Snappers aren’t very high on the aquarists’ list of must-have fish although many of them are truly attractive, including the two newly described species from the Indian Ocean. Lutjanus indicus and Lutjanus papuensis are two new species of snappers described by…
Indian Ocean Chromis fieldi separated from Red Sea C. dimidiata
Chromis fieldi is a newly described species of damselfish from the Indian Ocean which was recently identified and described as a separate species from Chromis dimidiata. The new description published in Aqua now recognizes Chromis dimidiata as a Red Sea…
Leptoseris kalayaanensis grows into a plate of spines and spikes
It wouldn’t be a proper week of reef aquarium blogging here on Reef Builders if we didn’t bring your attention to a new exotic species of Leptoseris, L. kalayaanensis. Described in 2009 from the Philippines and subsequently also observed growing in…
Craterastrea levis joins the newly minted family of stony corals: Coscinaraeidae
Craterastrea levis is not exactly a new coral, it was described in 1983 and it is known to exist in Egypt, Chagos and the Red Sea. Due to some superficial resemblance, Craterastrea was later synonymized with Leptoseris hawaiiensis and remained so until recently…
Lotilia klausewitzi : it’s no longer L. graciliosa if it comes from the West Pacific
Lotilia klausewitzi is the name of a new species of nano goby from the West Pacific Ocean that was just described and differentiated from Lotilia graciliosa which is now officially recognized as coming only from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. In…
Cirrhilabrus squirei: First specimen caught and shipped to BlueHarbor
“Cirrhilabrus squirei” is a spanking new labrid to be added to the growing list of fairy wrasses species. Collected in the Coral Sea, this ultra gorgeous species pays homage to Cirrhilabrus johnsoni, as well as Cirrhilabrus cf. lanceolatus (The Pintail…
Cirrhilabrus humanni “Stubby-fin Fairy Wrasse” from Alor, Indonesia officially described
Cirrhilabrus humanni is one of 25 new species to be documented from the East Indies, and will be featured in Allen and Erdmann’s new book. In May 2010, Ned and Anna De Loach documented a previously unknown fairy wrasse in the island of…
Unusual flasher wrasse from the Komodo Islands may turn out to be a new species
Flasher wrasses are ubiquitously distributed around Indian and Pacific Oceans. With their bright colors, fondness of relatively shallow depths and living in large congregations, it’s not difficult to spot them in the wild and hence, new species are not often…
New shark species discovered off the coast of the Galapagos
When we hear about sharks in the wild, we tend to hear negative stories discussing their decline in the wild or the negative impact on shark finning, but some positive news appeared recently when a team of scientists announced their…
Blastomussa loyae resurrected as a valid species from the Red Sea
Blastomussa loyae was first described from the Red Sea in 1978 as a separate species from Blastomussa merleti due to the separated walls and ‘irregular voids’ in the corallites of colonies. Blastomussa loyae was first discovered growing in abundance alongside B. merleti but…
