Geography of New Caledonia Ni-Vanuatu (1.2%), and various other groups (3.9%), Tamils, other South Asians, Berbers, Japanese, Chinese, Fijians, Arabs, West Indian (mostly from other French territories) and a small number of ethnic Africans. "Other microcontinental islands:" Geography of New Caledonia The geography of New Caledonia ("Nouvelle-Calédonie"), an overseas collectivity of France located in the subregion of Melanesia, makes the continental island group unique in the southwest Pacific. Among other things, the island chain has played a role in preserving unique biological lineages from the Mesozoic. It served as a waystation in the expansion of the predecessors of the Polynesians, the Lapita culture. Under
Biodiversity of New Caledonia modern groups such as the Compositae, Gramineae, Labiatae and Melastomataceae. The groups of Gondwanan origin are the most remarkable flora and include Cunoniaceae, Proteaceae and Myrtaceae. The family of Cunoniaceae has six genera in New Caledonia. "Pancheria" and "Codia" are endemic, although the last is known as a fossil in Australia, while "Cunonia" has 23 endemic species in New Caledonia and one species in South Africa. The other three genera have a Papuan-Australian ("Acsmithia"), Australian ("Geissois") and sub-Antarctic ("Weinmannia") distribution. Proteaceae's two main centers of dispersion are in Australia and Southern Africa; the family is represented in the archipelago by