Divers have so many questions about the other-worldly things we see underwater, but “How long can a Triton’s trumpet live without eating?” was a question that I had never asked myself. A few days ago, however, we were given an “at least this long” answer without even asking. The Triton’s trumpet (Charonia tritonis) is one of the largest sea snails …
If not for automobiles, a popular artificial reef in waters off of Kihei, Maui would not exist. If you’ve been to the Keawakapu artificial reef, you know that this site is made up of about 2,000 automobile tire modules. These modules were constructed by putting 8 tires next to each other on edge and setting them in a concrete base. …
The beautiful coral-red feet and legs were tricky to see from the boat, but through the camera lens we could make them out. Our captain, Andy Schwanke, had spotted a group of large white birds perched on a shrub on the inner slope of Molokini about a hundred feet above sea level. They were Red-footed boobies (Sula sula) and they …
Ordinarily a conforming Sleepy Sponge Crab (Dromia dormia) would be expected to be carrying a sponge on its back. It’s what they do. In Hawai’i that sponge is usually a large, oval piece of yellow sponge, but they will carry other types of sponges too. Like most animals they exhibit individual preferences. Over the years we’ve also seen them carrying …
Divers, have you entered the Randall Zone? You might have without even knowing it. A Randall Zone is an area around – or next to – a reef or object where no sea grass or algae is growing. It can be around a small antler coral colony as pictured below, or it can be around a large object such as …
It is almost unheard of for a coral reef to have made it into the media a hundred years ago. So few people snorkeled or dived back then that the underwater world, especially corals, was not often in the news. That a Hawai‘i reef did show up in the media so long ago shows just how special that reef was …
The other day we stumbled upon two Banded Spiny Lobsters (Panulirus marginatus) walking around in broad daylight. Lobsters of all kinds are mostly active at night, so it’s kind of exciting for us to see them out in the open during the day. One of the lobsters was walking out front and the following lobster was gently grasping at it with …
One of the best things about diving in one area for years is that we get to know a few of the fish as individuals. That’s not as easy as it sounds. In most cases, one yellow tang looks just like the next yellow tang, one Picasso triggerfish looks like every other Picasso triggerfish – each fish resembles others of …
It is incredibly improbable that a Hawai‘i diver would see a fish species that has never, not even once, been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands. But that is exactly what happened in May when Anthony Kuntz and Julie Gardner visited us from Kauai. The day before coming out on the boat they did a warm-up dive here on Maui. When they got out …
One of the cutest and most talked about fish that divers see in Hawaii is a little pufferfish called the Whitespotted Toby. As adults they are about the size and shape of a partially deflated ping pong ball. They have beautiful green eyes, look a little clumsy moving through the water, and often travel in pairs. Our divers ask about them almost …
