Cherbaniani Reef, also known as Beleapani Reef (), is a coral atollCherbaniani Reef, India belonging to the Amindivi Subgroup of islands of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It has a distance of south of the city of Delhi.
Geography Cherbaniani Reef is located 33 km north of Byramgore Reef and at it is the northwesternmost feature of Lakshadweep. The atoll has a roughly oval shape and was first described by ornithologist Allan Hume in 1876;Hume, Allan O., The Laccadives and the West Coast, Stray Feathers. (Calcutta), IV (1876), 413-83. 21. its total lagoon area is .Mistakenly switched here between Byramgore and Cherbaniani. The 14 km long coral reef that encloses the lagoon has three small uninhabited islands on it.
Ecology They are composed of accumulated coral sand, shingle, cuttle-bones and sea shells. There are many land hermit crabs under the boulders and among the detritus.W.A. Taylor, FRSE, Geographical Notes, Scottish Geographical Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 11, 1892 The atoll used to be a breeding ground for pelagic birds, including the sooty tern (Sterna fuliginosa) and brown noddy (Anous stolidus), which were formerly found in great numbers.Birds of Lakshadweep Islands
Demographics North Islet has a small mosque built and maintained by local fishermen from Bitra, Chetlat, Kiltan and Agatti islands. The fishermen came here and camp for fishing in a seasonal manner during the period between both monsoons.
Economics Lakshadweep islanders from Chetlat and Bitra sometimes visit the islands to collect guano for the gardens of the inhabited islands, gathering eggs, dumping garbage and disturbing the nestlings of pelagic birds in the process. The beaches are strewn with marine litter composed mainly of oceanic flotsam deposited by currents, such as plastic bottles, glass bulbs, polystyrene foam and cans.P.S.B.R. James, The Lakshadweep: Islands of Ecological Fragility, Environmental Sensitivity and Anthropogenic Vulnerability, Journal of Coastal Environment
Administration The Atoll belongs to the township of Bitra of Aminidivi Tehsil.
Image gallery
References
External links
Hydrographic Description (Indian Ocean Pilot) Lagoon sizes
Seamount Catalog - Cherbaniani Reef Seamount List of Atolls Sources towards a history of the Laccadive Islands An ornithological expedition to the Lakshadweep archipelago