Land vertebrates

As with all oceanic islands, vertebrate land animals, apart from birds, are rare.

Lord Howe Island has just three other native vertebrate land animals:

  • a small species of insect eating bat
  • a gecko that grows to about six centimetres in length (Christinus guentheri)
  • a skink about ten centimetres in length (Leilopisma lichenigera).

There are no native frogs or terrestrial mammals on Lord Howe Island, being too far from neighbouring land masses for these types of animals to have reached.

Insect-eating bat

Gecko – Christinus guentheri

Skink – Leilopisma lichenigera