The Exciting Conclusion

       You may recall when you last looked at the blog, we were exchanging emails with our local experts

Black Surgeon Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis Transitional Phase

regarding the mystery fish seen at City of Refuge.  After a bit of research and discussion, it was clear that this was a surgeon fish of the genus Ctenochaetus.  Jack Randall was hoping for a state record, a waif from the south Pacific, C. binotatus.  I thought that this was a pretty good picture, but the scientific community would demand better.  I didn't think that Sandra and I would stand much of a chance finding one fish in the bay and I don't go deeper than fifteen feet, so this was set aside.

    At this point, our friend John Hoover, contacted me with an idea.  Along the lines of my initial inquiry,  he thought it likely that this represented a Black Surgeonfish in the late stages of changing from a juvenile to mature (all black) adult.  I'm showing you here a photo of that immature.  It is one of those Keikis so different and remarkable that it gets

Chevron Tang For Sale!

a separate common name...the Chevron Tang.   Sadly, you have a better chance of seeing that fish in an aquarium than I have of seeing it in the ocean.  This immature is for sale on the internet from $60 plus shipping.  The species name, hawaiensis, suggests an endemic, but the fish is found through much of the Pacific.   Luckily, at least here on the Big Island, we have a fair number of Black Surgeonfish.  So while the aquarium trade is scooping them from somewhere, they have yet to put a serious dent in our Black Surgeon population.

     That being so, you may wonder why I haven't seen an immature.  The answer, as John Hoover pointed out in his email, can be found on page 303 of his book, The Ultimate Guide to Hawaii Reef Fishes....  The immatures are found between 60 and 100 feet in dense coral cover.  Hence, we snorkelers stand little chance of seeing one of these gorgeous little fish.  And isn't it interesting (and  more than a little

Black Surgeon with Friends at the Dog Beach

depressing) that divers stealing fish off the reef for the aquarium trade have such a better chance of seeing this lovely fish than we do?

     A word about the fish we pictured.  On his pathway to a mature coal black phase, he has the yellow tail and blue periorbital markings found in another member of the same genus.  Does ontogeny recapitulate phylogeny, or what?  I have little doubt that our identification is correct, yet we are only speculating.  This picture, to the best of my knowledge, is the only one of the Black Surgeonfish in this transitional phase!  At least it is the only one like it on Google images.  (And what Mr. Google doesn't know, ain't worth worryin' about .)

      It is interesting that aquarists have ways of keeping these immatures small and in the immature coloring far longer than would be the case in the wild.  As John Hoover speculated, the fish we saw was rapidly changing to the adult coloration.  Just a couple days later, it may be completely black.
So black and active is the adult that I don't have a good picture.  If you go swimming off Paul Allen's Reef I'm sure you will see a Black Surgeon.  But you probably won't see the immature.

jeff

An Interesting Immature At the City

   Feeling the need to get out of town, Sandra and I packed our cooler this morning and headed south to City of Refuge.  It only takesforty five minutes even if

Reticulated Butterflyfish  Chaetodon reticulatus

you take the shady, windy road past the Painted Church.   Leaving all the farms and B&Bs in our wake, we arrived at City in time to get a killer parking spot and our choice of seats at one of the picnic tables.  While we were dining sumptuously on on banana bread and cold coffee, we were joined by a group of students and their professor from Willakenzie University.  Or rather they descended upon us and set up camp at the other end of our table. 

     The professor was a lady a decade or so younger (and a stone or two heavier) than your reporter.  Thus she was, therefore, neither youthful nor remarkably obese, but she made up for all this with a surfeit of pomposity.  While I was minding my own business, she revealed some platitudes sprinkled occasionally with bits of error, sort of like the nuts in my banana bread, upon which I was doing my best not

Pyramid Butterflyfish, City of Refuge, May 2013

to choke.

    Soon she sent her charges out to identify the fish.  Actually, she reminded them which fish they were supposed to identify.  As best I could tell, they were given 12 species.  Having spent a good many years in the village where one might find Willakenzie University, I have a certain feeling about the place.  Mostly it seemed a home for pampered dilletantes.  But twelve species of fish?  Back in the day, at that sprawling monstrosity named for the Father of Our Country, I was held responsible for 100 species of birds.  It is my contention that bird watching is three times more difficult than identifying reef fish.  You do the math.  By the way, this has a lot to do with why I switched to watching fish!

    To be fair to the budding ichthyologists from WU, their professor sent them into the water at 9:15, so maybe only 12 species of fish were awake.  Sandra and I followed  half an hour later.  In short order we saw a single Reticulated Butterfly.  He was dodging in and out of the coral, much like the Potter's Angelfish that was hiding out in the same patch.  We swam to the right, through a large numbre of Thompson's

 Butterflyfish.  The water was warm and fairly clear.  Apropos of the plethora of Thompson's Butterflies, Sandra said, "Wouldn't it be great to see a Pyramid."  Her wish is my command and I hope you enjoy the photo of the single Pyramid that was schooling with its dozens of (Hemitaurichthys) cousins.

    Not quite frozen, we swam out to the island in front of the Two Step entry, where we found the fish pictured at right swimming in about 40 feet of water.  I did my best work, diving fifteen feet to snap pictures of the fish still way below me.  Having no idea what it was, we hurried home, looked at our picture and started working through the books.   We concluded that it might be a developing Black Surgeon, Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, which is orange with blue trailing edges as a keiki and (not surprisingly) black as an adult.  We forwarded the photo with our best guess to John Hoover and Dr. Randall.  Jack Randall wrote back:    

C. binotatus  (photo borrowed)

When juvenile Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis have a  pale pinkish yellow tail, the body should be orange with purple chevrons.  Maybe it's C. strigosus with the tail as the last bit of juvenile coloration remaining.  Or a juvenile of C. binotatus, hence a first record for Hawai'i (if you have my South Pacific fish book, see page 584).

   Suffice it to say, the fish we photographed does not have a gold eye ring.  And it definitely has a face lighter than the body.  Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion.

jeff

The Black Durgon Round Up

    Over the last ten days, we've experienced difficult conditions.  For several days, here in Kona, it rained terrifically.  Following the rain, the surf came up.  At long last, the sun is out and the surf  looks small enough to permit easy, clean and enjoyable snorkeling.
    

Black Durgons All Lit Up.  Kahaluu September 2012

   All this is presented as an excuse for not writing a blog recently.  In fact, we weren't even taking many pictures.  It was just yesterday that we downloaded from the Canon D10 and found some documentation for a curious behavior.

     On an overcast day a week or so ago, Sandra and I swam out from the pier to the area in front of  Hulihee's Palace.  The water was cold and just moderately cloudy.  Swimming along we encountered the fish ball, an aggregation of hundreds of Big Eye Scad.  You will recall the blog from last November where we discussed the fish ball.  This large aggregation still gives Sandra the creeps.

    Thus it was this day.  We saw the school of scads, Sandra surfaced and said, "They give me the creeps."  But then she noticed something extremely

Black Durgons Herding Big Eye Scad Fish Ball.

unusual.  There were in excess of  a dozen black durgons, positioned at intervals along the fish ball, actively herding the scad. We watched for several minutes, during which time the tremendously outnumbered durgons moved the fish ball at least ten yards towards the pier.

    Of course, we were no where near the pier and the reef seems pretty homogeneous out there.  It was obvious, though, that there had to be some reason that the durgons were expending such time and energy to move the scads.  Neither species eat other fish.  Triggerfish eat a variety of invertebrates, from coral to the odd sea urchin.  Scad are reported to eat plankton at night.

      Individual triggerfish are known to protect their nest, but I have not heard of a breeding group engaged in organized nest protecting behavior.  Jack Randall in Shore Fishes of Hawaii notes that Black Durgons may form aggregations at the time of breeding.  It seemed to Sandra and me that the durgons believed that the scad were a danger to a communal nest site.  To quote Confucius, "Those who eat plankton at night are not above dining on caviar by day." 
 

Short Nose Wrasse, Kailua Kona

   Suffice it to say, this was a difficult picture to take.  The water was cloudy, the day overcast.  Durgons are black, scads are gray.  On the other hand, the behavior was totally remarkable, so I hope you will accept the picture for what it is.  To be fair, I'm leaving you with a picture of the tiny Shortnose Wrasse that we captured on the way in from the Great Durgon Round Up.  Keep snapping and sooner or later you will get one in focus.

jeff

BCNH and the Shortnose Wrasse

     I had a wonderful swim at the pier a couple days ago.  It started just as I got in the water; a Black

Black Crowned Night Heron, King's Shops at Waikoloa 2006

Crowned Night Heron glided over my head and landed at the foot of the sea wall opposite The Fish Hopper.  (Note to diners: Everyone agrees the Fish Hopper has delicious food and they provide free pineapple to passers by for good luck.)    As I swam towards the night heron, he flopped in the water and caught a Night Sergeant.   This was a pretty big fish and for the longest time, he stood on the rock holding it in his large bill.

    Back in 2006, in the infancy of my digital photography career, I took some shots of the Black Crowned Night Heron.  These pictures were taken at the dining area behind the Kings shops at Waikoloa. As that large pond is heavily populated with ornamental carp (what's the difference between an overgrown goldfish and a koi?) there was an excellent chance that while you were eating your fish and chips, one of the night herons would be enjoying his own very fresh fish.

Immature Black Crowned Night Heron, King's Shops

    Sadly, there are no more night herons enjoying the cuisine behind the King's Shops.  I don't know if the management chased them away,  they tired of human companionship and sought out a more secluded fishing spot or the defenseless babies were flat out assassinated.   Being a pessimist, I fear the latter.  So much sadness.

     Anyway, a few days ago I was lucky enough to see an adult night heron catch a fish right in downtown Kailua.  He let me approach within fifty feet and take his picture.  He flew away shortly thereafter.  I assume he gulped down his sergeant while I was swimming away. Maybe he took it across Alii Drive to the Fish Hopper for some expert preparation!

Black Crowned Night Heron with Night Sergeant,  Kailua Kona, May 2013

   After enjoying the fishing heron, I swam out and back as per usual.    On the way back in I spotted a

Shortnose Wrasse, Kailua Kona May 2013  2 inches

pair of Shortnose Wrasse.  These were only the fourth and fifth individuals of this species that I have identified.  They were flitting about among the shallow coral, halfway between the second swim buoy and the breakwater.  I was able to enjoy them for at  least five minutes, during which I took a dozen pictures.  There was another swimmer nearby and I beckoned her over with the promise of a very good fish.  I told her what to look for and she dutifully looked in the vicinity of the shortnoses.  She then swam away with out a  nice fish!, a thank you or any other sign of appreciation.

    Today I returned to the scene of the crime with Sandra and I was lucky to find at least one shortnose hiding beneath a coral in about four feet of water.  This was a life fish for the Redoubtable SKG and she persisted until she saw a fish.  Surfacing, she asked me how big the fish was.  To which I replied, "Really small.  Smaller than a bright eye damsel."

  She was glad about this, saying that she had indeed seen the fish, but had been looking for a fish substantially larger.  Indeed, these guys were so small that the other lady probably couldn't see them.  There is, after all, a certain talent associated with advanced wildlife spotting.   It always seems to come back to Lennon  (John, not Vladimir Illyich Ulianov), "Gotta be good lookin' cause they're so hard to see."  Et cetera.

    Both John Hoover and Jack Randall lead one to believe that we should be looking for a bigger fish...they both state that the fish attains six inches.  While this may sound a bit like an Operating Room  joke (But Doctor, you always told me that that was six inches!),  none of the five shortnoses I have seen were bigger than three inches and I think these guys might have been closer to two.  If you want to see this beautiful and uncommon fish, take my advice (not Hoover's or Randall's) and keep your eyes peeled for something really small.
 . 
     These fish were tiny and constantly moving.  With that in mind, I hope you enjoy the above pictures.  I'm including below one of the pictures I took about six months ago.  This fish was in the extreme

Shortnose Wrasse Macrophayngodon geoffroy Paul Allen's Reef 2012

 shallows of Paul Allen's Reef and, to the best of my recollection just about three inches inches in length.  They really are very pretty, miniature wrasses.  Well worth looking for.

jeff      

Rainbow Runner, a Picture at Last!

   The Rainbow Runner is not an uncommon fish.   On his last day here in Kona, Sandra and I went for a swim with Andrew and got a quick look at  school of these fusiform blue fish.  They aren't recorded frequently by snorkelers,  however, as they occur in deeper water and swim by too fast for identification.  Unless you know what you are looking at.

In size and shape, they remind me of fuliliers.

Scissortail Fusilier,  Bali 2009

That group of fish with the military sounding name are similarly 9 inches or so in length, sleek and brightly colored.  This is just a guess, but  I'll bet if you put one of the blue species of fusilier (Lunar Fusilier, for example) and a Rainbow Runner on a table, you would swear they are the same sort of fish.  Rainbow Runners are jacks and fusiliers are related to snappers.  More over, fusiliers swim in strict schools, turning in parade ground unison.  Observing a school of these colorful fish from above is one of the joys of south sea fish watching.  By contrast, a  group of rainbow runners shoots by in an instant of complete pandemonium.

     Because Rainbow Runners swim so fast and erratically, I had not succeeded in taking an acceptable picture.  Today I was swimming in front of the palace.  I had been admiring a Yellowfin Surgeon, noticing the

Rainbow Runner

differences between the yellowfin and the more common Palani.    (Both have yellowfins, but only the Palani has a yellow spot on the caudal peduncle...the beginning of the tail.)  I had the camera in hand, preparing to photograph the yellowfin, when suddenly a riot of five Rainbow Runners careened onto the scene.  Just as suddenly, they veered into a nearby cleaning station and all five came to a virtual stop.  For this species a virtual stop means that they were swimming slowly enough that the pair of Cleaner Wrasses was able to catch up with them and do their job while the runners swam slowly.

    The Rainbow Runners didn't get that completely stoned look that so many reef fish adopt at a cleaning station, hanging completely still in a  strange attitude.  But they swam slowly enough, and I was close enough, that I was able to squeeze off a few shots while the cleaning progressed.  So, ladies and gentlemen, may I present my first decent pictures of the Wiley Coyotes of Kailua Bay.

Rainbow Runners Being Cleaned, Kailua Bay 2013

Beep, beep,
jeff

Captain Cook Monument Trail Notes and Snorkeling Tips

    It seems like when ever we get young visitors, they want to go hiking.  A year ago, James and Tara visited.   They hiked the trail down from the Pololu Valley Lookout (near Hawi) to the beach and back.  We

James and Tara, Antediluvian and Ready to Hike

were going to leave them for a couple hours, but about fifteen minutes after we dropped them off the sky opened up and rain came down in a veritable torrent.   Thinking that they didn't want to stand around wet, we returned early and sure enough, they were waiting  to be retrieved.  As they were situating themselves in the car, James reported that the trail was ridiculously easy and that your humble reporter and his beautiful wife would have no difficulty.

     So let's turn the page a year or so ahead to the present.  Two days ago Sandra, Andrew and your's truly, hiked the trail.  It was a gorgeous day and the descent was very much like climbing down the Space Needle.  This isn't surprising, as from top to bottom the vertical distance is roughly the same.   At the bottom we lounged for a while in the shade of the casaurina trees, hard by the shingle beach.  The way back up was steep, dusty and hot.  Andy had made a point of bringing lots of water and a surprising quantity was consumed on this ascent.  The pertinent point is that the Redoubtable SKG and I made it back to the car by the skin on our teeth.  Suffice it to say, we have no

Sandra descending the Pololu Overlook Trail

intention of climbing the Space Needle or running up the stairs in the new and improved World Trade Center.

    Andrew, on the other hand, thought it was a breeze.  So much so that yesterday he decided that nothing would answer but to hike the trail to the Captain Cook Monument.   Every time we have driven to the city of Refuge, down old Napoopoo Road, we have passed the trail head.  Though it is poorly marked, we always know that it is there, and there are invariably a few cars parked, indicating that someone is hiking the trail.  As I get tired just driving back up the road from the beach to Hwy 11, I have assumed that the trail was only for the insane.  This just goes to show that I am, at heart, a non-hiker.

    From Andy's perspective, a young man who hiked into and out of the Grand Canyon in a day, the 1300 ft descent seemed less than daunting.  As the portion of Kealakekua Bay adjacent to the monument is a renowned spot for viewing reef fish, I thought you might be interested in the particulars of the hike. 

    We arrived at the trail head at about 9:30.  There were road workers right at the spot where our hiker needed to disembark, affording the opposing drivers the opportunity to flip us the Indian Good Luck Sign as we made the transfer. The following is my nephew's report on the hike.

Andrew on the Pololu Trail

    Amazingly, he found the hike less demanding than he expected, which is not to say that it wasn't demanding.  He made it to the bottom in a shade over an hour, carrying four liters of water and his snorkeling gear.   The footing was adequate, never treacherous.  The distance was two miles.  For the majority of this distance, the trail was was over lava, smoother at the top than the bottom.  There were no spots where he was forced to hike over loose stones.  Andy met several hikers at this early hour already on their way back up. 

    At the monument, Andrew met a few fellow hikers.  One couple pointed out a spot on the concrete jetty in front of the monument best for entry at low tide.  Another hiker had an app on his phone

Saddleback Butterflyfish, Kahalu'u, February 2013

that measured the two miles of the hike.  (What is this world coming too?)

     The most significant thing about the snorkeling, from our hero's perspective, was the large number of boats coming and going, and the mob of tourists disgorged by same.  They wore life vests, noodles and water wings.   They flopped furiously and exclaimed to each other about all the pretty fish.  Of course, Sandra and I could eat for a week on what just one of these people paid to swim at the monument.  Or to put it another way, they were highly motivated to enjoy themselves.   The water was very clear,  but just like everywhere else, the number and variety of fish was a bit disappointing.  The best fish Andy saw was a single Saddleback

The Trail to Captain Cook Monument AWH

 Butterfly, along with a nice variety of the usual triggerfish.   There were no sharks, eels, rays or mermaids.  Snorkeling in clear water is a real pleasure and Andy enjoyed his swim.

     The trail back up was steep but safe, and Andrew was able to manage the long steep walk in about 75 minutes.   So the bottom line here is, if you are fit enough for the steep two mile hike, there is no reason not to make this hike.  As we discovered at the Pololu Lookout, Andrew was right on: Take plenty of water!  If you are looking for a challenging hike through arid countryside to a beautiful bay, this may be for you.  But making this hike for superior snorkeling and fish watching is probably a mistake.  For this purpose, Ho'okena, the Dog Beach and even K Bay and the pier will probably yield a larger list of species.  Unless you keep track of every dilettante geek floating on a noodle.

The Flotilla at Captain Cook Monument.  Board the Sailboat for an Apres la Swim BBQ!

 jeff


      

Swimming With Andrew

    We received a visitor today up here at Casa Ono.  My nephew Andrew arrived on the big bird out of

Andrew and the Deep Blue Sea

SFO.  After situating him in his sumptuous lodgings up here in the Kailua highland, he and I headed off for our first snorkeling experience.

    Our first stop was Snorkel Bob's where, for something this side of a King's ransom, Andy rented a really good set that includes a shiny new mask with corrective lenses.  The nice man had a variety at hand, and was able to make a very good guess at the correction just by looking at Andy's glasses.  Perhaps he was an optometrist in a previous life.

    Equipment rented, we headed down to the Ironman side of the pier for our introductory swim.  Andrew has been swimming with us in Kona since he was a wee sprat, so it was more like a re-introduction. 

Regardless, no matter how good you are, if you have new equipment it behooves you to go to the safest place and make sure it works properly.  The retired optometrist at Bob's was not as careful fitting the mask to Andrew's face as I might have hoped, probably because he did not have a wide selection of masks already fitted with corrective lenses. Outside the shop we checked the fit, emphasizing that a really tight mask strap actually deforms the mask and creates leaks.  In this instance, the mask fit acceptably and Andy was soon swimming ahead with out problem.

    The water was pleasantly cool, much warmer than two days earlier, and only modestly cloudy.  Andrew swam with such grace and artistry that we were soon rubbing noses with the half mile buoy.  What a nice swim!

      Right in front of the restaurant, where it says Kona Inn on the handsome red roof, I spotted a Reticulated Butterflyfish in twenty feet of water.    I included the cropped and photo shopped picture above

Reticulated Butterflyfish,  Kailua Kona Pier, April 2013

to give you an idea of what the spot was like.  This is to say, that if you didn't have a good idea what this fish looks like, you would have passed it by.  I dove down to within ten feet of this single retic and here you see my best photographic effort.  This is the first Reticulated Butterflyfish I have seen at the pier!   If you happen to be swimming out on the Ironman course, you might want to be alert for this guy.

     Shortly after, a turtle swam by about twenty feet away.  Visibility was such that we could just see him at this distance.  We swam with him for an exhilarating fifty yards.  Having thought through turtle diving physiology, its much more interesting to swim near a turtle, puzzling about his carbon dioxide buffers and wondering about his stores of ATP.   While thinking about these things we were careful not to push the turtle.  He was a beautiful, strong swimmer.

    As you can see from the photo, this turtle had a couple whitish lesions on his shell and skin.  We'll try to find out what that is about and in the meantime hope that it isn't too serious.

Green Sea Turtle, Kailua Pier

   Its always fun to swim with someone new, especially so if you can find them a nice fish like the Reticulated Butterfly, not to mention a happy go lucky terrapin.  Doubly so if their equipment is working properly.

jeff