Hoplolatilus oreni is a gorgeous, incredibly rare tilefish that was just photographed alive for the first time. Thanks to a tip from our South African friend Keith Baxter we were treated to a fish we’ve never heard of, but desperately would love to see more of.
Do you know how rare a fish has to be that we’ve never even heard of it? This is the case with beautiful Hoplolatilus oreni, a fish so rare there’s not even a common name for it. But due to it’s gorgeous shiny blue stripe it’d be easy to call this blue stripe tilefish.
The first of its kind photo was taken by Michele Mandy Robertson while diving with ReefTeach at a depth of 47 meters in Sodwana bay. Previously the blue stripe tilefish was only known from the Red Sea, so its natural range just got extended by nearly the entire east coast of Africa! Big kudos to ReefTeach and Mrs. Robertson for shining a light on this little known tilefish and bringing us the first live picture of Hoplolatilus oreni.
