Sunday, August 24, 2008

humu­humu­nuku­nuku­āpua`a

Are you stumped with........Humuhumunukunukuapua'a? (from my last post:Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua )


Humuhumunukunukuapua'a or just humuhumu for short; meaning "triggerfish with a snout like a pig" Is the name of the state fish of Hawaii.





If you didn't know the answer to that question then you're probably not under the age of 14, a big "High School Musical" fan, or a marine biologist. Never less, here's some trivia on the state fish:



Due to an expiration of a Hawaiian state law, the trigger fish ceased to be the state fish of Hawaii in 1990. On April 17, 2006, bill HB1982 was presented to the Governor of Hawaiʻi which permanently reinstated the reef trigger fish (humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa) as the state fish of Hawaiiʻi. The bill passed into law on May 2, 2006 and was effective upon its approval.

So for a few years, the stae of Hawaii was without an official state fish.

I saw quite a few of these little buggers while out snorkeling in Hawaii but I had to dig through the files of You Tube to locate this crafty "High School Musical" clip.



Now you (and I) can pronounce it too.....

1 comment:

Heather Dugan Creative / Footsteps said...

Mmmm... the very thought of snorkeling amongst those colorful fish... -Haven't hit ALL the fish "hot spots" yet, but the Hawaiian waters remain at the teeming top of what I've seen so far.
I'm looking forward to your next post!