https://www.facebook.com/TheDiversUnion/videos/1810273215654270/ The Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios) is one of the ocean’s most enigmatic giants. It can grow to 17 feet in length and can weigh upwards of 2,600 pounds, yet, despite its colossal...
There’s a very good chance that, unless you are a fisherman or a marine biologist, you have likely never heard of the Tripletail. But while it may be a decidedly obscure fish, it is most certainly NOT an inconspicuous one. Fully grown specimens can top out at up to...
NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer is off probing the depths around Johnston Atoll in the Central Pacific, and, if you happened to be watching their live feed last Friday, you would have witnessed one of the most remarkable discoveries in recent memory—the apparent first ever...
There are somewhere around 33,000 species of fish known to science, but our system for classifying this immense biodiversity is in a constant state of flux. For the non-taxonomists out there, it can be a challenge to keep up with all these changes, and, making matters...
Over the years, I’ve written about several important names in the history of ichthyology. Some were enthusiastic amateur naturalists, like the early pioneers Albertus Seba and Samuel Fallours, and others were diligent researchers of the traditional taxonomist mold:...
The Okeanos Explorer is on its way to Johnston Atoll to conduct another surveying expedition, and, with any luck, we might at long last get our first real glimpse at one of the ocean’s most elusive fishes—Pseudanthias fucinus. This poorly known anthias is exceedingly...
Gobies are by far the most diverse group of reef-associated fish; however, only a small number of species ever find their way into the aquarium trade. This is particularly true for the smaller members of the family. For instance, there are currently 113 recognized...
The Oblique Butterflyfish (Prognathodes obliquus) is, scientifically speaking, an embarrassment. The brown and white vestment of this meagre creature, devoid of even the slightest hint of aesthetic appeal, is an absolute affront to the colorful frivolity we’ve come to...
An entirely new genus(!) of fish has just been described from the mesophotic reefs of Indonesia, and, even more exciting, it becomes just the second genus to join the slopefish family. Cymatognathus aureolateralis, the Wavy Jaw Slopefish, is a stunning pink and yellow...
A recent molecular study focusing on corals of the family Agariciidae came to an interesting conclusion—Pavona and Leptoseris, the two groups most familiar to aquarists, aren’t actually distinct from each other and should probably just be treated as a single genus....