Good evening. It is time for another one of these photo diaries provided only as a brief respite from the struggles of the day and as a brief reminder that we share this planet with all manner of amazing critters. I hope you enjoy your visit here.
Molokai Dawn
Whitemouth Moray Gymnothorax meleagris
A very common eel on Hawaiian reefs. Hawaii has an unusually high density of morays because they have very long-lived planktonic larvae which allowed them to colonize these isolated islands. There are also many species of wrasse for the same reason.
Yellowmargin Moray Gymnothorax flavimarginatus
You can get a glimpse of the namesake color that borders its tail in the background.
Yellowmargin Moray Gymnothorax flavimarginatus and Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse Labroides phthirophagus
The colorful wrasse lives by eating dead tissue, parasites and mucus from the surface of other fish. This one seems to have struck a deal with this extraordinarily large yellowmargin eel.
Water
Ambon Toby Canthigaster amboinensis
This is my first photo of this hard-to-approach little relative of the pufferfish.
Hawaiian Sargent Abudefduf abdominalis
There large endemic damselfish are common. You often see them defending their nest of tiny purple eggs as in this example. It is bit tough to see the eggs but they are covering the rock beneath this fish.
Wedgetail Triggerfish Rhinecanthus rectangulus The famous Humuhumu-nukuknuku-a-pua'a. Actually this name applies to a couple of species of trigger.
Threadfin Butterflyfish Chaetodon auriga
Named for the tiny filament trailing from the dorsal fin.
Whitetip Reef Shark Triaenodon obesus
This is the only species of shark that you commonly see when diving in Hawaii.
Divided Flatworm Pseudocerotidae dimidiatus
Marbled Shrimp Saron marmoratus
I wasn't really aware of these amazing shrimp until a few weeks ago but it turns out they are quite common if you look for them.
Harlequin Shrimp Hymenocera picta
On the other hand these beauties are quite rare, partially due to their high value to aquarium collectors. They feed on sea stars much larger than themselves.
Rough-Toothed Dolphins Steno bredanensis
One of many species of dolphins found in the deeper waters off Hawaii.
Nanakuli
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to treat this as a community photo diary and please be good humans. If you have a problem with this diary I refer you to the Complaint Department:
I know it looks almost like she cares about your problems in this photo. She doesn't.
Aloha