The Hawaiian islands are further away from a major land mass than any other in the world (at least 2400 miles in any direction). Over the span of about 70 million years, plants and animals managed to make the voyage to the once barren islands and to colonise it, at the rate of one every 70000 years. In the absence of predators, they had plenty of time to evolve into more specialized life forms. Over 80 percent of Hawaii's native flora and fauna is endemic, including more than 100 land birds, 1000 plants, 1000 mollusks, and 10000 species.