Home > Fishes > Bigeyes > Priacanthus meeki

Family Priacanthidae

HAWAII

 Priacanthus meeki      

Juvenile Hawaiian Bigeyes, Cargo Pier, Midway, 20 feet, 90mm

Juveniles, Cargo Pier, Midway Atoll, 20 feet

 

Fish Hole, Midway Atoll, 40 feet

Cargo Pier, Midway Atoll, 25 feet

 

Night color, Fish Hole, Midway Atoll, 40 feet

 

HAWAIIAN BIGEYE    ‘āweoweo

A solitary or aggregating species seasonally common in dark holes by day, emerging at night to feed upon large zooplankton.  The body outline is slightly elongate, the forehead is slightly concave, as is the trailing edge of the tail, and the soft fin rays lack spots.  Attains 13 inches. This species experiences a boom-bust reproductive cycle as adults are rarely seen for several years until hordes of juveniles appear by summer and disappear over time.  The last mass settlement occurred in 2003 and the population center appears to be in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.   Endemic to Hawai‘i.