Soft corals are called “soft corals” because they are kind of like corals, and they are primarily soft. We know that there are always exceptions to every rule in the animal kingdom, and the most notable of these in the Octocorallia soft…
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Coryphopterus curasub newly described from mesophotic curacao
Coryphopterus curasub is the newest species of deepwater reef fish described from the depths of Curacao. The new Coryphopterus goby species is yet another new discovery made by the deep-diving Curasub which now gets its full name included in the binomial designation of…
Newly described black coral is one of the oldest living animals in the world
Leiopathes annosa is a new species of deep sea black coral that was recently discovered living on the seafloor around the waters of Hawaii and the Papahanaumokuakea marine national monument. In addition to being a new and previously unknown species, the…
Wild caught aberrant clownfish is not your average misbar ocellaris
Clownfish aberrations are now so common with basically all captive bred fish being an amplification of these mutations, that we don’t bat an eye when we see a solid white clownfish anymore. However when the aberrant clownfish is wild caught,…
Socotra is a convergence of hybrid reef fish
Socotra is a far flung island of the Western Indian Ocean which is incredibly hard to reach, and even harder to study underwater. A couple years back however, a team of researchers including California Academy of Sciences ichthyology curator and…
Lessepsian migration between the Mediterranean and Red Seas via the Suez Canal
The Mediterranean and the Red Seas are some of the most historical, geographical and anthropologically important landmarks that this magnificent planet holds. Fed primarily by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans respectively, together these two bodies of water tell an opulent story dating back…
Three new species of Trimma gobies: T. aturirii, T. kardium & T. trioculatum
Three new species of Trimma pygmy gobies have been described, adding to the rapidly growing list of these miniature reef fish which are so diverse and desirable. The new species include Trimma aturirii , Trimma kardium and Trimma trioculatum, all of them quite…
Shallow water Acropora globiceps looks like living crystals
We have held a soft spot for Acropora globiceps ever since the beginning of our adventures in reef and stony coral keeping. Acropora globiceps was one of the first acro frags that we ever got and grew, yet this species is…
Man-made branch rock is coming soon from Walt Smith Fiji
Branching live rock like that which came from Tonga back in the day has always been some of the most highly sought after shape for aquascaping reef tanks and marine aquaria. branching rock from the wild is unpredictable in shape,…
Australogyra zelli, the magnificent branching moon coral
Last week we had the great fortune of returning from the Solomon Islands on a very special expedition to the Central Province, on behalf of Unique Corals, exploring for rare an unusual corals from this region of the Coral Triangle. Back in…