Akaka Falls and its unusual guests-climbers (13 photos + 1 video)

These picturesque Hawaiian waterfalls are home to a rare species of fish that uses a special suction cup to climb the rocks.





A beautiful 135-meter waterfall in the Hamakua Coast area of ​​Hawaii's Big Island, Akaka Falls is a popular stop for tourists on the island. However, many visitors may miss the most interesting part - the goby fish that actually climb the wet rocks behind the falls to reach their spawning grounds.



The northeast coast of the Big Island is one of the wettest places on the planet, with the nearby town of Hilo averaging more than 18 feet (5.1 meters) of rainfall per year. In the rainforest near Honomu, Akaka Falls State Park has a small trail that overlooks the rainforest, culminating in Akaka Falls and Kolekole Creek cascading 445 feet (135 meters).





While the water falling in a continuous crystal stream is a wonderful natural attraction and is worth seeing in itself, sometimes something special and very interesting rises up from the rocks behind it.



The lip-toothed goby is endemic to the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii

Small goby fish called "o'opu alamao'o" (scientific name Lentipes concolor) live in the Pacific Ocean but spawn in a stream above a waterfall. The eggs are laid at the top and washed back into the ocean where they mature. When the fish are ready to spawn, they return back. Using a special sucker on their underside, they climb the rocks behind the waterfall to begin the cycle all over again. Many waterfalls hide caves, but this one may be the only one that hides a lip-toothed goby.



Special suction cup on abdomen







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