Ula--Hawaiian Spiney Lobster

How exciting to see a spiney lobste!. Rich pointed him out to me. He was large and crouched  down between two rocks. All we could see was antennae and legs.

NPS photo - Bryan Harry

From the Waikïkï Aquarium: 

 Hawaiian spiny lobsters are important predators and scavengers in the reef community. 

They are usually found under ledges or in caves with only their long antennae sticking out. These 

large crustaceans use sound to warn other lobsters, and even human divers, away from their shelter 

on the reef. The lobsters produce a grating or buzzing noise by rubbing hard pads at the base of the 

antennae against special ridges on their head - an activity called stridulation. Lobsters remain in

their shelters during the day and emerge at night to forage over the reef.