A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word cave can also refer to much smaller openings such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos, though strictly speaking a cave is exogene, meaning it is deeper than its opening is wide, and a rock shelter is endogene.
A shield volcano is a type of volcano usually composed almost entirely of fluid lava flows. It is named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. This is caused by the highly fluid lava erupted, which travels farther than lava erupted from a stratovolcano, and results in the steady accumulation of broad sheets of lava, building up the shield volcano's distinctive form.
Kīlauea is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Historically, Kīlauea is the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaiʻi. Located along the southeastern shore of the island, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. The volcano's most recent eruption began on December 20, 2020.
A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave.
The whitetip reef shark is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus. A small shark that does not usually exceed 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in length, this species is easily recognizable by its slender body and short but broad head, as well as tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, oval eyes with vertical pupils, and white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins. One of the most common sharks found on Indo-Pacific coral reefs, the whitetip reef shark occurs as far west as South Africa and as far east as Central America. It is typically found on or near the bottom in clear water, at a depth of 8–40 m (26–131 ft).
Puʻu ʻŌʻō is a volcanic cone in the eastern rift zone of the Kīlauea volcano of the Hawaiian Islands. Until the end of April 2018, Puʻu ʻŌʻō had been erupting nearly continuously since January 3, 1983, making it the longest-lived rift-zone eruption of the last two centuries.
Kazumura Cave is a lava tube and has been surveyed at 40.7 miles long and 3,614 feet deep making it the longest and deepest lava tube in the world. The cave is located on the island of Hawaiʻi on the eastern slope of Kīlauea. Kīlauea is the most recently active volcano on the Big Island. The ʻAilāʻau lava flow that contains Kazumura Cave originated from the Kīlauea Iki Crater about 500 years ago.
Troglofauna are small cave-dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglofauna and stygofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna. Both are associated with subterranean environments – troglofauna are associated with caves and spaces above the water table and stygofauna with water. Troglofaunal species include spiders, insects, myriapods and others. Some troglofauna live permanently underground and cannot survive outside the cave environment. Troglofauna adaptations and characteristics include a heightened sense of hearing, touch and smell. Loss of under-used senses is apparent in the lack of pigmentation as well as eyesight in most troglofauna. Troglofauna insects may exhibit a lack of wings and longer appendages.
The Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes is a World Heritage Site in South Korea.
Thaumatogryllus is a genus of crickets in the family Gryllidae. It currently consists of four species, all of which are endemic to Hawaiʻi. Though very little is known about any of these species, it can be confirmed that T. conantae shows obvious signs of island gigantism. The other three species, especially T. cavicola, may also be affected by this phenomenon.
The uniform swiftlet,, also known as the Vanikoro or lowland swiftlet, is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with somewhat paler underparts, especially on chin and throat. This species is widespread from the Philippines through Wallacea, New Guinea and Melanesia. It forages for flying insects primarily in lowland forests and open areas. It nests in caves where it uses its sense of echolocation, rare in birds, to navigate.
Omiodes continuatalis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai and Hawaii. It was first cited as possibly extinct by W.C. Gagné and Francis Gard Howarth in 1982. It was listed as extinct by the Hawaiʻi Biological Survey in 2002 and the IUCN in 2003, but was rediscovered later in 2003.
Schrankia costaestrigalis, the pinion-streaked snout, is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Europe, the Canaries, Madeira, Syria, Armenia. It is also present in New Zealand. The species closely resembles Crambidae or Pyralidae species.
Cellana sandwicensis, common name the yellow-foot ʻopihi, is a species of edible true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Nacellidae, one of the families of true limpets.
South Pacific is a British nature documentary series from the BBC Natural History Unit, which began airing on BBC Two on 10 May 2009. The six-part series surveys the natural history of the islands of the South Pacific region, including many of the coral atolls and New Zealand. It was filmed entirely in high-definition. South Pacific was co-produced by the Discovery Channel and the series producer was Huw Cordey. It is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. Filming took place over 18 months in a variety of remote locations around the Pacific including: Anuta, Banks Islands, French Frigate Shoals, Papua New Guinea, Palmyra, Kingman Reef, Tuvalu, Palau, Caroline Islands, Tuamotus and Tanna Island in Vanuatu.
The Makauwahi Cave is the largest limestone cave found in Hawaii. It lies on the south coast of the island of Kauaʻi, in the Māhāʻulepū Valley close to Māhāʻulepū Beach, and is important for its paleoecological and archaeological values. It is reached via a sinkhole and has been described as “…maybe the richest fossil site in the Hawaiian Islands, perhaps in the entire Pacific Island region”.
Schrankia altivolans is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It occurs in epigean habitats on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Hawaii. It also occasionally occurs in caves on at least Maui and Hawaii.
Herpetogramma licarsisalis, the grass webworm or tropical grass webworm, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is native to most of the old world tropics, including New Zealand, Hong Kong and Queensland. It is an introduced species in many other parts of the world, including Hawaii and the Canary Islands.
Schrankia macula, the black-spotted schrankia moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Herbert Druce in 1891. It is found from North America to Central America.
Synemporion keana is an extinct species of bat which lived in what is now Hawaii from at least 320,000 years ago to around 2,100 years ago. It is the only species in the genus Synemporion.
