Every year we look forward to all kinds of new corals, reef fish and products in the marine aquarium hobby but 2012 was an especially rich year for new taxa of various bony reef fish. Like most years we saw new species of nano gobies, especially species of Eviota and Trimma, a few new dottybacks, and a smattering of damsels and basslets.

Not only were we graced with two actually new species of Liopropoma basslets, one of the papers teased a third as of yet unknown species. Additionally, we got our first look at no fewer than three new species of the uber popular Cirrhilabrus wrasses, one of them discovered but not actually described. Between the new species of longnose butterflyfish and a new Odontanthias from the Caribbean, there were lots and lots of new fish for aquarists to love.

We look forward to learning more about the new reef fish species of two thousand twelve and hope that the twenty-teens yield as much abundance and richness of new fish. Which one was your favorite?

Hystiophryne pogonius

Pomacentrus maafu

Forcipiger wanai

Liopropoma randalli

Hypoplectrus ecosur & H. floridae

Liopropoma emanueli

Cirrhilabrus “squirei”

Cirrhilabrus nahackyi

Cirrhilabrus humanni

Pseudochromis ammeri & P. eichleri

Synchiropus tudorjonesi

Giganthias serratospinosus

Odontanthias hensleyi

Trimma fasciatum & T. matsunoi

Trimma tauroculum

Eviota jewettae & E. pinocchioi