Walking cat shark is just one of many unique species found in Raja Ampat and the Bird’s Head Peninsula.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHJWqYw3IIM[/youtube]

The walking cat shark of Raja Ampat was recently discovered in 2006 and is just one of many incredible species found in this hotspot for diversity. From the video above it is clear where the shark gets its name from, as it crawls through the seagrass beds with its fins. The walking epaulette cat shark shares its home with many other species found no where else in the world.

A closer look at the walking epaulette cat shark. Picture by Graham Abott.

Raja Ampat is home to a myriad of rare fish such as Meiacanthus crinitus, Pseudochromis ammeri, Paracheilinus nursalim, Manonichthys jamali, which happens to be a curious mimic of Chromis retrofasciata, a whole bunch of new Trimma species, unknown pygmy seahorses and tons of other cool critters you can find nowhere else. Raja Ampat is one of the islands that make up the Bird’s Head peninsula of West Papua.

Other notable islands include Cenderawasih Bay as well as Fakfak/Kaimana. The bells of new discovery have been ringing around these parts and a whole bunch of neat fishes live here. Below is a collage of some of the notable species found around the Bird’s Head peninsula. For more information on the species of West Papua be sure to check out this checklist.

A: Manonichthys jamali B: Paracheilinus nursalim C: Paracheilinus waltoni D: Cirrhilabrus cenderawasih. First picture of M. jamali by Graham Abott, the rest by Gerald Allen.

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KaiTheFishGuy

Kai is a systematic ichthyologist at The Australian Museum, Sydney. His research interests combine the use of cutting-edge next generation sequencing techniques with traditional methods of morphology to better understand the evolutionary history of coral reef fishes. He is a legacy ReefBuilders contributor, having previously written close to give hundred articles under his pseudonym LemonTYK.