Humuhumunukunukuapua'a
The state gem in Hawaii is the black coral recently discussed in a previous reef fact. The state fish in Hawaii is the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, humuhumu for short. This literally means a little trigger fish with a snout (or snorts) like a pig (depending on your source of info. In the reef, they can lock themselves into crevasses with their trigger, like other trigger fish. Tough scales protect their bodies. The trigger is a tall spine on the top of the fish that they can raise. They have a second spine behind the first and a smaller spine under their belly. This fish doesn’t just live in Hawaii, but is spread out in the Pacific. It has a diamond shaped body, and sometimes referred to as a rectangular trigger (hence its scientific name Rhinecanthus rectangulus) or a reef triggerfish. It is one fish that is inactive at night on its side. It can blow water from its mouth. The can also make grunting sounds as seen in the first video. They blow water into sand, scoop it up into their mouths, remove what they want and spit it back out.
Note the name also applies to the lagoon triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus).
These fish swim using a wave action on their dorsal and anal fins which makes them very maneuverable, allowing them to swim backwards.The tail is used for quick dashes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUtJqCpGXC8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avCW5AXzbr4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wofN5xL3TiY
The state gem in Hawaii is the black coral recently discussed in a previous reef fact. The state fish in Hawaii is the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, humuhumu for short. This literally means a little trigger fish with a snout (or snorts) like a pig (depending on your source of info. In the reef, they can lock themselves into crevasses with their trigger, like other trigger fish. Tough scales protect their bodies. The trigger is a tall spine on the top of the fish that they can raise. They have a second spine behind the first and a smaller spine under their belly. This fish doesn’t just live in Hawaii, but is spread out in the Pacific. It has a diamond shaped body, and sometimes referred to as a rectangular trigger (hence its scientific name Rhinecanthus rectangulus) or a reef triggerfish. It is one fish that is inactive at night on its side. It can blow water from its mouth. The can also make grunting sounds as seen in the first video. They blow water into sand, scoop it up into their mouths, remove what they want and spit it back out.
Note the name also applies to the lagoon triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus).
These fish swim using a wave action on their dorsal and anal fins which makes them very maneuverable, allowing them to swim backwards.The tail is used for quick dashes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUtJqCpGXC8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avCW5AXzbr4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wofN5xL3TiY
