It’s Tosanoides Tuesday for the second week in a row! Just last week that we were greeted to the resplendent beauty of Tosanoides aphrodite—a species that’s so obnoxiously eye-catching that it’s gone viral outside of the fish nerd media—and today we have another vibrant entry into the genus, T.…
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Monday Archives: A Fireworks Jelly (Halitrephes) To Ring In The New Year
What better way is there to ring in the new year than a deep sea jelly that’s exploding with color?
Halitrephes maasi is a spectacular hydromedusan that’s found all across the world’s temperate and tropical waters.…
Diversity & Evolution of the Chrysiptera hemicyanea Complex: Part 3
“Yellowtail Damselfish” C. parasema Range: Philippines north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Sabah, Java Sea, Flores Etymology: Greek “streamer”, allegedly in reference to the pale tail Size: 5cm Aquarium Rarity: Abundant ID: Entirely blue, except for a bright yellow...
Diversity & Evolution of the Chrysiptera hemicyanea Complex: Part 2
“Springer’s Damselfish” C. springeri Range: Indonesia, though likely absent from the Java Sea and Sumatra. Etymology: After ichthyologist Dr. Victor Springer of the Smithsonian Size: 5cm Aquarium Rarity: Common ID: Mostly blue, with little black exposed. Notes: Very...
Diversity & Evolution of the Chrysiptera hemicyanea Complex: Part 1
Damselfishes are usually thought of as a cheap staple of the aquarium trade, more often treated as “starter fish” than desirable species in their own right. But such prejudices belie the fascinating evolutionary story these fishes have to tell. One group in...
Monday Archives: Austrolethops – a Naked, Vegetarian Reef Goby
Of the roughly 1,100 species in the Family Gobiidae, there may be none stranger than Austrolethops wardi, a bizarrely shaped fish with even more-bizarre habits. Pale, wrinkled, and nearly blind, this curious fish lives a reclusive life in tropical marine...
Monday Archives: A Mysterious, Undescribed Clownfish From Chagos
https://youtu.be/_EVcLhdX_ak The Chagos Archipelago is comprised of a small isolated group of coral atolls located to the south of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and is home to the world’s largest protected marine reserve. A curious blend of species occurs here,...
Monday Archives: The Beautiful & Rare Darwin Jawfish
There are only a handful of jawfishes that seem to be regularly collected for aquarists (Yellowheads and Bluespots... Duskys and Gold Specs... the occasional Chinstrap), but the genus Opistognathus, to which nearly every jawfish belongs, is enormous, currently...
Monday Archives: This Bizarre Ruby Dragonet Might Be A True Hermaphrodite
An unusual dragonet recently turned up in the Philippines, and it’s leaving fish nerds around the world scratching their heads. While at first glance this might seem like your typical Ruby Dragonet, there is a lot going on here that doesn’t quite make sense....
Monday Archives: Extremely Rare Hairfin Triggerfish (Abalistes filamentosus) Collected
One of the most seldom seen members of the triggerfish family was recently collected for the aquarium trade—Abalistes filamentosus. In fact, this fish is so hard to find in the wild, it was only scientifically described in 2004, making it the only balistid species...