When we stumbled across some huge colonies of Echinopora ashmorensis growing like a field of tubes in New Caledonia, we had no inkling that we could encounter this morphology again in a different species of stony coral. Unlike the Echinopora and…
Aquarium des Lagons in New Caledonia is a World Class Marinelife Exhibit
Public aquariums are a staple of many countries and some larger cities may even have more than one, but when we heard that the tiny island nation of New Caledonia had an aquarium we went in with very modest expectations.…
Hemigymnus fasciatus, the Banded Thicklip Wrasse
Wrasses are undeniably one of the most colorful and diverse groups of marine fish and despite having all the books at our fingertips, sometimes we have to meet the right example to truly appreciate certain species. Case in point is this…
Echinopora ashmorensis is Totally Tubular
Echinopora asmorensis is a very interesting and unmistakeable coral that we just had the pleasure of finally seeing for ourselves for the first time in the wild. The species closely resembles the much more common E. lamellosa which can also…
Pseudanthias timanoa – New Caledonia’s Sunrise Anthias gets Official Description
Pseudanthias timanoa is a new species of anthias just described from New Caledonia, but the aquarium hobby has known about this unique fairy basslet for some time now. Way back in 2013 when Pseudanthias privitera and P. aurulenteus were all…
Manganese and Nickel could protect corals from climate change
New Caledonia is a tropical island due east of Australia and is one of the world’s largest producers of Nickel ore. There are many reefs around New Caledonia which some that are downstream of nickel mine runoff which have been…
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…
Corals In New Caledonia Are Adapting To Future Ocean Conditions
Coral reefs around the world are suffering from the climate change, and as the oceans continue to warm and acidify the outlook isn’t pretty for our beloved corals. But researchers in New Caledonia have made an important discovery. The team…
Is This New Species of Hatchetfish Even Real?
Polyipnus laruei is a brand new species of marine hatchetfish with a very peculiar yet attractive appearance. Also known as the bigeye hatchetfish due to its comically large light seeing organ, the compressed shape of this fish and body pattern…
Devil Clam Discovered Living In New Caledonia
The Devil Clam is one of the most elusive and poorly known species of giant clams, mostly because of its limited natural distribution and its preference for deeper waters. Unlike most species of Tridacna and Hippopus which live in relatively shallow…
