Yule Island

Infobox PNG Place
type = village
name = Yule Island
province = cen
llg =
district =
dot_x = 92
dot_y = 121


caption =
pop =
lang =
langarea =
elevation =
coor = coord|8|49|S|146|32|E|region:PG_type:city
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
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Yule Island is a small island in Central Province, Papua New Guinea. It lies 160 km from Port MoresbyPapua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority] .

History

Yule Island was one of the first areas in Central Province to have contact with Europeans. Catholic missionaries settled there in 1885 and are still present.

With the European missionaries came catechists from the Philippines, some of which married into the local population. Today, many inhabitants of Yule Island have distinct Filipino features. [Alfredo P. Hernandez]

Nature

Yule Island is surrounded by coral reefs.

Several spider species are endemic to this island, including: [World Spider Catalog]
* the jumping spider species "Salticus perogaster" and "Plexippus brachypus"
* "Heteropoda cyanognatha" and "Pandercetes longipes" (Sparassidae)
* "Misumena arrogans" and "Stephanopis yulensis" (Thomisidae)

The Early Pliocene Echinodermata fauna is rich and diverse, with 19 species known to occur in the Kairuku Formation. Nearly half of these species are also represented in northern Australia stocks, with the northern Great Barrier Reef only 600 km away. [nomen nudum 28: [http://www.es.mq.edu.au/mucep/aap/nomennudum/issues/28/anu.htm report 2001-2002] ]

Footnotes

References

* Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority: [http://www.pngtourism.org.pg/png/export/sites/TPA/provinces/central/ Central Province]
* (2007): [http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html The world spider catalog] , version 8.0. "American Museum of Natural History".

Further reading

* (2003): Echinoids of the Kairuku Formation (Lower Pliocene), Yule Island, Papua New Guinea: Clypeasteroida. Regularia. Spatangoida. "Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales" 124: 125-162.
* (2004): The Yule Island fauna and the origin of tropical northern Australian echinoid (Echinodermata) faunas. "Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales" 125: 97-109.
* (2006): [http://www.oovrag.com/essays/essay2006b-1.shtml Invading Papua New Guinea, Pinoy Style]

External links