Pink Acropora jacquelineae discovered in Raja Ampat

Acropora jacquelineae is a very recognizable species of deepwater or smooth skinned Acro. It is relatively easy to keep, but until now if you wanted to try your hand at growing the unique shape of Acropora jacquelineae you had to…

Reefbuilders Indonesia Travelogue – Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is a true underwater paradise, and this past week we had the privilege of diving some of the best reefs the Park had to offer. For those of you that are not familiar, the Raja Ampat Marine Park…

There’s something special about Copperband butterflyfish from Raja Ampat

The copperband butterflyfish, Chelmon rostratus, is one of those iconic reef fish that is incredibly popular with divers and aquarists alike. This species of reef fish shows very little variation across its wide natural distribution, with the only deviations from the…

Walking cat shark is just one of many unique species found in Raja Ampat and the Bird’s Head Peninsula.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHJWqYw3IIM[/youtube] The walking cat shark of Raja Ampat was recently discovered in 2006 and is just one of many incredible species found in this hotspot for diversity. From the video above it is clear where the shark gets its name…

Raja Ampat Indonesia is a non-photosynthetic coral heaven

This video of Raja Ampat is pure NPS Heaven. . . if you can ignore the soundtrack. Cirque du Soleil music isn’t the ideal tribute to this great video of Eastern Indonesian aposymbiotic corals. But taste aside, thanks to the…

New Trimma species from Raja Ampat: T. erdmanni, T. cheni and four others described

A new paper by David Winterbottom describes six new species of nano reef gobies including Trimma erdmanni, Trimma cheni and four other species. The new Trimma species were all described from collection near Raja Ampat Indonesia, the same region which…

Raja Ampat Through the Lens book showcases beauty, rarities of Indonesia’s reefs

An amazing new book “The Raja Ampat Through the Lens Of” not only showcases the majestic reefs of Indonesia’s Raja Ampat region but is donating all proceeds to the conservation of this spectacular area. With coral reefs under stress from…

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…

Acropora striata, a Skinny Version of the Beloved Tenuis Acro

For many years, we’ve been intrigued by an Acropora tenuis look alike, a convincing impersonator with skinny tapering branches. This is a coral we occasionally encountered from time to time, in many different places around the Indonesian archipelago but for…

[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…