Meet moa, The Hawaiian boxfish

The Hawaiian boxfish is truly a bizarre creature, part fish and part underwater helicopter. The males are bright blue, white and gold, and this fish can hover off of the bottom, go backwards, forwards, up, down, and do a complete spin, just like a helicopter. They are truly amazing to watch, as they look like a remote-controlled underwater drone.

The female moa do not look anything like the males. They are a drab brown with white dots. What is also amazing about this shallow-water reef fish is they are as hard as a box. Their bodies are so ridged most fish find them impossible to eat. It would be like us trying to bite down on a large ice cube. The only thing that moves on the boxfish are the eyes, fins and little mouth.

These six-inch-long fish are very common in shallow water close to shore, so they are often seen by snorkelers. They eat algae that has grown on the rocks, and the males are quite territorial.

After doing over 2,000 scuba dives in Hawaii, shooting video of the marine life, I have never seen a baby boxfish. This is really strange.

Some fish species go down into deeper water to reproduce, but I am not yet sure where the baby boxfish live, so if you have ever seen one please let me know.

You can see moa in the movie “The World’s Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fish” on the website www.underwater2web.com. Children can see moa in person in the nonprofit marine science kids camp at www.reefguardianshawaii.org.

Aloha from under the surf.

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Terry Lilley is a marine biologist and Hanalei resident. His other website is gofundme.com/5urrm4zw.