Despite its less-than-flattering name, the Hawaiian hogfish is quite an attractive fish. This one is a female, somewhere between a sub-adult and mature fish, I think. I don’t see a lot of these when I’m snorkeling, and usually they’re too deep to get a decent photo. This one was not only cruising the shallows, but obliging enough to cross not far in front of me.

In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.