Polynesia

Polynesia (UK: /ˌpɒlᵻˈniziə/; US: /ˌpɑːləˈniʒə/, from Greek: πολύς "poly" many + Greek: νῆσος "nēsos" island) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language family, culture, and beliefs. Historically, they were experienced sailors and used stars to navigate during the night.

The term "Polynesia" was first used in 1756 by French writer Charles de Brosses, and originally applied to all the islands of the Pacific. In 1831, Jules Dumont d'Urville proposed a restriction on its use during a lecture to the Geographical Society of Paris. Historically, these islands have also been referred to as the South Sea Islands.

Geography

Geology

Polynesia is characterized by a small amount of land spread over a very large portion of the mid and southern Pacific Ocean. Most Polynesian islands and archipelagos, including the Hawaiian Islands and Samoa, are composed of volcanic islands built by hotspots. New Zealand, Norfolk Island, and Ouvéa, the Polynesian outlier near New Caledonia, are the unsubmerged portions of the largely sunken continent of Zealandia. Zealandia is believed to have mostly sunk by 23 m.y.a. and resurfaced geologically recently due to a change in the movements of the Pacific Plate in relation to the Indo-Australian plate, which served to uplift the New Zealand portion. At first, the Pacific plate was subducted under the Australian plate. The Alpine Fault that traverses the South Island is currently a transform fault while the convergent plate boundary from the North Island northwards is a subduction zone called the Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone. The volcanism associated with this subduction zone is the origin of the Kermadec and Tongan island archipelagos.

Polynesia (moth)

Polynesia is a genus of moth in the Geometridae family.

Species

References

External links

List of Doctor Dolittle characters

This is a list of characters from the Doctor Dolittle series of children's books by Hugh Lofting and movies based on them. Most of the characters were introduced in the first book, The Story of Doctor Dolittle.

Humans

Doctor Dolittle

Doctor John Dolittle, M.D. is an English doctor who became a doctor for animals after his parrot, Polynesia, taught him to speak animal languages. He lives in the fictional town of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in England's West Country, along with his many animal friends. He has very few human friends and spends most of his time treating animals, travelling the world with his animals and conducting research into new animals and new forms of animal languages.

He is portrayed by Rex Harrison in the 1967 film Doctor Dolittle, and by Eddie Murphy in Dr. Dolittle (1998) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001). The Murphy films bear little resemblance to Lofting's character or plots.

Tommy Stubbins

Tommy Stubbins is a boy from Puddleby who, after taking an injured squirrel to Doctor Dolittle, becomes the doctor's friend and assistant. His father is the doctor's favourite shoemaker. He first appears in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle and acts as the narrator in all the books that take place after his arrival.