Bermuda - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

When discovered, Bermuda was uninhabited and mostly dominated by forests of Bermuda cedar, with mangrove marshes along its shores. Only 165 of the island's current 1000 vascular plant species are considered native, and of those 15, including the cedar, are endemic.

Many species of palm trees have been introduced to Bermuda. Coconut palms are found on Bermuda making it the furthest north location for the natural growth of this species. While coconuts grow on Bermuda, the lack of heat does not usually allow them to properly set fruit.

The only indigenous mammals of Bermuda are five species of bats, all of which also occur in the eastern United States — Lasionycteris noctivagans, Lasiurus borealis, Lasiurus cinereus, Lasiurus seminolus and Perimyotis subflavus. Other commonly known fauna of Bermuda includes its national bird, the Bermuda Petrel, and the Bermuda Rock Skink. The skink was long thought to have been the only indigenous land vertebrate of Bermuda, discounting the marine turtles that lay their eggs on its beaches. It has recently been discovered, however, that a species of terrapin, which had been assumed to have been introduced, predated the arrival of humans on the archipelago. As this species spends most of its time in brackish ponds, there is some question as to whether it negates the skink's claim to be the only indigenous "land" vertebrate.