Hello, my name is Tara Sim and I am a graduate student in the department of Zoology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. My research interest is Hawaiian stream gobies, and I have created this Web Site to share the work I am doing for my Master’s thesis, as well as some basic information on O‘opu in general. While there is increasing public interest in marine wildlife, when it comes to freshwater organisms, there seems to be little public awareness. I hope this Web Site will help to not only get people interested in these fish, but to appreciate what amazing and unique creatures they really are!
What are O'opu?
O‘opu are freshwater fish that are native to the Hawaiian archipelago. There are 5 different species of O‘opu, 4 of which are endemic meaning that they are found nowhere else in the world. O‘opu belong to the fish families Gobiidae (Gobies) and Eleotridae (Sleepers). Both of these families belong to the subfamily Gobioidei. The suborder Gobioidei (order Perciformes) is one of the largest vertebrate suborders in the world, and the species within this suborder display extraordinary diversity. The 5 species of O‘opu in Hawaii comprise the native Hawaiian freshwater ichthyofauna. They are the only native stream fish found in Hawaii.
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