West Papua

Eviota fluctiphila is a new Dwarfgoby from the Western Pacific

A new species of Dwarfgoby has been described from West Papua. The species has been named the Surge Dwarfgoby, Eviota fluctiphila, by Greenfield, Erdmann, and Mambrasar, and joins 128 other species in the genus Eviota, now the second most speciose…

The Beloved Duncan Coral Discovered in Indonesia!

The Duncan coral is one of the most distinctive, hardy and beloved of all corals which grows well in a wide range of aquarium setups. Reefers tend to think of Duncanopsammia as uniquely Australian as that is where all of the…

Papuan Coelacanth Could Represent a Third, New Species

The Coelacanth is the stuff of legend – a prehistoric relic that has been rediscovered not just once, but twice in the last hundred years. The first major rebirth for the Coelacanth happened off the east coast of Africa, and…

Ecsenius springeri, a New Blenny Species from West Papua

Ecsenius springeri is a spankin new species of blenny that is very similar to our beloved aquarium bicolor gobies. So many of the new species described are often times wrasses and especially gobies, so it’s with great delight that today…

Take A Virtual Reality Dive In West Papua Indonesia

Earlier this year we had the opportunity to visit Raja Ampat in the West Papua province of Indonesia. We were absolutely amazed with the diversity of corals and abundance of fish. This week the American nonprofit Conservation International has launched…

Hybrid flasher wrasses abound at Triton Bay’s Flasher Beach

When it comes to reef fish, Gerald Allen is a world renowned ichthyologist, diver and all around messiah of all marine fishes. So when Dr. Allen writes a rave review about a particular place in the world, you better take…

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…

Photos of Paracheilinus nursalim by Eric Cheng are the best we’ve seen of this species

The West Papuan endemic Paracheilinus nursalim is not only the crème de la crème of Paracheilinus, it is also one of the newer members to be described; Discovered not too long ago in 2006, and described in 2008. This stunning gem is…

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…

Astreopora montiporina is a new species from West Papua that plates like a Montipora

The coral above is not a Montipora but a new species called Astreopora montiporina which is named after the common plating coral. Like A. cenderawasih and A. acroporina the new Astreopora montiporina was also discovered in Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua Indonesia and it…