Plectranthias polygonius & P. hinano are Two New Species from the Central Pacific

Plectranthias polygonius and P. hinano are two new species from our favorite group of dwarf basslets, and good thing too because there seems to be tons of them to be found in deep waters of the world. These two new…

Chromis mamatapara, a New Species of Damselfish from the Depths of Easter Island

Chromis are part of a group of fish that we expect to encounter in the deeper tropical reefs of the world, alongside the deepwater basslets, anthias, and certain wrasses, It’s therefore not a complete surprise that deep diving surveys in…

Tune in LIVE And Share Your Deep Sea Knowledge

The Schmidt Ocean Institute team is calling on all interested scientists, especially those from the mesophotic and deep-sea coral community to join in remotely and provide comments during the dives!

Seven Public Aquariums Offering Brilliant Digital Content

Missing some of your favorite public aquariums? Or just need to keep busy?  We’ve put together a list of seven public aquariums offering engaging virtual content. This list includes a few live cams, (don’t miss the Anthias Cam), and much…

We’ve Never Seen This Uber Rare Angelfish Look Like This!

The black angelfish, Chaetodontoplus niger, is a species so mysterious that it’s hard to know where to begin trying to understand it. First described from the Hongsha Islands in the South China Sea in 1965, the only modern records that this…

A Closer Look at the Very Rare Linespot Triggerfish

The linespot trigerfish is a species of the beloved toothy reef fish that went from unobtainable to just ‘ultra rare’ in just a few short years. Our first encounter with Xanthichtys lineopunctatus was only a little over three years ago when…

Plectranthias ryukyuensis, Japan’s Ninth New Species of Perchlet

Plectranthias ryukyuensis is a new species of our favorite group of basslets which as the name describes, come from the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan. The new Ryukyu basslet is closely related to the similar looking Plectranthias sagamiensis which is…

Apolemichthys guezei, the ‘Bigfoot’ of Rare Fish Photographed in Reunion

Something happened last week in the depths of the Western Indian Ocean, off the remote French outlying territory of the Island of Reunion that rare fish collectors will never forget. Patrick Plantard, a ‘reef guy’ and friend to many of…

Aquarium Grown Palauastrea has Really Blossomed

Palauastrea is one of the least known SPS coral that is not just rare in the aquarium hobby, but pretty much all but unknown. P. ramosa is in the family Astrocoeniidae which includes some familiar aquarium corals including Pocillopora and Seriatopora and…

You Want to be Watching Brian Greene’s Videos

Brian Greene is no stranger to the pages of Reef Builders, nor to the annals of deep diving history having discovered a wide range of very cool and rare deepwater fish. In recent years it’s become easier than ever to…