Talk:Ilha da Queimada Grande

Lighthouse history

I think the article would greatly benefit from inclusion of information on the lighthouse. However, I'm having trouble finding credible sources for information. It seems pretty clear that it was built in 1909, and originally was manned by a lighthouse keeper. At some point it was converted to being automated. There is a widely circulated story that the last keeper was killed by a snake, prompting the automation, but I can't find any source for this story other than lore, and there's a few things that don't add up about the story (for example, supposedly the keeper and his family were killed in the 20's, but the lighthouse wasn't automated until the 50's)— Preceding unsigned comment added by Cicero edits (talk • contribs) 10:31, 28 July 2015 (UTC)

Meaning of the name

The text previously asserted that the Portuguese word queimada meant "burnt." This is not exactly incorrect, as the feminine form for "burnt" is indeed queimada. However, there is also the noun queimada, which is the name of intentional fires set to bush areas in order to clear land for agriculture (slash and burn). As the word is itself qualified by an adjective (grande, "big, large"), no doubt the latter meaning is intended and the attempt to grow bananas on the island is taken to be the origin of the name; the Wikipedia article on the Bothrops insularis snake, unique to the island, mentions this specifically and gives references. So, I have corrected the article text to reflect that. --UrsoBR (talk) 03:06, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Endangerment

How exactly is the US Endangered Species Act related to an island in Brazil? The page at the link does not even mention Brazil. A search for Golden Lancehead vipers returns zero results from http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/pub/SpeciesReport.do

If someone has some actual information linking these Brazilian snakes to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, by all means please add it. Otherwise this paragraph will be deleted.SteveJEsposito (talk) 00:24, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, this page needs some work. Cleaning it up now. Paris1127 (talk) 00:55, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

Good work, thank you! SteveJEsposito (talk) 01:39, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

Article issues

The title of the article (Ilha da Queimada Grande) is apparently Portuguese. I was looking at it regarding the automated "light" on the old lighthouse. The most "common name", in English, is Snake Island, and the locals call the place "Snake Island". With all that stated I am not looking to "change the name" but the common, local, and English name should be prominent in the lead.

The Endangerment section has a tag "This section contains information of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article's subject matter." and it became evident that the article can be relegated as a glorified start (of which it actually would be considered start class) or because of the notability of the snakes that inhabit the island it should have content on the subject.

The subject of the snakes is introduced in the last paragraph of the History section with "Endangerment" enjoying a more prominent section heading. I would think a more appropriate section title would be in order such as Snake habitation then a sub-section on endangerment if it is to be covered at all. Otr500 (talk) 20:31, 10 April 2016 (UTC).