The proposed name follows the Nomenclature Hui’s naming guidelines that are informed by traditional Hawaiian naming strategies for flora and fauna (see Pihana & Lorenzo-Elarco, 2022). Most specifically, the name follows the tradition of honoring important places that are connected to a species such as the lauaʻe o Makana (Microsorum spectrum, a native fern famous in Makana, Kauaʻi), or the limu kā kanaka o Manuʻakepa (Nostoc commune, a dangerous limu of Manuʻakepa, Kauaʻi). Pokipoki is the Hawaiian name for the pill bug (also known as sow bug or roly poly) and similar looking creatures that inhabit aquatic and terrestrial habitats that include the Ligia species. Pokipoki o kahaone and pokipoki one are two names that apply to species found in the sand, whereas the pokipoki ʻaumoana refers to those of the deep sea. Though not an isopod, the chiton is called pokipoki kuapaʻa (hard-backed) for sharing the same general appearance. Pokipoki are important in Hawaiian culture, appearing in traditional oli (chants), moʻolelo (stories), and hula (dance). In Hawaiian religion, the pokipoki is also a kino lau (body form) of Kamohoaliʻi, the supreme shark deity. Hanakaʻieʻie [Ha-na-kah-ee-eh-ee-eh] is a traditional place name that has been lost in memory, but survived in chants. Place Names of Hawaiʻi translates the name to “bay [with] the rise and fall [of sea].” Recent multidisciplinary research utilizing Hawaiian language materials and real-time empirical evidence indicates that Hanakaʻieʻie is Adam’s Bay of Nihoa Island. Kekuewa Kikiloi shares, “This is the only major bay in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that has waves that wrap around the island and weave together to magnify each other as they rise and fall in the bay. All other bays northwest of location are protected by shallow reef networks.”Pokipoki o Hanakaʻieʻie (Ligia hanakaieie), meaning “the pokipoki of Hanakaʻieʻie” is endemic to the intertidal zones of Nihoa; both scientific and Hawaiian names represent this connection. Pulu pē ka pokipoki i ka kai o Hanakaʻieʻie, the pokipoki is drenched by the waters of Hanakaʻieʻie. This new ʻōlelo noʻeau (poetical saying) envisions the waves of Hanakaʻieʻie that rises and falls between the dwelling places of the pokipoki, wrapping Nihoa in a salty caress. In a time when we have nearly forgotten the importance of seemingly insignificant creatures and old names of faraway places, Pokipoki o Hanakaʻieʻie and Ligia hanakaieie represent a remembering and a reminder; for as long as we continue to say these names, we shall always remember.
