Meet umauma lei the Orangespine Unicornfish
Many of the Hawaiian fish species only live in Hawaii because the island chain is so isolated that many fish species evolved here and nowhere else in the Pacific Ocean. For a fish to get all the way to Hawaii its eggs must be able to float in currents from as far away as Tahiti or Guam so over millions of years Hawaii has a lot of beautiful reef fish but not as many as most other Pacific Islands.
Meet humuhumu ‘ele’ele the Black Triggerfish
Most people are aware of the Hawaiian state fish the humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua’a but they don’t realize we have several different types of triggerfish that all begin with the Hawaiian name humuhumu.
Meet the very rare Harlequin Shrimp
The two inch long Harlequin Shrimp is the most uncommon Hawaiian shrimp and by far the most bizarre!
Meet kohola the humpback whale
We have several whale species here in Hawaii and they are all called kohola but in old Hawaii the humpback whale was very rare in Hawaiian waters.
Meet the Nemo look alike fish
Meet hinalea ‘akilolo the Hawaiian yellowtail coris that looks like the the famous anemonefish Nemo.
Meet the Beautiful Imperial Nudibranch
This two inch long sea slug has some amazing colors and was almost extinct a few years ago.
Meet the one armed linckia sea star
The first time I saw a five inch long spotted linckia sea star while diving, I gently picked it up to get a better view and shoot a video clip of this beautiful red and grey reef creature.
Stripey Fish who does not have a Hawaiian name
Some native fish species here in Hawaii were not recognized and were never given a Hawaiian name because in old Hawaii no one more than likely ever saw this fish.
Meet niuhi the Great White Shark
At over 20 feet long and weighing over 3,000 pounds you would know if you met niuhi the Great White Shark!
Meet uhu, the pale-nose parrot-fish
The 18 inch long palenose parrotfish is the most common parrotfish species we have here in Hawaii and also the smallest.
Meet lauwiliwili the Milletseed Butterflyfish
This six inch long bright yellow fish is Hawaii’s most abundant butterflyfish. On the deep water ledges on the island of Ni’ihau there are schools of over 1,000 milletseed butterflyfish and diving with them is like being in a yellow snow storm.
Meet pu‘oni‘oni‘o the Partridge Tun Shell
The Partridge Tun is a very unusual giant Hawaiian marine snail that grows to 12 inches wide!
Meet ‘omilu the Bluefin Trevally
‘Omilu is in the jack family of fish, and is one of the most-important game fish for the nearshore Hawaiian fishing community.
Meet mano the Hawaiian Sandbar Shark
I have scuba dove with all of the known shark species here in the Hawaiian Islands and I find the sandbar shark the most mysterious!
Meet nohu the devil scorpion-fish
You do not want to step on this foot long fish here in Hawaii as it could send you to the hospital! What is so amazing is that very few people get stung by the devil scorpionfish even though I have seen people step right next to one sitting camouflaged right on top of the reef.
LILLEY: Meet the beautiful Kauai yellow antler coral
Antler corals in Hawaii are one of the most beautiful coral species that can grow to about three foot tall and are usually brown, golden or green colored but in one location in Kauai they are bright yellow.
Meet the Hawaiian Smooth Seahorse
The seahorse is about the most bizarre fish that is native to Hawaiian waters. They
Meet the rock-mover wrasse, the fish that looks like seaweed
The rock-mover wrasse grows to be 12 inches long, but the babies look more like a piece of limu (seaweed) than a fish. The two-inch-long baby rock-movers have branching fins that grow out from their body, resembling the seaweed that grows on the reef.
Meet the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse “the fish dentist”
Do you know that the fish here in Hawai‘i go to the dentist on a regular basis to have their teeth cleaned? From large sharks to young yellow tangs, they all get free dental work, but they must go to the dentist’s office. We call their office a “cleaning station,” and the dentist is a Hawaiian cleaner wrasse.
Meet ‘ala‘ihi kalaloa the long-jaw squirrel-fish
This beautiful, bright-red-and-yellow, foot-long squirrel-fish with the sad-looking face is the largest type of squirrel-fish that lives in Hawai‘i.