KAILUA, KONA, Hawai'i — A decade-old photograph wasn't enough, so marine biologist Marc Hughes grabbed his chance the next time he saw the strange fish in an underwater lava tube cave off the Big Island.

In a flash, he slipped the droopy mouthed, eel-like fish into a pocket of his scuba outfit.

Now, the 6-inch fish is being heralded by Bishop Museum tropical fish expert John E. Randall as a new species in the genus Grammonus. Other Grammonus species are found in waters from Japan to South Asia, the Gulf of Aden and even the Mediterranean.

But Randall says Hughes' fish, which the biologist first photographed in 1998, is a unique species. The brownish fish has fins along its rear that make it look similar to an eel.