The evolutionary history of corals is a fascinating subject, recounting one of the oldest lineages of multicellular animal life. This story is full of mistaken identities, uncertain affinities, and exciting, new discoveries. It’s also a tale of extinctions and...
It’s not unusual to see a new species of goby described from Indo-Pacific waters—in fact, thirteen have been described since March of this year. We are living in a veritable golden age of gobiid taxonomy. What a great time to be alive! And one of the most astounding...
This unusual pygmy angelfish comes courtesy of Quality Marine and was sourced from Fiji… but what is it?
Your first guess might be the endemic Blue Velvet Angelfish (Centropyge deborae).…
https://youtu.be/KMe3PRkRRCI In 2009, Japanese researcher Jiro Sakaue of the Southern Marine Laboratory made a sensational ichthyological discovery, arguably the single most important find since the coelacanth was first hauled up some 70 years ago. While exploring...
There are few reef fishes quite so maligned among aquarists as Dascyllus, the Humbug Damselfishes. Because of their argumentative nature, this ubiquitous group is rarely seen in today’s reef tanks, despite being attractively patterned and almost indesctructibly...
Seadragons are among the most bizarre and charismatic of marine creatures, relying on their impeccable camouflage to perfectly blend into the algae-filled reefs they call home. They were first collected in the 19th century off the southern coast of Australia, and, in...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-noK9UVWTk The nature documentaries of Nick Hope (AKA Bubble Vision) are some of the finest ever made on coral reef ecosystems and should be considered mandatory viewing for anyone with a serious interest in the subject. His...
Ancoracysta twisti is very small, consisting of just a single cell 14 μm in length, but it’s discovery is proving to be quite large. This newly described species was found living upon an unidentified brain coral at the Birch Aquarium after researchers sampled its...
In the ocean, longer wavelengths of light (i.e. red) are quickly filtered out, so that with increasing depth the red pigmentation of marine life takes on increasingly inky tones. This provides excellent camouflage in the darkness and is why so many deeper-water...
A couple interesting butterflyfish hybrids have turned up in the Philippines, giving us the opportunity to guess the parentage behind these strange genetic amalgamations. You might want to take a moment to...