''Kuhlia sandvicensis'', the reticulated flagtail, zebra-headed flagtail or Hawaiian flagtail, is a species of ray-finned fish, a flagtail from the family Kuhliidae which is found in the central Pacific Ocean. It is popular as a game fish and can also be found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade.

Description

''Kuhlia sandvicensis'' has a relatively small eye with a near straight dorsal profile of the head and a strongly forked caudal fin In the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

the third spine is slightly longer than the second. They are silvery in colour with a silver and black reticulated pattern on the top of the head and the margin of the caudal fin is blackish. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 11-12 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 11-12 soft rays. This species has attained a total length of .

Distribution

''Kuhlia sandvicensis'' is found in the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii,

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...

, Tuamotu, Wake Island, Rapa, Society Islands and Kiribati.

Habitat and biology

''Kuhlia sandvicensis'' is common in Hawaii where the young are quite numerous along rocky shores, in tide pools, and in and around the mouths of streams which are connected to the sea. The juveniles are often observed under wharves, in more sizeable tide pools, as well as in both brackish and freshwater ponds, and streams. The adults occur in caves in wave-swept coral reefs, in the surf zone at the base of cliffs and in wrecks. They will infrequently form as schools in more open water. Although this species is found in both marine and freshwater habitats they do not require any time in freshwater to complete their life cycle. Abstract They feed on fishes, aquatic invertebrates and insects.

Taxonomy

''Kuhlia sandvicensis'' was thought to be endemic to Hawaii and to be the only species of flagtail present there, but in the 1990a ichthyologists independently noted two species which were separated morphologically and genetically. One had a black and white "zebra pattern" on its head while the other had a plain head. The plain headed species was identified as the previously forgotten ''

Kuhlia_xenura ''Kuhlia xenura'', the strange-tailed flagtail or Hawaii flagtail, is a species of ray-finned fish, a flagtail from the family Kuhliidae which is endemic to Hawaii, where it occurs in fresh, brackish, and marine waters. It can be found in tide p ...

'', the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

of which had been erroneously labelled as being from

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. They also found the zebra-headed flagtail to be widespread in the Pacific and that the plain headed one was the endemic Hawaiian species.

In Hawaiian culture

In Hawaii, the common name is ''āhole'' for the mature fish and ''āholehole'' for the juvenile. The name is probably derived from the word ''hole'' in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

which means "to strip away", since the fish was used to "strip away" evil spirits and as an aphrodisiac. A proverb was, "''He āhole ka ia, hole ke aloha''", meaning roughly "āhole is the fish, but love is restless". It was also sometimes known as ''puaa kai'', literally "pig of the sea". European visitors were sometimes called ''āhole'' due to their pale skin.Pukui, M. K. and S. H. Elbert. ''Hawaiian Dictionary''. 1986. pg. 8. Aholehole is an important food fish in the Hawaiian Islands and they were frequently featured in traditional ceremonies by Hawaiian people. The current location of

Kona International Airport Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole is the busiest airport on the Island of Hawaii. It is located in Kalaoa CDP, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, near the town of Kailua-Kona. The airport serves leeward (western) Hawai ...

, Keāhole Point, is named after this fish, because it was found in this area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhlia Sandvicensis Kuhlia Fish of Hawaii Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Fish described in 1876