Showdown at Viper Rock

Giant Porcupinefishes in the waters off Hawaii

When I go snorkeling, I often go by a place known as Viper Rock. It got this name because in this rock is a small cave that was often occupied by a large Viper Moray Eel. I haven’t seen the eel in a long time, but the cave often has other occupants.

On a recent swim, a Giant Porcupinefish had claimed the spot and it rebuffed the approach of a smaller Giant Porcupinefish several times (top photo).

Giant Porcupinefishes in the waters off Hawaii
Giant Porcupinefishes in the waters off Hawaii

Next day when I got there, there were two Giant Porcupinefishes outside the entrance to the cave. Several times they swam towards the cave, then came back towards me (middle photos). It was only when I shifted my position a bit that I could see, inside the cave, the shape of a large lobster (bottom photo). It’s just to the left of the top porcupinefish, in the shadowy cave. Clearly the two fish did not relish the prospect of trying to evict the lobster!

Giant Porcupinefishes and lobster in the waters off Hawaii

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.

14 thoughts on “Showdown at Viper Rock”

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      I don’t think a lobster would eat a porcupinefish. For one thing, they’re quite toxic, and then they can inflate themselves making them impossible to swallow. But if the porcupine fish tried to muscle its way into the lobster’s space, I imagine the lobster could do it quite a bit of damage.

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