Pixie Cup Lichen – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The scientific name for pixie cup lichens is Cladonia asahinae The Cladonia genus of lichens, which includes the pixie up lichen seen here, is the primary food sources for reindeer and caribou! Pixie cup lichens are a species of cup lichen in the Cladoniaceae family. This […]
Bluespine Unicornfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern In Hawai’i the bluespine unicornfish is known as “kala” The bluespine unicornfish can be found in the Indo-Pacific. Here it is pictured in the calm water off Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai in Hawai’i. It is also known by the common name, short-nose unicornfish. It […]
Conspicuous Sea Cucumber – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The conspicuous sea cucumber is a bottom feeder The conspicuous sea cucumber is a particularly weird looking sea cucumber. It can be found in abundance in the waters of Kaneohe Bay off the coast of Oahu, Hawai’i. Their local abundance is noted by a rarity throughout […]
Pacific Peacock Flounder – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The Kaneohe Sandbar can turn into a beach with the right tides! We were nearly three hours into a day of kayaking when we decided to hop out of the boat for a snorkel. Jill and I were paddling in Kaneohe Bay, which is home to […]
Leaf Scorpionfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern I saw three different species of nudibranchs between the two dives! This photo was taken while out on a dive off the coast of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Despite having been to the Pacific dozens of times, this was surprisingly my first ever dive in the […]
Green Turtle – IUCN Conservation Status: Endangered In Hawaii, green turtles are called “honu” As I glided my way over top the finger of a fringe reef off the coast of Oahu, I came across half a dozen green turtles. I knew that there are many green sea turtles in the water of Hawaii, but […]
Cauliflower Coral – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern This was my first scuba dive in the Pacific Ocean, and I was overwhelmed by the beauty In 2022 I was fortunate enough to spend some time in the north shore of Oahu. While I was there I took a day trip down to the south shore […]
Hump Coral – IUCN Conservation Status: Near Threatened The tides and surf tend to be calm at Keawakapu Beach which makes for great snorkeling! This photo comes from a snorkeling adventure off the coast of Maui’s Keawakapu Beach in 2019. Keawakapu beach is great for snorkeling. You quickly find yourself in water that is ten […]
Finger Coral – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The scientific name of this species of finger coral is Porites compressa. This photo was taken while I was diving off the coast of Oahu. I was on my second dive at a site called the Nautilus. At this point I was probably in 40 feet of […]
Haleakala National Park Standing at approximately 200 feet tall, this cascade of water is a sight to behold. Makahiku Falls is a beautiful waterfall located on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Standing at approximately 200 feet tall, this cascade of water is a sight to behold. Located in the lush and verdant rainforests of […]