2015 was a record-setting year for new species of corals, not in terms of the number of new descriptions, but in sheer biological extremes and new discoveries. There were far more new species of reef fish described in 2015, but…
Chrysiptera papuensis, C. ellenae & C. maurineae – three new damselfish from East Indies
We’ve already posted our Top 15 New Reef Fish Species of 2015 but we should have held out for one more week. Prolific fish namers Gerald Allen and Marc Erdmann have gone an published one more paper this year, this…
Top 15 new reef fish species of 2015
This has been a very big year for new fish species, both described and discovered. Normally we finish up each year with a ‘Top 10’ new species but 2015 was so well endowed with fish being inducted into the hall…
The tiny Hairy Octopus is an irresistible puffball of cuteness
The tiny Hairy Octopus is one of the cutest creatures we have come across, and at around 5cm (2inch) long, you won’t want to blink or you might miss it. This well disguised cephalopod gets it names from the long ‘hairy’…
Lutjanus xanthopinnis, a new snapper species described from the Indo-Pacific
Lutjanus xanthopinnis is a new species of snapper that has just been described and joins a large complex of snappers with a pattern of yellow lines. Generally speaking, the yellow finned snapper looks more like something you might eat than keep…
Navigobius vittatus from Brunei is the newest species of Dartfish
Navigobius vittatus is a new species of deepwater dartfish that has just been described from specimens collected around Borneo. Navigobius dewa kicked off this exciting genus of dartfish several years ago and since then, several more undescribed species of these…
Terelabrus dewapyle is the newest species of candy cane hogfish
Terelabrus dewapyle is a new species of deepwater wrasse described from specimens collected in the western Pacific ocean. The newly minted species is only the second species of ‘candy cane hogfish’ joining the ever popular Terelabrus rubrovitattus and finally adds some…
The cutest new species of slippery goby, Lubricogobius nanus
It’s been a hot minute since we saw some new species of reef fish being described and so this next new species from Papua New Guinea is here to make sure we don’t go without. Lubricogobius nanus is a small species…
Two new species of azoox zoanthids, Palythoa mizigama & P. umbrosa
Two new species of zoanthids, Palythoa mizigama & Palythoa umbrosa were described earlier this year but we’re just now getting a good look at the appearance of these novel zoanthids. What makes the two new Palythoa species really interesting is not…
Cryptocentrus epakros & Tomiyamichthys zonatus, two new goby species
It’s been a short while since we’ve had some new species of gobies being described and Cryptocentrus epakros and Tomiyamichthys zonatus are here to fill that gap. The two new species of sand dwelling gobies are both associated with Alpheid shrimp partners and…
