The waters around the Hawaiian islands are home to more than thirty species of cone snails from the genus Conus, much admired for the beautiful patterning. I was happy to find the one above washed up on the shore of a beach in Kauai. Ah, but there's more to this beauty than dazzles the eye. These sea snails are venomous, though only a few species have been known to cause human fatalities. The Hawaiian term for them is pupu 'ala as well as pupu ponuinui, meaning dizzy shell. Their venom is used defensively, but also to capture prey. Different species of cone snails hunt different prey: some eat marine worms, others snails, and some are piscivorous, that is, they eat small fish (these are the more venomous ones). They inhabit shallow to mid-level waters, where their shape helps them to bury themselves in the sand or under the rock and rubble. At night, they hunt. Spectacularly. | While hunting techniques vary from species to species, in general, the siphon of the snail acts like a nose, waved about in order to sniff out chemicals given off by potential prey. Once located, the snail extends its proboscis which contains the harpoon-like apparatus to sting its prey - thus allowing the snail to do this without ever leaving its shell. The quick acting venom then renders the prey helpless while the snail's mouth extends and can actually envelop and hoover up the hapless victim. But here's the silver lining: cone snail venom may hold medical promise in such areas as pain management. |
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Today's inspiration comes from Hawaii's remarkable 'o'opu wai, the stream gobies. They are Hawaii's only native freshwater fish, and four of them are endemic - found nowhere else in the world. What makes them so amazing? Well, for starters, they are amphidromous, meaning they spend part of their lives in freshwater and part in the ocean. When the fall rains cause streams to swell, the 'o'opu go with the flow, literally, and swim downstream to spawn. The newly hatched larvae get swept into the ocean, where they become part of the plankton, and they eat, and get eaten by, other plankton. After a few months, the hinana, as they are called, make their way back to the streams, and take on a new challenge: to swim upstream against powerful currents. Some of these guys can climb vertically up waterfalls to reach the higher elevations. Gobies have been found at elevations over 500 meters! They accomplish this daunting task with some help from fused pelvic fins, which form a suction cup. Using their mouth and this special sucker, slowly but surely they make their way up the steep falls. The various 'o'opu are found in different sections of the streams. 'O'opu 'alamo'o is the number one climber, and is found in the mid and upper sections of streams. 'O'opu nopili (pili meaning to cling) are found just below them. This species was a favorite food of Hawaiians and was also used in ceremonies. It was also believed that 'o'opu nopili would help luck to cling.
On Oahu, gobies are getting hard to find. Over 95% of streams have been modified, and the introduction of non-native species such as swordtails, guppies, and catfish make them further vulnerable due to competition for prey and habitat. Hailing from the family of ferns called the Polypodiaceae, the laua'e fern knows how to move around, as the name suggests: "poly" meaning many, and "pod" referring to feet. This fern has lots of little walkers in the form of rhizomes, the underground, horizontal stems that send out roots and new shoots, allowing the plant to propagate. And if you're not careful, those roots will walk all over you, or your garden, so consider the spread before you bed. Laua'e, or Microsorum scolopendria, is a naturalized fern, first observed in the early 1900's. It is also known as maile-scented fern, and is found throughout the main islands, often used as a border plant in landscaping. Most conspicuous on the plant are the clusters of spore sacs called sori, which are on the underside of the fern frond. On the top surface, the sori cause small bumps, which explains another name for the plant: wart fern. The arrangement of the sori is an important clue to fern identification. The true laua'e fern, Microsorum spectrum, once used in hula adornments, is now rare. The Wainiha Valley on Kaua'i has the largest population of the fern, and is now part of a 7,050-acre preserve. The naturalized laua'e now replaces it in hula adornments. When you first see this bee, you might think black bumblebee, but nope, it's not even in the same genus. This is none other than the sonoran carpenter bee, Xylocopa sonorina. The name comes from the Greek for wood cutter, and there you have it: they nest and rear their offspring in wood structures, or old logs, like the ones in my backyard do. They don't actually eat the wood, but make a fair amount of sawdust in the process of excavating their tunnels. Some of this sawdust is used to enclose the eggs which they have laid on a pollen ball in the back of the tunnel. The larvae hatch and spend some time maturing before venturing out on their own. They are said to be solitary bees, though the ones that live in my backyard share the same log. I have seen females as well as males snuggled into separate tunnels on the same log. In the picture I took below, you might be able to see the the female and male in the tunnels on opposite sides of each other. The females are black and have stingers; the males are golden and are stingerless. They seem to love the purple flowers in my yard, especially the lilikoi, of which they are important pollinators. The sonoran carpenter is said to be shy, not likely to sting, though I myself was stung when I was moving around some cut logs and discovered them. The initial pain was searingly hot, but quickly subsided and seemed less painful than other bee stings I have had. But no offense taken - I quite like them and the way they lumber happily around the yard in search of nectar.
Update: Aug 26th, 2014: Seems as though there may be a color morph of the brown anole. While unusual, this red variation of Anolis sagrei has been documented. When an interestingly colored lizard showed up in the backyard of reader on Oahu, she and her husband took the time to send me a photo. Please let me know if you've seen similar lizards.
When I first moved to Hawaii and was just getting acquainted with the flora and fauna, I had no idea there were toads here. So imagine my surprise when I went to grab a flower pot sitting in my front yard and there was this GINORMOUS toad in it, burrowed in the soil. I mean BIG. The biggest toad I had ever seen. Scared the dickens out of me. So the first thing I did was get on google, and searched for "giant toad, Hawaii." And sure enough, I found him. Bufo marinus, aka cane toad and giant toad, in all his warty glory. Aquatic in the larval stage, terrestrial as an adult, this true toad does not have a marine habitat at all, though Linneaus thought so when he named them. The cane toad was brought to Hawaii in the early 1930's to help curb the destruction of sugar cane by the cane beetle. And that's not all they eat: small birds, lizards, invertebrates, whatever's on the menu. They are hoppers and walkers, not leapers, like frogs. They are most active at night and are fond of areas disturbed by humans, such as yards and ditches. Ah, but here's the rub: behind each ear they have glands that secrete a white, sticky, bufotoxin, which is highly toxic and dangerous to pets that may be overly curious. I was worried that my cats might mess with Buford, the name I gave to the bufo that took up residence in my flower pot for a time, but no harm came to them. Luckily, curiosity did NOT get the cat. |
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