The flathead perch is a very unusual fish that just got a massive natural range extension thanks to Anna & Ned Deloach. The Husband & Wife team from Blenny Watcher have frequently documented highly noteworthy marinelife and their most recent accolade will significantly increase the area of the ocean in which we can expect to find one very rare and elusive fish.
With its flattened face, elongated body and slightly upturned mouth, the flathead perch is like the platypus of rare reef fish. This unusual shape is Rainfordia’s adaptation to living deep within the matrix of the reef structure from which it never strays – to find this fish, you really need to get your face deep into the reef and be in the right place at the right time.
Normally that place would be coastal Australia but Ned & crew spotted this species all the way in Raja Ampat Indonesia, over 2,000 kilometers away! With so many islands and habitat in between the Bird’s Head peninsula of West Papua, Indonesia and Queensland Australia including Papua New Guinea, it’s very possible that this species occurs in the Coral Triangle and heck, might be even more common in some places that aren’t frequented by intrepid fish spotters like Anna & Ned DeLoach. [Blenny Watcher]
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