Having just returned from Hawaii, where I had the unexpected sighting of a living mongoose, I have to wonder just what kinds of critters were natives before Europeans.
I’m guessing for mammals, maybe just the Islanders themselves, maybe some bats, and a stray seal or two.
I know that lots of birds were already there. What about creepy-crawlies like insects and spiders? I think I read that cockroaches were unknown before Europeans arrived.
I read that there weren’t any native land snakes. What about other reptiles?
"Mammals: Hawai`i has only two endemic mammals, the Hawaiian hoary bat and the Hawaiian monk seal, both on the endangered species list.
Reptiles: Hawaii has no endemic reptiles, but the five species of native indigenous marine turtles are threatened or endangered. "Hawaii originally had no social insects, such as ants, termites, and many wasps (Yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica shown at left) and bees. "
Note that the natives brought some species with them, like the dog, pig chicken, and the Polynesian Rat . The pig is causing quite a bit of controversy.
Likely the worst thing foisted was the mosquito, likely brought by Europeans accidentally, although The Norway rat is often devastating.