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The Hawaiian Marine ecoregion supports one of the highest percentages of endemic marine fishes in the world. A continually erupting "hot spot" in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has created a 1,500 mile (940 kilometer) long chain of eight large volcanic islands and 120 islets over a period of millions of years. Known today as Hawaii, the archipelago is surrounded by fringing and barrier coral reefs that thrive in warm, clear waters. The newest islands are still forming and growing, as evidenced by continued volcanic eruptions.
Because the Hawaiian Marine ecoregion continues to form as the islands mature, it is a remarkable example of evolution. Hawaii has been isolated enough to develop hundreds of endemic species. Nearly a quarter of the 566 fish species here can't be found anywhere else, which is one of the highest levels of fish endemism in the world. And 200 of the 1,000 species of mollusks in Hawaii are endemic.
More than half of the 4,000-5,000 endangered humpback whales that still live in the North Pacific spend the winter in this ecoregion, where they breed on the shallow banks. The waters teem with endemic anglefish, butterflyfish, Hawaiian anthias, fantail filefish, yellow margin basslets, and Hawaiian groupers. Hawaiian monk seals and spiny and regal lobsters swim here and nowhere else. Green and leatherback sea turtles make this ecoregion home, while loggerhead, olive, and Kemp's ridley turtles are infrequent visitors. Black-footed albatrosses nest and breed on rocky shores, while large eagle rays float in the waters among colorful, endemic cauliflower corals.
Overfishing, coastal development, pollution, and introduced species are all major threats.
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