A fact sheet about St Helena.

Fact sheet Unique to St Helena
Life arrived on St Helena by chance. Plants and animals were
blown in by the wind, washed up by the sea or carried by birds.
Isolated, the plants, birds, insects and marine life adapted to local
conditions and developed into hundreds of unique species.
Before the arrival of humans the island was green with a flora that
has long disappeared. Gumwoods, Tree Ferns, Redwoods,
Ebonies, and Cabbage Trees once covered the island in strange
forests.
For centuries St Helena was a haven for birds. Thousands of sea
birds colonised the rocky cliffs and islets. The forests and plains
were home to several species of land birds, many flightless.
Scientists do not know much about the unique invertebrates, such
as insects, that evolved on St Helena. Many are extinct but we
still hope that the Giant Earwig, the largest in the world, survives
somewhere.
Unique species also developed in the sea around St Helena. These
were given Saint names such as Bastard Five Finger, Deep Water
Jack, Green Fish and Skulpin