I’ve seen this particular ray several times while snorkeling. I think it’s a young one, since it’s somewhat smaller than others I’ve seen. It glides over the coral with little effort, but sometimes shifts into high gear and shoots off with a good turn of speed. It’s not aggressive and doesn’t appear bothered by my presence, but since eagle rays have venomous spines near the base of the tail, I don’t get too close.
For more information about eagle rays, go to sailhawaii.com/rays.html.
A couple of shots of pinktail triggerfish. They’re common in the waters around here, but always quite striking with their pink tail and delicate looking dorsal and anal fins. I can’t look at the one on the right without hearing that fish say, ‘He said what? I don’t believe it.”
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 and his Reef Fish Hawaii – waterproof pocket guide. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
