Ocean Watch

Hawaii sea snakes. Hawaii snake eels. Hawaii moray eels. I'm putting these phrases up front in hopes this column will rank high on Internet browsers when people try to identify that long, scary-looking thing that slithered past them while snorkeling in Hawaii.

It's logical to think that since it looks like a snake and acts like a snake, it must be a snake. But it isn't. It's an eel.

I say this with confidence because Hawaiian waters host at least 40 kinds of moray eels, 24 types of snake eels and 4 species of conger eels. That's 68 eels compared to 1 snake. The yellow-bellied sea snake is the only species ever confirmed in Hawaii waters. And that snake is so rare most divers, snorkelers and marine biologists here have never seen one in the wild.

The odds for an eel sighting over a snake, therefore, are huge.

Still, if you don't know this and a snaky thing shows up near you in 4 feet of water, it can "scare the mess out of you" as visitor Tom D. wrote in an e-mail to me last week.

Tom was snorkeling in Waikiki when he saw a snake with its tail in a sandy hole. The creature's pattern reminded him of a rattlesnake and he wonders what kind of snake it was.

My guess is a snake eel, because Tom's description describes them so well. Snake eels are known for their sharp, stiff tails that dig holes in the sand as the eels wiggle backward. Snake eels usually rest in their sand or mud burrows during the day, and come out at dusk to poke around the bottom for fish and invertebrates.

Like moray eels, snake eels come in a range of colors and patterns, and are harmless unless you stick a hand or foot right in their mouths. Since all of these eels rest with their back ends in cracks, crevices and holes, and their heads sticking out, it's easy to accidentally get too close. In that case, the eel bites in self defense.

If you just see an eel resting or passing by though, don't worry. They aren't interested in us. Nor, for that matter, are sea snakes. All these animals hunt and eat small fish.

One good way to tell the difference between eels and sea snakes is your location. If you see a serpent-looking thing in the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea, it's an eel. Sea snakes are found only in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

If you see one in Hawaii that's well underwater and/or has a pattern, it's also an eel. Yellow-bellied sea snakes are solid black above, yellow below, and hunt at the surface.

Once you've seen other sea snakes in the South Pacific, it's easy to tell them apart from eels. Since sea snakes are reptiles and eels are fish, their behavior is noticeably different.

Sea snakes roam high in the water column, and break the surface to take a breath of air. While doing this, they ignore any divers that might be in their way and swim right past, minding their own business.

After diving with sea snakes recently in New Caledonia, I look forward to seeing these gentle creatures again. But it will not, I'm sure, be here in Hawaii.