While snorkeling at Keauhou bay, I came across this very strange fish. It is a bit hard to see in this photo, but it is right in the center. It has a body that kind of reminds me of a rock cod, except that it has two wings folded on each side, and from the front of the wings, it has two hands that it uses to beat at the sea bed to scare up food. It seems to walk across the sea floor with these two hands. Quite an unusual creature.
Well, a bit of further investigation turned up that this is a flying gurnard. The scientific name is dactyloptena orientalis and the Hawaiian name is Loloa'u. It spreads it's wings out when it is threatened to make itself look big. Obviously it is not feeling too threatened in this photo.
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Copyright © 2000 by Bennet Blake
Last fiddeled with 09-Aug-01