Palau
Palau - Country Statistics
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Land area*: 459 squared km
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Population* (2021): 21,613
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Population Growth* (2021): 0.38%
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Visitors:
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Marine area (EEZ)**: 604,253 squared km
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Population density*** (2018): 38.9 persons/ squared km
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Urban population* (2020): 81%
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GDP*** (2019): USD $ 268,354,919 million
* CIA World Factbook
** Sea Around Us
*** World Bank
Research student: Ms Katelyn Hari (James Cook University)
In-country partners: Dr Vanessa Jaiteh
Preliminary species list of Palau's sharks and rays
Claassens, L., Phillips, B., Ebert, D.A., Delaney, D., Henning, B., Nestor, V., Ililau, A., and Giddens, J. (2023) First records of the Pacific sleeper shark Somniosus cf. pacificus in the western tropical Pacific. Journal of Fish Biology 103(5), 1214-1220.
CLICK HERE FOR THE PAPER
Hari, K., Jaiteh, V., and Chin, A. (2021) The sharks and rays of Palau: biological diversity, status, and social and cultural dimensions. Pacific Conservation Biology 28(5), 398-413.
CLICK HERE FOR THE PAPER
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Current number of shark and ray species: 32 confirmed and verified (31 from Hari et al 2020; + 1 from Claassens et al 2023)
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Current number of chimaera species: 0 (This is likely due to limited deep sea research in Palau)
Palau shark and ray photos
If you have photos of sharks and rays that are not shown here, please contact us!
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Ornate eagle ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)
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Photo by: Jesse Alpert
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Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus)
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Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Silver tip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
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Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Jesse Alpert
Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Jesse Alpert
Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus)
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Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Giant devil ray (Mobula japanica)
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Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Chiliean/Sicklefin devil ray (Mobula tarapacana)
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Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Oriental blue spotted mask ray (Neotrygon sp.)
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Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Broad cowtail ray (Pastinachus ater)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Jesse Alpert
Pink whipray (Pateobatis fai)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Bowmouth guitarshark (Rhina ancylostoma)
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Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Giant guitarfish (Rhynchobatus australiae)
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Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini)
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Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Blotched stingray (Taeniurops meyeni)
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Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Jesse Alpert
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Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
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Porcupine whipray (Urogymnus asperrimus)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Mangrove whipray (Urogymnus granulatus)
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison
Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Jesse Alpert
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Date: Unspecified
Location: Unspecified
Photo by: Mandy Etpison