Tuvalu is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji. Tuvalu is composed of three reef islands and six atolls. They are spread out between the latitude of 5° and 10° south and between the longitude of 176° and 180°. They lie west of the International Date Line. Tuvalu has a population of 11,204. The total land area of the islands of Tuvalu is 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi).
The Western Pacific nation of Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is situated 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) northeast of Australia and is approximately halfway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna and north of Fiji. It is a very small island country of 26 km2 (10 sq mi). Due to the spread out islands it has the 38th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 749,790 km2 (289,500 sq mi).
Tuvaluan, often called Tuvalu, is a Polynesian language closely related to the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers in Micronesia and Northern and Central Melanesia. Tuvaluan has borrowed considerably from Samoan, the language of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gekkonidae is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 64 genera. Members of the Gekkonidae comprise many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (Hemidactylus), tokay geckos (Gekko), day geckos (Phelsuma), mourning geckos (Lepidodactylus) and dtellas (Gehyra). Gekkonid geckos occur globally and are particularly species-rich in tropical areas.
Tepuka is an island eighteen kilometers west of Fongafale, in the northwest of Funafuti, the main atoll of the Oceanian nation of Tuvalu. Te puka, or Pouka, is the name of a tree - Hernandia peltata.
Kioa is an island in Fiji, an outlier to Vanua Levu, one of Fiji's two main islands. Situated opposite Buca Bay, Kioa was purchased by settlers from Vaitupu atoll in Tuvalu, who came between 1947 and 1962.
Lepidodactylus listeri, also known commonly as Lister's gecko or the Christmas Island chained gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae, endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. It is currently extinct in the wild.
Fuagea is an islet located in the archipelago of Tuvalu in the south-western part of the atoll of Funafuti.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tuvalu:
Lepidodactylus buleli is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Espiritu Santo, an island in the Vanuatu Archipelago.
Lepidodactylus lugubris, known as the mourning gecko or common smooth-scaled gecko, is a species of lizard, a gecko of the family Gekkonidae.
Pulaka, Cyrtosperma merkusii, or swamp taro, is a crop grown mainly in Tuvalu and an important source of carbohydrates for the area's inhabitants. It is a "swamp crop" similar to taro, but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots." The same plant is known as ‘‘pulaka’’ in Niue, babai in Kiribati, puraka in Cook Islands, pula’a in Samoa, via kan in Fiji, Pulaka in Tokelau, simiden in Chuuk, swam taro in Papua New Guinea, and navia in Vanuatu.
The Funafuti Conservation Area is a marine conservation area covering 33 square kilometers of reef, lagoon and motu (islets) on the western side of Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu. The marine environment of the conservation area includes reef, lagoon, channel and ocean; and are home to many species of fish, corals, algae and invertebrates. The islets are nesting sites for the green sea turtle and Fualopa hosts a breeding colony of black noddy.
Nactus kunan is an extant species of slender-toe geckos described in 2012, and indigenous to the Admiralty Islands of Papua New Guinea. It is brightly coloured, and its specific name means "bumblebee" in the local Nali language.
The Art of Tuvalu has traditionally been expressed in the design of clothing and traditional handicrafts such as the decoration of mats and fans. Tuvaluan clothing was traditionally made from Fala leaves.
Agriculture in Tuvalu is based on coconut and swamp taro, , which is similar to taro but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots"; taro is also cultivated in Tuvalu.
The Belize leaf-toed gecko is a species of gecko native to Belize. It is a small, pale, large headed gecko only found on small islands off Belize's coast and was first described by James R. Dixon in 1960. This species is currently classified as "vulnerable" by the IUCN Red List.
The Christian scaly-toed gecko, also known commonly as Christian's scaly-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.
The Rotuman forest gecko or Rotuma forest gecko is a species of gecko. It is endemic to Rotuma Island (Fiji). It is named after John Stanley Gardiner.
The coral reefs of Tuvalu consist of three reef islands and six atolls, containing approximately 710 km2 (270 sq mi) of reef platforms. The islands of the Tuvalu archipelago are spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. The islands of Tuvalu are volcanic in origin. On the atolls, an annular reef rim surrounds the lagoon, and may include natural reef channels. The reef islands have a different structure to the atolls, and are described as reef platforms as they are smaller tabular reef platforms that do not have a salt-water lagoon, although they may have a completely closed rim of dry land, with the remnants of a lagoon that has no direct connection to the open sea or that may be drying up.
