Tag: Hawaii

Hawaiikrähe auf Maui freigelassen
On December 4, 2024, another attempt was made to reintroduce the Hawaiian crow, extinct in the wild, this time on the island of Maui. (© National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hawaiian crows extinct in the wild return to Maui

After decades of absence, Hawaiian crows, also known as ʻalalā, returned to the wild. Yesterday, five of these rare birds were released on the island of Maui—a significant step in efforts to reintroduce the species to its natural habitat, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. The group consists

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Mücken in Hawaii zur Rettung des Hawaii-Sichelkleidervogels Hemignathus munroi
The ʻiʻiwi is among the species in Hawaii threatened by avian malaria, to which they have no natural immunity. The IUCN classifies the ʻiʻiwi as “endangered”. (© Photographer: Carter Atkinson, U.S. Geological Survey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Saving the Last Honeycreepers: Millions of Mosquitoes in Hawaii to Prevent Extinction

For the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, the ʻula-ʻai-hāwane, and the black mamo, any help comes too late, but the still existing honeycreepers (Drepanidini) and numerous other bird species on the Hawaiian Islands can still be saved. An unusual measure could now secure the survival of the endangered species. The problem: Avian malaria

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Achatinella apexfulva
The extinct tree snail Achatinella apexfulva (top) at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands. The species epithet apexfulva means “yellow tip” and refers to the color of the shell. (© Naturalis Biodiversity Center, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Yellow-tipped Oahu tree snail

Hawaii’s first scientifically described snail The yellow-tipped Oahu tree snail (Achatinella apexfulva) is not only the first scientifically described snail of the Hawaiian archipelago but also the first officially declared extinct. The species was first described in 1789 by British sailor and explorer George Dixon, who acquired a traditional necklace

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Ciridops anna
Ula-ai-hawane in the book Birds of the Sandwich Islands (1890–1899) by F. W. Frohawk. (© Frederick William Frohawk, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Ula-ai-hawane

The Hawaiian island chain once harbored 57 species of honeycreepers Honeycreepers (Drepanidini), a tribe within the finch family (Fringillidae), occur only on the Hawaiian island chain. As a sister group, the honeycreepers are closely related to the rosefinches (Carpodacus), yet many species have developed traits that differ from those of

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Emperoptera mirabilis Koolau-Spornflügel-Langbeinfliege
A drawing of the extinct Koolau spur-winged long-legged fly from Fauna Hawaiiensis (1899 to 1913). (© various authors, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Koolau Spur-winged Long-legged Fly

A fly that could not fly The tiny Koolau spur-winged long-legged fly, measuring between 15 and 18 millimeters, had no wings and was therefore flightless. Instead of wings, it had spurs about one millimeter long. The reduction or loss of flight organs in animals can occur as an expression of

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laysan-eule Agrotis-laysanensis
A drawing of the possibly extinct Miller moth from 1895. The females were darker in coloration than the males. (© Werner & Winter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Miller Moth

With the Miller moth, the Laysan Millerbird also went extinct The Miller moth, a nocturnal species also known as Miller or Laysan noctuid moth, was the main food source of the Laysan millerbird. When the moth went extinct, the bird disappeared as well. The Miller moth occurred exclusively on Laysan,

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