Blog Post Fifteen
#COLORSOFTHEOCEAN_15
This fish, with it’s long bird-like snout, is known as the Bird Wrasse. It’s Hawaiian name is Hinalea-’i’iwi and it’s scientific name is Gomphosus Varius. The fish can be found in surge swept reefs in Hawaii, and thru out the Indo-Pacific. This wrasse feeds by plucking small crustaceans and invertebrates (such as molluscs, worms, urchins, and brittlestars) from in between coral branches. This wrasse will hunt/forage during the day, and hide at night. The wrasse you are looking at is a juvenile female. Fun fact, like most wrasses, the females will undergo a sex change later in life and become a functional male, and their color pattern will change to a solid blue-green.
The wrasse are among the most common and diverse reef fish in the Hawaiian waters, with over 43 different species reported. They can be recognized by their distinct swimming pattern, which is beating the side fins/pectoral fins up and down in a flying like motion. As for appearance, it’s body is elongated and tapered at the head and tail.
Like all of our #COLORSOFTHEOCEAN images, this one was captured during one of our Ocean Project snorkel tours.