Face to face with the Cenderawasih butterflyfish, Forcipiger wanai
The Cenderawasih butterflyfish, Forcipiger wanai, was described just a little over three years ago from Cenderwasih Bay Indonesia. New species of butterflyfish don't come along very often so we definitely took note when one was newly minted. Forcipiger wanai is only the…
Photos of Cirrhilabrus cenderawasih and Paracheilinus walton give us a glimpse into the endemic life of West Papua

In a world abundant with coral reefs and geographical landscapes, no place captivates me quite like the amazing and wonderful West Papua. Isolated and disjunct from just about everywhere, the local flora and fauna both terrestrial and aquatic have evolved in…

Forcipiger wanai is a new longnose butterflyfish species from Cenderawasih Bay

Forcipiger wanai is a new species of longnose butterflyfish which was very recently described in the seminal, three-volume book Reef Fishes of the East Indies. Twenty five new species of reef fish were described in this book including dottybacks, dartfish…

Synchiropus tudorjonesi is a new species of dragonet from Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia

Synchiropus tudorjonesi is a new species of red colored dragonet that is most closely related to Synchiropus morrisoni from the Western Pacific. Synchiropus tudorjonesi is described from four specimens collected in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia but it is also known from…

Astreopora cenderawasih is a new species of branching Acroporid from West Papua

We’ve seen some Astreopora species exhibit light tubular growth forms in aquariums but it’s nothing compared to Astreopora cenderawasih, a new species described from Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua, Indonesia. Astreopora cenderawasih described by Wallace et. al. exhibits an explicit…

[WATCH] New Species Discoveries With Dr. Mark Erdmann and Ocean Geographic

Have you ever wanted to invite a scientist into your living room and hear about all their exciting discoveries? Ocean Geographic has been hosting live video sessions with experts around the globe and last week we tuned in to hear…

Chrysiptera uswanasi, the Newest Species of Damselfish from Papua

Chrysiptera uswanasi is yet another new species of damselfish from the island of Papua, Indonesia. Uswana’s damselfish is the seventh member of the very similar looking cluster of species in the C. oxycephala complex.  Other recently described damselfish from the…

Two New Blue Eyed Gobies from Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is once again the locale for the discovery of new reef fish, this time with two new species of miniature gobies. Trimma blematium and T. meityae are two newly described species from this very numerous genus which both features very…

Pseudochromis stellatus, a new species of dottyback from Raja Ampat

Pseudochromis stellatus is the newest species of dottyback to be added to the roster of reef fish from Indonesia. This new Pseudochromis was collected from Batanta and Batu Hitam in the northern Raja Ampat Islands of West Papua Province, Indonesia at…

Chrysiptera burtjonesi Is A Gorgeous New Damselfish From The Solomon Islands

Chrysiptera burtjonesi is a beautiful new species of damselfish which has just been described from the Solomon Islands. This damselfish is very special to me because as recently as a couple years ago I saw this fish in many habitats…