Meet pu’oni’oni’o the Hawaiian Partridge Tun Shell
This beautiful marine snail has a shell that is six inches long but the body of the snail can be a foot wide! Its body is so big that it cannot fit it entirely into its protective shell. This is very odd for marine snails like the cowry or cone shell that can retract its body fully into its hard shell for protection.
Green sea turtle car wash
Do you know that honu, our Hawaiian green sea turtle goes on a regular basis to a “turtle cleaning station” just like we may go to a car wash!
Meet the Lion’s paw sea cucumber
Sometimes when I scuba dive or snorkel in Hawaii I see things that just do not look real! Weli the lion’s paw, or conspicuous sea cucumber, is one of them!
Meet the Giant Samoan Crab
From time to time while scuba diving in Kauai I come across a true monster that looks like it should be in a Star Wars movie! This huge crab was introduced into Hawaiian waters in the 1920s and can grow to an amazing 15-inches wide from the tip of one massive claw to the other.
Meet roi the Peacock Grouper
If you have dove anywhere in warm tropical waters you more then likely have seen the large grouper species that are quite common in French Polynesia, Micronesia, Indonesia and the Caribbean.
Meet Rhincodon typus the giant Whale Shark!
Scuba diving with these huge 50 foot long sharks is a one of a kind experience as the Whale Shark is the largest fish in the world! We dove with five of these “gentile giants” all at the same time and it felt as if we had gone back into the dinosaur age.
Meet the Raccoon Butterflyfish
This is one of the beat know of the Hawaiian reef fish as divers can often see them in large schools up to 100 individuals. This eight inch long colorful fish that has facial markings that look like a raccoon have a very important Hawaiian name, kikakapu. This means strongly forbidden!
Meet the Red Velvet Sea Star
Starfish are quite rare in Hawaiian water compared to other arts of the pacific. Hawaii is thousands of miles away from the mainland and some creatures just had a hard time making the long journey all the way to Hawaii back in time. Starfish (sea stars) are one of those creatures and only a few species live in Hawaii and it is a treat to see one.
Hihimanu the Spotted Eagle Ray
Meet hihimanu the Spotted Eagle Ray. Its Hawaiian name means “magnificent” and if you have ever seen one fly by you underwater like a giant butterfly, you will know how it got its name!
Meet ‘alo’ilo’i our Hawaiian dascyllus fish
A healthy Hawaiian coral reef has lots of these very cute fish that do a dance in the sea water right above the live branching corals.
Meet the Hawaiian red reef lobster
This extremely beautiful eight-inch long dwarf lobster is fairly common in Hawaiian waters, but rarely ever seen. As far as we know it does not even have a Hawaii name as it lives on the deeper water coral reefs way back in cracks and only comes out at night time!
Meet ‘api the white-spotted surgeonfish
This common, foot-long Hawaiian reef fish is often missed by people who snorkel and scuba dive because they live right in the surf, where it is not safe to dive! In order to see them you have to go out beyond the waves and safely look back to shore where they will flow in and out of the reef with the surge from the surf.
Meet palani the Eyestripe Surgeonfish
This large beautiful Hawaiian reef fish grows up to 20-inches long and is often confused with several other large surgeonfish like the Yellowfin and Ringtail. The best way to tell them apart is by their bright white scalpel at the base of their tail of which you do not want to get near!
Meet mano lala kea the whitetip reef shark
This very special six-to-eight foot long shark is very important to Hawaiian coral reefs and also to the Hawaiian culture! For over 1,000 years the people here in Hawaii protected these sharks as they are part of their spiritual connection to the sea.
Meet paku’iku’i the Achilles Tang
This beautiful shallow water reef fish is wonderful to watch as it zooms around in the surf, but you do not want to touch one! Tangs are in the Surgeonfish family and they have a razor sharp spine near their tail that can cause a deep cut on your hand if you get too close.
Meet the Hawaiian Spanish Dancer!
She is eight inches long and so beautiful that seeing her in action is a very special treat for divers visiting our Hawaiian coral reefs.
Meet kihikihi the Moorish Idol
This beautiful Hawaiian reef fish is a one of a kind as it is the only member of the Zanclidae family on our coral reefs! It is often mistaken for the common butterfly fish but it is actually one of the oldest known Hawaiian fish with fossil records dating back over 50 million years.
Great Whites
Had an amazing Great White Shark Research trip 180 miles offshore of Baja Mexico with professional underwater photographer Pamela Whitman and a whole team of world class shark experts on the large Nautilus
Meet hilu the Blackstripe Coris
This cool looking Hawaiian reef fish get up to 20 inches long and divers are use to seeing the females that are white with black stripes.
Meet humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua’a the Wedgetail Triggerfish!
Meet humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua’a the Wedgetail Triggerfish! This iconic Hawaiian reef fish is also known at the Picasso Triggerfish and its Hawaiian name has a fascinating meaning of which is still not completely understood.