Makauwahi Cave

General Description

BTH - 01/10/2023

The site is apparently geologically unique in the Hawaiian Islands, comprising a sinkhole paleolake in a cave formed in eolianite limestone. The paleolake contains nearly 10,000 years of sedimentary record; since the discovery of Makauwahi as a fossil site, excavations have found pollen, seeds, diatoms, invertebrate shells, and Polynesian artifacts, as well as thousands of bird and fish bones. The findings document not only the conditions before human colonization of the Hawaiian islands, but also the millennium of human occupation with the drastic ecological changes that occurred since first Polynesians, and later Europeans and Asians, arrived in the islands along with a suite of invasive alien species. They reveal the existence of a large number of native birds that became extinct as a result. The cave has also shown that certain plants previously believed to be Polynesian introductions, such as Kou (Cordia subcordata) and Hala (Pandanus tectorius), existed on the islands prior to human settlement. Remains of some 40 species of birds have been found in the cave; half of these species are now extinct. New discoveries of extinct species include the turtle-jawed moa-nalo (Chelychelynechen quassus), the blind and flightless Kaua'i mole duck (Talpanas lippa), and the Kauaʻi palila (Loxioides kikuichi). The Kauaʻi cave wolf spider, also known as the "blind spider", is only known to occur in this cave and in a few lava tubes in the area. Source : The Free Encyclopedia Wikipedia, in English > article"Makauwahi Cave" -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makauwahi_Cave