The Octopus and the Sailfin Tang Set Sail in Pea Green Boat

     Yesterday Sandra and I went swimming at Kahalu'u.  We went down after our new handyman, Dan, replaced a couple cabinet hinges and formulated a plan for replacing a portion of the fence that keeps one from stumbling into the garden when he arrives home late at night.  If it wasn't for all the rain, the fence wouldn't rot.

A very small octopus.  Kahalu'u 2013

     It wasn't raining yesterday morning.  In fact, it was a glorious Hawaiian day and K Bay was
packed with tourists.  The parking  lot was full with those that had arrived in their rental cars and they were augmented by a mob from the cruise ship.  If its Wednesday its cruise ship day.  So I guess yesterday was Wednesday.

    A good portion of the mob was already in the water, engaged in the art of full contact snorkeling, so young Ms. Gray and I were required to thread our way through several yards of thrashing humanity to achieve clear water.  Immediately we were rewarded with a very small octopus.  This brave hobbit of an octopus was observing the comings and goings from the safety of modest rock, which, given his diminutive size, did a good job of providing refuge.

   Our regular readers will recall that just last week we saw an octopus at Kahalu'u, not far from this very spot.  I can almost remember the first octopus I saw here.  It seems like this noble cephalopod is becoming more common at Kahalu'u, even as the coral diminishes.

    At this point, I will tell you that our dear friend Peter, both scientist and astute observer of nature, in the style of a fierce, fish watching hobbyist, thinks that last week's holy ghost may be a new species for Sandra and myself.  Certainly the colors were different than any day octopus I have seen in the past, flashing some orange.  And it was behaving differently.

Manybar Goatfish hunting with day octopus,  Black Sand Beach 32013

     Not only that, but it attracted a rockmover.  Its not so unusual to see a variety of fish hunt with a day octopus.  We have seen a couple species of goat fish and a few eels engage in this behavior.  And, if memory serves,  a small ulua.  But this rockmover looked like it was, in the spirit of the Toreador from Carmen, attempting to stick the muleta in this octopus's heart, the better to dine on his molluscan flesh.  I have seen enough day octopi to say with some certainty that they do not attract that sort of attention from your average wrasse.  Hence, there was definitely something different about this animal.  Wrasses and puffers attack vulnerable sea cucumbers, like the sand sea cucumber, when they make the mistake of appearing on the reef during the day; the myriad of usual sea cucumbers attract no attention at all. It is my contention that the rockmover was helping Peter make the distinction, by pointing out that this was not a day octopus and hence vulnerable to attack.

    I will leave it to you to look at last week's octo-pictures, but I am including a picture of a goatfish hunting with an octopus from days gone by to illustrate this behavioral point.  Later today we are swimming with our scientific colleagues, Peter and Marla and I plan to confront them with John Hoover's critter book over lunch at the Kawaihae Bar and Grill.  With luck we will come away with a diagnosis on last week's octopus, discuss how small an octopus can be to be classified as a day octopus, and maybe see something new at Kawaihae.

    The rest of the swim was pleasant.  It being summer, the water was a perfect 85 degrees.   We

didn't see any remarkable species, but we did enjoy an interlude with a pair of sailfin tangs.  You will recall, that this species invariably appears as a mated pair, with one fish being at least 10% larger than the other.  In this case, the larger fish was rather languid, and unfurled its handsome fins to provide this nice look.  With luck, your Genoa jib will set so handsomely as you sail the waters of the summer sea.

jeff






      The Owl and the Octopus
       By Edward Lear (loosely)

The Owl and the Octopus went to sea

   In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the starfish above,

   And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy! With arms aplenty!

    What a beautiful Pussy you are,

         You are,

         You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!"