Five carabid beetle species described from the Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia—Calleida gracilis Gemminger and de Harold, 1868 (= Calleida amoenula Boheman, 1858), Calleida sanguinicollis Dejean, 1831 (= Calleida insularis Boheman, 1858), Lebia insularis Boheman, 1858, Selenophorus insularis Boheman, 1858, and Selenophorus picinus Boheman, 1858—are shown to be properly attributed to the American biogeographic region, with their type localities corrected to either Central America or Pacific South America. Two of the five names are newly synonymized: L. insularis Boheman = L. analis Dejean, 1825 (new synonymy), and S. insularis Boheman = S. chalcosomus Reiche, 1843 (new synonymy). Calleida gracilis is shown to be a member taxon of the janthina species-group of South America, most similar to Calleida tibialis Brullé, 1837. However, taxonomic uncertainty surrounding C. gracilis, C. tibialis, and an undescribed taxon precludes definitive species circumscription in this group, and C. gracilis is retained as a valid member of the janthina species-group pending future revision. Selenophorus picinus is placed as species incertae sedis within Selenophorus subgenus Gynandropus Dejean, alternately treated as the hylacis species-group. The biogeographical and ecological consequences obtained from removing these taxa from the Polynesian fauna include: 1) recognition of more natural biogeographical distributions for the genera Calleida Latreille and Dejean, Lebia Latreille, and Selenophorus Dejean; 2) elimination of all examples that could demonstrate extinction of a non-native carabid beetle species subsequent to its accidental introduction into the Hawaiian Islands.