Diving the Kona Coast: Whitemouth Moray

Showing posts with label Whitemouth Moray. Show all posts

Thursday, April 17, 2014

G. meleagris

whitemouth moray Gymnothorax meleagris

Saturday, March 22, 2014

No Cavities!

whitemouth moray eel Gymnothorax meleagris

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Just wanted to share a couple of photos I took at the beginning of the month when we had the coral spawning. These photos of a whitemouth moray (Gymnothorax meleagris) were taken about two hours after the spawning.

You can see that the water's surface still looks a little blurry from all the organic material remaining in the water column. I don't know if whitemouths are the most common morays in Hawai'i but they are definitely the species I see most often.

In the photo above I changed the angle a little bit to get more of a side profile. It wasn't until I got home and started going through the photos that I noticed the other eel in the background on the left side. Kewl!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Dive Report for Saturday 05/22/10

A mild swell and gloomy skies greeted divers at Honaunau this past Saturday. For my first dive, I descended right off the "ALOHA" to visit the Longfin Anthias on their little coral head. I like to shoot photos of them every now and then trying out different approaches and angles.

The male remains as bold as ever and the females are getting less shy as well.

This female was feeding on some organic matter in the water column. It's not the greatest photo, but I like that it shows the fish with its mouth open ready to eat.

I caught this group of Yellowfin Goatfish being groomed by a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse.

I rarely can get a photo of a Yellowtail Coris as they move so swiftly and erratically. This time I was fast enough.

When I get a little frustrated trying to photograph fast-moving fish, I take a break and shoot something that moves really slowly, like this Needle-Spined Sea Urchin.

On the second dive I came across this Juvenile Commerson's Frogfish. This is the second one I've seen this month. Maybe there's a population boom going on. This one was sitting right out in the open in a field of rocks.

My report ends with this head-on shoy of a small Whitemouth Moray nestled in the coral. Have a nice week!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Dive Report for Saturday 04/24/10

The diving at Keone'ele Cove ("Two-Step", Honaunau) was pretty good today despite surge and occasional sets from a northwest swell. Visibility was about 50 to 60 feet on the reef with pockets of better clarity here and there. The south side of the cove had some fair-sized surf rolling in so I decided to head north for my first dive. Had some good photo opportunities for some butterflyfish like the Ornate above and the Pyramids below.

At the point where I was about to turn around and start my return leg of the dive, I caught sight of a creature seldom seen at this locale, a Hawksbill Sea Turtle.

This particular Hawksbill was a small female that was only around a foot and a half in length. She stayed very close to the bottom the entire time I observed her, grazing on algae every so often.

You can get an idea of her small size from the coral formations nearby. Hawksbills differ from Green Sea Turtles primarily in the shape of their heads. The front of a Green's face is very blunt and almost vertical, whereas a Hawksbill's is tapered like a bird's beak (or maybe a hawk's bill!).

Hawksbills are not truly rare in Hawai'i but occur much less frequently than Greens which seem to be present at almost every beach. On the southeastern side of the island is a Hawksbill nesting site at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach.

I hung out with my reptilian acquaintance until my air supply encouraged me to be on my way. I snapped this photo of a Banded Sea Urchin on my way back to the Two-Step.

For my second dive I decided to take a chance on going south even though it looked kinda dicey. I was glad I did! Early in the dive I found this cute little baby Commerson's Frogfish clinging to the side of a coral head. Juveniles are almost always bright yellow like this, mimicking a type of local sponge. When they get older, their colors change to match their surroundings and they become quite difficult to see.

I took many photos of this fish but few turned out very well. Either I "blasted" it with the strobes and washed out the image or I lost the fish in shadows. I did get a good exposure of it in this photo with his mouth wide open in a "yawn".

This Spotted Eagle Ray was making the rounds to all the little sand patches using its nose to shovel up invertebrates to munch. While these rays are majestic to behold while swimming, they have a somewhat ugly face that looks like a squashed duck with snake-like eyes.

The last photos for this diving day were of this feisty little Whitemouth Moray. It was free-swimming when I first saw it, but quickly took up shelter under this overhang.

Until next week, gang! A hui hou!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Dive Report for Saturday 04/17/10

Aloha, everyone! I,ve been sidelined by a sinus infection for the past two weekends so I haven't had any dives to blog about. But, I'm all better now and had a wonderful pair of dives today at Honaunau.

For my first dive I surface swam to the south end of the cove and descended among the large stone formations there. One of the first sights I saw was this six-rayed Green Linckia sea star. While not common, sea stars with extra rays are not rare either.

Just a photo of a common Yellow Tang, but I'm happy with this because at least the bright yellow didn't reflect my flash so much as to wipe out the details on the fish.

I found this little Spotted Boxfish male out in the open but when I approached to take his photo he retreated back into the coral for safety. This is the only half-decent photo I got of him.

This pair of Raccoon Butterflyfish followed me for awhile as I made my way around the rock formations.

I haven't seen one of these Lantern Tobies in quite awhile. Some species seem to disappear for a time, only to come back in numbers later on. I used to see these in pairs but this one was solo.

This is the first Shortnose Wrasse that I've seen in some time. This one can be identified as a male by the bright red area on the front of the dorsal fin. Like all wrasse, it swims about in a rapid and somewhat erratic manner making it difficult (for me) to photograph.

This is Wire Coral (sometimes called Whip Coral) that can be found all over the south end of the cove. It grows out of the sides of the rock formations, usually where it is shaded by an overhang. There are certain shrimp and gobies that are specially adapted to live on this unusual coral.

The vermillion color of this Arc-Eye Hawkfish contrasted nicely with the pale green coral he was resting on.He certainly wasn't hiding!

I got one chance to snap this photo of a Potter's Angelfish before it disappeared into the coral.

I love the photo opportunities afforded by the cleaning stations. Here a Goldring Surgeonfish unfurls its fins for a thorough going-over by a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse.

This Whitemouth Moray made a willing photo subject towards the end of my dive.

Diving conditions were kind of a mixed bag today. There was a bit of surge in the early morning but visibility was better than it had been for months. The temp remained a chilly 74 degrees. On my surface interval, the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up to at least 12 knots as whitecaps were forming on the open water outside the cove.

On my second dive I decided to check in on some old friends. This male Longfin Anthias is still doing well, as is his little harem.

Likewise, the small school of Pyramid Butterflyfish has managed just fine in my absence.

It's always cool to see a Pacific Trumpetfish hanging vertically like this in the water column. They float like this waiting for a little fish to swim out of the coral and then the trumpetfish sucks it in!

To finish off this post, here's a photo of Yellowfin Goatfish who will probably gather in this cove forever. They are a constant presence around the ALOHA sandpatch every single day and are reliable enough to use as a navigational aid.

Although there were no spectacular sightings, these were two very pretty dives and I was very grateful to be back in the water again!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Olympic Diving Conditions-Dive Report for 02/20/2010

I had the day off on Thursday and thought I'd get in a couple dives. I was disappointed to get to the beach and find high surf. It would have been possible to get in and out safely, but visibility was sure to be poor. I just went home and did some chores.

I got to Honaunau Bay bright and early today to find epic diving conditions - smooth, flat seas and clear skies. I talked with some of the paddlers who told me that a Hawaiian Monk Seal had been seen here earlier in the week.

I got into the water a little before seven today. That's early even by my standards, but the ladies in my life were going to the spa later on and that means grandpa duty for me!

It was even early for big ol' Peacock Groupers, lots of whom were just laying on the reef waiting for the sun to come all the way up.

Down a little deeper I happened upon this male Threespot Chromis displaying his spawning colors. Normally these are are dark grey/black with three white spots near the base of the tail. The little fish in the background is a Chocolate Dip Chromis.

I have very few photos of the fish above. It's a Potter's Angelfish and has a beautiful combination of orange and blue markings. It is a shy beauty, however, and usually darts into the coral when I approach. This is the best shot I've gotten of one since I started shooting digital. I guess this guy was still a little sleepy too!

It was a great morning to see big moray eels. This Whitemouth Moray was out free-swimming and I kept an eye on it until it settled down on the reef. Morays often appear to be baring their teeth in a threat display but are actually just using their muscles to pump water over their gills.

Just a little further down the reef was this big Yellowmargin Moray. These are usually pretty docile as are most morays. However, a couple years back I found one of these that was absolutely huge. I took a couple friends down to the rock where it lived but couldn't find the eel right away. I shone my flashlight under the rock and found him tucked way back in. I signaled my friends to come take a look. I was astonished to see one of them reach her hand directly towards the eel's face! Before I could process what was going on it was all over. The eel bit down on the web space of her hand so hard I could hear a distinct "pop". Dive over. The eel let go and disappeared further under the rock. It was then that I saw the big Marlinspike Auger shell my friend was reaching for. From her angle, she never even saw the moray. It took a few stitches at Kona Hospital ER to close it up. A fun fact is that many moray eels have a third and sometimes a fourth row of teeth on the roofs of their mouths. These are known as vomerine teeth and aid in holding prey in the mouth.

The cleaning stations were busy this morning and I got a photo of this Ornate Butterflyfish being groomed.

Tucked under an overhang, this Tiger Cowrie gleams like a polished jewel. I'm always amazed how nature decorates marine snails and slugs with beautiful colors and patterns. Their terrestrial counterparts are seldom as attractive.

I love to find an octopus. Whenever I see a goatfish swimming excitedly near what appears to be a moving rock, I know I'll get some photo ops with my favorite mollusc. This was a little one, but quickly adapted to my presence and let me follow him around the reef.

I watched this octo for around 15 minutes before my air supply began to run low. Octopus are not at all uncommon in Hawai'i but they're also not really easy to find. Seeing one always makes me feel a little privileged.

The last thing I photographed on my first dive was this Mushroom Coral. This is a really interesting coral in that it is not attached to the bottom. The colony you see in the photo can be (but shouldn't be) picked up like a stone or shell. Most hard coral colonies are mound-like and attached firmly to the substrate.

My second dive was a pretty one but not as eventful as the dawn patrol. Sometimes when you're not seeing things that are big or uncommon, you just have to kick back and enjoy the little, everyday things that are always there in front of your face mask. Like..

... a Fourspot Butterflyfish

... an Agile Chromis

... or a Threadfin Butterflyfish.

I also found an overhang in shallow water that was crawling with Reticulated and Humpback Cowries. Here a Humpback hangs from the ceiling Spiderman-style.

When I came up from my dive, my daughter was at the Two-Step waiting to help me with my camera. My wife and grandson were at one of the tidepools with Jacques earnestly scooping the water with a dipnet in his own version of "fishing". Then the ladies took off for the spa and we boys were left on our own. My day was just beginning.