Tag Archives: Needlefish

There’s something fishy going on here

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Spinner Dolphins in the waters off Hawaii
A pod of Spinner Dolphins swims by.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Groups.’ See more responses here. I’m going under the water for this. Captions on the photos.

A school of Hawaiian Silversides in the waters off Hawaii
A school of Hawaiian Silversides.
A school of Yellow Goatfishes in the waters off Hawaii
Yellowfin Goatfishes drift in tight groups as they rest during the day.
A school of Convict Tangs in the waters off Hawaii
A school of Convict Tangs spills over the edge of a ridge.
Crocodile Needlefishes in the waters off Hawaii
Crocodile Needlefishes cruise near the surface of the water.
Racoon Butterflyfishes in the waters off Hawaii
Raccoon Butterflyfishes hang in the water.
A group of fish hunting in the waters off Hawaii
Blue Goatfishes and Bluefin Tevallies often hunt with an octopus or, here, a Whitemouth Moray Eel.
A school of Yellow Tangs in the waters off Hawaii
Yellow Tangs feedings.

Acute Halfbeaks

Acute Halfbeaks in the waters off Hawaii

Acute Halfbeaks swim just below the surface of the water, often in schools. It’s not unusual to encounter them flashing by, which can be a little disconcerting, especially when the group circles back around. They’re not something to worry about during the day, but at night needlefishes in general can be excited by lights in and on the water, and there have been many instances of people being speared by those long, sharp beaks, some fatally.

It’s a fish eat fish world

A Crocodile Needlefish attempts to eat a Hawaiian White-Spotted Toby

I know this fish as a Crocodile Needlefish (Tylosurus crocodilus), a name explained by looking at the jaws and teeth. Elsewhere, it’s known as a Houndfish. When I first saw it, I thought it might have a bit of fishing gear hooked into its mouth. It was working its jaws up and down, as if it might be trying to dislodge something. But when I got closer, I saw it had a fish in it’s mouth.

The unlucky fish looks like a toby, probably an Hawaiian White-spotted Toby. Except the unlucky fish might be the needlefish because the toby has clearly inflated itself, as they do. Not only that, but the skin of these tobies is highly toxic. My fish book tells of a diver who found a frogfish with one of these tobies inflated in its mouth. The frogfish was dead, though whether suffocated or poisoned he couldn’t tell. He freed the toby, which swam away none the worse for wear!

The Numbers Game #21

Sunken roads at South Point Hawaii
Sometimes, the way to move forward is unclear, as when navigating these roads at South Point.

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 142. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

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

Cattle and their egrets near Hawi Wind Farm.
A lunar eclipse over Hawaii
A lunar eclipse a few years ago.
Two Asian Swallowtail butterflies frolic on the wing.
A Whitemouth Moray Eel in the waters off Hawaii
A Whitemouth Moray Eel.
Acute Halfbeaks swim in the waters off Hawaii
Acute Halfbeaks swim just below the surface in the waters off the Kohala coast.

The Numbers Game #17

A Pallid Ghost crab blends int o the beach in Hawaii
A Pallid Ghost Crab on the beach.

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. The top photo was one of these and I thought, I must have run this before, but I hadn’t. It turned out to be a photo I’d processed, but neglected to move from my originals folder. Without The Numbers Game, I would never have found this!

This week’s number is 138. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A green turtle swims in the waters off Hawaii
A Hawaiian Green Turtle swimming.
Crocodile Needlefish swim just below the surface in Hawaii
Two Crocodile Needlefishes cruise just below the surface.
Bentley Walker competes in the 2017 Ironman World Championship.
Ironman is hard work …
Bike pedals at 2017 Ironman World Championship.
… but colorful.

Needlefish

Needlefish swimming in Hawaii

When I go snorkeling, one of the first fish I’m almost guaranteed to see are needlefish. The often congregate in the shallows just below the surface of the water. I can often get very close to them before they scoot to one side or part in the middle as I go through.

Crocodile needlefish

A crocodile needlefish swims toward me.

This crocodile needlefish swam up to check me out one day when I was snorkeling. These are large fish and sometimes, when I see them, I mistake them for great barracudas. A somewhat disturbing fact about crocodile needlefish is that, if they become alarmed, particularly at night, they can turn on whoever has frightened them and drive their beak into that person. The wounds inflicted can be very serious and deaths have been recorded. Mostly though, when I’m snorkeling, they just cruise by and take a non-threatening look.