Island gigantism
Encyclopedia
Large mammalian carnivores are often absent on islands, due to their large range requirements and/or difficulties in over-water dispersal
Rafting event
Oceanic dispersal is a type of biological dispersal that occurs when organisms transfer from one land mass to another by way of a sea crossing on large clumps of floating vegetation. Such matted clumps of vegetation are often seen floating down major rivers in the tropics and washing out to sea,...
. In their absence, the ecological niche
Ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...
s for large predators may be occupied by birds or reptiles, which can then grow to larger-than-normal size. For example, on prehistoric Gargano Island in the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
-Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
Mediterranean, on islands in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
like Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and on Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, some or all apex predator
Apex predator
Apex predators are predators that have no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain. Zoologists define predation as the killing and consumption of another organism...
s were birds like eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s, falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
s and owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, including some of the largest known examples of these groups. However, birds and reptiles generally make less efficient large predators than advanced carnivora
Carnivora
The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...
ns. In the case of tiger snakes, island gigantism has been fostered on islands where the available prey is restricted to larger sizes than commonly taken by mainland snakes; restricted seasonal availability of prey also appears to contribute.
Since small size usually makes it easier for herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
s to escape or hide from predators, the decreased predation pressure on islands can allow them to grow larger. Small herbivores may also benefit from the absence of competition from missing types of large herbivores.
Thus, island gigantism is usually an evolutionary trend resulting from the removal of constraints related to predation and/or competition. In contrast, the complementary phenomenon of island dwarfism
Insular dwarfism
Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of the reduction in size of large animals – typically mammals – when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is distinct from the intentional creation of dwarf...
results from the imposition of constraints associated with the limited area and food supply available on islands. As opposed to island dwarfism, island gigantism is found in most major vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
groups and in invertebrates.
A further means of establishing island gigantism may be a founder effect
Founder effect
In population genetics, the founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. It was first fully outlined by Ernst Mayr in 1942, using existing theoretical work by those such as Sewall...
operative when larger members of a mainland population are superior in their ability to colonize islands.
With the arrival of humans and associated predators (dogs, cats, rats, pigs), many giant island endemics have become extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
.
Mammals
Many rodents grow larger on islands, whereas carnivoreCarnivore
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...
s, proboscideans and artiodactyls usually become smaller.
- SoricomorphsSoricomorphaThe order Soricomorpha is taxon within the class of mammals. In previous years it formed a significant group within the former order Insectivora...
- Corsican Giant ShrewCorsican Giant ShrewThe Corsican Giant Shrew is an extinct shrew from the island of Corsica.It is only known from fossil remains from "Teppa di Lupino" in "North Corsica". The reasons for the extinction for this poorly known species remained unknown, but it is assumed that competition with other shrews as well as...
(extinct)
- Corsican Giant Shrew
- Erinaceomorphs
- DeinogalerixDeinogalerixDeinogalerix , was a genus of the order Erinaceomorpha, which lived in Italy in the Late Miocene. The genus was apparently endemic to what was then Gargano Island, today's Gargano peninsula...
(extinct)
- Deinogalerix
- RodentRodentRodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s- Flores Giant RatFlores Giant RatThe Flores Giant Rat is a rodent of the family Muridae that occurs on the island of Flores in Indonesia. It is found in primary, secondary and disturbed forest over a wide range of elevations...
- Tenerife Giant RatTenerife Giant RatThe Tenerife Giant Rat is an extinct species of rat endemic to the island of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, Spain. Many remains have been found during archeological digs. Most remains are from the Pleistocene...
and Gran Canaria Giant Rat (both extinct) - Giant hutiaGiant hutiaThe giant hutias are an extinct group of large rodents known from fossil and subfossil material in the West Indies. One species, Amblyrhiza inundata, is estimated to have weighed between , big specimens being as large as an American Black Bear...
s of the West Indies (extinct) - Majorcan Giant DormouseMajorcan Giant DormouseThe Majorcan Giant Dormouse, scientifically known as Hypnomys morphaeus or Eliomys morpheus , is an extinct animal from Europe. It is considered an example of island gigantism. The closest extant relative is considered to be the garden dormouse, genus Eliomys. It is believed to have had an...
and Minorcan Giant DormouseMinorcan Giant DormouseThe Minorcan Giant Dormouse, Hypnomys mahonensis, is an extinct species of dormouse from the Pleistocene and Holocene of The Minorcan Giant Dormouse, Hypnomys mahonensis, is an extinct species of dormouse from the Pleistocene and Holocene of The Minorcan Giant Dormouse, Hypnomys mahonensis, is an...
(both extinct)
- Flores Giant Rat
- LagomorphsLagomorphaThe lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families, the Leporidae , and the Ochotonidae...
- Minorcan Giant LagomorphMinorcan Giant LagomorphThe Minorcan Giant Lagomorph, Nuralagus rex, is an extinct rabbit that lived in the island of Minorca from the Messinian until around the middle of the Pliocene, when it became extinct...
(extinct) - Different ProlagusProlagusProlagidae is an extinct family within the order of lagomorphs, which also includes the Leporidae . One genus, Prolagus, is recognised within the family. This family as Prolaginae was previously considered a subfamily of Ochotonidae. Prolagus first appeared in the Early Miocene in Europe, where it...
Mediterranean species, including the extinct Sardinian PikaSardinian PikaThe Sardinian Pika was a primitive lagomorph native to the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica until its extinction around the year 1800...
and P. imperialis from Gargano Island
- Minorcan Giant Lagomorph
- PrimatePrimateA primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s- Giant lemurLemurLemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are named after the lemures of Roman mythology due to the ghostly vocalizations, reflective eyes, and the nocturnal habits of some species...
s ArchaeoindrisArchaeoindrisArchaeoindris fontoynonti is an extinct species of Malagasy lemur that was the largest primate to evolve on Madagascar. It weighed about and measured around 1.5m in height, more than a silverback gorilla. Archaeoindris is one of eight known members of the Palaeopropithecinae subfamily...
, Palaeopropithecus and MegaladapisMegaladapisKoala lemurs, genus Megaladapis, belong to the family Megaladapidae, consisting of three extinct species of lemurs that once inhabited the island of Madagascar. The largest measured between in length.-Appearance and habits:...
of MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
(all extinct)
- Giant lemur
Birds
- Ratites
- The elephant birdElephant birdElephant birds are an extinct family of flightless birds found only on the island of Madagascar and comprising the genera Aepyornis and Mullerornis.-Description:...
, among the largest birds ever, formerly living on Madagascar (extinct). - The extinct moaMoaThe moa were eleven species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about ....
of New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
- The elephant bird
- Waterfowl
- Moa-naloMoa-naloThe moa-nalo are a group of extinct aberrant, goose-like ducks that lived on the larger Hawaiian Islands, except Hawaii itself, in the Pacific...
s, extinct giant ducks from HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
- Moa-nalo
- Wildfowl
- Sylviornis neocaledoniae a huge extinct megapode-like bird from New CaledoniaNew CaledoniaNew Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
- Some extinct PolynesiaPolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
n megapodes.
- Sylviornis neocaledoniae a huge extinct megapode-like bird from New Caledonia
- Rails
- The takahēTakaheThe Takahē or South Island Takahē, Porphyrio hochstetteri is a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand and belonging to the rail family. It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898...
s from New Zealand and other PorphyrioPorphyrioPorphyrio is the swamphen genus of birds in the rail family. It includes some smaller species which are usually called "purple gallinules", and which are sometimes separated as genus Porphyrula or united with the gallinules proper in Gallinula. There are two living species of swamphen, the...
as well as many GallirallusGallirallusGallirallus is a genus that contains about a dozen living species of rails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. Many of these, including the most well-known one - the bold and inquisitive weka of New Zealand - are flightless or nearly so; others, such as the Buff-banded Rail, can go for...
species from MelanesiaMelanesiaMelanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and PolynesiaPolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
and a few other RallidaeRallidaeThe rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
.
- The takahē
- Seabirds
- The extinct Spectacled CormorantSpectacled CormorantThe Spectacled Cormorant or Pallas's Cormorant is an extinct marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabited Bering Island and possibly other places in the Komandorski Islands and the nearby coast of Kamchatka...
from Bering IslandBering IslandBering Island is located off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea. At long by wide, it is the largest of the Commander Islands with the area of ....
.
- The extinct Spectacled Cormorant
- Pigeons
- DodoDodoThe dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about , living on fruit, and nesting on the ground....
and Rodrigues SolitaireRodrigues SolitaireThe Rodrigues Solitaire was a flightless member of the pigeon order endemic to Rodrigues, Mauritius. It was a close relative of the Dodo.-Discovery:...
, both extinct, from the Mascarenes - The extinct flightless Viti Levu Giant PigeonViti Levu Giant PigeonThe Viti Levu Giant Pigeon was a flightless pigeon, only slightly smaller than the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire ....
.
- Dodo
- Birds of prey
- Haast's EagleHaast's EagleHaast's Eagle was a species of massive eagles that once lived on the South Island of New Zealand. The species was the largest eagle known to have existed. Its prey consisted mainly of gigantic flightless birds that were unable to defend themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles,...
and Eyles' HarrierEyles' HarrierEyles' Harrier is an extinct bird of prey which lived in New Zealand.It was an example of island gigantism, weighing over twice as much as a Swamp Harrier. It was a generalist predator, taking prey of the same size as small eagle species do – land animals weighing one or a few kilograms...
of New Zealand; the titan-hawk TitanohieraxTitanohieraxTitanohierax is an fossil genus of giant hawk from Cuba, Hispaniola and the Bahamas. It has one known species, Titanohierax gloveralleni. The extinct crab-hawk Buteogallus borrasi was formerly placed in this genus....
and giant-hawk Gigantohierax from the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
; the giant buteonine hawkHawkThe term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
Buteogallus borrasiButeogallus borrasiButeogallus borrasi is an extinct species of giant buteonine hawk formerly endemic to Cuba. It probably fed on megafauna.It was so huge compared to other Buteogallus that it was long believed to be a titan-hawk or even an Aquila eagle. No proper common name exists due to this misconception...
of CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(all now extinct).
- Haast's Eagle
- Parrots
- The extinct Broad-billed ParrotBroad-billed ParrotThe Broad-billed Parrot was a parrot endemic to the island of Mauritius that became extinct.-Description:...
from Mauritius, an undescribed huge extinct parrot from Easter IslandEaster IslandEaster Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
, and the critically endangered KakapoKakapoThe Kakapo , Strigops habroptila , also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand...
of New Zealand.
- The extinct Broad-billed Parrot
- Owls
- The CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n giant flightless owl Ornimegalonyx, the possibly flightless Cretan OwlCretan OwlThe Cretan Owl is an extinct species of owl from the Pleistocene of Crete, Mediterranean. It was first named by Weesie in 1982. In life, it would have been at least 2 feet tall, and flightless or nearly flightless...
, and several TytoTytoThe genus Tyto includes all barn owls except for the bay owls - that is, the true barn owls, the grass owls and the masked owls collectively making up the subfamily Tytoninae...
barn owls from the Mediterranean (Tyto robustaTyto robustaTyto robusta was a prehistoric barn-owl. It lived at what is now Monte Gargano in Italy, and was an island throughout much of the Neogene when sea levels were higher. The owl's remains date back to the Miocene-Pliocene boundary 5.5 to 5 million years ago. The fossil bones are about 60% as long...
, Tyto giganteaTyto giganteaTyto gigantea is an extinct barn owl from what is now Gargano, Italy, dating back to the late Miocene. From its remains, T. gigantea is suggested to have been as large as, or larger than the Eurasian Eagle-owl, Bubo bubo....
), Caribbean (Tyto pollensTyto pollensTyto pollens, also known as Andros Island Barn Owl, Bahamian Barn Owl, Bahamian Great Owl, or "Chickcharnie," was a , flightless barn owl that lived in the old-growth pineyards of Andros Island...
) and MelanesiaMelanesiaMelanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
(all of them extinct).
- The Cuba
- Storks
- The Flores Flightless StorkLeptoptilos robustusLeptoptilos robustus or Flores Flightless Stork is an extinct species of stork from the Flores island chain in Indonesia. It was tall and weighed an estimated . Since the bones in the legs and body are very heavy, it is assumed that it rarely, if ever, flew.-References:*...
, Leptoptilos robustus, a very large extinct stork from FloresFloresFlores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
.
- The Flores Flightless Stork
Reptiles
- Turtles
- Giant tortoiseGiant tortoiseGiant tortoises are characteristic reptiles of certain tropical islands. Often reaching enormous size—they can weigh as much as 300 kg and can grow to be 1.3 m long—they live, or lived , in the Seychelles, the Mascarenes and the Galapagos...
s in the Galápagos IslandsGalápagos IslandsThe Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, SeychellesSeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, and formerly the Mascarenes are often considered examples of island gigantism. However, during the Pleistocene, comparably sized or larger tortoises were present in AustraliaMeiolaniaMeiolania is an extinct genus of cryptodire turtle from the Oligocene to Holocene, with the last relict populations at New Caledonia which survived until 2,000 years ago....
, southern Asia, MadagascarDipsochelysDipsochelys is a genus of giant tortoise restricted to Madagascar and the Seychelles islands, containing six species:* †Dipsochelys abrupta Grandidier 1868 - Madagascar,...
and North and South America, as well as on a number of other, more accessible islands. The present situation of large tortoises being only found on remote islands may simply reflect that these islands were discovered by humans fairly recently and have not been heavily populated, making the tortoises less subject to overexploitationOverexploitationOverexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Sustained overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource...
.
- Giant tortoise
- Lizards
- The Komodo dragonKomodo dragonThe Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
and a similar (extinct) giant monitor lizardMonitor lizardMonitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
from TimorTimorTimor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
, examples of giant insular carnivores. Since islands tend to offer limited food and territory, their mammalian carnivores (if present) are usually smaller than continental ones. These cases involve ectothermic carnivores on islands too small to support much mammalian competition. (However, these lizards are not as large as their extinct Australian relative MegalaniaMegalaniaMegalania is a giant extinct goanna or monitor lizard. It was part of a megafaunal assemblage that inhabited southern Australia during the Pleistocene, and appears to have disappeared around 40,000 years ago...
.) - The Angel Island chuckwallaAngel Island ChuckwallaThe Angel Island chuckwalla is a species of chuckwalla belonging to the Iguanidae family endemic to Isla Ángel de la Guarda in the Sea of Cortés...
(Sauromalus hispidus) and the San Esteban chuckwallaSan Esteban ChuckwallaThe San Esteban chuckwalla is a species of chuckwalla belonging to the Iguanidae family endemic to San Esteban Island in the Sea of Cortés...
(Sauromalus varius) of islands off Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North... - The extinct giant (1.5 m long) iguana LapitiguanaLapitiguanaLapitiguana is an extinct genus of giant iguanid from Fiji. It probably went extinct following the human colonization of Fiji 3000 years ago....
from FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. - Leiolopisma mauritianaLeiolopisma mauritianaLeiolopisma mauritiana also known as "Didosaurus maurtianus," was a large species of skink . It was found only in Mauritius, but became extinct around 1600 probably due to introduced predators. It may have been somewhat fossorial in nature. This is speculative and based on a reconstruction...
and Macroscincus coctei, two extinct skinkSkinkSkinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
s from MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and Cape VerdeCape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, the Solomon Islands skinkSolomon Islands skinkThe Solomon Islands skink is an arboreal species of skink endemic to the Solomon Islands. It is the largest known extant species of skink...
and the rare New Caledonian skink Phoboscincus bocourti - The extinct Rodrigues giant day geckoRodrigues giant day geckoRodrigues giant day gecko was an extinct diurnal species of gecko. It lived on the island of Rodrigues and surrounding islands and typically dwelt on trees. The Rodrigues giant day gecko fed on insects and nectar.-Description:...
and New Zealand giant geckoKawekaweauThe Kawekaweau or Delcourt's Giant Gecko, Hoplodactylus delcourti, was by far the largest of all geckos with a snout to vent length of 370 mm and an overall length of at least 600 mm. It was endemic to New Zealand and is now believed to be extinct...
, and the extant New Caledonian giant geckoRhacodactylus leachianusThe New Caledonian Giant Gecko or Leach's Giant Gecko , is a large species of gecko first described by Georges Cuvier in 1829. It is often commonly referred to as a Leachie gecko . It is the largest of the Rhacodactylus geckos... - Four extant and one extinctGallotia goliathGallotia goliath is an extinct giant lizard species from the island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands, Spain. This reptile lived before the arrival of humans. It was described by the German herpetologist Robert Mertens. It is believed that it grew to at least three feet long...
species of lacertid lizardLacertidaeLacertidae is the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. The group includes the genus Lacerta, which contains some of the most commonly seen lizard species in Europe...
of the genus GallotiaGallotiaThe genus Gallotia are the lacertids of the Canary Islands. This genus consists of a group that has been evolving there ever since the first islands emerged from the sea over 20 million years ago...
in the Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
- The Komodo dragon
- Snakes
- Tiger snake populations on Mount Chappell IslandMount Chappell IslandMount Chappell Island was originally named "Mount Chappelle" by Matthew Flinders for his wife's maiden name. It is a mainly dolerite island, with a distinctive central hill and with an area of 323 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Badger Island Group, lying in eastern Bass...
(TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
) and Williams Island, Hopkins Island and islands of the Nuyts Archipelago (South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
).
- Tiger snake populations on Mount Chappell Island
Arthropods
- Chan's megastick of Borneo
- Conant's Giant Nihoa Tree Cricket
- Giant pill-millipedesSphaerotheriidaSphaerotheriida is an order of millipedes in the subclass Pentazonia, sometimes known as giant pill millipedes. They inhabit the Southern Hemisphere. Like the Northern Hemisphere pill millipedes of the order Glomerida, these millipedes can roll into a ball when disturbed...
of Madagascar - Giant wetaGiant wetaGiant wetas are species of weta in the genus Deinacrida of the family Anostostomatidae. Giant wetas are endemic to New Zealand, and are examples of island gigantism....
of New Zealand - Lord Howe Island phasmid
- Madagascar hissing cockroachMadagascar hissing cockroachThe Madagascar hissing Cockroach , also known as the Hissing Cockroach or simply Hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 2–4 inches at maturity. They are from the island of Madagascar off the African coast, where they can be found in rotting logs.Unlike most cockroaches, they...
- Saint Helena earwig
In popular culture
The movie King KongKing Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
provides a fictional (and exaggerated) example of Island gigantism. The animals, bugs and plants found on Skull Island
Skull Island
Skull Island is a fictional island first appearing in the 1933 film King Kong and later appearing in its sequels and in the two remakes. It is the home of the eponymous King Kong and several other species of creatures, mostly prehistoric and in some cases species that should have been extinct long...
all present monstrous sizes.
In an early episode of the Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
anime (Season 1, Episode 17: "Island of the Giant Pokémon"), a theme park of giant (although robotic) Pokémon references the concept of island gigantism.
The anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series One Piece
One Piece
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
features an arc in which the characters travel to an island called "Little Garden", where several over-sized animals and plants can be found.
In the 5th episode of the second season of Lost Tapes
Lost Tapes
Lost Tapes is an American horror/thriller docudrama television series that airs on Animal Planet. Produced by Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program presents fictional found footage depicting traumatic encounters with cryptozoological creatures , including the Chupacabra and Bigfoot, and even...
, two entomologists got stuck on a mysterious island inhabited by 3 foot (0.9144 m) long centipedes.