A rare view of a bunch of opihi in a crevice between two rocks at South Kona's shoreline. The opihi is a limpet or snail that has a shell. The three species of Hawaiian limpet are endemic to Hawaii. The opihi has a very powerful suction-cup "foot" which is how they secure themselves to the rocks.
The most common opihi is the blackfoot or opihi makaiauli and lives on the rocks above or around where the waves crash. They are of course the easiest to pick. The kneecap opihi or koele lives on the rocks underwater from around the low tide line down to 10 feet. They grow the biggest up to four inches. The last and most desired opihi is the yellowfoot or opihi alinalina. They live on the rocks where the waves pound the hardest.
Opihi have become very scarce these days because of over-harvesting. On Oahu it is almost non-existent. We are fortunate to see them still on the Big Island and hope that someone will come up with a solution to re-populate them.