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.
The raccoon butterflyfish gets its name from the bold black mask running across its eyes — a classic example of an eye-disguise stripe that confuses predators about which end of the fish is the head. Hawaiian fishers called all butterflyfish kīkākapu, meaning "strongly forbidden," because they were considered too sacred to eat.
Raccoon butterflyfish are usually seen in pairs, and many species in this family form lifelong monogamous bonds. The pair patrols a section of reef together, taking turns keeping watch while the other feeds on coral polyps, sea anemone tentacles, and small invertebrates.
Unlike most butterflyfish, raccoons are largely nocturnal — they sleep tucked among coral by day and emerge at dusk to feed in groups. After dark, dozens may gather above a single reef structure.
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.
Longnose Butterflyfish
A bright yellow butterflyfish with an extraordinarily long, tube-like snout — a precision tool for tweezing prey from the tightest reef cracks.