Maldives

The Maldives is an independent archipelagic state and country in the north-central Indian Ocean. It is formed of a chain of about 1200 small coral islands and sandbanks, of which about 200 are inhabited, and which are grouped into clusters, known as atolls. The islands are more than 820 km long from north to south and 130 km from east to west. The most northerly atoll is approximately 600 km south-southwest of the Indian mainland, and the central area, which includes the capital island of Male, is approximately 645 km southwest of Sri Lanka. The Maldives is home to a wide variety of habitats, ranging from deep-sea, shallow coastal and reef ecosystems, fringing mangroves, wetlands and land. Coral reefs are made up of 187 coral species. In this part of the Indian Ocean alone, there are 1,100 fish species, 5 sea turtle species, 21 whale and dolphin species, 400 mollusc species and 83 echinoderm species. The area is also home to a number of crab species. Because the islands are very small, land reptiles are rare. The Green Sea Turtle, the Hawksbill Sea Turtle and the Leatherback Sea Turtle lay their eggs on the Maldives coast. Sea snakes in the Indian Ocean, such as the Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake sometimes throw themselves ashore after storms, where they become helpless and cannot return to the sea. Saltwater Crocodiles have also reached the islands and live in the marshy areas. The Maldives has very few land mammals. Only one flying fox and one shrew are endemic. Cats, rats and mice were brought in by humans.