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Introduction 
Lisianski is a low, sandy island in the Leeward Hawaiian Ghaln. It 
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is located at 26 ° 01 t north latitude and l 73 ° 50 f west longitude/^ approximately 
1060 statute miles northwest of Honolulu and 225 statute miles southeast of 
Midway Atoll. The island is situated at the northern edge of a large reef 
bank which lies between 25°56* and 26°05 r north latitude and between 173° 
52* and l7^ o 01 t west longitude. The reef covers an area of approximately 
65 square miles, while the island has an area of 454 acres, or 0 .7 square 
miles. 
Other names which have 
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to the island include Pell (-Pell, 1844 )r 
Lassion (Brooks, 1859 )> Sapion, Laskar, Lasan Hays and Neavas (Bryan, 1942 K%*> ) 
The U. S. Geographic Board adopted the spelling Lisianski, rather than 
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Lisiansky, in October 1924. 
Sixteen sea-bird species are known to breed there, 
shore bird species have been regularly recorded. There are no terrestrial 
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mammals or reptiles living there today, but sea turtles are frequently seen 
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and there is a resident herd of Hawaiian monk seals. There are Vague records 
-of rodents on the island in the last century, and introduced rabbits seriously 
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affected the ecology of the island in the early part of the present century. 
Marine life is abundant, but terrestrial invertebrate life is restricted to 
insects and a few arachnids. 
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The island was discovered by the Russian explorer Urey Lisiansky in 
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October I 805 . It was visited by the Russian exploring vessel Moller in 1828 , 
and vessels are known to have wrecked there in 1844 and 1846. Exploring vessels 
Visited the island in I 857 and 1859, and a ship went down on the reef to the 
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south in 1887. A scientific collecting expedition visited Lisianski briefly 
