Hinalea's Bright Saddle

Hinalea's Bright Saddle

Hinalea lauwili — the saddle wrasse, found only in Hawaiʻi

A hinalea darts above the coral wearing three colors at once — a blue-green head, a bright orange saddle, and a violet tail. It is one of the most common fish in Hawaiian waters, and one of the prettiest.

This little wrasse lives nowhere else on Earth. Every shallow snorkel in Hawaiʻi is full of them, busy and bright, tending their small territories among the coral heads.