Underwater Photography by Jay Torborg 

"Raccoon Butterflyfish #1"

The Raccoon Butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula) is named for the black and white stripe covering the eyes. It is just one of the many species of butterflyfish that are commonly found in mated pairs (although Raccoon Butterflies are also found in small schools during the day). One scientist (H.W. Fricke) has found that butterflyfish may stay in such mated pairs for three years, possibly even longer. This pair is swimming in front of Hawaii�s common lobe coral (Porites lobata).

These two were photographed in about 50 feet of water off the south Kohala Coast near Puako Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Photographed with a Nikon N90s in a Sea&Sea NX90 housing with two Ikelite 200 strobes. Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro lens. Fuji Provia 100F transparency film scanned with a Nikon LS-2000.

Copyright Jay Torborg  2001