Fifteen species in Hawaii have gained protection under the Endangered Species Act. 

This includes an anchialine pool shrimp that only lives on the Big Island and a picture-wing fly that has yellow legs and a lifespan of a couple of months. Thirteen plants also gained protections, including sunflowers, asters and a number of trees — the kookoolau, haha, aku, haiweale and uhiuhi.

The decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to classify the species as endangered have been sped along by a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity. A 2011 settlement requires the federal agency to expedite protection decisions for 757 plants and animals around the country, some of which have been awaiting decisions for decades. 

Photo: A view of Mauna Kea (Credit: Vadim Kurland, Wikimedia Commons)

— Sophie Cocke