New reef crab named after Harry Potter

Here’s one for the Potterheads out there. Back in 2001, amateur researcher Harry Conley discovered a black-eyed translucent crab burrowing among reef rocks off the coast of Guam. Having been able to grab two specimens, they were found to be a…

Enneapterygius niue, a Colorful New Species of Triplefin from the Pacific Ocean

Enneapterygius niue is a colorful species of triplefin that was just described by Ronal Fricke and Mark Erdmann. Known from just three specimens collected in Niue and Samoa, this new triplefin species is quite the looker.  With a candy-cane colored…

Sueviota pyrios, Another New Goby Species From The Red Sea

Sueviota pyrios is yet another new species of dwarf goby to be described, and the latest from the Red Sea. The bright red-orange fish is curiously described from just a single specimen collected in the Gulf of Aqaba at the…

Gorgeous New Candy Cane Hermit Crab is also a Fish Cleaner!

The Candy Cane Hermit Crab is a gorgeous new species of shell-dwelling crustacean that has just been described. Pylopaguropsis mollymullerae is a handful to say out lout and only the second species to be described from the Caribbean Sea.  New species of…

Sueviota tubicola, a New Species of Goby That Lives With Tubes

Sueviota tubicola may be the first described new species of goby this year, but we’re certain that it won’t be the last. Discovered in the hotbed of diversity that is Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea, this new nano goby…

Best New Fish Species of 2016

2016 was chock full of new species of reef fish, more than any other year in recent memories. We had new species of wrasse, Anthias, basslets and of course, plenty of gobies but in contrast to other years, these didn’t absolutely…

Tosanoides obama officially described to honor U.S. President Barack Obama

Tosanoides obama is a brand new species of reef fish described today to honor our 44th sitting U.S. president. It’s an unusual occurrence that researchers let slip how they intend to name new fish species that are in the process of…

Crazy little Trimma species photographed in the Abyss of Palau

Take a moment to soak in the wild color and pattern of the rarely seen Trimma goby pictured above. This is the first time this fish has been seen in nearly twenty years, having been photographed by Dr. Luiz Rocha in…

Oxycheilinus samurai, a new wrasse species with the coolest name

Oxycheilinus samurai, the Samurai Wrasse is a new species of reef fish from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and Panay Islands of Philippines. Among the maori wrasses of the Oxycheilinus genus O. samurai is a slender species, but not quite…

Lipogramma haberorum & L. levinsoni, two more new species of deepwater reef fish

Lipogramma levinsoni and L. haberorum are yet two more new species to be officially described in the last 24 hours. Hot on the heels of Plectranthias takasei, a fish we knew about but didn’t have a name for, are two new Lipogramma species, neither…