The eight coral atolls comprising the Phoenix Islands are 
located in the south central Pacific Ocean. During September 1973, 
two of the authors, R.W. Clegern and J.M. Davidson, made insect 
collections on three of these islands. Canton, Hull, and Enderbury. 
Canton Island, the largest, northernmost, and only permanently 
inhabited of the eight atolls, is located at 2° 46' south'latitude 
and 171° 43 ! west longitude or about 160 nautical miles south of 
the equator and 1,675 nautical miles south-southwest of Honolulu, 
Hawaii. This atoll exhibits an irregular shape and at maximum 
dimensions is approximately 9 miles long and 4.5 miles wide. .The 
land mass surrounding the lagoon varies in width from about 300-1800 
feet and totals nearly 3.5 square miles. The circumference is about 
28 miles. The land mass is continuous except on the west side where 
two permanent breaks occur. 
Hull Island, one of the southernmost atolls and the second 
i t 
largest, is roughly trapezoidal in outline and is approximately 4.5 
miles long by 2.5 miles wide. The average width of the land mass 
is 1500 feet, and the total surface is about 2.2 square miles. The 
circumference is approximately 13.5 miles. Three connections 
between the ocean and lagoon occur on the south, and more than a 
dozen occur on the north. The east and west shorelines are contin¬ 
uous. 
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