Longnose Butterflyfish.
A bright yellow butterflyfish with an extraordinarily long, tube-like snout — a precision tool for tweezing prey from the tightest reef cracks.
The longnose butterflyfish has perhaps the longest Hawaiian fish name: lauwiliwilinukunukuʻoiʻoi, meaning "long-snouted fish shaped like a wiliwili leaf." Its forceps-like snout is a specialized feeding tool that lets it pluck small invertebrates from crevices that no other reef fish can reach.
Bright lemon-yellow with a black triangular head and a single false-eye spot near the tail, the longnose butterflyfish uses its colors to confuse predators about which end is which. A would-be attacker often strikes at the tail, giving the fish a chance to dart in the opposite direction.
They are among the most adaptable butterflyfish, found from Hawaiʻi all the way across the Indo-Pacific. Pairs and small groups are commonly seen at the Aquarium and on every Hawaiian dive site.
More species in this group.
Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa
The reef triggerfish — Hawaiʻi's official state fish, with a name that means "fish that sews with a needle and grunts like a pig."
Yellow Tang
The vivid lemon-yellow surgeonfish that flashes through every Hawaiian reef — and one of the most recognizable fish in the world.
Moorish Idol
Iconic black, white and yellow reef fish with a long sweeping dorsal filament — solitary, mysterious, famously hard to keep in captivity.
Raccoon Butterflyfish
Golden butterflyfish with a black bandit's mask. Often paired for life and one of the most common nighttime feeders on the reef.