The Chatham Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about 800 km (430 nmi) east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about ten islands within an approximate 60 km (30 nmi) radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island (Rangiauria). They include New Zealand's easternmost point, the Forty-Fours. Some of the islands, formerly cleared for farming, are now preserved as nature reserves to conserve some of the unique flora and fauna.
The spade-toothed whale is a very little-known species, the rarest species of beaked whale. It was first named from a partial jaw found on Pitt Island, New Zealand, in 1872; reported and illustrated in 1873 by James Hector, and described as a new species the next year by John Edward Gray, who named it in honor of Henry Hammersley Travers, the collector. This was eventually lumped with the strap-toothed whale, starting as early as an 1878 article by Hector, who never considered the specimen to be specifically distinct. A calvaria found in the 1950s at White Island, also New Zealand, initially remained undescribed, but was later believed to be from a ginkgo-toothed beaked whale.
Akeake is the name of at least three New Zealand species of tree:
Olearia, most commonly known as daisy-bush, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae, the largest of the flowering plant families in the world. Olearia are found in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand. The genus includes herbaceous plants, shrubs and small trees. The latter are unusual among the Asteraceae and are called tree daisies in New Zealand. All bear the familiar daisy-like composite flowerheads in white, pink, mauve or purple.
The flora of the Chatham Islands consists of around 388 terrestrial plant species, of which 47 are endemic. The Chatham Islands make up the Chatham floristic province of the Neozeylandic Region of the Antarctic Kingdom.
Olearia angulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in New Zealand.
Olearia chathamica is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in New Zealand.
Olearia fragrantissima is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in New Zealand. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Olearia hectorii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Its common names include deciduous tree daisy and Hector's tree daisy. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Olearia polita is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in New Zealand.
Xylotoles costatus, the Pitt Island longhorn beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It is endemic to the Chatham Islands. Once thought to be extinct, it is now known to survive on South East Island/Rangatira; being therefore an example of a so-called "Lazarus taxon".
Henry Hammersley Travers was a New Zealand naturalist, professional collector and taxidermist. He was the son of the politician William Travers.
Phyllocladus alpinus, the mountain toatoa or mountain celery pine, is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in New Zealand. The form of this plant ranges from a shrub to a small tree of up to seven metres in height. This species is found in both the North and South Islands. An example occurrence of P. alpinus is within the understory of beech/podocarp forests in the north part of South Island, New Zealand.
Sporadanthus ferrugineus, the bamboo rush or giant wire rush, is a restiad plant endemic to the northern North Island of New Zealand.
Sporadanthus is a group of plants in the Restionaceae first described as a genus in 1874 by Ferdinand von Mueller. It is native to Australia and New Zealand.
Dracophyllum arboreum, commonly known as Chatham Island grass tree and tarahinau (Moriori), is a species of tree in the heath family Ericaceae. Endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, it reaches a height of 18 m (60 ft) and has leaves that differ between the juvenile and adult forms.
Dracophyllum traversii, commonly known as mountain neinei, grass tree, and pineapple tree is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is a deciduous tree endemic to New Zealand. It reaches a height of 0.2–13 m (0.66–42.65 ft) and has leaves which form tufts at the end of its branches. It has a lifespan between 500 and 600 years.
Olearia telmatica, commonly known as akeake, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand.
