| Oodemas laysanensis | |
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| Species: | O. laysanensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Oodemas laysanensis Fullaway, 1914 | |
| Synonyms | |
Oedemasylus laysanensis | |
Oodemas laysanensis, the Laysan weevil, was a species of beetle in family Curculionidae. It was endemic to the United States (Laysan, Hawaiian Islands) (declared extinct in 1986).
The Laysan duck, also known as the Laysan teal, is a dabbling duck endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Fossil evidence reveals that Laysan ducks once lived across the entire archipelago, but today survive only on Laysan Island and two atolls. The duck has several physical and behavioral traits linked to the absence of ground-based predators in its habitat. By 1860, the ducks had disappeared from everywhere except Laysan Island. The introduction of European rabbits by guano miners at the end of the 19th century brought the bird to the brink of extinction in 1912, with twelve surviving individuals. Rabbits were eradicated from the island in 1923 and numbers of Laysan ducks began to rise, reaching 500 by the 1950s. In an effort to ensure the long-term future of this duck, 42 birds were translocated to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2002. These thrived in their new surroundings, and another group were later relocated to Kure Atoll.
Located about 2300 miles (3680 km) from the nearest continental shore, the Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated group of islands on the planet. The plant and animal life of the Hawaiian archipelago is the result of early, very infrequent colonizations of arriving species and the slow evolution of those species—in isolation from the rest of the world's flora and fauna—over a period of at least 5 million years. As a consequence, Hawai'i is home to a large number of endemic species. The radiation of species described by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands which was critical to the formulation of his theory of evolution is far exceeded in the more isolated Hawaiian Islands.
Laysan, located 808 nautical miles northwest of Honolulu at 25°42′14″N171°44′04″W, is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of 1,016 acres (4.11 km2), about 1 by 1+1⁄2 miles in size. It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow central lake some 2.4 m (7.9 ft) above sea level that has a salinity approximately three times greater than the ocean. Laysan's Hawaiian name, Kauō, means egg.
The Laysan finch is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, that is endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of four remaining finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers and is closely related to the smaller Nihoa finch. The Laysan finch is named for Laysan, the island to which it was endemic on its discovery. It was subsequently introduced to a few other atolls, and its historical range included some of the main islands.
The Laysan albatross is a large seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to 99.7% of the population. This small gull-like albatross is the second-most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands, with an estimated population of 1.18 million birds, and is currently expanding its range to new islands. The Laysan albatross was first described as Diomedea immutabilis by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in 1893, on the basis of a specimen from Laysan Island.
The Laysan millerbird was a subspecies of the millerbird, similar in appearance to the remaining subspecies, the Nihoa millerbird. Its dorsal side was brown, and its belly was grayish. Its name derives from its favorite food, several species of moths of the genus Agrotis commonly referred to as "millers".
The millerbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It has two subspecies, A. f. kingi and A f. familiaris. The latter, the Laysan millerbird, became extinct sometime between 1916 and 1923. The former, the critically endangered Nihoa millerbird, remains the only race left, inhabiting the small island Nihoa in Hawaiʻi, though it has since been reintroduced to Laysan. It is the only Old World warbler to have colonised Hawaiʻi, although there is no fossil evidence that the species ever had a distribution beyond these two islands.
Cenchrus agrimonioides is a rare species of grass in the family Poaceae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Its common names include Kāmanomano and agrimony sandbur. It was formerly distributed throughout the major islands but today it is nearly limited to Oʻahu. Kāmanomano inhabits dry to moist forests and lava plains. It is threatened by competition with non-native plants, predation by ungulates, and wildfire. When this plant became a federally listed endangered species of the United States in 1996 there were fewer than 100 individuals remaining. More recent counts revealed 181 wild individuals on Oʻahu and over 300 more which have been planted to augment the populations. This plant is nearly restricted to the island of Oʻahu, but there are a few individuals known on Maui. A few patches of the grass have been planted on Kahoʻolawe, as well.
The Laysan noctuid moth is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae.
The Procellaris Agrotis noctuid moth is a species of moth in the family Erebidae.
The Laysan dropseed noctuid moth was a species of moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Otto Herman Swezey in 1914. This species is now extinct.
The Laysan hedyleptan moth is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It is endemic to Laysan in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Achyranthes atollensis was a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It was endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands of Kure, Midway, Laysan and the Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Its natural habitat was sandy shores. It became extinct due to habitat loss and the introduction of non-native species, and was last seen in 1964. It was a perennial shrub living in dry shrublands on calcareous sand and atolls.
The Laysan honeycreeper or Laysan ʻapapane is an extinct bird species that was endemic to the island of Laysan in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Eragrostis variabilis is a species of grass known by the common names variable lovegrass, kawelu, emoloa, and kalamalo. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it occurs on all the main islands plus Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Lisianski Island, Laysan, and Nihoa.
The Northwestern Hawaii scrub is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
