Captaincookia (Captaincookia margaretae), New Caledonia, France Photograph by Arnaud Greth   Island of New Caledonia, northeast of Australia Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests   1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) -- about the size of Delaware Critical/Endangered

· Diversity in Danger
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Diversity in Danger

It is difficult to imagine forces within the Earth strong enough to break whole continents apart, but continents have in fact broken apart and drifted over the Earth’s surface. Grande Terre, the main island of New Caledonia, is an original piece of Gondwana, the ancient super-continent that broke apart millions of years ago. The island has been isolated from other landmasses for 55 million years. Given this isolation, the original species of plants and animals have been able to evolve into the extraordinary biodiversity of the island. But this diversity is severely threatened; less than two percent of this ecoregion’s dry forests remain.

Special Features

If you set out on a hike through these forests, you would find it slow going. The forests are dense, vines climb everywhere, and shrubs create a thick understory. Dry forests occur only on the western side of Grand Terre, where the average rainfall is lower and more seasonal than on the rest of the island. The dry forests have fewer species than the rain forests on the island, but many of the dry-forest species are unique to those forests. Fifty-nine endemic plants are hanging on in the last remnants of forest, such as the yellow-flowered Pittosporum pancheri, the fragrant Gardenia urvillei, and the thin-leaved Codiaeum peltatum. Many of these plants have primitive traits or represent highly unusual groups. The extraordinary Captaincookia margaretae trees have pink blossoms that cover their entire trunks. Geckos of various species clamber among tree branches hunting for unwary insects. Beautiful land snails, many of which are found only in very small areas of forest, crawl over branches and rocks.

	A dry-forest species of wild rice, Oryza neocaledonica, is highly endangered and found in only a few sites in New Caledonia. It may have genes that can greatly help domestic rice production worldwide.

Wild Side

Several dry-forest animals are endangered, including the New Caledonia wattled bat, the ornate flying fox, the New Caledonian imperial pigeon, the New Caledonian owlet-nightjar, and the horned parakeet. The parakeet has the dubious distinction of being named by World Wildlife Fund as one of the "Ten Most Wanted" species -- a listing of the world's most sought-after animals and plants whose survival is threatened by international trade.

Cause for Concern

Tropical dry forests are the most threatened tropical forests worldwide, and those of New Caledonia are no exception. With less than two percent remaining, the dry forests are the most endangered form of habitat on the island. Intentionally ignited fires, trampling by cattle, and the introduction of alien species such as fire ants pose the greatest threats to the few remaining patches of dry forest.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.