Kiritimati Kiritimati Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name "Kiritimati" is a respelling of the English word "Christmas" in the Kiribati language, in which the combination "ti" is pronounced "s", and the name is thus pronounced . The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world, about ; its lagoon is roughly the same size. The atoll is about in perimeter, while the lagoon shoreline extends for over . Kiritimati comprises over 70% of the total land
Kiritimati of feral pigs exists. They were once plentiful and wreaked havoc especially on the "Onychoprion" and noddies. Pig hunting by locals has been encouraged, and was highly successful at limiting the pig population to a sustainable level, while providing a source of cheap protein for the islanders. There are some "supertramp" lizards which have reached the island by their own means. Commonly seen are the mourning gecko ("Lepidodactylus lugubris") and the skink "Cryptoblepharus boutonii"; the four-clawed gecko ("Gehyra mutilata") is less often encountered. There are some crustaceans of note to be found on Kiritimati and in the waters immediately adjacent.