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Teraina
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=== Other fauna === As with most outer Pacific islands, there are no native land [[mammal]]s. Polynesian rats (''[[Rattus exulans]]'') are present on Teraina,<ref name = bli2007 /> apparently since prehistoric times. They may have arrived with flotsam after storms further west, or accidentally or deliberately (as food) been introduced by prehistoric seafarers. Their present-day impact on the bird population is minor, but if [[rail (bird)|rail]]s were once present on Teraina, the rats had probably some role in these birds' disappearance, and maybe in that of any other birds gone extinct in prehistoric times too. If a Polynesian sandpiper once bred on Teraina, it is almost certainly those rats that are responsible for these birds' disappearance; only a single [[taxon]] of ''Prosobonia'' remains today, precariously holding its own on atolls that are devoid of any rat species. [[File:Oounagi070224.jpg|thumb|right|The widespread [[Anguilla marmorata|marbled eel]] is also found in Teraina's lake.]] [[Feral]] [[dog]]s, [[cat]]s and [[pig]]s occur in varying numbers on Teraina; the cats especially are responsible for some decline in the number of ground-nesting seabirds.<ref name = teebaki1993 /> On the other hand, as noted above, the cats have thus far kept the rat population at bay. [[Lake|Lacustrine]] species reported from Teraina include [[fish]]. and some unspecified "[[shrimp]]",<ref name = streets1877 /> i.e. (in all probability) a member of the [[Crustacea]]. Teraina's freshwater fish include the marbled eel (''[[Anguilla marmorata]]''), a ''[[Caranx]]'' freshwater [[trevally]], and ''[[Oreochromis]]'' tilapias and the milkfish (''[[Chanos chanos]]''). The latter two, and perhaps also the trevally, were introduced in recent times. The eels were already established by 1877;<ref name = streets1877 /> like many [[Anguillidae]] they are [[catadromous]] and able to migrate some distance on dry land. Thus it may be presumed that the lake is continuously being restocked from the Pacific, though apparently no actual field data exists on the habits of the eels of Teraina. As on many [[Indopacific]] islands rich in coconut (''[[Cocos nucifera]]'') trees, the coconut crab (''[[Birgus latro]]'') is often encountered on Teraina.<ref name = streets1877 /> A few green turtles (''[[Chelonia mydas]]'') nest on the beaches. It is not a very important nesting site however and the [[clutch (eggs)|clutch]]es have a rather low probability of success, as Teraina is one of the Kiribati islands where turtle egg collecting is permitted.<ref name = teebaki1993 />
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