This entry was posted on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 at 12:48 am and is filed under Adventure Cruises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Photo Courtesy Dr. Jack Randall, Bishop Museum
The wedge-tail triggerfish is a cute little animal that will show its personality to the very patient diver, or snorkeler, is also known as the Hawaii State Fish (reinstated in 2006), or humuhumunukunukuapua`a. Whew! If you can master that you’ve really said a mouthful. Broken down, it is much easier: humu-humu, nuku-nuku, a-pua-a. Okay, so what does it mean? Quite simply, humuhumu is the Hawaiian word for trigger fish, nukunuku means ’snout-like’, a (of) and pua-a is pig.
This adorable fish, when guarding a nest, can be very fierce. (Males & females guard nests.) I have witnessed these little ones (can grow to 30 centimeters) chase away anything, or anyone, who comes too close, even sharks and unsuspecting people! Quite the fascinating thing to take in. Even more interesting is their diet, which consists of algae, sponges, and smaller fish, but they will also zealously attack sea urchins and gut them with gusto. Wow, just when you think you’ve seen everything out there! These fish can be very comical hunters. Since they also will eat worms, you might wonder how a trigger fish would uncover a worm hiding in the sea floor. They simply put their cute little mouths against the sand and give a mighty blow. I almost lost my regulator on that one, I was laughing so hard.
How did such a gaily painted, oddly shaped fish came about getting such a large name? In Hawaiian folklore they have a very interesting history. Kamapua`a was a very powerful pig-god who could change his appearance at will. He could be a very virile, strikingly handsome youth tempting the ladies one minute, and a giant, black boar who accepted no retributions and defied all authority the next. He had a love interest in an equally powerful goddess, Madam Pele, the goddess of fire and creation. He could also quickly turn into the fish (who looks like a pig), leaving land and slipping into the ocean. How convenient would that be if you had gotten into something you shouldn’t, especially when you never acknowledged responsibilities?
When visitors come to the islands, most of them want to get wet, and besides wanting to master saying the name, would love to get a picture of this adorable state fish. For snorkelers, and divers alike, they are an easy fish to find and still plentiful, but not an easy one to photograph. It just takes a little patience. So, grab your gear, let’s go!
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Humu-humu, What? | Maui Snorkeling Trips…
The snorkeling adventure trip to Hawaii is the best gift I ever received from my husband. For me it was the greatest travel I had so far. Thanks to this site, their Hawaii adventure package was the best!…
July 16th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
The Best Life Diet…
An interesting post by a bloger made me ……