Tag Archives: Blennies

Scarface Blenny

A Scarface Blenny Peeks out from under a step at Mahukona, Hawaii

You don’t have to go far to see something interesting in the water. This Scarface Blenny hangs out around the ladder for getting in and out of the water at my local snorkel spot! I’d seen it before, but not been able to get a photo of it.

A few days ago, I had my camera ready as I approached the ladder. Sure enough, I saw the blenny’s head sticking out from below one of the ladder’s rungs. It quickly disappeared, but I hung on to the ladder to see if it would return. It did, and I was able to get a couple of shots.

I thought this was a Gargantuan Blenny, but when I got home and looked at the photos, I realized that the red eye ring and red marks on the face meant this was actually a Scarface Blenny. Both these blennies are endemic but the Scarface Blenny is slightly smaller than the other.

A Scarface Blenny Peeks out from under a step at Mahukona, Hawaii

The Numbers Game #26

Sunrise from the road to Mauna Loa Observatory, now no longer accessible since the 2022 eruption.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 147. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A view of Rainbow Falls in Hilo Hawaii
Rainbow Falls in Hilo.
The stairs down to Kaumana Caves in Hilo.
A view of a river gully on the Hamakua Coast in Hawaii as seen from the air
A view of Kealakaha Stream gully, on the Hamakua Coast, from the air.
A Black Triggerfish looking agitated in the waters off Hawaii
An agitated Black Triggerfish.
Hawaiian Zebra blenny and Padina japonica in a tide pool in Hawaii
Hawaiian Zebra Blenny in a filed of Padina japonica seaweed.
A view of Mauna Kea from Mauna Loa showing Pahoehoe and A’a lava flows side by side.

Lurking

A Spotted Coral Blenny peeks out from a head of Cauliflower Coral in Hawaii

I took this photo of a head of Cauliflower Coral because I was happy about how healthy it looked. Then I saw that I was being watched. This Spotted Coral Blenny was wedged into the coral head, as they do, clearly waiting for me to move on.

Well, it is the last of the month, so time for me to move forward into June and for the blenny to go about his business.

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.

Spotted Coral Blenny and Stocky Hawkfish

A Spotted coral blenny and stocky hawkfish in the waters off Hawaii

These are a couple of fish that spend a good deal of their time sitting, stationary, on coral or rocks. The similarity ends there.

The hawkfish is a predator, waiting for small fish or crustaceans to come within range. The blenny feeds solely on living coral. And while this blenny is probably an adult at about 6 inches long, the hawkfish can grow to twice that size.

Now you see me…

A blenny peeks out fro a hole in a rock

I spotted this little blenny out in the open, but as I raised my camera it shot away into its hole in the rock. I was impressed by its lightning speed, but more so by its ability to back into its hole at that speed.

I think this is probably a Bullethead Blenny, though it’s hard to make that determination from this photo.

Strasburg’s Blenny

A Strasburgs Blenny peers from its home
A Strasburgs Blenny rests in the waters off Hawaii

Yes, there is a fish in each of these photos! The endemic Strasburg’s Blenny is less than two inches long and is easily overlooked. It tends to move about in short, sharp bursts, blends in well when it settles, and is almost undetectable when it backs into its hole. That’s where the blenny is in the top photo.

In the second photo, it’s lying out in the open, but blending in rather well. Can you spot it?

Oddities in the water

A manta ray in the waters off Hawaii

Today marks the start of the last week of this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here. The ocean is full of oddities so I thought I’d include a few here.

Above: A Manta Ray encounter is always something special, but there’s no getting away from their odd appearance. This one has the added wrinkle of one of its cephalic flaps being damaged.

A Bluespine Unicornfish in the waters off Hawaii
A Titan scorpionfish in the waters off Hawaii
A Clumpy Nudibranch in the waters off Hawaii
Hawaiian zebra blennies in the waters off Hawaii

Top left: Bluespine Unicornfishes not only have a horn protruding from their foreheads, they have dayglow blue scalpels at the base of the tail and an array of expressions that are mostly odd.

Top right: Who knows how many scorpionfishes I’ve swum past? Masters of disguise, I could stare at a spot where one is perched and not see it. Even when I do see one, it’s not always clear that it’s not just a rock, as this Titan Scorpionfish illustrates.

Bottom left: Nudibranches are inherently odd looking, and this Clumpy Nudibrach is no exception. It suggests to me some top chef’s idea of an exotic entrée, but one that keeps sliding off the plate!

Bottom right: Blennies are indisputably odd, but absolutely endearing. The Hawaiian Zebra Blenny is no exception and, in addition, has an uncanny ability to launch itself into the next tidepool if someone disturbs it.