Insular Chile

[1] This is not only because of their status as remote Pacific islands with no geologicial connections to the Americas, but also because of their marine fauna, which shares many similarities to the rest of Oceania.

The Juan Fernández archipelago has become culturally South American, due to the lack of human inhabitation prior to European discovery.

These islands have cultural and ecological connections to the broader insular Pacific, yet our scientific understanding of them is extremely limited.

"[7] They also said, "The Juan Fernández and Desventuradas islands are distinct ecoregions within the Temperate South American realm.

They possess a unique mix of tropical, subtropical and temperate marine species, and although close to continental South America, elements of the biota have greater affinities with the central and south Pacific, owing to the Humboldt Current, which creates a strong biogeographic barrier between these islands and the continent.