A new species of Trimma goby has been described from the Saudi Arabian coast of the Red Sea. Named the Rift Pygmygoby, Trimma nubarum was formerly identified as Trimma taylori, only closer inspection by Winterbottom, Bogorodsky, and Alpermann revealed that…
Search Results For: mesophotic
Is the Okinawa Chromis the Rarest Most Expensive Damselfish in the World?
High-end marine fish retailer Unique Fins has informed Reef Builders that it has imported (and sold,) a super rare Okinawa Chromis, Chromis okamurai, From Japan. Chromis okamurai was previously only known from a single specimen dredged in 1979 from the…
Two Rare Plectranthias Basslets Imported by Unique Fins
Two rarely seen deepwater perchlets have been collected and exported from Southern Taiwan. Plectranthias maekawa was only described in 2018, based on three specimens collected from the Tokara Islands, Kagoshima, Southern Japan. It inhabits the cool, low light, rariphotic waters…
Two New Species of Gobies Described from the Deep Reefs of the Caribbean
Two new species of cryptobenthic gobies have been described following their collection in Roatan, Honduras in 2018. Named Varicus prometheus and Varicus roatensis, the two new species were collected using a submersible, and make up the 11th and 12th species…
Ocean Census seeks to find 100,000 New Marine Species in the next 10 years
The largest program in history to discover life in our ocean has been unveiled with the ambitious target of finding at least 100,000 new marine species in the first decade. The number of species we currently know of stands at…
Terelabrus toretore is a New Species of Striped Hogfish from Tahiti
A new species of deepwater hogfish has been described in the journal Zoological Studies. Terelabrus toretore is now the fifth species within the genus Terelabrus, and was discovered in the mesophotic zone in Tahiti, French Polynesia. Mesophotic zones range from…
High Seas Treaty will protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030
The United Nations have reached a historic agreement that aims to protect 30% of the world’s international waters by 2030. Currently, all countries have a right to fish, ship, and do research in areas known as the High Seas, yet…
The New Octocorallia: Scleralcyonacea (And A Few Remaining Mysteries)
Having now fully explored the Malacalcyonacea Part 1 and Part 2, it’s time to turn our attention to its sister group, the order Scleralcyonacea. These clades are roughly equivalent in terms of species-level diversity, but whereas the malacalcyonaceans included many…
Grafted Pikachu Acropora anthocercis is a rare sight
It’s the spawning season, and like every year, we spend many nights for months, doing night dives, and observing different spawning species. With coral spawning, there are many missed nights, where nothing is happening. Going from coral to coral, checking…
Birdsongichthys rectus and Robinsichthys nigrimarginatus are two new deepwater gobies from the Caribbean
Two new gobies have been collected and described from deep waters in the Caribbean Sea. New species Robinsichthys nigrimarginatus becomes only the second member of the genus Robinsichthys, while Birdsongichthys rectus is given both new genus and new species status. …
