cause of which was not identified, 

although a sudden drop in water temperature was 

postulated (Rehder & Randall, 1975). This may well have 

come about due to a temporary northwards shift of cooler 

southern ocean water. By 1987, Paulay (1989) reported 

considerable recovery of live coral cover (58 percent at 17 m 

depth), and by 1991 this had increased to 100 percent at 

17 m depth at the same location (Irving, 1995). 

3.4.2 Lagoon – habitats and species 

The lagoon has a maximum depth of about 16 m, though 

for the most part the floor of the lagoon lies between 

8 m and 12 m. There are a large number of coral heads, 

some nearly reaching the surface, with sandy channels 

and scoured flat bedrock in between. In 1971, salinity 

(measured from a water sample taken at the bottom of 

the lagoon) was about 38 ppt (oceanic seawater salinity 

is typically 34–36 ppt), and the water temperature taken 

from shallow and deep sites within the lagoon was 26.5°C 

(Rehder & Randall, 1975). The water temperature of the 

oceanic water outside the lagoon was estimated to be a 

few degrees cooler than this (but was not measured). 

Water exchange with the open sea is thought to be quite 

limited, with most taking place via the shallow channel 

between Westward and Pandora. Irving (1995) made 

mention of two small ‘tidal holes’ (1.5 m in diameter) at 

the northern end of the lagoon. The water temperature 

in these holes was noticeably cooler (by an estimated 

2°C) than the surrounding lagoonal water, and it was 

suggested that subterranean channels through Acadia 

may link to the open ocean. 

Rehder & Randall (1975) commented on the dearth of 

species present within the lagoon, especially of corals, 

molluscs and fishes: “The most striking thing about the 

lagoon is the paucity of life.” Just 47 species of fishes 

were seen, which disappointed Randall considerably. The 

most common species were drummer (nanwi) Kyphosus 

bigibbus, whitebar surgeonfish Acanthurus leucopareius, 

parrotfish Scarus sp. and sunset wrasse Thalassoma 

lutescens. Although most of the coral heads consisted of 

dead coral rock, some small live corals (Montipora spp.) 

were encountered (Rehder & Randall, 1975). 


A well-developed reef encircles the whole of the atoll, 

with an extensive fore-reef projecting around the southern 

half. The fore-reef gradually slopes from the shore to 25- 

30 m, whereafter it steepens sharply. Coral growth can 

be seen extending beyond 40 m in places. Irving (1995) 

found the cover of live coral to be considerably greater 

than at neighbouring Henderson Island, with mean values 

of 90 percent at 11–20 m, 70 percent at 21–30 m, and 

70 percent at 31–40 m. This is the highest percentage 

of live coral cover of all four Pitcairn Islands. While small 

patches of coral rubble were reported in 1991, no areas 

of sand were seen. This had also been the case in 1971 

(Rehder & Randall, 1975) and in 1987 (Paulay, 1989). Off 

the south-east side of the atoll, where 100 percent live 

coral cover was reported, the predominant coral species 

was Montipora aequituberculata, a species that is rare at 

Henderson and has not been recorded from either Pitcairn 

or Oeno. 


The following marine taxa have not been fully studied 

at Ducie: Algae and Foraminifera (beach sediment was 

collected and analysed in 1991, but no Foraminifera were 

found to be present). 

SPONGES 

Six sponge species have been recorded from Ducie, all 

from within the lagoon, during a short visit to the island 

by Irving in 1991 (Irving 1995): Ascaltis sp. (a lime-green 

sponge); Darwinella sp. aff. gardineri (a pink-red sponge); 

Lamellodysidea herbacea (a yellow-cream sponge); 

Jaspis sp. aff. tuberculata (various dark colours); Spongia 

magallonica (a black sponge); and Tethya seychellensis (an 

orange sponge). The conservation status of these species 

(as with most sponges) has yet to be assessed by the 

IUCN. 

CORALS, etc. 

A total of 27 species of scleractinian (stony) coral has 

been recorded from Ducie, which is noticeably fewer than 

Henderson’s coral fauna (59 species) though considerably 

more than both Oeno’s (17 species) and Pitcairn’s (15 

species). Much of the information on the scleractinian 

corals has come from Paulay (1989), based on collections 

made in 1967 (by H.A. Rehder, D.M. Devaney and B.R. 

Wilson using a dredge); in 1970–71 (by J.E. Randall and 

H.A. Rehder using scuba); and in 1987 (by G. Paulay 

himself using scuba). 

Of the 27 scleractinian coral species, the IUCN Red List lists 

three species as Vulnerable (VU) and eight species as Near 

Threatened (NT) (Table 12). 

CRUSTACEANS 

Collections of crustaceans were made from Ducie by 

R.A. Irving and J. Jamieson in 1991. However, many of 

these specimens have still to be identified to species (they 


Table 13 sets out the probable number of species within 

this collection which were collected from Ducie. 

Other crustaceans which have been identified from Ducie 

are included in Appendix 5. 

34 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Ducie 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Ducie 

Table 12. Species of scleractinian coral recorded from Ducie (after Paulay, 1989) with IUCN Red List 

conservation status (IUCN, 2012). 

Species IUCN Code* Notes 

Montipora caliculata (Dana 1846) VU Also recorded from Henderson. 

Acropora acuminata (Verril, 1864) VU Also recorded from Oeno & Pitcairn (although dubious 

ID at Pitcairn). 

Leptoseris incrustans (Quelch 1886) VU Also recorded from Henderson. 

Pocillopora cf. eydouxi 

(Edwards & Haime 1860) 

NT Identification uncertain by Paulay. Note that the ‘NT’ 

status is for P. eydouxi. Also recorded from Henderson. 

Montipora foveolata (Dana 1846) NT Also recorded from Oeno & Henderson. 

Montipora incrassata (Dana 1846) NT Also recorded from Oeno. 

Acropora humilis (Dana 1846) NT Also recorded from Oeno & Henderson. 

Acropora nasuta (Dana 1846) NT Also recorded from Henderson. 

Porites cf. lobata (Dana 1846) NT Also recorded from Pitcairn & Henderson. 

Psammocora obtusangula 

(Lamarck 1816) 

NT Also recorded from Henderson. 

Favia stelligera (Vaughan 1918) NT Only recorded at Ducie. 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened 

Table 13. Specimens of Crustacea collected from Ducie 

by R. Irving and J. Jamieson in 1991; these still have to 

be identified to species. 


Xanthidae 3 

Grapsidae 1 

Atelecyclidae 1 

Stomatopoda 1 




Plate 45. The giant clam Tridacna maxima embedded 

in corals, Ducie fore-reef. This species is rare at Ducie, 

though abundant in the lagoon on Oeno. 


Plate 46. The type specimens of the nudibranch Bornella 

irvingi, found at Ducie in 1991 and described by Edmunds 

& Preece (1996). These remain the only known examples. 

(Photo: J. Jamieson) 

35

MOLLUSCA 

To date, a total of about 80 species of molluscs have 

been recorded from Ducie (Preece, 1995a). Collections 

have been made primarily by Rehder in 1970/71 (Rehder 

& Randall, 1975 – making use of a dredge); by Paulay 

in 1987 (Paulay, 1989); and by Preece in 1991 from the 

lagoon and beach sediments. 

Ducie is the type locality for a number of molluscan 

species. In 1991, a new species of nudibranch Bornella 

irvingi (Plate 46) was collected on the fore-reef at Ducie 

by J. Jamieson and R.A. Irving during the 1991/92 

expedition (Edmunds & Preece, 1996). Preece (1995a) was 

disappointed by the number and quality of the species 

present within the shore sediments at Ducie, with many 

having very worn shells. 

STARFISH, SEA URCHINS AND SEA CUCUMBERS 


To date, a total of 12 species of echinoderm have been 

recorded from Ducie: six sea urchins (Echinoidea); 

one brittlestar (Ophiuroidea); and five sea cucumbers 

(Holothuria). The long-spined sea urchin Diadema savignyi 

was found to be abundant on the fore-reef in both 1987 

(Paulay, 1989) and in 1991 (Irving, 1995). Paulay (1989) 

noted that those individuals present in the lagoon were 

noticeably larger (20–25 cm) than those on the fore-reef 

(15 cm). Paulay (1989) also reported the purple sea urchin 

Table 14. Noteworthy reef fishes occuring at Ducie (after Randall, 1999). 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Galapagos reef shark Carcharhinus galapagensis NT 

Whitetip reef shark Triaenodon obesus NT 

Heterocentrotus trigonarius (Plate 34) to be abundant in 

the surf zone. The closely related H. mammillatus (Plate 

35) was also very common in deeper water (10–20 m 

depth). 

REEF FISHES 

To date, a total of 127 species of reef fishes have been 

recorded from Ducie (Randall 1999), out of a total of 

352 species for all four islands (or 28 percent). The most 

common species observed at Ducie were drummer/ 

nanwi Kyphosus bigibbus, sunset wrasse Thalassoma 

lutescens, wrasse Thalassoma heiseri, steephead parrotfish 

Chlorurus microrhinus, whitebar surgeonfish Acanthurus 

leucopareius, damselfish Chrysiptera galba, Emery’s 

Gregory Stegastes emeryi and black jack Caranx lugubris. 

The double-saddled butterflyfish Chaetodon ulietiensis was 

the most commonly seen butterflyfish, yet interestingly 

this species is not present at any of the other three islands. 

Blacktip grouper Epinephelus fasciatus and greasy grouper 

E. tauvina were the most commonly seen groupers; 

and two-barred goatfish Parupeneus bifasciatus and 

yellowsaddle goatfish P. cyclostomus the most common of 

the goatfishes (Randall, 1999; R.A. Irving, pers. obs.). 

TURTLES 

The substrate on Ducie probably precludes nesting 

of green turtles Chelonia mydas, though immature 

individuals (probably Chelonia mydas) were occasionally 

Notes 

Redblotch perchlet Plectranthias winniensis NE New species in 1971 (also found at Pitcairn). 

Longfin anthias Pseudanthias ventralis NE New species in 1971 (also found at Pitcairn & 

Henderson). 

Pacific double-saddled butterflyfish 

Chaetodon ulietensis 

Hotumatua’s angelfish 

Centropyge hotumatua 

NE The most common butterflyfish at Ducie, but not 

recorded from any of the other islands. 

NE New species in 1971 (also found at Oeno, Pitcairn 

& Henderson). 

Pitcairn angelfish Genicanthus spinus NE New species in 1971 (also found at Pitcairn). 

Damselfish Chrysiptera galba NE New species in 1971 (also found at Oeno, Pitcairn 

& Henderson). 

Tahiti damselfish Pomachromis fuscadorsalis NE New species in 1971 (also found at Oeno, Pitcairn 

& Henderson). 

Emery’s gregory Stegastes emeryi NE New species in 1971 (also found at Oeno, Pitcairn 

& Henderson). 

Polynesian wrasse Pseudojuloides atavai NE New species in 1971 (also found at Oeno & 

Pitcairn). 

Wrasse Thalassoma heiseri NE New species in 1971 (also found at Oeno, Pitcairn 

& Henderson). 

Goby Trimmatom sp. NE New species in 1971 (also found at Oeno, Pitcairn 

& Henderson). 

Halfmoon picassofish Rhinecanthus lunula NE New species in 1971 (also found at Pitcairn & 

Henderson). 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): NT = Near Threatened; NE = Not Evaluated. 

Table 15. Seabirds noted at Ducie (all information taken from Brooke (1995a & b). 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

seen within the lagoon during 1991 (Brooke, 1995c). It is 

believed these records may well be the first from the atoll, 

as there is no record of turtles being sighted by previous 

expeditions (Rehder & Randall, 1975). 

SEABIRDS 

Being uninhabited, rarely visited and ecologically 

undisturbed, Ducie hosts very large and important 

breeding populations of seabirds. The island supports 

particularly large numbers of Murphy’s petrels Pterodroma 

ultima with around 250,000 pairs, estimated as being 

90 percent of the world’s population (UKOTCF, 2004). 

There are also in the region of 30,000 pairs of Kermadec 

petrels P. neglecta and 20,000 pairs of Herald petrels P. 

heraldica. Other breeding seabirds whose numbers are of 

international importance include Christmas shearwater 

Puffinus nativitatis (minimum population size estimated 

at 3,000 pairs or approximately 5 percent of the world’s 

population – UKOTCF, 2004); red-tailed tropicbird 

Phaethon rubricauda (breeding population of 500–1,000 

pairs, or approximately 1 percent of the world’s population 

– UKOTCF, 2004); and fairy tern Gygis alba (breeding 

population of 5,000 pairs, or approximately 1 percent of 

the world’s population – UKOTCF, 2004). 

Other breeding seabird species include boobies Sula 

spp., great frigatebird Fregata minor, sooty tern Sterna 

fuscata, brown noddy Anous stolidus and blue-grey noddy 

Procelsterna cerulea. Two species of migrant shorebirds 

have been reported: wandering tattler Tringa incana 

(also known as Heteroscelus incanus – see footnote 24) 

36 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Ducie 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Ducie 

Breeding 

Notes 

Great frigatebird Fregata minor LC Breeding population estimated to be 10–20 pairs. 

Blue-grey noddy Procelsterna cerulea LC Breeding population estimated to be 10–20 pairs. 

Brown noddy Anous stolidus LC Breeding population estimated to be 200 pairs. 

Fairy tern Gygis alba LC Breeding population estimated to be 5,000 pairs. 

Sooty tern Onychoprion fuscatus LC Breeding population estimated to be 100–200 pairs. 

Red-tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda LC Breeding population estimated to be 500–1,000 pairs. 

Kermadec petrel Pterodroma neglecta LC Breeding population estimated to be 30,000 pairs. 

Murphy’s petrel Pterodroma ultima NT Breeding population estimated to be 250,000 pairs. 

Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica LC Breeding population estimated to be 10,000–99,999 

pairs. 

Christmas shearwater Puffinus nativitatis LC Breeding population estimated to be 3,000 pairs. 

Masked booby Sula dactylactra LC Breeding population estimated to be 80–100 pairs. 

Red-footed booby Sula sula LC Breeding population estimated to be

Offshore waters 25 4 

4.1 Introduction 

Far less is known about the offshore waters of the EEZ 

than is known for the nearshore waters. Sightings of 

marine species, typically cetaceans and seabirds, have 

originated from those on board vessels of one sort or 

another, be they charter vessels (including the Claymore 

II), cruise ships or ocean-going cargo vessels. Additionally, 

within the past 25 years, a considerable amount of effort 

has been put into obtaining data from the seafloor using 

remote methods. 

4.2 Geology/geomorphology 

A number of large volcanic structures were discovered 

in December 1989 in a virtually uncharted region of the 

Pacific Ocean some 60–100 km east-south-east of Pitcairn 

Island (Stoffers et al., 1990). Three of these structures 

were composed of fresh volcanic rocks, glass and 

hydrothermal deposits with little, if any, sediment cover; 

in addition, methane anomalies in the surrounding water 

column suggested that at least one had a currently active 

hydrothermal circulation system. These undersea volcanoes 

are thought to represent the present-day expression of the 

Pitcairn ‘hotspot’, which formed during the last 8 million 

years the Pitcairn-Gambier-Mururoa-Duke of Gloucester 

linear island chain (Woodhead & Devey, 1993). 

More recent studies using satellite altimetry 26 (Smith & 

Sandwell, 1997) and multibeam bathymetry 27 (Hekinian 

et al., 2003) have revealed that the submarine hotspot 

activity extends over an area of about 7,022 km 2 . This area 

has a high density of volcanic cones rising from a seafloor 

at 3,500–3,800 m depth. There are two large edifices 

(> 2,000 m high), five intermediate (500–2,000 m high) 

and about 90 small (500 m high) edifices. The largest 

two edifices, known as Bounty Seamount and Adams 

Seamount (90 to 110 km east of Pitcairn Island) (Figure 

12) are still active with steep scarps and fresh lava flows 

observed on their flanks during submersible diving surveys 

(Hekinian et al., 2003). The Bounty and Adams seamounts 

respectively rise to within about 450 m and 55 m of the 

ocean surface. Other smaller edifices in the same locality 

have been named Christian, Young and McCoy, after 

some of the original mutineers from HMS Bounty. 

The Adams Seamount, located at 25° 23’ S, 129° 

15’ W, is referred to locally as ’40-mile Reef’ as it 

lies approximately 40 miles from Pitcairn. The reef is 

occasionally visited by Pitcairners (their last visit was in 

2003/04) and by charter boats (G. Wragg, pers. comm.). 

It takes about five hours to reach the reef from Pitcairn 

by longboat. 

There are several other seamounts within the Pitcairn 

Islands EEZ, such as to the north-west of Pitcairn, to the 

north-west of Henderson and to the south, east and west 

of Ducie, although few of these areas rise to a depth less 

than 200 m. 

Figure 12. Bathymetric map of the seafloor in the vicinity 

of the Pitcairn Islands, showing the location of the two 

seamounts closest to Pitcairn. (Adapted from satellite 

altimetry data [Smith & Sandwell, 1997]) 

4.3 Marine species 

MOLLUSCS 

The only information the authors have been able to source 

on oceanic cephalopod species has come indirectly from a 

study assessing the food items of gadfly petrels breeding 

on the Pitcairn Islands. 

The following data (Table 16) have been extracted from 

Imber et al.’s 1995 paper on the stomach contents of 

29 Herald petrels Pterodroma heraldica, 27 Kermadec 

petrels P. neglecta and 37 Murphy’s petrels P. ultima on 

the Pitcairn Islands during 1991. Ninety-two percent of 

samples were from chicks and samples were obtained 

from Henderson, Oeno and Ducie. There is a very strong 

probability that the parent birds would have been feeding 

somewhere within the boundary of the Pitcairn Islands 

EEZ, so the taxa listed provide a crude indication of some 

oceanic species which are present near the sea’s surface 

either during the day or at night (Murphy’s petrels were 

found to favour certain bioluminescent squid species). 

Cephalopods, which provided by far the greatest 

proportion of food items, can be identified to species level 

in most cases by their beaks. 

Interestingly, Imber et al. (1995) point out that there 

is no evidence that, while feeding their chicks, any of 

the three petrel species forages further than 1,200 km 

southwards of the Pitcairn Islands, as this is where certain 

cooler water cephalopods would be encountered and 

these are missing from the list. Linked with this has been 

speculation by Brooke (2010), who has considered how 

far Murphy’s petrels may travel from a base at the Pitcairn 

Islands “during their off-duty periods”, as he puts it. He 

says: “A conservative flying speed of 40 kph and 12 hours 

of straight-line flying per day would give a bird, off-duty 

for 19 days, a potential foraging radius of 4,600 km. This 

would certainly bring the highly productive Antarctic Polar 

Front, 3,260 km to the south, within range. Even the rich 

Table 16. The range of taxa (as food items) found in samples of stomach contents from three species of gadfly 

petrel from the Pitcairn Islands during 1991 (after Imber et al., 1995). 

Cephalopoda Other taxa 

Squids Squids (cont.) Fish 

Ancistrocheirus lesueuri Cranchia scabra Sternoptychidae 

Octopoteuthis sp. Leachia sp. Myctophidae 

Onychoteuthis banksii Taonius cf. belone Gadiformes 

Onychoteuthis sp.2 Megalocranchia sp. Exocoetidae 

Discoteuthis sp. Heliocranchia sp. Crustacea 

Pholidoteuthis boschmai Galiteuthis sp. Lophogastridae (Mysidacea) 

Histioteuthis dofleini Bathothauma sp. Lysianassidae (Amphipoda) 

H. meleagroteuthis Unidentified squids Anuropodidae (Isopoda) 

Ctenopteryx sicula Vampyromorph Decapoda indet. 

Ommastrephes bartramii Vampyroteuthis infernalis 

Chiroteuthis cf. capensis Octopus 

Mastigoteuthis dentata 

Mastigoteuthis sp.2 

Japetella sp. 

Table 17. Seabirds recorded within the waters of the Pitcairn Islands EEZ by: (A) members of the Kent 

Ornithological Society (UK), 11 September–1 October 2010, while onboard the Claymore II by Don Taylor and 

posted on the Society’s website (www.kentos.org.uk/Trip Reports/DonsList.htm); (B) Chris Gaskin of Pterodroma 

Pelagics (www.nzseabirds.com) on a bird-watching expedition to the Pitcairn Islands in June 2006; and (C) by Mike 

Brooke in 1991/92 (Brooke, 1995a). 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Wandering albatross Diomedea exulans 

(B) & (C) 

38 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Offshore waters 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Offshore waters 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

VU Parkinson’s petrel Procellaria parkinsoni (B) VU 

Buller’s albatross Thalassarche bulleri (A) NT White-chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis 

(A) 

VU 

Black-browed albatross Thalassarche 

melanophris (C) 

EN Westland petrel Procellaria westlandica (A) VU 

Northern giant petrel Macronectes halli (B) LC Sooty shearwater Puffinus griseus (B) NT 

Cape petrel Daption capense (A) LC White-faced storm petrel Pelagodroma marina 

(A) 

LC 

Tahiti petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata (B) NT Polynesian storm petrel Nesofregetta fuliginosa 

(A) & (B) 

EN 

Murphy’s petrel Pterodroma ultima (A) & (B) NT White-bellied storm petrel Fregetta grallaria (B) LC 

Kermadec petrel Pterodroma neglecta 

(A) & (B) 

Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica 

(A) & (B) 

Henderson petrel Pterodroma atrata 

(A) & (B) 

Juan Fernandez petrel Pterodroma externa 

(C) 

LC Red-tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda (A) 

& (B) 

LC 

LC White-tailed tropicbird Phaethon lepturus (B) LC 

EN Greater frigatebird Fregata minor (A) & (B) LC 

VU Masked booby Sula dactylatra (A) & (B) LC 

Phoenix petrel Pterodroma alba (A) EN Red-footed booby Sula sula (A) & (B) LC 

White-necked petrel Pterodroma cervicalis 

(B) 

VU Blue-grey noddy Procelsterna cerulea (A) LC 

Collared petrel Pterodroma brevipes (A) VU 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened; 

LC = Least Concern; NE = Not Evaluated. 

39

Table 18. Cetacean species recorded from the offshore waters of the Pitcairn Islands EEZ. Species from: (A) 

Palomares et al., 2011, believed to be derived from species ranges/known migration routes rather than from 

actual sightings; and (B) Chris Gaskin of Pterodroma Pelagics (www.nzseabirds.com) on a bird-watching 

expedition to the Pitcairn Islands in June 2006. Status and notes from IUCN Red List (2012). 

Species IUCN Notes 

Code* 

Common or dwarf 

minke whale 

Balaenoptera acutorostrata 

Sei whale 

Balaenoptera borealis 

Blue whale 

Balaenoptera musculus 

Fin whale 

Balaenoptera physalus 

Humpback whale 

Megaptera novaeangliae 

Bryde’s whale 

Balaenoptera edeni 

Minke whale 

Balaenoptera acutorostrata 

(Short-nosed) 

common dolphin 

Delphinus delphis 

Pygmy killer whale 

Feresa attenuata 

Short-finned pilot whale 

Globicephala 

macrorhynchus 

Cuvier’s beaked whale 

Ziphius cavirostris 

Risso’s dolphin 

Grampus griseus 

Fraser’s dolphin 

Lagenodelphis hosei 

Killer whale 

Orcinus orca 

False killer whale 

Pseudorca crassidens 

Pantropical spotted dolphin 

Stenella attenuata 

Striped dolphin 

Stenella coeruleoalba 

Spinner dolphin 

Stenella longirostris 

Rough-toothed dolphin 

Steno bredanensis 

LC 

EN 

EN 

EN 

EN 

DD 

LC 

LC 

DD 

DD 

LC 

LC 

LC 

DD 

DD 

LC 

LC 

DD 

LC 

Occurs in both coastal and offshore waters. High abundance of minke whales reported 

in November between 10° and 30°S in the central South Pacific. (A) 

Populations in the southern hemisphere are listed as CITES Appendix I, indicating they 

are threatened with extinction if hunting (for ‘scientific’ purposes) is not halted. (A) 

Occurs in the eastern Pacific from around 44°S in southern Chile as far north as Costa 

Rica. Numbers severely depleted in the past by direct exploitation. However, there 

appear to be no major threats to blue whales at present. (A) 

Occurs worldwide in offshore waters, but typically confined to 50°–65°S in the South 

Pacific. Depleted worldwide by commercial whaling in the 20th century. Protected in the 

Southern Hemisphere since 1975. (A) 

Those within EEZ waters likely to belong to a sub-stock which includes the waters 

of Franch Polynesia (sub-stock F). Humpbacks have been protected from commercial 

whaling in the Southern Hemisphere since 1963. (A) 

Within the past 20 years this species of baleen whale has been classified as a ‘complex’ 

of a number of species, as there has been confusion regarding its true identification by 

taxonomists. The ‘ordinary’ Bryde’s whale (the species given here) is known to have a 

distribution throughout the eastern tropical Pacific and across the South Pacific down to 

about 35°S. (B) 

This species is likely to be the ‘dwarf’ minke whale which taxonomists have only 

regarded as being separate from the Antarctic minke whale B. bonaerensis within the 

past 15 years. Its distribution in the South Pacific is uncertain. (B) 

An oceanic species that is widely distributed in tropical to cool temperate waters of the 

Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, from nearshore waters to thousands of kilometres offshore. 

(A) 

A tropical/subtropical species that inhabits oceanic waters around the globe generally 

between 40°N and 35°S. Little is known about this species. (A) 

Found in warm temperate to tropical waters of the world, generally in deep offshore 

areas. Feeds on vertically migrating prey. (A) 

Decaying carcass found on Edwards/Te Manu islet, Ducie in October 1991 by members 

of the Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition. (A) 

A widely-distributed species, inhabiting primarily deep waters of the continental slope 

and outer shelf (especially with steep bottom topography), from the tropics through the 

temperate regions in both hemispheres. It also occurs in some oceanic areas, beyond 

the continental slope, such as in the eastern tropical Pacific. (A) 

Exact distribution of this species is poorly known. Has a pantropical distribution, largely 

between 30°N and 30°S in all three major oceans. (A) 

The most cosmopolitan of all cetaceans and may be the second most widely ranging 

mammal species on the planet, after humans. (A) 

Found in tropical to warm temperate zones, generally in relatively deep, offshore waters 

of all three major oceans. Feeds primarily on fish and cephalopods, but has also been 

known to attack small cetaceans, humpback whales, and sperm whales. (A) 

Presence in Pitcairn Islands EEZ waters uncertain. (A) 

A widely-distributed species, found in tropical and warm-temperate waters of the 

Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. (A) 

The association of spinner dolphins with spotted dolphins and yellowfin tuna results in 

their entanglement in tuna purse seines in the eastern tropical Pacific. (A) 

A tropical to subtropical species which generally inhabits deep, oceanic waters of all 

three major oceans, rarely ranging north of 40°N or south of 35°S. In the eastern 

tropical Pacific it tends to associate with other cetaceans (especially pilot whales and 

Fraser’s dolphins). (A) 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): EN = Endangered; LC = Least Concern; NE = Not Evaluated; 

DD = Data Deficient. 

waters off California, 6,500 km to the north, could be 

reached if the birds flew for more than 12 hours a day, 

and Murphy’s petrels are seen most often in those waters 

during the incubation months of June and July.” (Brooke, 

2010). 

SEABIRDS 

The seabirds of particular conservation interest listed in 

Table 17 have been observed at sea within the EEZ, in 

addition to those species already listed for the nearshore 

waters of each island. 

CETACEANS 

Several species of whales and dolphins have been 

recorded from the offshore waters within the Pitcairn 

Islands EEZ. These are listed in Table 18. 

TURTLES AND NON-COMMERCIAL FISH SPECIES 

See Table 19. 

40 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Offshore waters 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Offshore waters 

4.4 Fisheries 

4.4.1 Non-commercial 

A New Zealand fishing expedition to 40-mile Reef (the 

apex of the Adam’s Seamount, lying to the east-southeast 

of Pitcairn) took place in August 1994 (Sharples, 

1994). Using droplines, bottom longlines and handjigging 

methods, abundant catches of reticulate grouper 

Epinephelus tuamotuensis, coral trout Variola louti, 

blacktip grouper Epinephelus fasciatus and yellowtail 

kingfish Seriola lalandi were achieved fishing at depths of 

70 to 185 m (Sharples, 1994). 

Pitcairn Islanders also visit 40-mile Reef, though 

infrequently (their last visit was in 2003/04). Their catches 

have included various grouper species, coral trout Variola 

louti and trevally (probably Caranx ignobilis) (M. Christian, 

pers. comm.). Large numbers of sharks are known to 

frequent the reef and it also provides a feeding area for 

several species of seabird (G. Wragg, pers. comm.). 

Table 19. Oceanic turtle and non-commercial fish species recorded from within the Pitcairn Islands EEZ. 

Species from Palomares et al., 2011 believed to be derived from species ranges/known migration routes 

rather than from actual sightings. 

Species IUCN 

Code* 

Notes 

Hawksbill turtle 

Eretmochelys imbricata 

Green turtle 

Chelonia mydas 

Oceanic whitetip shark 

Carcharhinus longimanus 

Blue shark 

Prionace glauca 

Whale shark 

Rhincodon typus 

CR Has a circumglobal distribution throughout tropical and, to a lesser extent, 

subtropical waters including the Pacific Ocean. Hawksbills are migratory 

and individuals undertake complex movements through geographically 

disparate habitats during their lifetimes. 

EN Very little is known about their migratory movements in this part of the 

world once they return to the sea from a nesting beach. Has a circumglobal 

distribution, occurring throughout tropical and, to a lesser extent, 

subtropical waters. Highly migratory and undertakes complex migrations 

through geographically disparate habitats. 

VU This is one of the most widespread sharks, ranging across entire oceans in 

tropical and subtropical waters. It is caught in large numbers as a bycatch 

of pelagic fisheries. Listed as a highly migratory species under the 1995 

UN Agreement on the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish 

Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UNFSA). 

NT One of the most wide-ranging of all sharks, being found throughout 

tropical and temperate seas from latitudes of about 60° N to 50°S. It is 

oceanic and pelagic, found from the surface to about 350 m depth. They 

are a major bycatch of longline and driftnet fisheries. 

VU A cosmopolitan tropical and warm temperate species and the world’s 

largest living fish. Known to migrate over extremely large distances. 

Populations appear to have been depleted by harpoon fisheries in South- 

East Asia and perhaps incidental capture in other fisheries. 

* IUCN’s Red List categories (IUCN, 2012): CR = Critically Endangered; EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable; 

NT = Near Threatened; 

41

4.4.2 Commercial 

Since 1993 there have been no significant offshore 

industrial fishing activities being undertaken in the Pitcairn 

Island EEZ, except for a few exploratory expeditions and 

possible illegal incursions. The UK Government has issued 

permits to fish in the waters surrounding the Pitcairn 

Islands since the mid-1950s, initially to Japanese longline 

fishing fleets, which were mainly targeting tuna species. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, Korean and Taiwanese fishing 

vessels were also operating in the region, but all the Asian 

industrial fleets essentially withdrew activities by the late- 

1970s (Adams & Langley, 2005). The most recent industrial 

longline fishing efforts were conducted by the Japanese 

under an annual renewable licence agreement from the 

UK Government between 1987 and 1992, although 

all Asian fleets continue to operate in the international 

waters outside the Pitcairn Islands EEZ. 

The proclaimation for establishing the Pitcairn Islands EEZ 

based upon the 200 nm limit (total area 836,108 km 2 ) was 

made in 1997, which updates earlier legislation given 

in three documents: Fisheries Zone Ordinance (1980); 

Fisheries Zone (amendment) Ordinance (1982 & 1986); 

and Foreign Fisheries Regulations (1982) (as amended). 

In December 2006, a single one-off licensing agreement 

was made to a Spanish-registered longliner by the 

Commissioner for the Pitcairn Islands for a flat fee of 

US$1,000, although only a few days of fishing took place 

due to a poor harvest 28 . Sporadic illegal fishing within 

Pitcairn waters is suspected by the Pitcairners, who have 

sighted foreign vessels in the vicinity of the islands that do 

not respond to any radio contact. However, without an 

airstrip or access to a fast patrol boat, they currently have 

no means of policing their territorial waters effectively. 

Catch records from regulated fishing around the Pitcairn 

Islands EEZ, drawn from logsheets of commercial tuna 

fishing vessels held by the Secretariat of the Pacific 

Community (SPC), show that the dominant fish caught 

were the migratory tuna species, including yellowfin 

(Thunnus albacares), bigeye (Thunnus obesus), skipjack 

(Katsuwonus pelamis) and albacore (Thunnus alalunga), 

along with smaller quantities of other billfish, such as the 

blue and striped marlin (Figure 13, data from Sea Around 

Us Project, 2010). 

The main reason for the recent lack of interest in the 

commercial exploitation of the Pitcairn fisheries by the 

longline fleets of the distant-water fishing nations (DWFN) 

is probably because, even during the peak of the fishery 

in the early-1970s, the annual reported catches of these 

species were relatively minor compared to other regions in 

the south-western and Central Pacific (Figure 14, adapted 

from Adams & Langley, 2005). For example, during 2005 

reported catches of albacore tuna species in the Pitcairn 

EEZ amounted to 5 tonnes (t) in total. In comparison, 

records from the locally based longliner fleet in French 

Polynesia for 2005 reported catch weights of albacore 

tuna to be 2,426 t; although it is a much larger area, with 

an EEZ of 5,030,000 km 2 , it is six times larger than the 

Pitcairn EEZ of 836,108 km 2 . Due to its remote location, 

lack of processing facilities, increasing fuel costs and 

marginal returns from fishing these waters, the economic 

development of Pitcairn’s offshore fisheries is not currently 

attractive for DWFN. 

In 2008 the Government of Pitcairn Islands signed a Joint 

Country Strategy (JCS) with the Secretariat of the Pacific 

Community (SPC) to provide SPC technical assistance 

and other support services to the Pitcairn Islands over the 

period 2009 to 2013. In support of the Pitcairn Islands 

development strategies, the JCS includes the provision of 

advice, training and services in managing and developing 

their fisheries and marine resources. 

Figure 13. Fish catch landings by species in the waters of Pitcairn (from Sea Around Us Project, 2010). 

Figure 14. Cumulative longline catch of yellowfin (yellow), bigeye (red) and albacore (blue) from 1990–2003 by 

5 degrees of latitude and longitude. The area of the symbol is proportional to the cumulative catch, with the 

maximum circle size representing 20,000 tonnes. The red square depicts the area used to approximate the area of 

the Pitcairn Islands EEZ (adopted from Adams & Langley, 2005). 

42 The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Offshore waters The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands: Offshore waters 

25. ‘Offshore waters’ are defined here as extending 

beyond 2 km from low water mark for each island or 

deeper than 100 m depth, out to the 200 nm limit of 

the EEZ. 

26. Altimetry satellites determine the height of the ocean 

surface by measuring the time it takes a radar pulse to 

travel from the satellite to the surface and back. 

27. Multibeam bathymetry is a means by which the 

topography of the seafloor can be measured remotely 

from a vessel on the ocean’s surface. Many beams 

of sound are emitted simultaneously to get a series 

of water depth readings along the line of a moving 

vessel. Multibeam bathymetry systems are now 

routinely used during research cruises to map areas of 

seafloor as large as thousands of square kilometers. 

28. Information obtained from a fishers meeting in 

Adamstown, September 2011 attended by the 

authors. 

43

Squirrelfish Sargocentron sp. and 

goatfish Parupeneus sp. sheltering within 

a shallow cave at Henderson. 

Photo: Enric Sala/National Geographic. 

44 


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Appendix 2: Additional data sources 

Databases 

Froese, R. and Pauly, D. (eds) 2011. FishBase. World Wide Web 

electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (10/2011). 

SeaLifeBase (http://www.sealifebase.org). 

(While searches for individual species were undertaken using the above 

databases, use was also made in the latter stages of preparing this report 

of the work undertaken by Deng Palomares and colleagues [referenced 

below] utilising both FishBase and SeaLifeBase databases. Ms Palomares 

very kindly allowed the authors use of the digitised spreadsheets 

produced from her study.) 

Palomares, M.L.D., Sorongon, P.M., Pan, M., Espedido, J.C., Chon, A. & 

Amarga, A. 2011. Documenting the marine biodiversity of 

the Pitcairn Islands through FishBase and SeaLifeBase. In: Palomares, 

M.L.D., Chaitanya, D., Harper, S., Zeller, D. & Pauly, D. (eds.). 2011. 

The Marine Biodiversity and Fisheries Catches of the Pitcairn Islands, pp. 

10-22. A report prepared for the Global Ocean Legacy project of the 

Pew Environment Group. The Sea Around Us project, Fisheries Centre, 

UBC, Vancouver, Canada. 

Poupin, J. 2011 (Online) Database of Crustacea (Decapoda & 

Stomatopoda) from central Pacific Islands (French Polynesia, 

Pitcairn Island, Easter Island and Clipperton) (http://decapoda.free.fr). 

WoRMS database (World Register of Marine Species) 

(http://www.marinespecies.org). 

IUCN Red List (http://www.iucnredlist.org) (International Union for the 

Conservation of Nature). 

Birdlife International (http://www.birdlife.org). 

Institutes 

Marine Biological Association Library, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, 

Plymouth (particular thanks to the Head Librarian, Linda Noble). 

IUCN-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 

Cambridge (Alison Rosser & Siobhan Kenney). 

Individuals 

Elisabeth Whitebread, the Pew Environment Group’s Global Ocean 

Legacy Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts (London Office). 

Dr Richard Preece, University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge. 

Dr Michael Brooke, Zoology Dept, University of Cambridge. 

Craig Hilton-Taylor, Red List Unit Manager, IUCN Species Programme, 

Cambridge. 

Dr Enric Sala, Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society, 

Washington D.C., USA. 

Dr Graham Wragg, Pacific Expeditions, Cook Islands. 

Hadoram Shirihai, Tubenoses Project. 


49

Appendix 3: IUCN Red List Species 

Table 20. IUCN Red List codes* and the categories they represent. (Note colours have been added by the authors). 

IUCN Code Category IUCN Code Category 

CR Critically Endangered LR/cd Low Risk/conservation dependent 

EN Endangered LR Low Risk 

VU Vulnerable LC Least Concern 

NT Near Threatened DD Data Deficient 

NE Not Evaluated 

* For further information about how these categories are decided upon for each species, the reader is refered to 

the following publication: IUCN (2001). IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. IUCN Species Survival 

Commission. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. ii + 30 pp 

The SeaLifeBase database lists 107 non-fish marine species 

from the Pitcairn Islands whose conservation status has 

been assessed by the IUCN. Of these, the hawksbill 

turtle Eretmochelys imbricata is the only species listed as 

being Critically Endangered (CR). Those non-fish marine 

species listed as being Endangered (EN) include the Sei 

whale Balanoptera borealis, the blue whale Balaenoptera 

musculus, the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus and 

the humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae (distinct 

Oceania subpopulation breeding stock F2); the Phoenix 

petrel Pterodroma alba, the Henderson petrel Pterodroma 

atrata, the black-browed albatross Thalassarche 

melanophrys, and the green turtle Chelonia mydas. Of 

these, the black-browed albatross is not known to nest on 

any of the islands. 

The FishBase database lists 108 marine fish species whose 

conservation status has been assessed by the IUCN, 

although for four of these there were insufficient data 

available (DD). Of the remaining 104 species, two (the 

humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus and the great 

hammerhead shark Sphyrma mokarran) are listed as 

Endangered (EN). 

In addition, of the 72 species of scleractinian coral 

recorded from all four islands, the SeaLifeBase database 

lists eight species as being Vulnerable (VU) and 14 species 

as Near Threatened (NT). 

50 

Table 21. Numbers of species of conservation concern as grouped by taxa. 

Taxon No. of species within each IUCN Red List category 

CR EN VU NT LC NE DD Other* 

Cetaceans - 4 1 - 8 - - - 


(breeding) 

- 1 - 1 12 - - - 


(non-breeding) 

- 3 8 3 11 4 - - 

Turtles 1 1 - - - - - - 

Pelagic fishes - - 3 2 5 3 - - 

Reef fishes - 2 5 14 63 263 3 2 

Echinoderms - - - - - 60 - - 

Molluscs - - - - - 499 - 2 

Crustacea 

(except 

Ostracods) 

- - - - 2 25 2 1 

Ostracods - - - - - 47 - - 

Hard corals - - 9 20 39 3 1 13 

Hydroids - - - - - 8 - - 

Sponges - - - - - 12 - - 

Forams - - - - - 32 - - 

Algae - - - - - 1 28 - 

Blue-green algae - - - - - - - 4 

TOTALS 1 11 26 40 140 957 34 22 

* ‘Other’ includes those species where positive ID has yet to be confirmed. 


51

Table 22. IUCN Red List of species (2012) recorded within the Pitcairn Islands EEZ, listed by conservation status 

categories (http://www.iucnredlist.org). 

Scientific name Common name Comment 

Critically Endangered (CR) 

Eretmochelys imbricata hawksbill turtle pelagic-oceanic 

Endangered (EN) 

Megaptera novaeangliae humpback whale specifically, the distinct Oceania subpopulation breeding 

stock F2 

Balaenoptera borealis sei whale pelagic-oceanic 

Balaenoptera musculus blue whale pelagic-oceanic 

Balaeoptera physalus fin whale pelagic-oceanic 

Pterodroma alba Phoenix petrel known to nest on Oeno (H. Shirihai, pers. comm.) 

Pterodroma atrata Henderson petrel known to nest on Henderson (Brooke 1995b) 

Nesofregetta fuliginosa Tahiti storm petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Thalassarche melanophrys black-browed albatross pelagic-oceanic 

Chelonia mydas green turtle known to nest on Henderson (Brooke 1995c). 

Sphyrna mokarran great hammerhead shark pelagic-oceanic 

Cheilinus undulatus humphead wrasse reef-associated – only recorded from Henderson and 

rarely seen (Irving et al., 1995) 

Vulnerable (VU) 

Physeter macrocephalus sperm whale pelagic-oceanic 

Procellaria aequinoctialis white-chinned petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Pterodroma cervicalis white-necked petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Pterodroma brevipes collared petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Procellaria parkinsoni Parkinson’s petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Procellaria westlandica Westland petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Pterodroma externa Juan Fernandez petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Nuamensis tahitiensis bristle-thighed curlew pelagic-oceanic 

Diomedea exulans wandering albatross pelagic-oceanic 

Carcharhinus longimanus oceanic whitetip shark pelagic-oceanic 

Rhincodon typus whale shark pelagic-oceanic 

Thunnus obesus bigeye tuna pelagic-oceanic 

Epinephelus lanceolatus giant grouper reef-associated – recorded from Pitcairn and Henderson 

(Randall & Heemstra, 1991) 

Acropora acuminata hard coral reef-associated – recorded from Oeno, Ducie and Pitcairn 

(ID in doubt for Pitcairn) (Paulay 1989) 

Acropora globiceps hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora listeri hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora striata hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora vaughani hard coral reef-associated 

Montipora australiensis hard coral reef-associated – this species is widespread and naturally 

rare throughout its range; however, it is susceptible to 

bleaching, disease, crown-of-thorns starfish predation, 

and extensive reduction of coral reef habitat due to a 

combination of threats 

Montipora caliculata hard coral reef-associated 

Montipora crassituberculata hard coral reef-associated 

52 

Scientific name Common name Comment 

Montipora lobulata hard coral reef-associated 

Leptoseris incrustans hard coral reef-associated – recorded from Henderson and Ducie 

(Paulay, 1989) 

Pocillopora elegans hard coral reef-associated 

Near Threatened (NT) 

Thalassarche bulleri Buller’s albatross pelagic-oceanic 

Pseudobulweria rostrata Tahiti petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Pterodroma ultima Murphy’s petrel pelagic-oceanic 

Puffinus griseus sooty shearwater pelagic-oceanic 

Epinephelus socialis surge grouper reef-associated 

Thunnus alalunga albacore tuna pelagic-oceanic 

Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos grey reef shark reef-associated 

Carcharhinus galapagensis Galapagos shark reef-associated 

Carcharhinus melanopterus blacktip reef shark reef-associated 

Prionace glauca blue shark pelagic-oceanic 

Triaenodon obesus whitetip reef shark reef-associated 

Acropora austera hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora digitifera hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora glauca hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora humilis hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora hyacinthus hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora loripes hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora lutkeni hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora nasuta hard coral reef-associated 

Acropora secale hard coral reef-associated 

Montipora foveolata hard coral reef-associated 

Montipora incrassata hard coral reef-associated 

Montipora nodosa hard coral reef-associated 

Montipora venosa hard coral reef-associated 

Favia mathaii hard coral reef-associated 

Favia rotumana hard coral reef-associated 

Favia stelligera hard coral reef-associated 

Pocillopora eydouxi hard coral reef-associated 

Porites lobata hard coral reef-associated 

Psammocora obtusangula hard coral reef-associated 


53

Appendix 4: Scientific research expeditions 

to the Pitcairn Islands 

Dates Title Organising 

institution & 

name of 

expedition 

leader(s) 

54 

Duration / overall purpose / islands visited / 

other notes 

1825 Visit by HMS Blossom Capt. F.W. Beechey Included the first full description of Ducie’s Island. 

1827 & 

1828 

Private expedition Hugh Cuming 11 days in total. Collected several new species of mollusc. Visited 

Pitcairn, Henderson & Ducie. 

1912 Private expedition J.R. Jamieson & D.R. 

Tait 

March 1922 Whitney South Sea 

Expedition 

1934 Mangarevan 

Expedition 

1935 Templeton-Crocker 

Expedition 

American Museum of 

Natural History (Rollo 

H. Beck) 

Mollusca collections. Collections described by E.A. Smith (1913). 

Primarily an ornithological expedition. 11 days spent at Ducie, but 

also visited Pitcairn & Henderson. Concentrated mostly on the 

terrestrial biota. 

Concentrated mostly on the terrestrial biota. 

Concentrated mostly on the terrestrial biota. 

1964 Private expedition Harald A. Rehder Collection of molluscs from Pitcairn. 

1967 Aboard the vessel 

Pele 

1970–71 Aboard the vessel 

Westward 

H.A. Rehder, D.M. 

Devaney & B.R. 

Wilson 

National Geographic 

Society/ Oceanic 

Institute expedition to 

SE Oceania. 

J. E. Randall & H.A. 

Rehder 

Collections of molluscs and echinoderms, particularly by using a 

dredge. (see Rehder, 1974 & Devaney, 1974). Visited Pitcairn (5 

days) and Oeno (2 days). 

Concentrated on molluscs and reef fishes, though also collected 

algae at Pitcairn. Spent most of one month staying on Pitcairn, but 

also visited Oeno (3 days), Henderson (3 days) & Ducie (2.5 days). 

Diving (fishes) and some dredging (molluscs). 

June 1986 Operation Raleigh Brief visits to Henderson (~16–22 June) and Pitcairn (~23–25 June). 

M. Richmond did some collecting of small marine intertidal fauna 

at both islands. Two pages of a subsequent expedition report seen 

by the authors. 

1987 Smithsonian 

Expedition 

January 

1991 – 

March 1992 

The Sir Peter Scott 

Commemorative 

Expedition to the 

Pitcairn Islands, 

1991–1992 

Smithsonian 

Institution, 

Washington. 

(incl. Gustav Paulay 

and Tom Spencer) 

University of 

Cambridge, UK 

Dr Mike Brooke, Dept 

of Zoology, University 

of Cambridge 

Dr Tom Spencer, 

Dept of Geography, 

University of 

Cambridge 

Dr Graham Wragg, 

Dept of Zoology, 

University of Oxford, 

UK 

Visited Ducie on 10 May 1987; Henderson on 12–21 May; Pitcairn 

on 22–26 May; and Oeno on 28 May (for 2 hours only). Collected 

by scuba diving on Henderson & Ducie. Collections made of 

corals, molluscs and echinoderms (Paulay). Studies of geology/ 

geomorphology on Henderson (Spencer). 

14 months in total, with groups of scientists visiting for 3–4 

months at a time. Most time spent on Henderson, but also with 

visits to Oeno, Pitcairn and Ducie. 

Primary objective: 

· to create a detailed geological and biological inventory of 

Henderson Island. 

Accompanying aims: 

· geomorphological studies to date the island’s elevational 

history 

· meteorological monitoring 

· inventory of Henderson’s fauna and flora 

· ecology and status of Henderson’s endemic species 

· magnitude, duration and cultural links of Polynesian 

settlement 

· detailed studies of sub-fossil deposits to understand 

Henderson’s palaeobiology 

· study of marine biota and nearshore habitats 

· preliminary studies of the biota of Oeno and Ducie 

· detailed mapping of Oeno and Ducie. 

Dates Title Organising 

institution & 

name of 

expedition 

leader(s) 

July–Sept 

1997 

Dr Steve Waldren, 

Trinity College, Dublin, 

Eire 

1997 Dr Graham Wragg 

and others 

Jan–Feb 

2003 

Operation Bounty Bay 

– a UK Joint Services 

Diving Expedition to 

the Pitcairn Islands 

Leader: Lieutenant 

Rod Penrose (RN) 

Scientific adviser: 

Robert Irving 

Boat skipper: Dr 

Graham Wragg 

Duration / overall purpose / islands visited / 

other notes 

Vegetation surveys – mostly on Pitcairn with four days on 

Henderson. Also follow-up visit in July/August 2003, accompanied 

by a PhD student, who also visited in 2004 and 2005. 

Rat eradication projects on Pitcairn (unsuccessful), Ducie and Oeno 

(both successful). 

Most of the time (3 weeks) spent diving at sites around Pitcairn, 

though two days were also spent at Henderson. Centred on 

marine archaeology and recreational diving. No collection of 

specimens, but many underwater photographs taken. 

2003 Dr Steve Blake Geological studies of Pitcairn and Henderson. 

July/Aug 

Dr Mike Brooke and Assessment of rat predation of petrel chicks. 

2003 

Alve Henricson 

Aug/Sept 

Dr Mike Brooke, Dr Rat eradication preparatory trip to Henderson. 

2009 

Richard Cuthbert 

(RSPB) and others 

September 

Prof. Terry Dawson Short visit to Pitcairn – investigating management of inshore 

2010 

University of Dundee, waters around the island (Darwin Initiative Overseas Territories 

UK 

Challenge Fund). 

July–Nov 

Derek Brown & Nick Joint RSPB/Pitcairn Islands Government rat eradication operation 

2011 

Torr (Operational 

Managers), Dr Richard 

Cuthbert (RSPB) and 

Dr Mike Brooke 

on Henderson Island. 

September 

Prof. Terry Dawson Short visit to Pitcairn – follow-up visit investigating management 

2011 

and Robert Irving of inshore waters around the island (Darwin Initiative Overseas 

Territories Challenge Fund). 

March- National Geographic National Geographic 3-4 weeks visiting all four islands aboard the Claymore II. Main 

April 2012 ‘Pristine Seas’ Society 

purpose was to make a film documentary of the natural history of 

expedition to the Enric Sala 

the islands, particularly underwater. Also to catalogue previously 

Pitcairn Islands (Explorer-in-Residence) unrecorded species of fish, coral and algae. 

In association with Pew Environment Group, Spain’s National 

Research Council, US Geological Survey, University of Hawaii, US 

National Park Service & University of California Santa Barbara. 


55

St Paul’s Pool, Pitcairn Island 

© Enric Sala/ National Geographic 

56 


Appendix 5: Marine species recorded 

from the Pitcairn Islands 

Species Authority* Common 

name (if 

known) 

IUCN 

code 

MACROALGAE (Seaweeds) Ref. Tsuda, 1976. 

Division Cyanophyta 

Microcoleus 

lyngbyaceus 

Hormothamnion 

enteromorphoides 

Grunow, ex 

Bornet & 

Flahault, 1888 

Brachytrichia quoyi (C. Agardh) 

Bornet & 

Flahault, 1886 

Oen Pit Hen Duc Offshore 

The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands 57 

Notes 

(Kütz) Crouan • From tidepools and rocks awash on shore, 

West Harbour. 

• From tidepools and rocks awash on shore, 

West Harbour. 


West Harbour. 

Calothrix pilosa 

Division Chlorophyta 

Harvey • From tidepools and rocks awash on shore, 

West Harbour. 

Cladophora 

coelothrix 

Bryopsis 

pennata 

Caulerpa pickeringii Harvey & 

Bailey, 1851 

Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskål) J. 

Agardh, 1873 

Halimeda incrassata (J.Ellis) J.V. 

Lamouroux, 

1816 

Kützing, 1843 • From tidepools and rocks awash on shore, 

West Harbour. 

J.V. 

Lamouroux, 

1809 

• From 13 m depth off Gudgeon Harbour. 

• From 13 m depth off Gudgeon Harbour. 

Also recorded by Nat. Geog. Soc. Expedition 

2012 at Pitcairn. 

Sea grapes • • From tidepools and rocks awash on shore, 

West Harbour. Also from large tidepool, 

Christian’s Point. Noted as present on Ducie 

by Rehder & Randall (1975) (see Plate 16). 

• • From tidepools and rocks awash on shore, 

West Harbour. Also from large pool, 5 m 

deep, St John. Halimeda sp. recorded from 

Henderson in 1991 (Irving, 1995). 

Halimeda samoense ? • Recorded by Nat. Geog. Soc. Expedition 

2012 at Pitcairn, but not recognised as 

a species by the WoRMS marine species 

database. 

Halimeda minima (W.R. Taylor) 

Hillis-Colinvaux 

1968 

Verdigellas peltata D.L. Ballantine 

& J.N. Norris, 

1994 

Cladophoropsis 

gracillima 

Dictyosphaeria 

cavernosa 

Microdictyon 

boergesenii 

Division Phaeophyta 

Asteronema 

breviarticulatum 

Sphacelaria 

tribuloides 

Dictyota 

acutiloba 

E.Y.Dawson, 

1950 

(Forsskål) 

Børgesen, 

1932 

• Recorded by Nat. Geog. Soc. Expedition 





West Harbour. 


West Harbour. 

Setchell, 1925 • • Present on fore-reef at Henderson (Paulay, 

1989). Noted as present on Ducie by Rehder 

& Randall (1975). 

(J. Agardh) 

Ouriques & 

Bouzon, 2000 

Meneghini, 

1840 

J. Agardh, 

1848 

• Originally recorded by Tsuda (1976) as 

Ectocarpus breviarticulatus. From tidepools 

and rocks awash on shore, West Harbour. 


West Harbour. 

• From large tidepool, Christian’s Point. 

* The citing of the naming authority here follows the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th edition, 1999. 

(http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code). The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has been used to verify species 

names and authorities (http://www.marinespecies.org).


name (if 

known) 

Lobophora variegata (J.V. 

Lamouroux) 

Womersley ex 

E.C. Oliveira, 

1977 

Sargassum 

odontocarpum 

Sargassum 

obtusifolium 

58 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

• • From large tidepool, Christian’s Point; from 

13 m depth off Gudgeon Harbour; from 

large pool, 5 m deep, St John; & from 21 m 

depth off the south coast, with a boulder 

seabed with some sand and live corals. Also 

recorded by Paulay (1989) on fore-reef at 

Henderson. 

Sonder, 1871 • Originally recorded by Tsuda (1976) as 

Sargassum coriifolium. From tidepools and 

rocks awash on shore, West Harbour; from 

large tidepool, Christian’s Point; from 13 m 

depth off Gudgeon Harbour; and from 

large pool, 5 m deep, St John. 

J. Agardh, 

1848 

Stypopodium zonale (J.V. 

Lamouroux) 

Papenfuss, 

1940 

Zonaria 

stipitata 

Division Rhodophyta 

Tanaka & K. 

Nozawa, 1962 

Gelidiopsis intricata (C. Agardh) 

Vickers, 1905 

Corallina cuvieri J.V.Lamouroux, 

1816 

• Present in rockpool at Down Isaacs, Pitcairn 

(see Plate 15). 

NE • • Recorded by Tsuda (1976) at Pitcairn and by 

Paulay (1989) at Henderson. 




West Harbour; and from 13 m depth off 

Gudgeon Harbour. 


West Harbour; and from 13 m depth off 

Gudgeon Harbour. 

Porolithon spp. • • Recorded by Paulay (1989) on fore-reef at 

Henderson. Tentative IDs of P. onkodes and 

P. gardineri in Ducie’s lagoon by Rehder & 

Randall (1975). 

Hydrolithon onkodes (Heydrich) 

D. Penrose & 

Woelkerling, 

1992 

Lithophyllum 

kotschyanum 

Neogoniolithon 

brassica-florida 

Botryocladia 

skottsbergii 

Centroceras 

clavulatum 



Unger, 1858 • Recorded by Nat. Geog. Soc. Expedition 


(Harvey) 

Satchell & L.R. 

Mason, 1943 

(Børgesen) 

Levring, 1941 

(C. Agardh) 

Montagne, 

1846 

Chondria intertexta P.C. Silva, 

1972 

• Recorded as N. frutescens by Nat. Geog. 

Soc. Expedition 2012 at Pitcairn. 


West Harbour. 


West Harbour. 

• Originally recorded by Tsuda (1976) as 

Chondria intricata. From large tidepool, 

Christian’s Point. 

FORAMINIFERA (Forams) Refs. Whittaker & Hodgkinson, 1995; Palomares et al., 2011. 

Amphistegina 

lobifera 

Amphistegina lessonii d’Orbigny 

in Guerin- 

Meneville, 

1843 

Asterigerina carinata d’Orbigny, 

1839 

Larsen, 1976 NE • • Present in samples of beach sediment, 

NW Beach and N Beach (Henderson); and 

from seaweed sample (green clumped 

weed) collected in 1 m depth and sample 

of ‘yellow fucoid weed’, (Pitcairn: Tedside); 

and from beach sediment (Oeno). 

NE • • Present in samples of beach sediment, NW 

Beach and N Beach (Henderson). From 

seaweed sample (‘yellow fucoid weed’) 

(Pitcairn: Tedside); and from beach sediment 

(Oeno). 

NE • Recorded by O. Green in sand from the 

North Beach at Henderson (results included 

in Spencer, 1989b). 


name (if 

known) 


59 

IUCN 

code 


Hauerina sp. - NE • • From seaweed sample (green clumped 

weed) collected in 1 m depth in high energy 

environment (Pitcairn: Tedside). Also from 

dried seaweed sample; and from sediments 

collected at 23 m and 33 m depth 

(Henderson); and from beach sediment 

(Oeno). 

Bolivina sp. - NE • From seaweed sample (green clumped 

weed) collected in 1 m depth in high energy 

environment (Pitcairn: Tedside). 

Heterostegina 

depressa 

d’Orbigny, 

1826 

Notes 

NE • • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach; and from sediment collected at 

33 m depth (Henderson). From seaweed 

sample (loose ‘strandy’ and attached weed) 

and from sample of ‘yellow fucoid weed’ 

(Pitcairn: Tedside). 

Peneroplis sp. - NE • • From seaweed sample (loose ‘strandy’ and 

attached weed) (Pitcairn: Tedside). Also 

from dried seaweed sample (Henderson). 

Spirillina sp. - NE • From seaweed sample (loose ‘strandy’ and 

attached weed) (Pitcairn: Tedside). 

Miliolinella sp. - NE • • From seaweed sample (loose ‘strandy’ and 

attached weed) (Pitcairn: Tedside). Present 

in sample of beach sediment, N Beach; and 

from sediment at 33 m depth (Henderson). 

Acervulina sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach; and from seaweed sample from 

1 m depth (Henderson). From seaweed 

sample (loose ‘strandy’ and attached weed) 

and from sample of ‘yellow fucoid weed’ 

(Pitcairn: Tedside). 

Discorbids - NE • From seaweed sample (loose ‘strandy’ and 

attached weed) (Pitcairn: Tedside). 

Small miliolids - NE • From seaweed sample (‘yellow fucoid 

weed’) (Pitcairn: Tedside). 

Pyrgo sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach; and from sediment sample collected 

at 33 m depth (Henderson). 

Spiroloculina sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach; and from seaweed sample from 1 m 

depth; and from sediment at 33 m depth 

(Henderson); and from beach sediment 

(Oeno). 

Spirosigmoilina sp - NE • Present in seaweed sample from 1 m depth, 

reef flat (Henderson). 

Schlumbergerina sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach (Henderson). 

Quinqueloculina sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach; and in sediment from 33 m depth 

(Henderson). 

Pseudolachlanella sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach; and in sediment from 23 m depth 

(Henderson). 

Amphisorus 

hemprichii 

Marginopora 

vertebralis 

Sphaerogypsina 

globula 

Ehrenberg, 

1839 

Quoy & 

Gaimard, 1830 


Beach and N Beach; and from seaweed 

sample from 1 m depth (Henderson). From 

beach sediment (Oeno). 


Beach and N Beach (Henderson); and from 

beach sediment (Oeno). 

(Reuss, 1848) NE • • Present in samples of beach sediment, NW 

Beach & N Beach (Henderson); and in beach 

sediment (Oeno). 

Triloculina sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, NW 

Beach (Henderson).


name (if 

known) 

Borelis pulchra (d’Orbigny, 

1839) 

Sorites 

marginalis 

60 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, N 

Beach; and from sediment sample from 

33 m depth (Henderson). Not found in 

WoRMS database. 

NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, 

N Beach (Henderson); and from beach 


Anomalinoides sp. - NE • Present in sample of beach sediment, 

N Beach; and also from dried seaweed 

sample; and from sediment sample from 

23 m depth (Henderson). 

Scutuloris sp. - NE • Present in seaweed sample from 1 m depth, 

reef flat; and in sediment samples from 

23 m and 33 m depth (Henderson). 

Cymbaloporetta sp. - NE • Present in seaweed sample from 1 m depth, 

reef flat; and in sediment sample from 

33 m depth (Henderson); and from beach 


Rugobolivinella sp. - NE • From dried seaweed sample; and from 

sediments collected at 23 m and 33 m 

depth (Henderson). 

Fischerinella sp. - NE • From sediment collected at 23 m depth 

(Henderson). 

Anomalinella sp. - NE • From sediment collected at 33 m depth 

(Henderson). 

Homotrema rubrum (Lamarck, 

1816) 

NE • From sediment collected at 12 m depth 

(Henderson). 

Phylum PORIFERA (Sponges) Ref. Irving, 1995. 

Ascaltis sp. - NE • • Lime-green sponge. W end of lagoon, 

Ducie. Also found at Oeno. 

Batzella sp. - NE • Orange sponge. Reef crest, NW Oeno. 

Chondrosia chucalla de Laubenfels, 

1954 

Cliona sp. aff. 

vastifica 

Darwinella sp. aff. 

gardineri 

Lamellodysidea 

herbacea 

Jaspis sp. aff. 

tuberculata 

Scopalina sp. aff. 

australiensis 

Spirastrella 

decumbens 

Spheciospongia 

solida 

NE • Black encrusting sponge. In among coral 

rubble at 15 m depth off the NW of 

Henderson. 

- NE • Black sponge. At 22m depth, outer reef, 

Oeno. 

- NE • Red-pink sponge. E end of lagoon, Ducie. 

(Keller, 1889) NE • Originally identified as Dysidea herbacea. 

Yellow/cream sponge. E end of lagoon, 

Ducie. 

- NE • • Dark green/brown/black. From reef flat 

to 16 m depth at Henderson. Together 

with Spirastrella decumbens, this is the 

commonest sponge at Henderson. Also 

present at E end of lagoon, Ducie. 

- NE • Very thin orange encrusting sponge. At 

30 m depth off the NW and E coasts of 

Henderson. 

Ridley, 1884 NE • • Thin rust-brown/red/orange sponge. Reef 

flat, E end of N. Beach and from NW Point, 

down to 13 m off the SW and NW coasts, 

Henderson. Also W end of lagoon, Oeno. 

Also recorded intertidally by M. Richmond 

(Operation Raleigh) in 1986. 

(Ridley & 

Dendy, 1886) 

NE • Originally identified as Spirastrella solida. 

Thin, orangey-brown sponge. Reef flat, N 

Beach, Henderson. 

Spongia magallonica - NE • • Black encrusting sponge. On wave-cut 

ledge, NW Point, Henderson; and at E end 

of lagoon, Ducie. 

Tethya 

seychellensis 

(Wright, 1881) NE • Orange sponge. W end of lagoon, Ducie. 


name (if 

known) 

Phylum CNIDARIA (hydroids, corals, anemones, etc.) 


61 

IUCN 

code 

Class Hydrozoa - hydroids Ref. Irving, 1995). 

Aglaophenia 

postdentata 


Notes 

Billard, 1913 NE • Recorded from several Indo-West Pacific 

localities, including Fiji. Probably distributed 

over whole of tropical Pacific. 

Gymnangium hians (Busk, 1852) NE • • Also recorded from Oeno. Widely 

distributed reef species from tropical and 

subtropical Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, S. Africa 

and Caribbean. 

Lytocarpia brevirostris (Busk, 1852) NE • Recorded from the tropical Indo-West 

Pacific, including Fiji. Probably with wider 

distribution in tropical Pacific. 

Macrorhynchia 

phoenicea 

Plumularia 

strobilophora 

(Busk, 1852) NE • Reef species of the tropical Indo-Pacific, 

including Fiji. Probably distributed over 

whole of tropical Pacific. 

Billard, 1913 NE • • Also recorded from Oeno. Recorded from 

Malaysia, French Polynesia and Trinidad. 

Recently described from Fiji. 

Sertularia loculosa (Busk, 1852) NE • Originally identified as Sertularia ligulata. 

Widely distributed in the tropical Indo- 

Pacific and Indo-West Pacific. Found in 

French Polynesia and also Fiji. 

Sertularella ?simplex (Hutton, 1873) NE • Identification uncertain. May possibly be S. 

robusta or an undescribed species. (Status 

of ‘NE’ given for S. ligulata by Palomares et 

al., 2011). 

Millepora spp. Linnaeus, 

1758 

fire coral NE • • • Widespread around each island and 

particularly abundant at Henderson, with 

some individual colonies up to 2 m tall. 

Class Anthozoa / Order Scleractinia (stony corals) Ref. Paulay, 1989); Palomares et al., 2011); personal notes from John Pandolfi. 

Stylocoeniella 

guentheri 

Pocillopora 

damicornis 

Bassett-Smith, 

1890 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

LC • • Paulay (1989): A large clump of arborescent 

S. guentheri was dredged from 37 m off 

Henderson; and similar colonies were 

dredged from 47-63 m and 72-108 m off 

Pitcairn in 1967. This is an unusual growth 

form of this species. 

LC • • Original record by Paulay (1989). Specimens 

collected from Henderson by Blake and/or 

Pandolfi in 1991. 

[Pocillopora elegans] Dana, 1846 [VU] Paulay (1989): “This species was originally 

recorded from the Pitcairn Islands by 

Rehder & Randall (1975), but was a 

misidentification.” 

Pocillopora eydouxi (Milne 

Edwards & 

Haime, 1860) 

Pocillopora 

meandrina 

Pocillopora verrucosa (Ellis & 

Solander, 

1786) 

Pocillopora 

woodjonesi 

Montipora 

aequituberculata 

NT • •? Original record by Paulay (1989). Also 

collected by Blake and/or Pandolfi in 1991 

from Henderson. 

Dana, 1846 LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989), but specimens 


from Henderson and subsequently listed by 

Palomares et al. (2011). 

Vaughan, 

1918 

LC Paulay (1989) identified “Pocilliopora sp. 1” 

as being similar to P. verrucosa but differing 

in having hood-like ramifications over the 

calices, as in Stylophora. It is not known 

if he subsequently identified “sp.1” any 

further. 

LC •? Paulay (1989): “P. woodjonesi is fairly 

common at Henderson.” Specimens 


from Henderson could not be ID’d for 

certain by J.E. Veron. 

Bernard, 1897 LC •? • One of the most common corals on 

the Ducie fore-reef, but uncommon on 

Henderson (Paulay 1989).


name (if 

known) 

Montipora 

australiensis 

Montipora aff. 

bilaminata 

62 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

Bernard, 1897 VU • Specimens collected by Blake and/or 

Pandolfi in 1991 from Henderson, with IDs 

confirmed by J.E. Veron. 

Bernard, 1897 • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


Montipora caliculata (Dana, 1846) VU • • Specimens collected by Blake and/or 



Montipora cf. 

capitata 

[Montipora 

composita] 

Montipora 

crassituberculata 

(Dana, 1846) • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


Not known [NE] Paulay (1989): This species was originally 



misidentification. 

Bernard, 1897 VU • Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 


from Henderson, with IDs confirmed by J.E. 

Veron. Subsequently listed by Palomares et 

al. (2011). 

Montipora foveolata (Dana, 1846) NT • • • Specimens collected by Blake and/or 



Montipora grisea Bernard, 1897 LC • 

Montipora incrassata (Dana, 1846) NT • • 

Montipora lobulata Bernard VU Not listed by Paulay (1989), but listed by 


Montipora nodosa (Dana, 1846) NT • Specimens collected by Blake and/or 



Montipora 

tuberculosa 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

LC • 

[Montipora venosa] (Ehrenberg) [NT] Paulay (1989): This species was originally 




Montipora cf. 

verrucosa 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

Acropora acuminata (Verrill, 1864) VU • •? • 

•? • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


Acropora austera (Dana, 1846) NT • Not listed by Paulay (1989), but listed by 

Palomares et al. (2011). Specimens collected 

by J. Pandolfi from Henderson in 1991 with 

ID confirmed by J. Wolstenholme. 

Acropora cerealis (Dana, 1846) LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or Palomares 

et al. (2011). Specimen(s) collected by J. 

Pandolfi from Henderson in 1991 with ID 

confirmed by J. Wolstenholme. 

Acropora cytherea (Dana, 1846) LC • 

Acropora 

abrotanoides 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or Palomares 

et al. (2011). Specimens collected by J. 


confirmed by J. Wolstenholme. (Synonym: 

A. danai). 

Acropora digitifera (Dana, 1846) NT • Specimens collected in 1991 from 

Henderson by Blake and/or Pandolfi could 

not be ID’d with certainty by J.E. Veron. 

Acropora divaricata (Dana, 1846) NT • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or Palomares 





name (if 

known) 


63 

IUCN 

code 


Acropora gemmifera (Brook, 1892) LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 




al. (2011). 

Acropora glauca (Brook, 1893) NT • Listed by Paulay (1989) as A. cf. glauca. 

ID confirmed by J. Wolstenholme from 

specimens collected by J. Pandolfi from 

Henderson in 1991. However, not listed by 


Acropora globiceps (Dana, 1846) VU Not listed by Paulay (1989), but listed by 


Acropora humilis (Dana, 1846) NT • • • Positive ID by J. Wolstenholme from 

specimens collected by J. Pandolfi from 

Henderson in 1991. 

Acropora hyacinthus (Dana, 1846) NT • Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 




al. (2011). 

Acropora latistella (Brook, 1891) LC • • Paulay (1989) lists A. latistellata (Brook, 

1892) which no longer exists (if indeed it 

ever did) and is presumed to be the same 

as A. latistella listed by Palomares et al. 

(2011). Specimens collected by Blake and/or 



Acropora listeri (Brook, 1893) VU • Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 


from Henderson, with ID confirmed by J.E. 


al. (2011). 

Acropora loripes (Brook, 1892) NT • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or Palomares 




Acropora lutkeni Crossland, 

1952 

Acropora cf. 

microclados 

Acropora 

microphthalma 

(Ehrenberg, 

1834) 

Notes 

NT • Listed by Paulay (1989) as A. cf. lutkeni. 

ID subsequently confirmed by J.E. Veron. 

However, not listed by Palomares et al. 

(2011). 

• Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


(Verrill, 1859) LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 




al. (2011). 

Acropora nasuta (Dana, 1846) NT • • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or by Palomares 

et al. (2011). Specimens collected by Blake 

and/or Pandolfi in 1991 from Henderson, 

with IDs confirmed by J.E. Veron. 

Acropora 

pocilloporina 

Wallace, 1994 NE Not listed by Paulay (1989), but listed by 


Acropora robusta (Dana, 1846) LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or by Palomares 

et al. (2011). However, specimen collected 

by Blake and/or Pandolfi in 1991 from 

Henderson, with ID confirmed by J.E. Veron. 

Acropora samoensis (Brook, 1891) LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 




al. (2011).


name (if 

known) 

64 

IUCN 

code 


Acropora secale (Studer, 1878) NT • •? • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or by 

Palomares et al. (2011). However, 

specimen(s) collected by Pandolfi in 1991 

from Henderson, with ID confirmed by 

J.Wolstenholme. 

Acropora cf. 

solitaryensis 

Veron & 

Wallace, 1984 

Notes 



Acropora striata (Verrill, 1866) VU Not listed by Paulay (1989) or by 

Palomares et al. (2011). However, 

specimen(s) collected by Pandolfi in 1991 

from Henderson, with ID confirmed by 

J.Wolstenholme. 

Acropora subulata (Dana, 1846) LC Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 




al. (2011). 

Acropora tortuosa (Dana, 1846) LC • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or by Palomares 



Henderson, with ID confirmed by J. 

Wolstenholme. 

Acropora valida (Dana, 1846) LC • • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or by Palomares 

et al. (2011). However, specimen(s) 

collected by Pandolfi in 1991 from 


Wolstenholme. 

Acropora vaughani Wells, 1954 VU • Not listed by Paulay (1989) or by Palomares 




Wolstenholme. 

Astreopora 

myriophthalma 

Astreopora cf. 

moretonensis 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

Veron & 

Wallace, 1984 

Porites aff. annae Crossland, 

1952 

Porites australiensis Vaughan, 

1918 

LC • • •? Probable ID by J.E. Veron of two specimens 





• • • • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 

Palomares et al. (2011). Some differences in 

growth form from P. annae. 

LC • • 

Porites lobata Dana, 1846 NT • • • Listed as Porites cf. lobata by Paulay (1989), 

mentioning differences in growth form 

with P. lobata. Recorded as common at 

Henderson and occasional at Ducie. Positive 

ID by J.E. Veron from specimens collected 


Henderson. 

Porites lutea Milne Edwards 

& Haime, 

1851 

Psammocora 

haimeana 

Psammocora 

obtusangula 

(Milne 

Edwards & 

Haime, 1851) 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

Alveopora tizardi Bassett-Smith, 

1890 

LC • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



LC • • • 

NT • • 

LC • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from single 

specimen collected by Blake and/or Pandolfi 

in 1991 from Henderson. 

Species Authority Common 

name (if 

known) 


65 

IUCN 

code 


Pavona sp. 1 • • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 

Palomares et al. (2011). Paulay (1989) 

states that it is intermediate in form 

between P. maldivensis and P. clavus/P. 

minuta. Specimens collected by Blake 

and/or Pandolfi in 1991 from Henderson 

have led J.E. Veron to think this might be 

a new species. 

[Pavona sp. cf. 

pollicata] 

Pavona 

maldivensis 

(Wells, 1954) Paulay (1989): This species was originally 




(Gardiner, 

1905) 

LC 

• 

Pavona varians Verrill, 1864 LC • • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



Leptoseris 

hawaiiensis 

Leptoseris 

incrustans 

Leptoseris 

solida 

Cycloseris 

vaughani 

Psammocora 

albopicta 

Psammocora 

profundacella 

Coscinaraea 

columna 

Fungia 

paumotensis 

Fungia 

scutaria 

Fungia 

vaughani 

Lobophyllia 

hemprichii 

Scolymia cf. 

vitiensis 

Caulastrea cf. 

furcata 

Vaughan, 

1907 

• 

(Quelch) VU • • 

LC 

(Quelch, 1886) LC Not listed by Paulay (1989). Specimens 


from Henderson, with IDs confirmed by 

J.E. Veron (checking against holotype 

from Tahiti). Subsequently listed by 


(Boschma, 

1923) 

NE 

• 

Benzoni, 2006 DD • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 


from Henderson. (Synonym: Psammocora 

superficialis). 

Gardiner, 1898 LC • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



Dana, 1846 LC • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



Stuchbury, 

1833 

NE 

Notes 

Originally identified as Fungia danai by 

Palomares et al. (2011). Not listed by 

Paulay (1989), however. 

Lamarck, 1801 LC • • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



Boschma, 

1923 

(Ehrenberg, 

1834) 

Bruggemann, 

1877 

Favia matthaii Vaughan, 

1918 

Favia 

rotumana 

LC 

LC • 

Not listed by Paulay (1989), but listed by 


Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



• • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


Dana, 1846 • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


(Gardiner, 

1899) 

NT • • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 

Palomares et al. (2011). Positive ID by J.E. 

Veron from specimens collected by Blake 

and/or Pandolfi in 1991 from Henderson. 

NT • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 

Palomares et al. (2011). Positive ID by J.E. 

Veron from specimens collected by Blake 

and/or Pandolfi in 1991 from Henderson. 

Favia stelligera (Dana, 1846) NT • • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 


from Henderson.


name (if 

known) 

Goniastrea 

australensis 

Montastrea 

curta 

Plesiastrea 

versipora 

Leptastrea 

pruinosa 

Leptastrea 

purpurea 

Leptastrea 

?transversa 

Cyphastrea cf. 

serailia 

Platygyra 

daedalea 

66 

(Milne 

Edwards & 

Haime, 1857) 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

LC • • Not recognised by WoRMS database. 

Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimen 



(Dana, 1846) LC • • • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



(Lamarck, 

1816) 

LC • • • Listed by Paulay (1989). 

Crossland, 

1952 

LC • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 

collected by Blake and/or Pandolfi in 

1991 from Henderson. “Very distinct 

from L. purpurea.” 

(Dana, 1846) LC • •? • Positive ID by J.E. Veron from specimens 



Klunzinger, 

1879 

• • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


(Forskal, 1775) • • • Listed by Paulay (1989) but not listed by 


(Ellis & 

Solander, 

1786) 

Class Anthozoa /Order Alcyonacea (soft corals) 

Unidentified 

species 

Soft or 

leather corals 

LC Not listed by Paulay (1989), but listed by 


• • • Several species known to occur but as yet 

not studied/identified. 

Phylum ARTHROPODA Superclass CRUSTACEA 

Class Malacostraca 

Refs. Palomares et al., 2011; J. Poupin, 2011; Internet Database of Crustacea. 

Albunea bulla Boyko, 2002 NE J. Poupin, 2011. 

Calappa gallus (Herbst, 1803) box crab NE 

Calcinus (H. Milne electric blue NE J. Poupin, 2011. 

elegans Edwards, 

1836) 

hermit crab 

Calcinus Forest, 1951 white-banded NE J. Poupin, 2011. 

seurati 

hermit crab 

Coenobita H. Milne 

strawberry NE • • Mentioned by Rehder & Randall (1975). 

perlatus Edwards, 1837 hermit crab 

(terrestrial) 

Coenobita H. Milne purple hermit NE • • • Large numbers on Ducie, Oeno and on 

spinosa Edwards, 1837 crab (terrestrial) 

Henderson (R.A. Irving, pers. obs.). 

Birgus latro (Linnaeus, coconut crab DD • • • Larvae spend first 2–3 months in shallow 

1767) 

(terrestrial) 

seawater. 

Carpilius (Forsskål, red reef crab NE 

convexus 1775) 

Carpilius (Linnaeus, spotted reef NE 

maculates 1758) 

crab 

Cardisoma 

carnifex 

(Herbst, 1796) crab (terrestrial) NE 

Macrobrachium (von Martens, ‘freshwater’ NE • 

latimanus 1868) 

pool shrimp 

Jasus 

Webber & rock lobster NE 

caveorum Booth, 1995 

Panulirus (Olivier, 1791) pronghorn or LC • •? Occurs at Pitcairn and possibly at 

penicillatus 

red spiny lobster 

Henderson (uncertain which species is 

present at Henderson). 

Panulirus Reed, 1954 spiny lobster DD • •? Poupin, J., 2011 and Palomares et al., 

pascuensis 

2011. Besides Pitcairn (and possibly 

Henderson), known only from Easter 

Island and Austral Islands (French 

Polynesia). 



name (if 

known) 

Scyllarides 

haanii 

Metapenaeopsis 

velutina 

Carupa 

tenuipes 

Thalamita 

admete 

Thalamita 

auauensis 

Notopoides 

latus 

Trapezia 

areolata 

Trapezia 

tigrina 

Etisus 

laevimanus 

de Haan, 1841 Aesop slipper 

lobster 

IUCN 

code 



Notes 

LC • Caught at Pitcairn using baited traps 

(T. Dawson, pers. obs.). Possibly S. 

squammosus (Götesson, 2012) 

(Dana, 1852) velvet shrimp NE J. Poupin, 2011 & Palomares et al., 2011. 

Dana, 1852 violet-eyed 

swimming crab 

NE J. Poupin, 2011. 

(Herbst, 1803) swimming crab NE J. Poupin (2011) & Palomares et al. 

(2011). 

Rathburn, 

1906 

swimming crab NE J. Poupin, 2011. 

Henderson, 

1888 

spanner crab NE J. Poupin, 2011 & Palomares et al., 2011; 

Dawson & Yaldwyn, 2002. Recorded from 

Ducie. 

Dana, 1852 guard crab NE J. Poupin, 2011. 

Eydoux & 

Souleyet, 1842 

red-spotted 

guard crab 

Randall, 1840 smooth spooner 

crab 

NE J. Poupin, 2011 & Palomares et al., 2011. 

NE Palomares et al., 2011. 

Ocypode sp. ghost crab NE • R.A. Irving, pers. obs. 

Grapsus 

tenuicrustatus 

Class Maxillopoda 

Euraphia 

hembeli 

Nesochthamalus 

intertextus 

Rehderella 

belyaevi 

Tetraclitella 

divisa 

(Herbst, 1783) Sally Lightfoot 

crab 

NE • • • Rehder & Randall, 1975 – Ducie records; 

R.A. Irving – Henderson and Pitcairn 

records (pers. obs. from 1991). 

Conrad, 1837 Hembel’s rock 

barnacle 

NE 

(Darwin, 1854) purple rock 

barnacle 

NE 

barnacle NE Name not recognised by WoRMS 

database. 

(Nilsson- 

Cantell, 1921) 

barnacle NE 

goose barnacle 

indet. 

• • R.A. Irving, pers. obs. 

Class Ostracoda 

Macrocyprina 

maculata 

NE 

Cytherelloidea 

fijiensis 

(Brady) 1880 NE 

Neonesidea 

apostasies 

NE Endemic 

Neonesidea 

blighi 

NE 

Neonesidea 

supercaudata 

NE 

Neonesidea 

tenera 


Triebelina 

sertata 

(Triebel) 1948 NE 

Anchistrocheles 

fumata 


Cytheroma 

aphanes 

NE 

Tenedocythere 

apios 

NE 


stasiotes 

NE 


transoceanica 

(Teeter) 1975 NE


name (if 

known) 

68 

IUCN 

code 

Thesceloscythere labyrinthos NE 

Oen Pit Hen Duc Offshore Notes 

Loxoconcha dictyoklostos NE Endemic 

Loxoconcha 

NE 

hendersonislandensis 

Loxochonchella 

NE 

catarrhopos 

Loxocorniculum 

NE 

mayburyae 

Keijia demissa NE 

Kotoracythere 

inconspicua 


Peripontocypris 

magnafurcata 

NE 

Cletocythereis 

rastromarginata 


Cletocythereis watsonae NE 

Xestoleberis entrichos NE 

Xestoleberis insolanos NE 

Xestoleberis kyrtonos NE 

Xestoleberis 

macrocicatrigosa 

(Titterton) 

1984 

Xestoleberis macrorhinos NE 

Xestoleberis polys NE 

NE 

Ambostracon sp. nov. NE New genus 

Loxocorniculum sp. nov. NE New genus 

Pseudocaudites sp. nov. NE New genus 

Australimoosella sp. NE New species 

Chejudocythere sp. NE New species 

Cyprideis sp. NE New species 

Cytherelloidea sp. 1 NE New species 

Cytherelloidea sp. 2 NE New species 

Cytherois sp. NE New species 

Loxoconcha sp. NE New species 

Neonesidea sp. 1 NE New species 



Paracytheridea sp. NE New species 

Paradoxostoma sp. 1 NE New species 

Paradoxostoma sp. 2 NE New species 

Pellucistoma sp. NE New species 

Xestoleberis sp. 1 NE New species 

Xestoleberis sp. 2 NE New species 



name (if 

known) 

IUCN 

code 

Phylum BRACHIOPODA Refs. 

Terebratella 

crenulata 



Notes 

NE Palomares et al. (2011) 

Phylum MOLLUSCA Refs. Preece, 1995a; SeaLifeBase, 2011; Paulay, 1989. 

Class: Bivalvia – Order: Mytiloida 

Botula fusca (Gmelin, 1791) NE • 

Modiolus 

auriculatus 

Krauss, 1848 NE • 

Modiolus matris Pilsbry, 1921 NE • • 

Septifer bryanae (Pilsbry, 1921) NE • 

Class: Bivalvia – Order: Arcoida 

Acar plicata (Dillwyn, 1817) NE • • 

Arca patriarchalis Röding, 1798 NE • • Originally recorded by Preece (1995a) 

as Arca avellana Lamarck, 1819. 

Barbatia parva (Sowerby, 1833) NE • • • • 

Barbatia plicata (Dillwyn, 1817) NE Recorded as Acar plicata by Preece 

(1995a). 

Cosa n. sp. Recorded by Preece (1995a). Still 

undescribed so far as is known. 

Class: Bivalvia – Order: Pterioida 

Atrina vexillum NE Not listed by Preece (1995a). 

Pinna muricata NE Not listed by Preece (1995a). 

Streptopinna 

saccata 

Pinctada 

maculata 

Pinctada 

margaritifera 

Isognomon 

anomioides 

Isognomon 

perna 

Isognomon 

rupella 

Class: Bivalvia – Order: Ostreoida 

(Linnaeus, 1758) NE • 

(Gould, 1850) NE • • • 

(Linnaeus, 1758) pearl oyster NE • • • 

(Reeve, 1858) NE • 

(Linnaeus, 1758) NE • • • 

(Dufo, 1840) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Chlamys 

coruscans 

(Hinds, 1845) NE • • • • 

Chlamys sp. - NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 

Palomares et al. (2011).


name (if 

known) 

Excellichlamys 

spectabilis 

parva 

Gloripallium 

pallium 

Gloripallium 

spiniferum 

Mirapecten 

mirificus 

Mirapecten 

sp. 

Semipallium 

sp. 

Chlamydella 

cf. incubata 

Spondylus 

nicobaricus 

Spondylus 

violascens 

70 

(Sowerby I, 

1835) 

IUCN 

code 


(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

NE • 

(Sowerby I, 

1835) 

NE • 

(Reeve, 1853) NE • 

Notes 

NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


- NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


NE Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Hayami & 

Kase, 1993 

Schriebers, 

1793 

Lamarck, 1819 NE • • 



NE • 

Spondylus sp. - NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Class: Bivalvia – Order: Limoida 

Lima bullifera Deshayes, 

1863 

NE • • 

Lima lima NE Not listed by Preece (1995a). 

Lima vulgaris (Link, 1807) NE • • 

Limatula sp. - • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Ostrea sp. NE Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Hyotissa hyotis (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

NE • 

Dimyella n. sp. 

Class: Bivalvia – Order: Veneroida 

NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Chama 

asperella 

Lamarck, 1819 NE • • 

Chama 

iostoma 

NE Not listed by Preece (1995a). 

Chama 

limbula 

Lamarck, 1819 NE • • • 

Chama 

spinosa 

Broderip, 1835 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 

Palomares et al. (2011) 

Chama sp. - NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Ctena bella (Conrad, 

1837) 

NE • • • • 

Codakia 

punctata 

Codakia 

tigerina 

Anodontia 

hawaiensis 

‘Parvilucina’ n. 

gen. in prep. 

Pillucina 

pacifica 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Dall, Bartsch 

& Rehder, 

1938) 



NE • • • 

NE • • • • Formerly A. edentula. 

- NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 

Palomares et al. (2011). New genus to be 

described. 

Glover & 

Taylor, 2005 

NE • 



name (if 

known) 

IUCN 

code 

Pillucina sp. - NE • 


Funafutia 

levnkana 

(Smith, 1885) NE • 

Lasaea sp. NE • • 

Marikellia cf. 

solida 

Montacuta 

spp. 

Galeomma cf. 

macrochisma 

Trachycardium 

orbitum 

Fragum 

mundum 

Fragum 

fragum 

Corculum 

cardissum 

Corculum 

dionaeum 

Tridacna 

maxima 

Tridacna 

squamosa 

Tellina 

scobinata 

Tellinella 

crucigera 

Tellina 

?bougei 

Tellina 

euglypta 

Tellina 

(Pinguitellina) 

sp. 

Loxoglypta 

rhomboides 

Angas, 1877 NE • 

Deshayes, 

1856 

(Sowerby, 

1833) 

NE • • 

NE • 

(Reeve, 1845) NE • • 

(Broderip 

& Sowerby, 

1829) 

(Röding, 1798) LR/ 

CD 

• • • 

Lamarck, 1819 LR/ 

CD 

• • • 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

NE • • 

Lamarck, 1818 NE • 


Notes 

NE • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) as T. 

orbita. 


NE Not listed by Preece (1995a) but listed by 


NE • • • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

(G.B. Sowerby 

III, 1909) 

NE • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

Gould, 1861 NE • • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

- NE • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1835) 


Cadella semen Hanley, 1844 NE • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

Asaphis 

violascens 

Semele 

australis 

Semelangulus 

crebrimaculata 

Ervilia 

bisculpta 

Rochefortina 

sandwichensis 

Lonoa 

hawaiensis 

Trapezium 

oblongum 

Globivenus 

toreuma 

Periglypta 

reticulata 

(Forsskåll, 

1775) 


(Sowerby, 

1832) 

NE • • • 

(Sowerby, 

1868) 

NE • • 

(Gould, 1861) NE • • 

(Smith, 1885) NE • • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

Dall, Bartsch & 

Rehder, 1938 


(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

NE • • • 

(Gould, 1850) NE • Used to be known as Venus toreuma. 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

NE • •


name (if 

known) 

Dorisca cf. 

cookei 

72 

Dall, Bartsch & 

Rehder, 1938 

IUCN 

code 


NE • 

Hiatella arctica (Linnaeus, 

1767) 

NE • 

Quidnipagus 

palatam 

(Iredale, 1929) NE Not listed by Preece (1995a). 

Class: Bivalvia – Order: Myoida 

Martesia 

striata 


Lyrodus 

pedicellatus 

Class: Cephalopoda – Order: Octopoda 


‘Octopus’ 

oliveri 

Argonauta 

argo 

(Berry, 1914) Pitcairn Islands’ 

octopus 

(Pitkern: catfish, 

though 

known as pulu 

when used as 

bait) 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

Class: Cephalopoda – Order: Teuthida 

Sthenoteuthis 

oualaniensis 

Onychoteuthis 

banksii 

Thysanoteuthis 

rhombus 

Class: Polyplacophora 

Onithochiton 

lyellii 

greater 

argonaut 

Lesson, 1830 purpleback 

flying squid 

Lichtenstein, 

1818 

common 

clubhook squid 

Troschel, 1857 diamondback 

squid 

(Sowerby 

in Broderip 

& Sowerby, 

1832) 

Class: Gastropoda – Superorder: Archaeogastropoda 

Patella 

flexuosa 

Cellana 

taitensis 

Scutellastra 

flexuosa 

Patelloida aff. 

chamorrorum 

Patelloida 

conoidalis 

Haliotis 

pulcherrima 

Sinezona 

plicata 

Sinezona 

“microferriezi” 

n. sp. 

Quoy & 

Gaimard, 1834 

(Röding, 1798) NE • 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1834) 

Lindberg & 

Vermeij, 1985 

Notes 

NE • • Thought to have been a new species 

in 1991 (see Preece, 1995) but which 

has since been determined, though the 

genus still remains in doubt. Not listed by 


NE • Not listed by Preece (1995a). A species of 

pelagic octopus. 

NE • Not listed by Preece (1995a). The most 

abundant large squid in the tropical and 

subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific 

region. 

NE • Not listed by Preece (1995a). 

NE • Not listed by Preece (1995a). 

NE • Not listed by Preece (1995a) who lists 

O. cf. societatis Thiele, 1910. 



NE 



(Pease, 1868) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Gmelin, 1791 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Hedley, 1899) NE • Added by R. Preece (pers. comm.). 

Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

- NE • Added by R. Preece (pers. comm.). 


Sinezona sp. - NE • Added by R. Preece (pers. comm.). 


Sinezona cf. 

zimmeri 

Emarginula cf. 

dilecta 

Diodora 

granifera 

Geiger, 2003 NE • Added by R. Preece (pers. comm.). 


A. Adams, 

1852 

NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Pease, 1861) NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Species 

Broderipia 

iridescens 

Cantharidus 

marmoreus 

Authority Common 

name (if 

known) 

Euchelus cf. 

atratus 

Pseudostomatella 

speciosa 


73 

IUCN 

code 

(Broderip, 1834) NE • 


(Pease, 1867) NE • • • 

Notes 

(Gmelin, 1791) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(A.Adams, 1850) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Stomatella auricula (Lamarck, 1816) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Stomatella 

tuberculata 

(A.Adams, 1850) NE Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Stomatia sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Synaptocochlea 

concinna 

Turbo 

argyrostomus 

(Gould, 1845) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Linnaeus, 1758 NE • • • • 

Turbo petholatus Linnaeus, 1758 NE • • • 

Astralium 

confragosum 

Collonista 

maculosus 

(Gould, 1849) NE • • 

(Pease, 1863) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Collonista sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


New genus and 

species 

NE • Belonging to the family Liotininae. 

Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Tricolia variabilis (Pease, 1861) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Cyclostremiscus 

emeryi 

Leucorhynchia cf. 

rotatum 

(Ladd, 1966) NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Hedley, 1899 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Leucorhynchia sp. 

Class: Gastropoda – Superorder: Neritopsina 



Neritopsis radula (Linnaeus, 1758) NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Nerita lirellata Rehder, 1980 NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 

not by Preece (1995a). 

Nerita morio (Sowerby, 1833) NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Nerita plicata Linnaeus, 1758 NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Nerita polita Linnaeus, 1758 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Phenacolepas 

scobinata 



Phenacolepas sp. 

Class: Gastropoda – Superorder: Caenogastropoda 



Littoraria coccinea (Gmelin, 1791) NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Echinolittorina 

pascua 

(Rosewater, 

1970) 

NE • • • Nodilittorina pascua listed by Preece 

(1995a); not listed by Palomares et al. 

(2011).


name (if 

known) 

74 

IUCN 

code 


Eatonina sp. NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Eatoniella sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Alvinia isolata (Laseron, 

1956) 

Notes 



Stosicia chiltoni (Oliver, 1914) NE • •? • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Stosicia sp. cf. 

hiloense 

Merelina 

wanawana 

(Pilsbry & 

Vanatta, 1908) 



(Kay, 1979) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Rissoina ambigua (Gould, 1849) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Rissoina 

cerithiiformis 

Rissoina costata A. Adams, 

1851 

Rissoina 

fratercula 

Rissoina 

heroensis 

Rissoina 

tenuistriata 

Rissoina 

schubelae 

Tryon, 1887 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Sleurs & 

Preece, 1994 



NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Laseron, 1956 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Pease, 1867 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Sleurs & 

Preece, 1994 



Zebina bidentata (Philippi, 1845) NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Zebina sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Parashiela sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Pusillina 

marmorata 

Astrosansonia 

dautzenbergi 

Lophocochlias 

minutissimus 

Lophocochlias 

sp. 

Sansonia cf. 

halligani 

(Hedley, 1907) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Bavay, 1917) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Pilsbry, 1921) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


NE •? • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Hadley, 1899) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Sansonia n. sp. 1 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Sansonia n. sp. 2 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Caecum 

maculata 

Caecum 

attenuatum 

Caecum 

glabellum 

Caecum 

glabriformis 

Habe, 1963 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Folin, 1879 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Carpenter in 

Adams, 1868 

Carpenter, 

1857 





Caecum gulosum Hedley, 1899 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Caecum 

cf. trachea 

obsoletum 

Carpenter, 

1858 



Caecum sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 



name (if 

known) 


75 

IUCN 

code 


Parastrophia sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Hinea brasiliana Lamarck, 1822 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Hinea niger Quoy & 

Gaimard, 1834 

Notes 



Angiola fasciata (Pease, 1868) NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Fossarus cumingii (A.Adams, 

1855) 

Fossarus cf. 

garretti 





Fossarus sp. NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


cf. Bittium 

impendens 

(Hedley, 1899) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Bittium zebrum (Kiener, 1841) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Pseudovertagus 

clava 

Rhinoclavis 

articulata 

Rhinoclavis 

gemmatus 

Rhinoclavis 

sinensis 

Cerithium 

punctatum 

Cerithium 

atromarginatum 

Cerithium 

columna 

Cerithium cf. 

dialeucum 

Cerithium 

echinatum 

Cerithium 

egenum 

Cerithium 

interstriatum 

Cerithium 

nesioticum 

(Adams & 

Reeve, 1850) 

NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 




(Hinds, 1844) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Gmelin, 1791) NE Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


(Bruguière, 

1792) 

Dautzenberg 

& Bouge, 

1933 



NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Sowerby, 1834 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


(Philippi, 1849) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Lamarck, 

1822) 

NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Gould, 1849 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Sowerby, 1855 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Pilsbry & 

Vanatta, 1906 



Royella sinon (Bayle, 1880) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Cerithidium cf. 

perparvulum 

(Watson, 

1886) 



Finella sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Plesiotrochus cf. 

unicinctus 

Dendropoma 

maxima 

Petaloconchus 

sp. 

cf. Thylaeodus 

sp. 

cf. Serpulorbis 

sp. 

(A. Adams, 

1853) 

(Sowerby, 

1825) 

tubicolous 

vermetid 

NE • •? Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 











name (if 

known) 

Tridentarius 

dentatus 

Gibberulus 

gibberulus 

Canarium 

maculatum 

Strombus 

mutabilis 

Harpago 

chiragra 

Lambis 

chiragra 

Lambis 

truncata 

Cheilea 

equestris 

Vanikoro 

?acuta 

Vanikoro 

cancellata 

Vanikoro 

plicata 

76 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(G.B. Sowerby 

II, 1842) 

Swainson, 

1821 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Humphrey, 

1786) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) as 

Strombus dentatus, but not listed by 

Preece (1995a). 


Strombus gibberulus but not listed by 

Preece (1995a). 

NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) as Strombus 

maculatus and by Palomares et al. (2011). 



NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 

by Preece (1995a). 



NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 



(Recluz, 1844) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Lamarck, 

1822) 



(Recluz, 1844) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Vanikoro sp. NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Sabia conica (Schumacher, 

1817) 

Hipponix 

conicus 

Cypraea 

annulus 

Maurita 

arabica 

Arestorides 

argus 

Erosaria 

bernardi 

Cypraea 

bistrinotata 

Lyncina 

leviathan 

bouteti 

Cypraea 

caputserpentis 

Lyncina 

carneola 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Richard, 

1974) 

(Schilder & 

Schilder, 1937) 

(Burgess & 

Arnette, 1981) 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Lyncina lynx (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Lyncina vitellus (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Cypraea 

childreni 

Cypraea 

cicercula 

Cypraea 

cumingii 

Cypraea 

dillwyni 


et al. (2011). 

NE • • • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) and 

listed by Preece (1995a) as Hipponix spp. 




Cypraea arabica but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 


Cypraea argus but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 

NE • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011). Listed by 

Preece (1995a) as Cypraea bernardi 




Cypraea bouteti but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 

NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 


Cypraea carneola but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 





Gray, 1825 NE • • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 


Linnaeus, 

1758 



Sowerby, 1832 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Schilder, 1922 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 


name (if 

known) 

Erosaria erosa (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Cypraea 

fimbriata 

Cypraea 

globulus 

Cypraea 

goodalli 

Cypraea 

helvola 

Cypraea 

irrorata 

Cypraea 

isabella 


77 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 


Cypraea erosa but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 

Gmelin, 1791 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Linnaeus, 

1758 



Sowerby, 1832 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Linnaeus, 

1758 


et al. (2011). 

Gray, 1828 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

Cypraea lynx Linnaeus, 

1758 

Cypraea 

maculifera 

Cypraea 

mappa 

Cypraea 

moneta 

Cypraea 

poraria 

Cypraea 

schilderorum 

Cypraea 

scurra 

Cypraea 

subterres 

Cypraea 

testudinaria 

(Schilder, 

1932) 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 




et al. (2011). 

NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 


et al. (2011). 


et al. (2011). 

Iredale, 1939 NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Gmelin, 1791 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Weinkauff, 

1881 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, 

1758 

Cypraea 

ventriculus 

Cypraea 

vitellus 

Talostolida 

subteres 

Cribrarula 

cumingii 

Mauritia 

depressa 

Pustularia 

cicercula 




et al. (2011). 



Lamarck, 1810 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

(Weinkauff, 

1881) 





Sowerby, 1832 NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 


(J.E. Gray, 

1824) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Talparia talpa (Linnaeus, 

1758) 







Trivia edgari Shaw, 1990 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Trivia 

hordacea 

Kiener, 1845 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Trivia spp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Trivirostra 

exigua 

cf. Erato 

sandwicensis 

Mammilla 

simiae 

(Gray, 1831) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Pease, 1860 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Deshayes, 

1838) 




name (if 

known) 

Mammilla 

melanostoma 

Natica 

gualteriana 

Natica cernica Jousseaume, 

1874 

Natica cf. 

arachnoidea 

Tectonatica 

bougei 

Notocochlis 

cernica 

Notocochlis 

gualteriana 

Polinices 

mammilla 

78 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 



Recluz, 1844 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


NE •? • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Gmelin, 1791) NE • •? Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Sowerby, 

1908) 

(Jousseaume, 

1874) 





(Récluz, 1844) NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 


(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Tonna perdix (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Malea pomum (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Casmaria 

erinaceus 

Charonia 

tritonis 

Cymatium 

aquatile 

Cymatium 

muricinum 

Cymatium 

nicobaricum 

Monoplex 

pilearis 

Distorsio 

pusilla 

Bursa 

cruentata 

Bursa 

granularis 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Linnaeus, 

1767 




et al. (2011). 


et al. (2011). 


et al. (2011). 


et al. (2011). 

(Reeve, 1844) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Röding, 1798) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Röding, 1798) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 


Cymatium pileare but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 



(Sowerby, 

1841) 



(Röding, 1798) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Bursa latituda Garrard, 1961 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


‘Cerithiopsis’ 

spp. 



Metaxia spp. NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Liniphora spp. NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Janthina 

janthina 

Janthina 

prolongata 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(de Blainville, 

1822) 


et al. (2011). 



Recluzia johnii (Holten, 1802) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Epitonium 

replicatum 

Gyroscala 

lamellosa 

Melanella 

cumingii 

Pyramidelloides 

spp. 

(Sowerby, 

1844) 

(Lamarck, 

1822) 

(A.Adams, 

1854) 

NE • •? Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 









name (if 

known) 


79 

IUCN 

code 


Balcis spp. NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Cronia 

margariticola 

Maculotriton 

bracteatus 

Maculotriton 

serriale 

Phyllocoma 

convoluta 

Drupa 

clathrata 

(Broderip, 

1833) 

Notes 

NE • •? • •? Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 




(Deshayes, 

1834) 

(Broderip, 

1833) 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

Drupa elegans (Broderip 

& Sowerby, 

1829) 

Drupa 

grossularia 






et al. (2011). 


et al. (2011). 

Röding, 1798 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Drupa morum Röding, 1798 NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Drupa ricinus (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Drupa 

speciosa 

Drupella 

cornus 

Drupella 

ochrostoma 

Morula 

dealbata 

Morula 

granulata 

Morula 

nodicostata 


et al. (2011). 

(Dunker, 1867) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

(Röding, 1798) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

(Blainville, 

1832) 





(Duclos, 1832) NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 



Morula parva (Reeve, 1846) NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 


Morula 

parvissima 

Cernohorsky, 

1987 



Morula uva Röding, 1798 NE • • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Morula 

oparense 

Thais aculeata Deshayes 

& Milne- 

Edwards, 1844 

(Melvill, 1912) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 




Thais armigera Link, 1807 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Thais 

intermedia 

(Kiener, 1835) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Thais tuberosa (Röding, 1798) NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 


Nassa serta (Bruguière, 

1789) 

Vexilla 

vexillum 

Vexilla lineata A.Adams, 

1853 

Coralliophila 

latilirata 

Coralliophila 

violacea 


et al. (2011). 

(Gmelin, 1791) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 



Rehder, 1985 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

(Kiener, 1836) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011).


name (if 

known) 

Quoyula 

monodonta 

Magilopsis cf. 

lamarckii 

80 

(Blainville, 

1832) 

(Deshayes, 

1863) 

Rapa rapa (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Vasum 

armatum 

Engina cf. 

alveolata 

Engina 

fuscolineata 

Engina 

rosacea 

Prodotia 

iostoma 

Pisania 

decollata 

cf. Pisania 

gracilis 

Caducifer 

decapitata 

Nassarius 

gaudiosus 

Nassarius 

papillosus 

Nassarius 

pauperus 

Fusinus 

galatheae 

bountyi 

Fusinus 

genticus 

Latirus 

nodatus 

Peristernia 

nassatula 

(Broderip, 

1833) 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 





NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 




(Kiener, 1836) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


E.A.Smith, 

1913 

(E.A.Smith, 

1913) 





(Gray, 1834) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


(Sowerby, 

1933) 



Reeve, 1846 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Recluz, 1844) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


(Hinds, 1844) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


(Linnaeus, 

1758) 





Rehder & 

Wilson, 1975 

NE • Carnivourous species present at 

Pitcairn, where it is frequenly found in 

lobster pots. Listed by Preece (1995a) 

and by Palomares et al. (2011). 

(Iredale, 1936) NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 


(Gmelin, 1791) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


(Lamarck, 

1822) 



Euplica loisae Rehder, 1980 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Euplica turturina (Lamarck, 

1822) 

Euplica varians (Sowerby, 

1834) 





Mitrella rorida (Reeve, 1859) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Pyrene flava (Bruguière, 

1789) 

Pyrene obtusa (G.B. Sowerby 

I, 1832) 

Mitrella scripta (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Euplicata 

varians 

Seminella 

virginea 

(G.B. Sowerby 

I, 1832) 



NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 



Pyrene scripta but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 


Pyrene varians but not listed by Preece 

(1995a). 

(Gould, 1860) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Zafra spp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Colubraria 

nitidula 

(Sowerby, 

1833) 




name (if 

known) 


81 

IUCN 

code 


Colubraria sp. NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Harpa harpa (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Notes 



Harpa major Röding, 1798 NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 


Morum 

ponderosum 

Granula 

sandwicensis 

Granula spp. 

(small) 

(Hanley, 1858) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


(Pease, 1860) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 




Cystiscus huna Kay, 1979 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Vexillum 

cancellarioides 

Vexillum 

moelleri 

Vexillum suavis (Souverbie, 

1875) 

Anton, 1838 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Kuster, 1840) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 




Vexillum piceum (Pease, 1860) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Mitra acuminata Swainson, 

1824 

Mitra 

auriculoides 

Mitra coffea Schubert & 

Wagner, 1829 

Mitra 

colombelliformis 



Reeve, 1845 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 




Kiener, 1838 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Mitra coronata Lamarck, 1811 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Mitra 

cucumerina 

Lamarck, 1811 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Mitra litterata Lamarck, 1811 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Mitra mitra NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 


Mitra cf. 

lugubris 

Swainson, 

1821 

Mitra pele Cernohorsky, 

1970 





Mitra saltata Pease, 1865 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Mitra stictica (Link, 1807) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Mitra testacea Broderip, 1836 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Mitra 

pellisserpentis 

Ziba 

cernohorskyi 

Reeve, 1844 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 


Rehder & 

Wilson, 1975 



Iredalea sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Xenuroturris 

cingulifera 

Lovellona 

atramentosa 

Mitrolumna 

metula 

(Lamarck, 

1822) 





(Hinds, 1843) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 



name (if 

known) 

Mitrolumna 

stepheni 

Anacithara 

cf. decipiens 

nervilliana 

Anacithara cf. 

longispira 

Etrema cf. 

alphonsiana 

82 

(Melvill & 

Standen, 

1897) 

(Preston, 

1905) 

(E.A. Smith, 

1879) 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 







Hervier, 1895 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Etrema sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Eucithara cf. 

coronata 

Eucithara cf. 

dealbata 

Eucithara cf. 

debilis 

Lienardia 

apiculata 







(Montrouzier, 

1864) 



Lienardia caelata (Garrett, 1873) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Lienardia cf. 

compta 

Lienardia 

crassicostata 

Lienardia fallax G. & H. Nevill, 

1875 

Lienardia 

mighelsi 

Macteola 

interrupta 

cf. Daphnella 

olyra 

Daphnella 

flammea 

cf. Daphnella 

terina 

Eucyclotoma cf. 

bicarinata 

Eucyclotoma 

fusiformis 





Iredale & 

Tomlin, 1917 





(Reeve, 1846) NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Reeve, 1845 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Hinds, 1843) NE •? • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Melvill & 

Standen, 1896 





(Garrett, 1873) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Kermia felina (Hinds, 1843) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


cf. Kermia hindsi Reeve, 1843 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Kermia cf. pumila (Mighels, 

1845) 

Kermia 

reeviana 

Deshayes, 

1863 





Kermia sp. 1 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 






Microdaphne 

morrisoni 

Pseudodaphnella 

cf. iospira 

Rehder, 1980 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 





name (if 

known) 

Tritonoturris 

cumingi 

Tritonoturris cf. 

subrissoides 

cf. Elathurella 

edychroa 

cf. Mangelia 

nanisca 

Conus 

chaldaeus 

Conus 

coronatus 

Conus 

cylindraceus 


83 

IUCN 

code 


(Powys, 1835) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Hervier, 1897) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 






(Röding, 1798) NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Gmelin, 1791 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Broderip & 

Sowerby, 1830 

Conus ebraeus Linnaeus, 

1758 

Notes 




et al. (2011). 

Conus flavidus Lamarck, 1810 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus 

geographus 

Conus 

leopardus 

Conus 

litoglyphus 

Linnaeus, 

1758 


et al. (2011). 

Röding, 1798 NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 


Hwass, 1792 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus lividus Hwass, 1792 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus 

magnificus 

Conus 

marmoreus 

Reeve, 1843 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Linnaeus, 

1758 



Conus miliaris Hwass, 1792 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus nanus Sowerby, 1833 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus 

pennaceus 

Born, 1778 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus rattus Hwass, 1792 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus retifer Menke, 1829 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Conus 

sanguinolentus 

Conus 

sponsalis 

Conus 

tenuistriatus 

Conus 

tessulatus 

Quoy & 

Gaimard, 1834 

Conus textile Linnaeus, 

1758 

Conus tulipa Linnaeus, 

1758 

Conus 

vitulinus 

NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Hwass, 1792 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Sowerby, 1856 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Born, 1778 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Hwass in 

Brugière, 1792 


et al. (2011). 


et al. (2011). 



Terebra affinis Gray, 1834 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Oxymeris 

areolata 

Terebra crenulata (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Link, 1807) NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) as 

Terebra areolata, but not by Preece 

(1995a). 


et al. (2011).


name (if 

known) 

Terebra 

maculata 

Terebra 

subulata 

84 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Impages hectica (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Hastula 

penicillata 

Cantharus 

iostomus 

Cantharus 

undosus 

Neocancilla 

takiisaoi 

Chicoreus 

ramosus 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 






Hastula hectica, but not by Preece 

(1995a). 

(Hinds, 1844) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) and by 










Oliva annulata NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 


Oliva caerulea 

Class: Gastropoda – Superorder: Heterostropha 



Orbitestella spp. NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Architectonica 

perspectiva 

Heliacus 

trochoides 

Heliacus 

infundibuliformis 

Psilaxis 

radiatus 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Deshayes, 

1830 







(Röding, 1798) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Rissoella sp. NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Miralda sp. NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Herviera sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Syrnola sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Turbonilla 

cornelliana 

(Newcomb, 

1870) 



Pyrgiscus sp. NE • R. Preece, pers. comm. Not listed by 


Evalea peasei NE • •? R. Preece, pers. comm. Not listed by 


Odostomia spp. NE • • R. Preece, pers. comm. Not listed by 


Odostomia (Islea) 

sp. 

NE • R. Preece, pers. comm. Not listed by 


Oscilla sp. 

Class: Gastropoda – Superorder: Opisthobranchia 

NE • R. Preece, pers. comm. Not listed by 


Pupa cf. solidula Linnaeus, 

1758 



Cylichna sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


cf. Philina sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 



name (if 

known) 


85 

IUCN 

code 


Bulla orientalis Habe, 1950 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) as Bulla cf. 

punctulata. Not listed by Palomares 

et al. (2011). 

Smaragdinella 

calyculata 

Atys 

cylindricus 

Atys 

semistriata 

(Broderip 

& Sowerby, 

1829) 

Notes 



Helbling, 1779 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Pease, 1860 NE • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Haminoea sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Retusa sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Limacina 

bulimoides 

(d’Orbigny, 

1836) 

Limacina lesueuri (d’Orbigny, 

1836) 

Dolabrifera cf. 

fusca 

Dolabella 

auricularia 







Lightfoot, 

1786 

Berthellina citrina (Ruppell & 

Leuckort, 

1831) 

wedge sea hare NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 


NE • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) and 

also by R. Preece (pers. comm.). 

Julia exquisita Gould, 1862 NE • • • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Bornella irvingi Edmunds & 

Preece, 1996 

Phyllobranchillus 

orientalis 

Peltodoris 

fellowsi 

Dendrodoris 

tuberculosa 

Phyllidiella 

pustulosa 

Phyllidiella 

annulata 

Glaucus 

atlanticus 

NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) as Bornella 

sp., and named by Edmunds & Preece 

(1996). 

(Kelaart, 1858) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Kay & Young, 

1969 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1832) 





(Cuvier, 1804) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


(Gray, 1853) NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Forster, 1777 NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Melampus flavus (Gmelin, 1791) NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) as 

Melampus luteus. Also listed by Preece 

(1995a). 

Allochroa layardi (H. & A. 

Adams, 1855) 



Oncidium sp. NE • Listed by Preece (1995a) but not by 


Phylum ECHINODERMATA 

Class Echinoidea – sea urchins, etc. 

Refs. Paulay, 1989; Palomares et al., 2011; and additions from Irving (1995) 

Diadema savignyi (Audouin, 

1826) 

Diadema 

paucispinum 

Echinothrix 

calamaris 

Tripneustes 

gratilla 

long-spined sea 

urchin 

(Pallas, 1774) NE • 

(Linnaeus,, 

1758) 

NE • • • Abundant at Henderson, forming large 

aggregations between 8–30 m depth. 

NE Listed by Palomares et al., 2011. 

NE •


name (if 

known) 

Echinometra 

mathaei 

Echinometra 

oblonga 

Echinometra 

sp. 1 

Echinostrephus 

aciculatus 

Heterocentrotus 

mammillatus 

Heterocentrotus 

trigonarius 

Echinoeus 

cyclostomus 

Clypeaster sp. 

?reticulatus 

Mortonia 

australis 

Brissus 

latecarinatus 

Metalia 

spatangus 

86 


1825) 


1825) 

Matha’s sea 

urchin 

black oblong 

sea urchin 

IUCN 

code 


NE • 

- NE • • 

A. Agassiz, 

1863 

(Linnaeus,, 

1758) 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

red slate pencil 

urchin 

purple slate 

pencil urchin 

Notes 

NE • • Common on reef flat and shallow forereef 

(0–9 m) at Henderson. 

NE • • 

Leske, 1778 NE • • 

(Linnaeus,, 

1758) 

NE • 

(Desmoulins, 

1835) 

NE • • 

(Leske, 1778) NE • 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Class Asteroidea – starfish/sea stars, cushion stars, etc. 

Asteropecten 

polyacanthus 

Culcita 

novaeguineae 

Dactylosaster 

cylindricus 

Linckia 

guildingi 

Linckia 

laevigata 

Linckia 

multifora 

Neoferdina 

cumingi 

Ophidiaster 

lorioli 

Acanthaster 

planci 

Allostichaster 

peleensis 

Mueller & 

Troschel, 1842 

NE • • 

Mueller & 


NE • • 

(Lamarck 

1816) 

NE • 

Gray, 1840 NE • 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

NE • 

(Lamarck, 

1816) 

NE • • • 

(Gray, 1840) NE • 

Fisher, 1906 NE • 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

NE •B • 

Marsh, 1974 NE • • 

Class Ophiuroidea – brittlestars, etc. 

Amphilimna 

tanyodes 

Devaney, 1974 NE • 

Amphiura 

bountyia 


Ophiactis sp. - NE • 

Macrophiothrix 

demessa 

Macrophiothrix 

sp. 

Ophiarachna 

megacantha 

Ophiothrix 

purpurea 

(Lyman, 1861) NE • • 

- NE • 

NE • • • Lives in crevices on fore-reef from 

10–20+ m depth. 

NE • • • Particularly abundant at Henderson, 

Oeno and Ducie on the fore-reef 

(0–3 m). 

NE • A relatively dense population found 

by Paulay on fore-reef at Henderson 

10–18 m depth. 

NE Not listed by Paulay (1989) but by 

Palomares et al., 2011 

Martens, 1867 NE • 

Species 

Ophiocoma 

brevipes 

Authority Common 

name (if 

known) 

Ophiocoma 

dentata 

Ophiocoma cf. 

doderleini 

Ophiocoma 

erinaceus 

Ophiocoma 

longispina 

Ophiocoma 

macroplaca 


87 

IUCN 

code 

Peters, 1851 NE • • 


Mueller & 


NE • • 

Loriol, 1899 NE • 

Mueller & 


H.L. Clark, 

1917 

(H.L. Clark, 

1915) 

NE • • 

NE • 

NE • 

Ophiocoma pica Mueller & 


NE • • 

Ophiocoma 

pusilla 

(Brock, 1888) NE • 

Ophiocomella 

sexradia 

Ophionereis aff. 

dubia 

Ophionereis 

porrecta 

Ophiarachna 

megacantha 

erythema 

Notes 

(Duncan, 

1887) 

NE • • 

Mueller & 

Troschel, 

1842) 


Lyman, 1860 NE • 


Ophiopeza kingi Devaney, 1974 NE • 

Class Holothuroidea – sea cucumbers 

Actinopyga 

mauritiana 

Actinopyga 

palauensis 

Holothuria 

(Halodeima) atra 

Holothuria 

(Halodeima) 

signata 

Holothuria 

(Lessonothuria) 

sp.3 

Holothuria 

(Microthele) 

nobilis 

Holothuria 

(Platyperona) 

difficilis 

Holothuria 

(Semperothuria) 

cinerascens 

Holothuria 

(Thymiosycia) 

arenicola 

Holothuria 

(Thymiosycia) 

hilla 

Holothuria 

(Thymiosycia) 

impatiens 

Labidodemas 

semperianum 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1833) 

NE • 

Panning, 1944 NE • 

Jaeger, 1833 NE • • • 

Ludwig, 1875 NE • • • 

(Selenka, 

1867) 

NE • 

NE • • • • 

Semper, 1878 NE • • 

(Brandt, 1835) NE • 

Semper, 1868 NE • 

Lesson, 1830 NE • 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

NE • 

Selenka, 1867 NE •


name (if 

known) 

Euapta 

godeffroyi 

Chiridota 

hawaiiensis 

88 

IUCN 

code 


(Semper, 

1868) 

NE • • 

Fisher, 1907 NE • 

Chiridota sp. - NE • 

PISCES (cartilaginous & bony fishes) Refs. Irving et al., 1995; Randall, 1999; Palomares et al., 2011. 

Family Carcharhinidae (requiem sharks) 

Carcharhinus (Bleeker, 1856) grey reef shark NT • Götesson (2012) reports records of grey 

amblyrhynchos 

reef sharks at Pitcairn and Oeno. 

Carcharhinus (Snodgrass & Galapagos reef NT • • • Common at Ducie, infrequent at Pitcairn 

galapagensis Heller, 1905) shark 

and rare at Henderson (one individual 

seen by G. Wragg in 2008 off SE coast – 

G. Wragg, pers. comm.). 

Carcharhinus (Poey, 1861) oceanic whitetip VU • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but 

longimanus 

shark 

not by Randall (1999). One individual 

observed by G. Wragg in 1991 2 km to E 

of Pitcairn (G. Wragg, pers. comm.). 

Carcharhinus (Quoy & blacktip reef NT • 

melanopterus Gaimard, 

1824) 

shark 

Prionace (Linnaeus, blue shark NT • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 

glauca 1758) 

by Randall (1999). 

Galeocerdo (Péron & 

tiger shark NT • Listed by Randall (1999) but not by 

cuvier Lesueur, 1822) 


Triaenodon (Rüppell, whitetip reef NT • • • • 

obesus 1837) 

shark 

Family Sphyrnidae (hammerhead sharks) 

Sphyrna (Rüppell, 

great EN • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 

mokarran 1837) 

hammerhead 

shark 


Family Rhincodontidae (whale sharks) 

Rhincodon Smith, 1828 whale shark VU • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 

typus 


Family Myliobatidae (eagle rays) 

Aetobatus (Euphrasen, spotted eagle NT • Randall (1999) mistakenly lists this species 

narinari 1790) 

ray 

as Aetobatis narinari. 

Family Anguillidae (eels) 

Anguilla Kaup, 1856 Polynesian NE Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 

megastoma 

longfinned eel 


Family Moringuidae (worm eels) 

Moringua - worm eel NE • • • • This species listed by Palomares et al. 

ferruginea 

(2011). Randall (1999) lists Moringua sp. 

Family Chlopsidae (false morays) 

Kaupichthys Schultz, 1943 common false NE • • 

diodontus 

moray 

Family Congridae (conger eels) 

Ariosoma sp. - • May turn out to be A. marginatum 

(Vaillant & Sauvage) (Randall, 1999). 

Conger Rüppell, 1830 moustache NE • Identified by Randall (1999) as Conger 

cinereus 

conger / longfin 

African conger 

cinereus cinereus. 

Family Ophichthidae (snake eels) 

Apterichtus - snake eel • Randall (1999) believes this to be an 

sp. 

undescribed species. 

Ichthyapus (Weber & vulture sand eel • 

vulturis de Beaufort, 

1916) 

Leiuranus (Lay & 

saddled snake 

• 

semicinctus Bennett, 1839) eel 

Notes 


name (if 

known) 

Scolecenchelys 

gymnota 

Scolecenchelys 

laticaudata 

Myrichthys 

maculosus 

Family Muraenidae (moray eels) 

Anarchias 

exulatus 

Anarchias 

seychellensis 

Enchelynussa 

canina 

Gymnothorax 

australicola 

Gymnothorax 

buroensis 

Gymnothorax 

eurostus 

Gymnothorax 

fuscomaculatus 

Gymnothorax 

gracilicauda 

Gymnothorax 

javanicus 

Gymnothorax 

kidako 

Gymnothorax 

melatremus 

Gymnothorax 

meleagris 

Gymnothorax 

nasuta 

Gymnothorax 

pindae 

Uropterygius 

fuscoguttatus 

Uropterygius 

inornatus 

Uropterygius 

kamar 

Uropterygius 

macrocephalus 

Uropterygius 

supraforatus 

Uropterygius 

xanthopterus 

(Bleeker, 1857) Indo-Pacific 

slender worm 

eel 


89 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

• Originally recorded by Randall (1999) as 

Muraenichthys gymnotus. 

(Ogilby, 1897) redfin worm eel • • • • Originally recorded by Randall (1999) as 

Muraenichthys laticaudata. 

(Cuvier, 1816) spotted snake 

eel 

Reece, Smith 

& Holm, 2010 

Smith, 1962 Seychelles 

moray 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1874) 

Lavenberg, 

1992 

• 

NE •? •? •? •? New species. This species listed by 

Palomares et al. (2011). Randall (1999) 

lists Anarchias sp. 

NE •? •? •? •? It is unclear from Randall (1999) from 

which island(s) this species was recorded. 

- NE • 

- NE • Misidentified as G. panamensis by Rehder 

& Randall (1975). New species. 

(Bleeker, 1857) latticetail moray • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

(Abbott, 1861) salt and pepper 

moray 

NE • • • • 

(Schultz, 1953) freckled moray NE • • 

Jenkins, 1903 slendertail 

moray 

NE • 

(Bleeker, 1859) giant moray NE • • 

(Temminck 

& Schlegel, 

1846) 

Kidako moray • Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

Schultz, 1953 dirty yellow 

moray 

NE • • 

(Shaw, 1795) whitemouth 

moray 

de Buen, 1961 Easter Island 

moray 

NE • • • 

Smith, 1962 Pinda moray NE • 

Schultz, 1953 brown-spotted 

snake moray 

Gosline, 1958 drab snake 

moray 

McCosker & 

Randall, 1977 

Bleeker, 1864 needle-toothed 

moray 

(Regan, 1909) many-toothed 

snake moray 

Family Synodontidae (lizardfishes) 

Saurida 

flamma 

Bleeker, 1859 freckleface reef 

eel 

Waples, 1982 orangemouth 

lizardfish 

LC • • 

• 

• Not listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

barlip reef eel • • New species. 

• • • 

• 

• • 

•


name (if 

known) 

Saurida gracilis (Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1824) 

Synodus 

capricornis 

Synodus 

variegatus 

90 

Cressey & 

Randall, 1978 

(Lacepède, 

1803) 

Family Antennariidae (frogfishes) 

Antennarius 

coccineus 

Antennatus 

tuberosus 

graceful 

lizardfish 

capricorn 

lizardfish 

variegated 

lizardfish 

(Lesson, 1831) freckled or 

scarlet frogfish 

(Cuvier, 1817) tuberculated 

frogfish 

IUCN 

code 


• • • • 

• 

• 

Notes 

• New species. 

Family Isonidae (surf fishes) 

Iso nesiotes Saeed, 

Samoan surf 

• 

Ivantsoff & 

Crowley, 1993 

sardine 

Family Ophidiidae (cusk eels) 

Brotula 

Temminck & bearded brotula • • 

multibarbata Schlegel, 1846 

Family Bythitidae (viviparous brotulas) 

Brosmophyciops Schult, 1960 - • • Originally listed as Brosmophysiops 

pautzkei 

pautzkei by Randall (1999). 

Dinematicthys - - Specimens on loan to Yoshihiko 

sp. 

Machida (Randall, 1999). 

Family Carapidae (pearlfishes) 

Onuxodon (Smith, 1955) Fowler’s 

• 

fowleri 

pearlfish 

Family Belonidae (needlefishes) 

Platybelone (Bennett, 

keeltail 

• • • 

argalus platyura 1832) 

needlefish 

Tylosurus (Peron & 

hound 

• 

crocodilus 

crocodilus 

Lesueur, 1821) needlefish 

Family Hemiramphidae (halfbeaks) 

Euleptorhamphus (van Hesselt, ribbon halfbeak • • 

viridis 

1823) 

Hyporhamphus (Günther, Pacific halfbeak • • 

acutus acutus 1861) 

Family Exocoetidae (flyingfishes) 

Cheilopogon sp. - - • 

Cypselurus 

pitcairnensis 

Exocoetus 

obtusirostris 

Nichols & 

Breder, 1935 

Günther, 1866 blunt-snouted 

flyingfish 

Exocoetus sp. - - • 

• 

• First described from specimen caught 

at Pitcairn. 

• • 

Family Holocentridae (soldierfishes and squirrelfishes) 

Myripristis (Castlenau, brick soldierfish • • • 

amaena 1873) 

Myripristis Jordan & 

bigscale 

• • • 

berndti 

Evermann, soldierfish 

1903 

(Pitkern: ‘ihihi) 

Myripristis Greenfield, Randall’s 


randalli 

1974 

soldierfish 

Myripristis tiki Greenfield, 

1974 

- • • New species. 

Neoniphon (Forsskål, 

spotfin 

• 

sammara 1775) 

squirrelfish 


name (if 

known) 

Plectrypops lima (Valenciennes, 

1831) 

Sargocentron 

diadema 

Sargocentron 

ensifer 

Sargocentron 

hormion 

Sargocentron 

lepros 

Sargocentron 

megalops 

Sargocentron 

punctatissimum 

Sargocentron 

spiniferum 

Sargocentron 

tiere 

(Lacepède, 

1801) 

Jordan & 

Evermann, 

1903 

cardinal 

soldierfish 

crown 

squirrelfish 

yellow-striped 

squirrelfish 


91 

IUCN 

code 


• • 

• • 

• 

Notes 

Randall, 1998 - • New species. 

(Allen & Cross, 

1983) 

- • • 

Randall, 1998 - • Endemic to Henderson (Randall, 1998). 

(Cuvier, 1829) speckled 

squirrelfish 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

sabre 

squirrelfish 

(Cuvier, 1829) blue-lined 

squirrelfish 

Family Aulostomidae (trumpetfishes) 

Aulostomus 

chinesis 

(Linnaeus, 

1766) 

Family Fistulariidae (cornetfishes) 

• • • 

• • • 

• • • • 

trumpetfish • • 

Fistularia 

commersonii 

Rüppel, 1838 cornetfish • • • • 

Family Syngnathidae (pipefishes and seahorses) 

Cosmocampus 

howensis 

(Whitley, 

1948) 

Family Scorpaenidae (scorpionfishes) 

Iracundus 

signifer 

Parascorpaena 

macadamsi 

Jordan & 

Evermann, 

1903 

Lord Howe’s 

pipefish 

decoy 

scorpionfish 

(Fowler, 1938) McAdam’s 

scorpionfish 

• 

• • 

Pontinus sp. - - • 

Pterois 

antennata 

Pterois 

volitans 

Scorpaenodes 

hirsutus 

Scorpaenopsis 

sp. 

Sebastapistes 

fowleri 

Sebastapistes 

galatacma 

Sebastapistes 

mauritiana 

Sebastapistes 

tinkhami 

• • 

(Bloch, 1787) spotfin lionfish • • • 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

lionfish • • 

(Smith, 1957) hairy 

scorpionfish 

• • 

- scorpionfish 

(indet.) 


(Pietschmann, 

1934) 

Family Platycephalidae (flatheads) 

- • Originally Scorpaenopsis fowleri, but 

genus changed in 2002 (see Randall & 

Poss, 2002). 

Jenkins, 1903 - • • 

(Cuvier, 1829) Mauritius 

scorpionfish 

(Fowler, 1946) darkspotted 

scorpionfish 

• • 

• • •


name (if 

known) 

Sunagocia 

otaitensis 

92 

(Cuvier, 1829) fringelip 

flathead 

Family Caracanthidae (orbicular velvetfishes) 

Caracanthus 

maculatus 

Caracanthus 

unipinna 

(Gray, 1831) spotted 

croucher 

(Gray, 1831) pygmy coral 

croucher 

Family Dactylopteridae (helmet gurnards) 

Dactyloptena 

orientalis 

(Cuvier, 1829) common helmet 

gurnard 

Family Serranidae (groupers and seabasses) 

Cephalopholis 

argus 

Cephalopholis 

spiloparaea 

Cephalopholis 

urodeta 

Epinephelus 

fasciatus 

Epinephelus 

hexagonatus 

Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801 

(Valenciennes, 

1828) 

(Forster in 

Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

(Forster in 

Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

peacock 

grouper 

strawberry 

grouper 

flagtail grouper 

/ darkfin 

hind (Pitkern: 

matapu’u) 

blacktip grouper 

(Pitkern: red 

snapper) 

hexagon 

grouper 

IUCN 

code 


• • 

Notes 

• Originally recorded by Randall (1999) 

as Eurycephalus otaitensis. 

• • 

• 

LC • • • • 

LC • 

LC • • • 

LC • • • 

LC • • 

Epinephelus 

lanceolatus 

(Bloch, 1790) giant grouper VU • • 

Epinephelus merra Bloch, 1793 honeycomb 

grouper 

LC • 

Epinephelus 

socialis 

Epinephelus 

tauvina 

Epinephelus 

tuamotuensis 

Liopropoma 

pallidum 

Plectranthias 

fourmanoiri 

Plectranthias 

nanus 

Plectranthias 

winniensis 

Plectropomus 

laevis 

Pseudanthias 

mooreanus 

Pseudanthias 

ventralis 

Pseudogramma 

australis 

Pseudogramma 

polyacanthum 

(Günther, 

1873) 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

Fourmanoir, 

1971 

surge grouper NT • • • 

greasy grouper 

(Pitkern: fito 

cod) 

DD • • • • 

- LC • 

(Fowler, 1938) pallid basslet NE • 

Randall, 1980 doublespot 

perchlet 

NE • New species. 

Randall, 1980 dwarf perchlet NE • • New species. 

(Tyler, 1966) redblotch 

perchlet 

(Lacepède, 

1801) 

Variola louti (Forsskål, 

1775) 

black-saddled 

coral grouper 

(Herre, 1935) - • • 

NE • • New species. 

VU • Observed at Oeno by Randall in 

1970/71. 

(Randall, 

1979) 

longfin anthias NE • • • New species. 

Randall & 

Baldwin, 1997 

- • New species. 

(Bleeker, 1856) mottled 

soapfish 

NE • • • 

coral trout 

(Pitkern: fafaya) 

LC • • • • 


name (if 

known) 

Family Kuhliidae (flagtails) 

Kulia 

marginata 

Family Pseudochromidae (dottybacks) 

Pseudoplesiops 

revellei 

Family Priacanthidae (bigeyes) 

Heteropriacanthus 

cruentatus 

(Cuvier, 1829) dark-margined 

flagtail 

Schultz, 1953 bearded 

dottyback 

(Lacepède, 

1801) 

Family Cirrhitidae (hawkfishes) 

Amblycirrhitus 

bimacula 

Amblycirrhitus 

wilhelmi 

Cirrhitops 

hubbardi 

Cirrhitus 

pinnulatus 

Neocirrhites 

armatus 

Paracirrhites 

arcatus 

Paracirrhites 

forsteri 

Paracirrhites 

hemistictus 


93 

IUCN 

code 

LR/ 

LC 


• 

• • • 

glasseye • • 

(Jenkins, 1903) two-spotted 

hawkfish 

• • 

(Lavenberg & 

Yáñez, 1972) 

hawkfish indet. • • • 

(Schultz, 1943) hawkfish indet. • • • 

(Forster in 

Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

stocky hawkfish • • 

Castlenau, 

1873 

flame hawkfish • • 

(Cuvier, 1829) arc-eye 

hawkfish 

• • • 

(Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 


1874) 

freckled 

hawkfish 

Half-spotted 

hawkfish 

Paracirrhites nisus Randall, 1963 - • 

Family Apogonidae (cardinalfishes) 

Apogon 

angustatus 

Apogon 

caudicinctus 

Apogon 

kallopterus 

Apogon 

taeniophorus 

(Smith & 

Radcliffe, 

1911) 

Randall & 

Smith, 1988 

broadstripe 

cardinalfish 

cardinalfish 

indet. 

Bleeker, 1856 irridescent 

cardinalfish 

Regan, 1908 reef-flat 

cardinalfish 

Apogon sp. - cardinalfish 

indet. 

Apogon sp. - cardinalfish 

indet. 

Cercamia cladara Randall & 

Smith, 1988 

Cheilodipterus 

macrodon 

Cheilodipterus 

quinquelineatus 

Gymnapogon 

vanderbilti 

(Lacepède, 

1801) 

cardinalfish 

indet. 

large-toothed 

cardinalfish 

Cuvier, 1828 five-lined 

cardinalfish 

(Fowler, 1938) Vanderbilt’s 

cardinalfish 

• • • 

• • • • 

• • 

• • 

Notes 

• New species 

• • • 

Specimens passed to D.W. Greenfield 

for identification. No records given 

by Randall (1999) as to where this 

species was caught. 

• Undescribed species sent to T.H. 

Fraser (Randall, 1999). 

• • 

Gymnapogon sp. - - • Undescribed species. 

Pseudamiops 

gracilicauda 

(Lachner, 

1953) 

Family Echeneidae (remoras) 

graceful-tailed 

cardinafish 

• 

• 

• 

•


name (if 

known) 

Phtheirichthys 

lineatus 

94 

(Menzies, 

1791) 

Remora remora (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Family Carangidae (jacks) 

Carangoides 

ferdau 

Carangoides 

orthogrammus 

Caranx 

ignobilis 

Caranx 

lugubris 

Caranx 

melampygus 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

(Jordan & 

Gilbert, 1881) 

slender 

suckerfish 

common 

remora 

IUCN 

code 


• • 

bar jack • • • 

yellow-spotted 

trevally (Pitkern: 

ulwa) 

• • 

Forsskål, 1775 giant trevally • • • 

Poey, 1860 black jack 

(Pitkern: ulwa) 

• • • 

(Cuvier, 1833) bluefin trevally • • • • 

Decapterus sp. - - • 

Pseudocaranx 

dentex 

(Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

Seriola lalandi Valenciennes, 

1833 

Seriola 

rivoliana 

Valenciennes, 

1833 

silver trevally 

(Pitkern: ofe) 

yellowtail 

kingfish 

(Pitkern: kingie) 

Almaco jack 

/ longfin 

yellowtail 

• • • 

• • • 

• 

Notes 

• No record (from 1899) as to where this 

was caught. 

Uraspis sp. - jack, indet. • Specimen probably now lost, preidentification 

(Randall, 1999). 

Family Coryphaenidae (dolphinfishes) 

Coryphaena 

hippurus 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

Family Lutjanidae (snappers) 

Aphareus furca (Lacepède, 

1802) 

Lutjanus bohar (Forsskål, 

1775) 

Lutjanus 

kasmira 

Lutjanus 

monostigma 

Paracaesio 

sordidus 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

common 

dolphinfish / 

mahi-mahi 

smalltooth 

jobfish 

twinspot 

snapper 

bluelined 

snapper 

(Cuvier, 1828) onespot 

snapper 

Abe & 

Shinohara, 

1962 

false fusilier 

snapper 

• • • 

• • 

• • • • 

• • 

Family Caesionidae (fusiliers) 

Pterocaesio tile (Cuvier, 1830) bluestreak 

fusilier 

• • 

Family Lethrinidae (emperors) 

Gnathodentex (Lacepède, yellowspot 

• • • 

aureolineatus 1802) 

emperor 

Lethrinus Valenciennes, longfaced 

• 

olivaceus 1830 

emperor 

Monotaxis (Forsskål, bigeye emperor • • • • 

grandoculis 1775) 

Family Mugilidae (mullets) 

Neomyxus (Günther, acute-jawed 

• • • • 

leuciscus 1871) 

mullet 

Family Polynemidae (threadfins) 

Polydactylus (Valenciennes, sixfeeler 

• 

sexfilis 

1831) 

threadfin 

(Pitkern: moi) 

• 

• 


name (if 

known) 


95 

IUCN 

code 


Family Mullidae (goatfishes) (Note that the Pitkern name for all goatfishes is be’ard). 

Mulloidichthys (Lacepède, yellowstripe 

• • • • 

flavolineatus 1801) 

goatfish 

Mulloidichthys (Valenciennes, yellowfin 

• • • 

vanicolensis 1831) 

goatfish 

Parupeneus (Lacepède, two-barred 

• • • • 

bifasciatus 1801) 

goatfish 

Parupeneus (Lacepède, white-lined 

• 

ciliatus 1802) 

goatfish 

Parupeneus (Lacepède, yellowsaddle 

• • • • 

cyclostomus 1801) 

goatfish 

Parupeneus (Quoy & multibarred 

• • • • 

multifasciatus Gaimard, 

1825) 

goatfish 

Parupeneus (Bennett, 

sidespot 

• • 

pleurostigma 1831) 

goatfish 

Family Pempheridae (sweepers) 

Pempheris 

otaitensis 

(Cuvier, 1831) sweeper • • 

Family Kyphosidae (sea chubbs) 

Kyphosus Lacepède, drummer, chub 

• • • • 

bigibbus 1802 

(Pitkern: nanwi) 

Family Ephippidae (spadefishes) 

Platax sp. - • Probably P. orbicularis (Irving et al., 

1995). 

Family Chaetodontidae (butterflyfishes) 

Chaetodon Forsskål, 1775 threadfin LC • • • • 

auriga 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Cuvier, 1831 bluelashed DD Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 

bennetti 

butterflyfish 


Chaetodon Günther, 1874 black LC • • • 

flavirostris 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Cuvier, 1831 lined LC Listed by Palomares et al. (2011) but not 

lineolatus 

butterflyfish 


Chaetodon (Lacepède, racoon LC • • • 

lunula 

1802) 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Cuvier, 1831 Merten’s LC • • • • 

mertensii 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Cuvier, 1831 ornate LC • • • • 

ornatissimus 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Kner, 1868 dot-and-dash LC • • • • 

pelewensis 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Gray, 1831 fourspot LC • • • • 

quadrimaculatus 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Cuvier, 1831 reticulated DD • • • 

reticulatus 

butterflyfish 

Chaetodon Randall, 1975 Smith’s LC • New species. Due to its bold colouration, 

smithi 

butterflyfish 

limited distribution and the difficulty of 

(Pitkern: 

acquiring live specimens, this species is 

Yellow latus) 

known to be a target for aquarium fish 

collectors. 

Chaetodon Cuvier, 1831 Pacific double- LC • Listed by Randall (1999) but not by 

ulietensis 

saddled 

Palomares et al. (2011). The commonest 

butterflyfish 

butterflyfish at Ducie. 

Chaetodon Bloch, 1787 teardrop LC • • • 

unimaculatus 

butterflyfish 

Forcipiger Jordan & 

long-nosed LC • • • 

flavissimus McGregor, 1898 butterflyfish 

Forcipiger (Broussonet, big long-nosed LC • • 

longirostris 1782) 

butterflyfish 

Notes


name (if 

known) 


multispinosus 


polylepis 

Heniochus 

chrysostomus 

Heniochus 

monoceros 

Family Pomacanthidae (angelfishes) 

Centropyge 

flavissima 

Centropyge heraldi Woods & 

Schultz, 1953 

Centropyge 

hotumatua 

96 

Randall, 1975 many-spined 

butterflyfish 

(Bleeker, 1857) pyramid 

butterflyfish 

Cuvier, 1831 pennant 

bannerfish 

Cuvier, 1831 masked 

bannerfish 

(Cuvier, 1831) lemonpeel 

angelfish 

Randall & 

Caldwell, 

1973 

Herald’s 

angelfish 

Hotumatua’s 

angelfish 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

LC • New species. Endemic. 

LC • 

LC • • 

LC • • 

LC • • • • 

LC • • 

LC • • • • New species. 

Centropyge loricula (Günther, 

1874) 

flame angelfish LC • • • • 

Genicanthus spinus Randall, 1975 Pitcairn 

angelfish 

LC • • New species. 

Genicanthus 

watanabei 

Pomacanthus 

imperator 

(Yasuda & 

Tominaga, 

1970) 

Watanabe’s 

angelfish 

(Bloch, 1787) emperor 

angelfish 

LC • • 

LC • • 

Family Pomacentridae (damselfishes) 

Abudefduf sordidus Forsskål, 1775 black-spot 

sergeant 

(Pitkern: 

mummy) 

• • 

Chromis acares Randall & 

Swerdloff, 

1973 

- • 

Chromis 

Smith, 1960 bronze reef 

• • • • 

agilis 

chromis 

Chromis 

Randall & Polynesian 

• • New species. 

bami 

McCosker, 

1992 

chromis 

Chromis pamae Randall & 

McCosker, 

1992 

chromis indet. • • • New species. 

Chromis vanderbilti (Fowler, 1941) Vanderbilt’s 

chromis 

• • 

Chromis 

xanthura 

(Bleeker, 1854) black chromis • • 

Chrysiptera galba (Allen & 

demoiselle 

• • • • New species. 

Randall, 1974) indet. 

Dascyllus flavicaudus H. Randall & yellow-tailed 

• • • New species. 

Allen, 1977 dascyllus 

Dascyllus reticulatus (Richardson, reticulated 

• 

1846) 

dascyllus 

Dascyllus 

(Rüppel, 1829) three-spot 

• 

trimaculatus 

dascyllus 

Plectroglyphidodon Valliant & brighteye 

• • • 

imparipennis Sauvage, 

1875) 

damsel 

Plectroglyphidodon Fowler & Ball, Johnston 

• • • 

johnstonianus 1924 

damsel 

Plectroglyphidodon (Bleeker, 1859) whiteband 

• • 

leucozona 

damsel 

Plectroglyphidodon 

Phoenixensis 

(Schultz, 1943) Phoenix damsel • • 


name (if 

known) 

Pomachromis 

fuscidorsalis 

Allen & 

Randall, 1974 


97 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

Tahiti damselfish • • • • New species. 

Stegastes emeryi (Allen & 

Randall, 1974) 

Emery’s gregory • • • • New species 

Stegastes fasciolatus (Ogilby, 1889) Pacific gregory • • • • 

Family Labridae (wrasses) 

Anampses 

caeruleopunctatus 

Rüppell, 1828 blue-spotted 

wrasse 

LC • • • 

Anampses femininus Randall, 1972 feminine wrasse LC • • New species 

Anampses twistii Bleeker, 1856 Yellow-breasted 

wrasse 

• 

Bodianus anthioides (Bennett, 

1832) 

lyretail hogfish LC • 

Bodianus 

axillaris 

(Bennett, 

1831) 

Bodianus bilunulatus (Lacepède, 

1801) 

axilspot hogfish LC • • • 

saddleback 

hogfish 

Cheilinus undulatus Rüppell, 1835 humphead 

wrasse 

Cheilio 

inermis 

Cirrhliabrus 

scottorum 

Coris 

aygula 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

Randall & Pyle, 

1989 

Lacepède, 

1801 

LC • • 

EN • Endangered status worldwide due 

to overfishing. Only one individual 

seen by Irving et al. (1995) at 30 m 

depth at Henderson. 

cigar wrasse • 

Scott’s wrasse LC • • New species 

clown coris 

(Pitkern: miti) 

LC • • • • 

Coris sp. - coris • • A new species to be described by 

Randall (1999). 

Gomphosus varius Lacepède, 

1801 

bird wrasse LC • • • • 

Halichoeres 

margaritaceus 

Halichoeres 

marginatus 

Halichoeres 

melasmapomus 

Halichoeres 

trimaculatus 

Hemigymnus 

fasciatus 

Hologymnosus 

annulatus 


1839) 

weedy surge 

wrasse 

LC • • 

Rüppell, 1835 dusky wrasse LC • 

Randall, 1980 black-ear wrasse LC • New species 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1834) 

Labroides bicolor Fowler & 

Bean, 1928 

Labroides dimidiatus (Valenciennes, 

1839) 

Labroides 

rubrolabiatus 

Macropharyngodon 

meleagris 

Novaculichthys 

taeniourus 

Oxycheilinus 

unifasciatus 

three-spot 

wrasse 

LC • 

(Bloch, 1792) barred thicklip 

wrasse 

LC • • • 

(Lacepède, 

1801) 

ring wrasse LC • 

bicolor cleaner 

wrasse 

bluestreak 

cleaner wrasse 

LC • • 

LC • • • • 

Randall, 1958 redlip cleaner 

wrasse 

LC • • • • 


1839) 

leopard wrasse LC • • • 

(Lacepède, 

1801) 

rockmover 

wrasse 

LC • 

(Streets, 1877) ringtail wrasse LC • •


name (if 

known) 

98 

IUCN 

code 


Oxycheilinus sp. - • An undescribed species awaiting naming 

by J.E. Randall, M. Westneat and M.F. 

Gomon (Randall, 1999). 

Pseudocheilinus 

octotaenia 

Jenkins, 1901 eightline wrasse LC • • • • 


tetrataenia 

Schultz, 1960 fourline wrasse LC • • • • 


citrinus 

Randall, 1999 wrasse indet. LC • • Pitcairn: type locality 


ocellatus 

Randall, 1999 tailspot wrasse LC • New species 

Pseudojuloides 

atavai 

Pseudolabrus 

fuentesi 

Stethojoulis 

bandanensis 

Thalassoma 

heiseri 

Thalassoma 

lutescens 

Thalassoma 

purpureum 

Thalassoma 

trilobatum 

Wetmorella 

nigropinnata 

Randall & 

Randall, 1981 

Polynesian 

wrasse 

Notes 

DD • • • New species 

(Regan, 1913) wrasse indet. 

(Pitkern: Archie) 

LC • 

(Bleeker, 1851) red-shoulder 

wrasse 

LC • • • 

Randall & 

Edwards, 1984 

wrasse indet. LC • • • • Pitcairn: type locality 

(Lay & 

Bennett, 1839) 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

(Lacepède, 

1801) 

Xyrichthys pavo Valenciennes, 

1839 

Family Scaridae (parrotfishes) 

Calotomus 

carolinus 

Chlorurus 

frontalis 

Chlorurus 

microrhinus 

Chlorurus 

sordidus 

Leptoscarus 

vaigiensis 

Scarus 

altipinnis 

Scarus 

forsteni 

Scarus 

frenatus 

Scarus 

ghobban 

Scarus 

longipinnis 

sunset wrasse 

(Pitkern: 

whistling 

daughter) 

LC • • • • 

surge wrasse LC • • • • 

Christmas 

wrasse (Pitkern: 

hu’u’u) 

(Seale, 1901) sharpnose 

wrasse 


1839) 


1839) 

LC • • • 

LC • 

blue razorfish • • 

stareye 

parrotfish 

tan-faced 

parrotfish 

LC • 

LC • • 

(Bleeker, 1854) steephead 

parrotfish 

- • • • • 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 

daisy parrotfish LC • • 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1824) 

(Steindachner, 

1879) 

seagrass 

parrotfish 

filament-fin 

parrotfish 

(Bleeker, 1861) rainbow 

parrotfish 

Lacepède, 

1802 

bridled 

parrotfish 

Forsskål, 1775 bluebarred 

parrotfish 

Randall & 

Choat, 1980 

Family Pinguipedidae (Sand Perches) 

Parapercis 

millepunctata 

Parapercis 

multiplicata 

Parapercis 

schauinslandii 


1860) 

highfin 

parrotfish 

(Pitkern: ‘uhu) 

black-dotted 

sandperch 

Randall, 1984 Multi-spotted 

sandperch 

(Steindachner, 

1900) 

Red-spotted 

sandperch 

LC • 

LC • 

LC • • • • 

LC • 

LC • 

LC • • New species. Now recognised as the 

most abundant parrotfish on coral sea 

atolls. 

- 

- 

- 

• 

• 

• 


name (if 

known) 

Family Tripterygiidae (triplefins) 


ornatus 


pyramis 

Norfolkia 

thomasi 

Family Creediidae (sand burrowers) 

Chalixodytes 

tauensis 

Crystallodytes 

cookei 

enderburyensis 

Limnichthys 

donaldsoni 


99 

IUCN 

code 

Fricke, 1997 Henderson 

triplefin 

Fricke, 1994 pyramid triplefin • • 


Notes 

• New species. Endemic to Pitcairn. 

Whitley, 1964 ? • Not listed by Palomeres et al. (2011). 

Schultz, 1943 saddled sand 

burrower 

Schultz, 1943 Cookie’s sand 

burrower 

Family Ammodytiidae (sand lances) 

Ammodytoides 

leptus 

Schultz, 1940 Donaldson’s 

sand burrower 

Randall & 

Collette, 2000 

Pitcairn sand 

lance 

LC • 

- 

- 

• 

• 

• New species, endemic to Pitcairn. Listed 

by Randall (1999) as Ammodytes sp. 

Family Blenniidae (blennies) 

Alticus sp. - - • • New species to be described by J.T. 

Williams (Randall, 1999). 

Blenniella (Quoy & 

picture 

• • • 

gibbifrons Gaimard, 

1824) 

rockskipper 

Blenniella paula (Bryan & Blue-dashed 

• 

Herre, 1903) rockskipper 

Cirripectes 

alboapicalis 

(Ogilby, 1899) blenny indet. • • • • 

Cirripectes (Fowler & Ball, squiggly blenny • 

quagga 1924) 

Cirripectes (Valenciennes, Red-speckled 

• • • 

variolosus 1836) 

blenny 

Entomacrodus (Regan, 1909) rockskipper 

• • • 

caudofasciatus 

indet. 

Entomacrodus (Fowler, 1932) tattoo-chin 

• • 

niuafoouensis 

rockskipper 

Entomacrodus 

rofeni 

Springer, 1967 - • • 

Entomacrodus Bryan & Herre, Seale’s 

• • 

sealei 

1903 

rockskipper 

Entomacrodus (Valenciennes, Black-spotted 

• • • 

striatus 1836) 

rockskipper 

Exallias brevis (Kner, 1968) leopard blenny • 

Istiblennius 

edentulus 

Plagiotremus 

tapeinosoma 

Praealticus 

caesius 

Rhabdoblennius 

ellipes 

Stanulus 

seychellensis 

(Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

rippled 

rockskipper 

(Bleeker, 1857) piano 

fangblenny 

• • • 

(Seale, 1906) - • 

(Jordan & 

Starks, 1906) 

barred-chin 

blaenny 

Smith, 1959 Seychelles 

blenny 

Family Gobiesocidae (clingfishes) 

Lepadichthys 

frenatus 

Waite, 1904 - • • 

• 

• • • 

•


name (if 

known) 

100 

IUCN 

code 


Pherallodus 

indicus 

(Weber, 1913) - • 

Family Callionymidae (dragonets) 

Synchiropus 

ocellatus 

(Pallas, 1770) ocellated 

dragonet 

• • 

Family Gobiidae (gobies) 

Bathygobius 

cocosensis 

(Bleeker, 1854) Cocos goby • 

Bathygobius (Steindachner, cheekscaled 

• 

cotticeps 1879) 

frill-goby 

Eviota 

Jewett & 

spotted 

• 

albolineata Lachner, 1983 fringefin goby 

Gnatholepis (Bleeker, 1853) eyebar goby • • Likely to be a new subspecies (Randall, 

cauerensis 

1999). 

Gobiodon sp. - - • 

Hetereleotris sp. - - • 

Paragobiodon 

sp. 

Priolepis 

squamogena 

Priolepis 

semidoliatus 

- goby indet. • • 

Winterbottom 

& Burridge, 

1989 


1830) 

Notes 

goby indet. • • Reported from Ducie by Rehder & 

Randall (1975) as Quisquilius cinctus. 

goby indet. • • 

Trimmatom sp. - goby indet. • • • • An undescribed species. 

Family Microdesmidae (dartfishes and wormfishes) 

Nemateleotris 

magnifica 

Fowler, 1938 fire dartfish • • • 

Ptereleotris (Jordan & scissortail 

• 

evides 

Hubbs, 1925) dartfish 

Family Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes) 

Acanthurus 

achilles 

(Shaw, 1803) Achilles tang • • 

Acanthurus Bloch & whitespotted 

• • 

guttatus Schneider, 

1801 

surgeonfish 

Acanthurus (Jenkins, 1903) whitebar 

• • • • 

leucopareius 

surgeonfish 

(Pitkern: Letas) 

Acanthurus (Forsskål, 

brown 

• • 

nigrofuscus 1775) 

surgeonfish 

Acanthurus Valenciennes, bluelined 

• 

nigroris 1835 

surgeonfish 

Acanthurus (Fowler & bluelined 

• • • 

nubilus Bean, 1929) surgeonfish 

Acanthurus (Fowler, 1923) Thompson’s 

• • • • 

thompsoni 

surgeonfish 

Acanthurus (Linnaeus, 

convict 

• • • • 

trigostegus 1758) 

surgeonfish 

Ctenochaetus Randall, 1955 Hawaiian 

• • • 

hawaiiensis 

surgeonfish 

Ctenochaetus (Quoy & 

striped 

• • • 

striatus Gaimard, 

1825) 

bristletooth 

Ctenochaetus (Bennett, 

goldring 

• • • • 

strigosus 1828) 

britletooth 

Naso 

(Cuvier, 1829) spotted 

• • 

brevirostris 

unicornfish 

Naso 

Randall & Bell, grey unicornfish • • 

caesius 1992 


name (if 

known) 

Naso 

hexacanthus 

Naso 

lituratus 

Naso 

unicornis 

Zebrasoma 

rostratum 

Zebrasoma 

scopas 

Zebrasoma 

veliferum 

(Bleeker, 1855) blacktongue 

unicornfish 

(Forster in 

Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

(Forsskål, 

1775) 


1873) 

orangespine 

unicornfish 

bluespine 

unicornfish 

longnose 

surgeonfish 


101 

IUCN 

code 


• • 

• • • 

• • • 

• • 

(Cuvier, 1829) brushtail tang • • 

(Bloch, 1797) sailfin tang • • 

Family Zanclidae (Moorish idol family) 

Zanclus 

cornutus 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Family Siganidae (rabbitfishes) 

Siganus 

argenteus 

(Quoy & 

Gaimard, 

1825) 

Family Trichiuridae (cutlassfishes) 

Moorish idol • • • • 

forktail 

rabbitfish 

Benthodesmis 

sp. 

- - • 

Family Sphyraenidae (barracudas) 

Sphyraena 

helleri 

Jenkins, 1901 Heller’s 

barracuda 

Family Gempylidae (snake mackerels) 

• 

• • • 

Gempylus sp. - - • 

Family Scombridae (tunas and mackerels) 

Acanthocybium 

solandri 

Katsuwonus 

pelamis 

Gymnosarda 

unicolor 

Sarda 

chiliensis 

lineolata 

Thunnus 

albacares 

(Cuvier, 1831) wahoo 

(Pitkern: kuta) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

(Rüppell, 

1836) 

Notes 

LC •? • •? •? • Reportedly occurs at each island (Steve 

Christian, pers. comm.) although 

no documented evidence at Oeno, 

Henderson or Ducie. 

skipjack tuna LC • • 

dogtooth tuna NE • • • •? • Reportedly occurs at each island (Steve 

Christian, pers. comm.), although no 

documented evidence at Ducie. 

(Girard, 1858) Pacific bonito LC •? •? •? •? •? Featured on the 2007 ‘Ocean Fish’ 

Pitcairn Islands stamp issue and 

reportedly occurs at each island (Steve 

Christian, pers. comm.). Not listed by 

Randall (1999) or the SeaLifeBase list 

(Palomares et al., 2011). 

(Bonnaterre, 

1788) 

yellowfin tuna 

(Pitkern: 

yellow-tail) 

Thunnus obesus (Lowe, 1839) bigeye tuna VU • • 

Thunnus 

alalunga 

Family Xiphidae (swordfishes) 

Xiphias 

gladius 

Linneaus, 

1778 

Family Istiophoridae (billfishes) 

LR/ 

LC 

•? • •? •? • Reportedly occurs at each island (Steve 

Christian, pers. comm.) although 

no documented evidence at Oeno, 

Henderson or Ducie. 

albacore NT • Sea Around Us Project, 2010. In the 

Eastern Pacific, this species occurs as 

two populations: from British Columbia 

to the tip of Baja; and from southern 

Peru to southern Chile. Both of these 

populations are trans-Pacific. 

swordfish LC • Record derived from 2012 offshore 

fishery licence application.


name (if 

known) 

Makaira 

mazara 

Tetrapturus 

audax 

102 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

(Jordan & 

Snyder, 1901) 

blue marlin NE • Sea Around Us Project, 2010. 

(Philippi, 1887) striped marlin NE • Sea Around Us Project, 2010. 

Family Bothidae (left-eye flounders) 

Bothus 

mancus 

(Broussonet, 

1782) 

Family Samaridae (slender flounders) 

Samariscus 

triocellatus 

Family Ballistidae (triggerfishes) 

Balistoides 

viridescens 

Pseudobalistes 

fuscus 

Rhinecanthus 

aculeatus 

Rhinecanthus 

lunula 

Rhinecanthus 

rectangulus 

Sufflamen 

bursa 

Sufflamen 

fraenatus 

Xanthichthys 

mento 

peacock 

flounder 

Woods, 1960 three-spot 

righteye 

flounder 

(Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

(Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

(Linnaeus, 

1758) 

Randall & 

Steene, 1983 

(Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

(Bloch & 

Schneider, 

1801) 

(Latreille, 

1804) 

(Jordan & 

Gilbert, 1882) 

Family Monacanthidae (filefishes) 

Aluterus 

scriptus 

Cantherines 

dumerilii 

Cantherines 

pardalis 

moustache 

triggerfish 

blue or rippled 

triggerfish 

Picasso 

triggerfish 

halfmoon 

picassofish 

wedge 

picassofish 

scythe 

triggerfish 

masked 

triggerfish 

crosshatch 

triggerfish 

(Pitkern: pickpick) 

LC • • • • 

• 

• • 

• • • 

• • 

• • • New species. 

• • • • 

• • • • 

• • 

(Osbeck, 

1765) 

scribbled filefish • • 

(Hollard, 1854) barred filefish • • • 

(Rüppell, 

1837) 

Family Ostraciidae (trunkfishes) 

Ostracion 

meleagris 

Shaw, 1796 whitespotted 

boxfish 

Family Tetraodontidae (pufferfishes) 

Arothron 

meleagris 

Canthigaster 

janthinoptera 

(Lacepède, 

1798) 

wire-net filefish • • • 

guineafowl 

puffer 

(Bleeker, 1855) honeycomb 

toby 

• 

• • • • 

• • 

Family Diodontidae (porcupinefishes) 

Diodon Linnaeus, balloonfish • • • 

holocanthus 1758 

Diodon hystrix Linnaeus, 

1758 

porcupinefish • • • 

Family Molidae (molas) 

Ranzania (Pennant, slender sunfish • Dropped on land by fairy terns at 

laevis 1776) 

Henderson (Irving, 1995). 

• 


name (if 

known) 


103 

IUCN 

code 


REPTILIA (Turtles) 

Family Cheloniidae 

Refs. Brooke, 1995c; Palomares et al., 2011. 

Chelonia (Linnaeus, green turtle EN • • Estimated breeding population of 10 

mydas 1758) 

individuals at Henderson in 1991/92 

(Brooke, 1995c). 

Eretmochelys (Linnaeus, hawksbill turtle CR • Listed by Palomares et al. (2011). 

imbricata 1766) 

AVES (Seabirds) 

Family Ardeidae 

Refs. Brooke, 1995a & b; Palomares et al., 2011; additional offshore observations by Gaskin in 2006 & Taylor in 

2010 (see also Table 17). 

Egretta sacra (Gmelin, 1789) reef heron LC • • • Brooke (1995a) reports seeing a number 

of individuals at Oeno and Henderson, 

but with no evidence of breeding. 

Family Charadriidae 

Pluvialis fulva (Gmelin, 1789) Pacific golden NE • • • Brooke (1995a) reports a few non- 

plover 

breeding birds being seen at Oeno and 

Henderson. 

Pluvialis (Linnaeus, grey plover NE • • Brooke (1995a) reports a single bird being 

squatarola 1758) 

seen on Henderson in March 1991. 

Family Fregatidae 

Fregata minor (Gmelin, 1789) great frigatebird LC • • • • Brooke (1995a) estimated the breeding 

Family Laridae 

(Pitkern: hawk) 

population on Oeno to be about 100 

pairs; on Ducie 10–20 pairs; and on 

Henderson 100 pairs. The species does 

not breed on Pitcairn. Also observed 

offshore. 

Anous Boie, 1844 black noddy LC • • • • • Brooke (1995a) reports that, although 

minutus 

small numbers are present on Ducie, the 

species probably does not breed there. For 

the other three islands, he estimated the 

numbers of breeding pairs to be: Oeno 

(100); Henderson (100); Pitcairn (20). 

Anous stolidus (Linnaeus, brown noddy LC • • • • • Williams (1960) reported that breeding 

1758) 

takes place on all four islands. Brooke 

(1995a) confirmed numbers of breeding 

pairs in 1991 to be: Ducie (200); Oeno 

(800); Henderson (100); Pitcairn (100). 

Gygis alba (Sparrman, fairy tern LC • • • • • Brooke (1995a) estimates the breeding 

1786) 

populations (pairs) among the four islands 

to be: Pitcairn (a few hundred); Oeno 

(several hundred and possibly above 

1,000); Ducie (about 5,000); Henderson 

(several thousands and possibly above 

10,000). 

Larus atricilla (Linnaeus, laughing gull LC • One found dead at Down Rope, Pitcairn 

1758) 

in late March 1992 (Wragg, 1994). 

Onychoprion Linnaeus, sooty tern LC • • • Listed as Sterna fuscata by Brooke 

fuscatus 1766 

(1995a). Brooke (1995a) notes that 

breeding took place on Ducie (100 chicks 

observed in late October 1991) and Oeno 

(two nest sites found in September 1991). 

Procelsterna (Bennett, blue-grey noddy LC • • • • Brooke (1995a) supposes that around 

cerulea 1840) 

10 pairs nest on inaccessible ledges at 

Henderson and Pitcairn, but breeding not 

confirmed. At Ducie, 15 breeding pairs 

were noted in late-October 1991. Also 

observed offshore. 

Family Phaethontidae 

Phaethon Daudin, 1802 white-tailed LC • • • Not seen during the 1991/2 expedition, 

lepturus 

tropicbird 

but reported by Williams (1960) as a rare 

visitor to Henderson and Oeno. Observed 

offshore in June 2006. 

Notes


name (if 

known) 

Balaenoptera 

acutorostrata 

Megaptera 

novaeangliae 

Balaenoptera 

edeni 

Family Delphinidae 

Delphinus 

delphis 

Grampus 

griseus 

Lagenodelphis 

hosei 

Stenella 

attenuata 

Stenella 

coeruleoalba 

Steno 

bredanensis 

Feresa 

attenuata 

Globicephala 

macrorhynchus 

104 

Lacépède, 

1804 

(Borowski, 

1781) 

Anderson, 

1879 

Linnaeus, 

1758 

(G. Cuvier, 

1812) 

common or 

dwarf minke 

whale 

humpback 

whale 

Bryde’s whale 

(also known as 

Eden’s whale) 

IUCN 

code 


Notes 

LC • This species has only been recognised as 

separate from the Antarctic minke whale 

B. bonaerensis in the past 15 years. 

EN • • While most humpback populations 

worldwide have been assessed as being 

of ‘least concern’, a distinct Oceania 

subpopulation (breeding stock F2) is 

now recognised, which is endangered. 

Regularly seen nearshore off Pitcairn from 

June–September (Horswill 2007). 

DD • Within the past 20 years, this species 

of baleen whale has been classified as 

a ‘complex’ of a number of species, as 

there has been confusion regarding its 

true identification by taxonomists. The 

‘ordinary’ Bryde’s whale (the species given 

here) is known to have a distribution 

throughout the eastern tropical Pacific 

and across the South Pacific down to 

about 35°S. 

(short-nosed) 

common 

dolphin 

LC • 

Risso’s dolphin LC • 

Fraser, 1956 Fraser’s dolphin LC • 

(Gray, 1846) pantropical 

spotted dolphin 

LC • 

(Meyen, 1833) striped dolphin LC • 

(G. Cuvier in 

Lesson, 1828) 

rough-toothed 

dolphin 

Gray, 1874 pygmy killer 

whale 

Gray, 1846 short-finned 

pilot whale 

LC • 

DD • 

DD • 

Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 

1758) 

killer whale DD • 

Pseudorca 

crassidens 

(Owen, 1846) false killer whale DD • 

Stenella 

longirostris 

Family Kogiidae 

(Gray, 1828) spinner dolphin DD • 

Kogia 

breviceps 


1838) 

pygmy sperm 

whale 

Kogia sima (Owen, 1866) dwarf sperm 

whale 

Family Physeteridae 

Physeter 

macrocephalus 

Family Ziphiidae 

Mesoplodon 

densirostris 

Ziphius 

cavirostris 

Linnaeus, 

1758 


1817) 

DD • 

DD • 

sperm whale VU • 

Blainville’s 

beaked whale 

Cuvier, 1823 Cuvier’s beaked 

whale 

DD • 

LC • • Carcass found on reef flat at Ducie, Nov 

1991 (R.A. Irving, pers. obs.) 


The Marine Environment of the Pitcairn Islands 105

Robert Irving Terry Dawson 

Robert is recognised as being the UK’s leading authority 

on the marine life of the Pitcairn Islands. His first visit to 

Pitcairn was in 1991 when he took part in the Sir Peter 

Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands. 

The expedition centred on investigating the terrestrial 

and marine ecology of Henderson Island, with over 25 

scientists from all over the world taking part during its 

15 month lifespan. He and his colleague Jo Jamieson 

spent a very enjoyable 3½ months ‘marooned’ on 

Henderson (with five fellow scientists), diving all around 

the island and recording, collecting and taking over 2,500 

underwater photographs. They also managed to dive 

around Oeno and Ducie. Although he spent a week on 

Pitcairn too, it wasn’t until 2003 that he managed to dive 

around the island, when he acted as scientific advisor to a 

3-week long UK Joint Services diving expedition. His third 

visit to Pitcairn was in 2011 when he and Terry Dawson 

spent 10 days on the island as part of a UK Darwin 

Initiative project investigating the management of the 

island’s nearshore waters. 

Robert is based in Devon in SW England where he runs his 

own marine environmental consultancy firm, Sea-Scope. 

Most of his time is spent on UK marine conservation 

projects, though over the years he has undertaken projects 

in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia 

and the United Arab Emirates. He has also taken part in 

diving expeditions to Indonesia, Ascension Island and Sri 

Lanka. Robert has written numerous articles on marine 

conservation issues, over 40 scientific reports papers, as 

well as two books. 

106 

Professor Terry Dawson holds the SAGES (Scottish Alliance 

for the Geosciences, Environment and Society) Chair 

in Global Environmental Change in the School of the 

Environment, University of Dundee. His earlier career 

included academic appointments at the Universities 

of Oxford (1998-2004), Edinburgh (2004-2007) and 

Southampton (2007-2011). His research interests are very 

broad, but they mainly focus on environmental change, 

ecology and biodiversity conservation with a special 

interest in island biogeography. His passion for the marine 

environment began as a volunteer member of the 1985 

underwater survey of Hong Kong shortly after qualifying 

as a British Sub-Aqua Club Advanced Diver whilst living 

there. This was followed up with a diving expedition to 

the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Coral Sea 

in 1986. Since then, Terry has undertaken a wide variety 

of projects in Borneo, Galapagos Islands, Seychelles, 

Mozambique, Madagascar and Cuba. His first visit to 

Pitcairn Island was in 2010 which was followed up with 

a second visit the following year as part of a UK Darwin 

Initiative project. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical 

Society and has published over 120 scientific manuscripts, 

books and reports to date. 


107

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