The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 836 islands, of which only 31 are inhabited. These islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a 150 km (93 mi) wide channel. The capital and largest city of the territory, Port Blair, is located approximately 1,190 km (740 mi) from Chennai and 1,255 km (780 mi) from Kolkata in mainland India. The islands are situated between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. The northernmost point is 901 km (560 mi) from the mouth of the Hooghly River. Indira Point, located at 6°45’10″N and 93°49’36″E on the southern tip of Great Nicobar, is the southernmost point of India.
The Andaman day gecko, also known as the Andaman Islands day gecko, is a species of gecko in the genus Phelsuma. It is endemic to the Andaman Islands of India, and has recently been introduced to the Nicobar islands. It is a small, slender lizard, has a bright green colour and feeds on insects. Its range is nearly 5000 km away from the centre of the distribution area of the genus Phelsuma, in Mauritius and Madagascar.
The Nicobar pigeon or Nicobar dove is a bird found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, east through the Indonesian Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas alongside the extinct spotted green pigeon and Kanaka pigeon, and is the closest living relative of the extinct dodo and Rodrigues solitaire.
The Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve encompasses a large part of the island of Great Nicobar, the largest of the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Nicobars lie in the Bay of Bengal, eastern Indian Ocean, 190 km (120 mi) to the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The reserve has a total core area of approximately 885 km2, surrounded by a 12 km-wide "forest buffer zone". In year 2013 it was included in the list of Man and Biosphere program of UNESCO to promote sustainable development based on local community effort and sound science.
South Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It is 1.6 km (1 mi) long northeast to southwest and up to 1 km wide. At only 1.61 km2, it is much smaller than its counterpart North Sentinel Island and is currently uninhabited. The island belongs to the Port Blair tehsil in the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, neighbouring North Sentinel Island.
The Nicobar Islands rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Nicobar Islands, which is part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. The Nicobar Islands are in the Indian Ocean, lying north of Sumatra and south of the Andaman Islands. The islands are politically part of India, although physically closer to Southeast Asia. Millions of years of isolation from the mainland has given rise to a distinct flora and fauna, including many endemic species.
Katchal is one of the Nicobar Islands, India.
Bentinckia condapanna, the hill areca nut, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in India. It is threatened by habitat loss. This palm is mainly found in the evergreen forests of Western Ghats of India.
Bentinckia is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae. The genus is named after William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck a colonial governor general of British India. There are two species of palms in this genus. namely Bentinckia condapanna and Bentinckia nicobarica.
Carpoxylon macrospermum is a species of palm tree endemic to Vanuatu, and the only species in the genus Carpoxylon.
Phoenicophorium, the thief palm, is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. The sole species is Phoenicophorium borsigianum.
Rhopaloblaste augusta is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found on the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean, part of India. It is also found in Peninsular Malaysia & Singapore, the Moluccas, New Guinea & the Solomon Islands. In lowland rain forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Satakentia liukiuensis, is a species of palm tree. They are endemic to Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands, the south-westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. It is the only species in the genus Satakentia.
Voanioala gerardii, commonly known as the forest coconut, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is a relative of the coconut, and is generally regarded as monotypic within the genus Voanioala. However, a team of geneticists headed by Bee F. Gunn found sufficient genetic variation within Voanioala to constitute at least two and possibly four cryptospecies. Voanioala is endemic to Madagascar, and is threatened by habitat loss. Voanioala is harvested for its edible seeds and palm heart. It is estimated that there are fewer than 15 mature trees remaining.
The Nicobar treeshrew is a treeshrew species within the Tupaiidae. It is endemic to the Nicobar Islands where it inhabits the islands' rain forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Nicobar shrew or Nicobar white-tailed shrew is a critically endangered species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Great Nicobar Island in India.
Vanilla andamanica is an endangered wild relative of commercial vanilla, Vanilla planifolia, the source of vanilla essence. It grows in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India in the Bay of Bengal., and classified as a Vulnerable species (VU) by the IUCN Red List.
Mimusops andamanensis is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae. It is native to Sri Lanka and the Andaman Islands.
Borasseae is a tribe in the palm subfamily Coryphoideae. The tribe ranges from southern Africa and Madagascar north through the Arabian Peninsula to India, Indochina, Indonesia and New Guinea. Several genera are restricted to islands in the Indian Ocean. The two largest genera, Hyphaene and Borassus, are also the most widespread.
Merope angulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. It is a tree that ranges from northeastern India through Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, and Maluku Islands to New Guinea. It is the sole species in genus Merope.
