exulans) are present on Teraina, 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 rails 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. Feral dogs, cats and pigs occur in varying numbers on Teraina; the cats especially are responsible for some decline in the number of ground-nesting seabirds. On the other hand, as noted above, the cats have thus far kept the rat population at bay. Lacustrine species reported from Teraina include fish. and some unspecified "shrimp", 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; 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. A few green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nest on the beaches. It is not a very important nesting site however and the clutches have a rather low probability of success, as Teraina is one of the Kiribati islands where turtle egg collecting is permitted. See also Laysan Island – an eroded "dry" volcanic island, with a hypersaline lake Lisianski Island – an eroded "dry" volcanic island with completely infilled lagoon Rennell Island in Melanesia – in some respects like a much larger version of Teeraina List of Guano Island claims Footnotes References (2007): Rimitara Lorikeet Species Factsheet. Retrieved 2008-FEB-24. (1942): American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain (2nd ed.). Tongg Publishing Company, Honolulu, Hawaii. (2006): 2005 Census of Population