MONTSERRAT

$1.15 Shell Ginger, from a recent island flora set. This stamp was cancelled at Plymouth, the largest town on this small volcanic island

MICRONESIA

45c pair: Whaling Ships of the 19th century; the upper stamp also shows a harpoon, while the lower shows a carved whaletooth scrimshaw. Both stamps were postmarked at Moen on the island of Truk.

NIUE

70c this 1983 Commonwealth issue depicts the HMS Resolution and Adventure of 1724

PHILIPPINES

2p: 1994 block of four endemic Birds, including from upper right the Bleeding Heart Pigeon (Luzon), Koch's Pitta (Luzon), the Palawan Peacock Pheasant and Blue Naped Parrot of Mindoro and Palawan.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

85 toea: Annato (Bixa orellana) is pictured on the lowest value of a recent flora issue

MAURITIUS / Ile Maurice

R5 Soft Coral: native to Indo-Pacific areas, this species has varying hues and feeds exclusively on phytoplankton.

SINGAPORE

$2 Banded Leaf Monkey, a subspecies thought to be unique to Central Singapore

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

85 toea: Gold Mining is pictured on this 2008 issue. PNG's highlands hold a vast store of precious minerals, making mining an important activity on both sides of the island of New Guinea.

SAMOA

70s Teuila Tourism Festival

NORFOLK IS.

$1: White Oak Tree sculpted by the wind, also known as cow itch or primrose tree

MALDIVES

R10: the Scrawled Butter-flyfish, has a wide range in the Indian and Pacific regions in coral-rich areas of clear sea and lagoon reefs.

MAURITIUS / Ile Maurice

R2.50 WWF: The Pink Pigeon, endemic to Mauritius, was reduced to just a dozen individuals in 1991 but has since recovered numbers with an intensive breeding program.

SEYCHELLES

R10: This attractive stamps was issued for Christmas 1988, and shows a beach scene and holiday ornament

Zil Elwagne Sesel / SEYCHELLES

R15: the Aldabra Blue Pigeon, from a birds definitive issue of 1983. This is one of three species of blue pigeons, all endemic to the Mascarene islands of the Indian Ocean, with the others found in the Comoros and Mahe/Seychelles.

ST. HELENA

50p Flora: St. Helena Olive, one of the 49 species of endemic flowering plants found only on this remote Atlantic island. This species is extinct in the wild, and is featured on this 2004 issue commemorating the Royal Horticultural Society.

SAMOA

95 sene This colorful stamp shows the flower-studded Teuila Tourism Festival

ST. KITTS

80c The fourth voyage of Columbus (1502-04) is commemorated on this stamp showing a route map and arms. Many Caribbean countries issued stamps in 1992 to commemorate the 500 years anniv. of the landing of Columbus in the New World.

ST. KITTS

$1.20 Fiery Skipper, from the current definitive series showing insects, moths and butterflies.

SEYCHELLES

R3 Seychelles Scops Owl: this species, described in 1880, was so rare by the mid-20th century that it was thought extinct, only to be rediscovered in 1959 in the mountain forest of Mahe. It is now the focus of conservation research efforts.

SOLOMON IS.

$5 WWF: Grey Cuscus, a species found only in the Bismarck archipelago, the Moluccas, the Solomon Is. and Timor.

TUVALU

50c WWF The Sand or Tiger Shark is pictured here, a species with a wide range in the Pacific area. Sand sharks are the only shark known to take gulps of air, allowing them to float motionless for long periods in order to hunt prey.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

$2.50, $3.25: Black-throated Mango and the Tufted Coquette, two species featured in the 2002 hummingbird issue.

VANUATU

100v: Banded Iguana, a diurnal species found only on the island of Efate in Vanuatu, as well as in Fiji and Tonga. This reptile is arboreal, and climbs and leaps in search of food.

WALLIS & FUTUNA

25 fr: Papaya, an ubiquitous tropical fruit, commonly seen in island gardens near towns (2004 issue)