So today’s FishyFriday post is the “unicorn fish” and also a Flashback Friday post to my one trip to Hawaii (namely the big island).
It has been almost ten years since I went to Hawaii (I went in December 2009 to celebrate having passed my dissertation proposal exam—which meant I was basically one presentation/paper away from getting my PhD). I managed to pack quite a bit of sightseeing of the large island in during that time—especially seeing the Volcano National Park twice.
I spent quite a bit of time walking in Hilo, and one of the stops was the Mokupapapa Discovery Center, which focuses on the native coral reefs and fish around Hawaii. Within the Discovery Center is a 3,500-gallon saltwater aquarium with numerous different fish.
One of those fish is the “unicorn fish”. There are twenty species, and they are found in the Indo-Pacific region of the oceans. They get their name from the long spike that is protruding from the forehead.
These fish are herbivores feeding on algae (though they can also be opportunistic feeders and eat other small invertebrates that they come across as well), and travel in groups (called schools).
One of the things I would like to do is get back to Hawaii for another visit. There are other areas of the Big Island I would like to see, and I would to see how Mother Nature changed the landscape of the Volcano National Park as well.
References:
https://thisfish.info/fishery/species/unicornfish/
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