火山列岛 05

The long, tenacious roots of the 'ohi'a wend their way through the cracks and penetrate deep into the rock in search of trapped water and nutrients

Their quest leads them to a remarkable subterranean world

Once, a raging torrent of lava flowed right through here

When it stopped, this was all that remained - a lava tube, pitch black, constantly damp and very cold

Can anything survive in this harsh world? Amazingly, yes

Patches of bacteria line the walls, feeding on the minerals in the volcanic rock itself

But that's not all

This is the small-eyed big-eyed hunting spider - a curious name for any spider, let alone one whose eyes barely function

But in total darkness, eyes are little use

Although he can't see it, the spider has company