Researchers rediscover 2 native Hawaiian land snails on Kaua‘i last seen nearly a century ago

Two native Hawaiian land snails were recently rediscovered on Kaua‘i after being unseen for nearly a century.

Researchers from Bishop Museum, 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, according to a news release from Bishop Museum on Tuesday.

These surveys are 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,” Yeung said. “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, Yeung said, is a powerful reminder that hope persists, and that with sustained research, cultural knowledge, and community partnerships, they can still prevent further extinctions.

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

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 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.”

Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a royal descendant of King Kamehameha I. Today, the Museum thrives as an educational center for the community and is widely regarded as the world’s premier institution for Hawaiian and Pacific content.

According to the museum’s website, Bishop Museum has collections of more than 25 million objects and specimens that represent nine disciplines and include more than 22 million biological specimens, over 2 million cultural objects, 115,000 historical publications, and 1 million photographs, films, works of art, audio recordings, and manuscripts.

These collections tell the stories of the cultures and biodiversity of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific as well as the proud legacy of scholarly research spanning 130 years.

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