This little
butterlyfish has one of the longest Hawaiian Fish name. The translation means
the Leaf (lau) of t he Wili-Wile Tree with a long or sharp (ói-ói)
nose (nuku-nuku). The body is quite deep and strongly compressed and the head
leads into a long, tubular snout with a small mouth at the end.
Colors: Bright yellow body; the head is brown or black from middle of eye upward to forward part of first ray of dorsal fin. The lower part of the head is white, there are also small, black areas at the posterior edges of the soft dorsal fin, the c audal fin and the anal fin. Individuals occasionally turn very dark brown, a color phase that does seem to be related to sex reproduction. Rare in other areas of the world, Common in Kona.
Length: The large specimens will reach a length up to 6 inches, here in Kona they average about 5 inches.
Habitat: In deeper water on
the outer side of the reef, we have found them in thirty-five (35) feet of
water in the Kona Area.
Distribution: Hawaii southeastward to the Tuamotu Islands, westward though Micronesia, Melanesia and the East Indies.
The (forcipiger longirostis) Rare Long-Nose has a cousin (forcipiger flavissimus) Common Long-Nose here in Hawaii, they share the same Hawaiian Name. The Common Long-Nose are smaller with a shorter tubular snout and are found in calmer water . They frequent walls and ledges and often swim upside down on the roofs of lava tubes and caves.
(Shot taken by Jim Robinson with a Nikon RS with a 50 mm macro lens. Using Fuji 100 Provia film an SB104 strobe.)
High Rock: (north of Honokalou Harbor at 2.8 miles, 15 min.)
Named for a finger of lava stretching out from east to west and rising to a height of about ten feet below the surface. High Rock is also just north of Golden Arches a 10th of a mile.
The area also has several other small pinnacles just north of High Rock
with swim through archways. The terrain between the pinnacles is made up of
coral, rubble, and sand patches. The area is very rich in sea life. Juvenile
damselfish and various angel a nd butterflyfish darting in and about the small
coral heads. There are a lot of small crustacea (crabs, shrimps and lobsters),
invertebrates (octopus, nudibranchs and shells) hiding in the crevasses and
rubble. When swimming near the drop off, a short dis tance west of High Rock,
there are schooling Heller's Barracuda, Pyramid Butterflyfish and Ulua (Jacks)
cruising by.
