The last few years have been really hot ones for the discovery and description of new reef fish species and 2014 was no slouch either. Sometimes it seems like new species descriptions are dominated by dwarf gobies of the Eviota and Trimma genera, while we had our fair share of those this year they were of the Elacatinus and Vanderhosrtia variety.
Better yet, 2014 welcomed into our aquarium bosom two new species of wrasses, one of them a species of pencil wrasse first noticed and names in honor of a fellow aquarist. Let us not forget about the three mind-blowing species of basslets from the Liopropoma and Grammatonotus genera all hailing from soul-crushing depths that are well beyond the reach of conventional scuba diving.
A new species of Chromis damselfish was split off from a similar looking congener but for us the coolest new species was also the one with the coolest name. Siganus insomnis is an especially juicy new species of rabbitfish, we don’t get those too often, and it is quite the looker with exquisite yellow body that is traversed by brilliant bluish green lines. Furthermore it is believed that this new species of rabbitfish is nocturnal and it therefore was christened with the name of sleepless rabbitfish.
Super huge thanks to all the hard-working ichthyologists who bestowed upon us a fabulous new crop of marine fish species this year. We can’t wait to see what science and coral reefs will reveal through another year of exploration and new species discoveries.
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