Newly Discovered Tosanoides Anthias to be Named in Honor of President Obama

A deep water anthias, to be honorably named after the president, was recently discovered by Richard Pyle and Brian Greene on June 5, 2016. Richard Pyle recognized an unfamiliar school of fish in the newly expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Pyle…

Habitat Persistence Hypothesis is Rich Pyle’s exciting theory about deep reef fish

Dr. Rich Pyle is one of the undisputed pioneers of deep reef fish species habitats, and biology. Over the last thirty years, Pyle has been exploring deep mesophotic reefs and discovering new species of reef fish in these habitats at…

New Wrasse and Anthias Collected in Papahanaumokuakea, Hawaii

We already know that there’s loads of new fish in the mesophotic zone of the ocean so it’s always exciting when new fish are discovered down there. It’s especially tantalizing when new fish are discovered in a national marine park,…

Curacao Sea Aquarium Deep Sea Display update

After 4 years in Curacao and some of the most amazing fishes known to man, I thought I had seen it all and was beginning to have doubts about whether we would find a new species that is as unique…

The ABCs of deepwater Chromis

The pan-oceanic genus Chromis is a ubiquitous component of any coral reef, and can be found anywhere from sun speckled coral gardens to lung compressing depths in the mesophotic twilight zone. Despite their near abrasive presence both in the field and in…

Brian Greene, Richard Pyle and Sonia Rowley teases with a surfeit of undescribed species from Pohnpei

To the uninitiated, the mesophotic coral reefs would seem like an unlikely place to find vibrant fish life. Antonymous to the ebullient habitat of shallow water coral gardens, the mesophotic zone is a gloomy contrast of seemingly endless dread and forlorn landscapes. Except not…

The deep sea is on display in Curacao

To most people the Mesophotic Zone is an entirely unknown part of the ocean that very few study and even fewer have physically visited. Yet these areas are more diverse than anticipated and contain a cornicopia of life from the…

Bellissima bellus: The biology and hybridization of Genicanthus bellus

The genus Genicanthus boasts of ten medium to large angelfish species that have evolved away from the regular substrate perusing stereotype. All members of this genus are rather streamlined, being longer than they are tall. Their caudal fins are festooned with…

“Uncharted Waters” by The Association for Marine Exploration shows a deluge of incredible twilight zone reef species

The twilight zone is one of the least explored places anywhere in the ocean and human surveys are greatly limited by SCUBA diving. In this 16 minute long video by AME titled “Uncharted Waters”, a brief explanation is given on…

I see you looking at me, like I’m some kind of freak

Sight is a vital sensory system for most living things that enables them to process and visualise information from their surroundings. What to eat, and where to find it? Who to flee from, and who to mate with? Survival and procreation…