This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 7:10 pm and is filed under About, Adventure Cruises, History, Information, Sites, Snorkeling, Snuba. 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 R. Yin, Fishbase.org
Wow! Look at it go! Snorkeling in Hawaii is such an amazing thing to do and seeing a helmet gurnard – aka flying gurnard – is something to not be missed! See video HERE.
The ancient Hawaiians called this fish loloa`u, but the name of pinao, which means dragonfly, was also used. These fish are bottom dwellers (except when larval), slow moving and heavy. They will open their pectoral fins when alarmed, probably trying to appear much larger to a predator. According to Dr. Randall, the name ‘helmet’ gurnard was used because the external bones of their head are armor-like and united. The shoulder girdle on either side is shield-like and expanded, ending in a very sharp spine. The gurnard is seen on open substrata of sand, rubble, or even mud. Their pelvic fins of 1,4 rays are used for what appears to be walking along the bottom. They most likely scrape into the sand in search of crustaceans and small mollusks.
This fish is light green with dark brown spots on their dorsal sides, shading to white. They are really a beautiful animal to watch and can be very quick. Come to Maui and don’t miss a snorkel trip. The Hawaiian reefs are full of wondrous animals!
October 6th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Helmet Gurnard | Maui Snorkeling Trips…
With this cool site, I sure am having more fun in the waters and under the sun and the moon! It’s the best place that I found in the net where all its trip packages are simply irresistible to get. Just amazing!…