THE COMMERSON'S FROGFISH: (Antennarius commersoni) a.k.a. Frogfish. These fish have rather shapeless, flabby bodies which are covered with a thick, loose skin which is without scales and looks like and gives the feeling of sandpaper. The head is large and bears a pair of small eyes and very large mouth which opens vertically or nearly so. Their gill opening is a small hole behind the base of the pectoral fin. They also use the pectoral fin to walk with but the most remarkable thing about this awkward fish is that they are jet propelled.Poor swimmers in the normal sense, they just gulp water through their mouths and eject it under pressure through the gill openings. Aided by currents and surge, they can "fly" short distances.
Sometimes called a ANGLER FISH, they sit or "walk" slowly while waiting for a small fish to appear. They wave their "bait" to attract the fish nearer to their mouth. When the fish is close enough to seize, they jump forward, open the mouth and the fish is engulfed with the surrounding water. A reflex time in milliseconds, too quick for the eye to follow.
The bait is a fishing pole (flexible, moveable spine) which is dangled over the enormous mouth. At the end of the pole is a fuzzy, ragged bit of flesh which serves as the lure. This slender spine and the bait together are called the illicium.
The frogfish are well camouflaged for protection and for the ambush. They do not have sharp spines nor are they poisonous. They feed on live food.
This species is larger than most others and can be bright yellow, orange, red, brown or blackish and often is covered with scab-like patches and small growths.
The photograph here shows a bright yellow juvenile. As he gets older, scab-like brownish patches will appear. Please note in the second photograph the illicium and in the third photograph the camouflaged reddish and brownish adult.

(Shots taken by Jim Robinson with a Nikon N90 with 60mm macro lens in Anthis Nexus housing using Fuji 100 Provia film and Nikon SB-104 strobe camera settings: f 16 at 125 & f 8 at 125 TTL)

GOLDEN ARCHES:(boat dive) North of Honokohau Harbor at 2.7 miles, 10 min.

Located at Puhili Point north of the surfing area known as PINETREES (Wawahiwa'a Point) near to the spot where King Kamehameha I burial site is presumed to be located.
The main attraction at the Golden Arches are the large archways. When the sun is the right position during the winter months, they seem to show a golden highlight through their passageways. You have to have an imagination to see it, but most divers think of it as Big Mac's Arches. This archway is situated on the outside end of two ridges that extend seaward (west) in 30 to 40 feet of water. Also there is a second but smaller arch in the area, just south of the big arches. We would find a mini-wall loaded with sea life. There is a nearby drop-off that quickly falls below 100 feet. The ceilings of the archway are covered with an interesting assortment of invertebrates which include Orange cup corals, nudibranchs and cowries. This site also has and been recorded in our ship's log as to a variety of rare animals, such as frogfish, harlequin shrimp, dragon morays and lionfish. Please mark this site on your list as to do; bring your camera also.

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