Fishes

We all know that Hawai'i's coral reefs are important and special, but do we know what makes them that way? One definite thing is the fascinating, colorful fishes which live there and make the coral reef worthy of its name, "Rainbow World of the Reef." There are about 566 species of shore fishes in Hawai'i. About 23% of these species is native to Hawai'i. Hawai'i has the highest number of native species in the Indo-Pacific region because it is isolated by some 2000 miles from the nearest continent. Fishes can be found in coral reef zones which have different environmental conditions such as the depth of the water, wave action, temperature and salinity. Several species of the angelfish, butterflyfish, wrasses, squirrelfish and parrotfish are endemic to Hawai'i. Two colorful endemic fishes are the fantail file fish and the lion fish. The humuhumunukunukuapua'a, Hawai'i's state fish, isn't endemic to Hawaii, but it is interesting to study and to watch. Two other fishes that fascinate children, but aren't endemic to Hawaii, are the tiger and the reef blacktip fin sharks.