Rare Native Hawaiian Land Snails Rediscovered After Nearly a Century

# Rare Native Hawaiian Land Snails Rediscovered After Nearly a Century

Live specimens of Godwinia caperata and Hiona exaequata found on Kauaʻi during recent biodiversity surveys.

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi — Bishop Museum, the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History, announces the rediscovery of two native Hawaiian land snails unseen for nearly a century. Museum researchers, along with partners from the Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project, found live specimens of Godwinia caperata (described in 1852) and Hiona exaequata (described in 1846) on Kauaʻi during recent biodiversity surveys (field programs where researchers monitor, measure, and document the variety of living organisms and their ecosystems).

Hawaiʻi's land snails are among the most threatened animals on Earth, with hundreds of species already extinct. In Hawaiian tradition, kāhuli (land snails) are honored in song and stories as voices of the forest. Each surviving species represents millions of years of evolution as well as deep cultural connections.

"This is a rare spark of hope in the fight against extinction," said Norine Yeung, Ph.D., Bishop Museum curator of Malacology. "These tiny snails remind us that Hawaiʻi's forests still hold hidden treasures."

Urgent efforts are being made to protect the fragile survivors, with researchers now studying their habitat, ecology, and behavior to guide conservation. A small handful of the snails are being carefully reared at Bishop Museum's Pūpū Ola: Kāhuli Protective Rearing Research Center, along with 42 other land snail species.

"Understanding why these species survived while so many others did not may offer vital lessons for safeguarding Hawaiʻi's biodiversity," said Dr. Yeung. "As Hawaiʻi's premier natural and cultural history institution, Bishop Museum embraces its kuleana (responsibility) to document, protect, and share our islands' previous biocultural heritage. The rediscovery of Godwinia caperata and Hiona exaequata is a powerful reminder that hope persists, and that with sustained research, cultural knowledge, and community partnerships, we can still prevent further extinctions."

The rediscoveries were made possible through years of collaboration between Bishop Museum, state and federal agencies, universities, students, and teachers working together on outreach, education, and capacity building. Two conservationists, Graham Talaber and Brendan Wang, who had previously attended a snail workshop led by Dr. Yeung, first tipped-off researchers to the possible rediscoveries.

"Finding them again after nearly a century underscores the importance of continued surveys, outreach, partnerships, and training," said Kenneth Hayes, Ph.D., Bishop Museum curator of Malacology and director of the Museum's Pacific Center for Molecular Biodiversity. "Without these efforts, these and other species may have remained undetected and unprotected."

"These snails show us that the story of Hawaiʻi's biodiversity is not finished," said Dr. Yeung. "But to write the next chapter, we must continue to search, to teach, and to care."

To learn more about Bishop Museum's Malacology collection and research, and the Museum's Pacific Center for Molecular Biodiversity, please visit BishopMuseum.org/Explore.

Attached photos:

• Photo: Godwinia caperata. Credit: Samantha Shizuru, Bishop Museum collections manager for the Museum's Pacific Center for Molecular Biodiversity.
• Photo: Hiona exaequata. Credit: Samantha Shizuru, Bishop Museum collections manager for the Museum's Pacific Center for Molecular Biodiversity.

About: Bishop Museum's efforts to identify and preserve biodiversity

In 1992, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature designated Bishop Museum as The Hawaiʻi Biological Survey (HBS), a program tasked with documenting the more than 23,000 species of plants, animals, and other organisms found throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. As a result of this initiative, Hawaiʻi was the first and only state in the U.S. with a complete checklist of the approximately 17,000 terrestrial, 500 freshwater, and 5,500 marine species of plants and animals found in our islands. Bishop Museum also conducts extensive expeditions for biodiversity discovery and documentation across the Pacific, a program designated the Pacific Biological Survey (PBS). Together, these strategic initiatives are a cornerstone of the Museum's biodiversity discovery and documentation efforts.

The data from the HBS and PBS are used by Museum research staff in conjunction with collaborative partners throughout the Pacific to develop analytical tools needed to assess overall status and trends in abundance, health, and distribution of plants and animals, as well as the ecosystems upon which humans rely. Together, these efforts aim to manage and protect the areas of highest biological and cultural significance in the face of threats from climate change and biodiversity loss.

Each of Bishop Museum's natural history collections contributes to HBS, providing specimens, expert knowledge, staffing for fieldwork, and management of the collected specimens to preserve the records and diversity effectively. Together, the Museum's staff conducts a coordinated inventory and monitoring program that provides the data needed to assess the overall status and trends in the abundance, health, and distribution of plants and animals, as well as the ecosystems upon which they depend.