Pushing It

I've already mentioned the successful morning spent diving with Sabah Parks research staff on 24th June 2009. I've now had a chance to create ID cards for the endangered Bumphead Parrotfish Bolbometopon muricatum and the sumptuously decorated Angelfish Pomacanthus semicirculatus. Additionally, the day offered up a new species of Triggerfish for the aggregated TARP fish list - Balistapus undulatus (this photo comes form the Philippines but I will be uploading my poor quality image in due course), as well as a first sight of the Goby Eviota sigillata, and in a 1 metre deep foray amongst some mangrove roots (alongside tangled ropes and other manmade debris but no crocodiles): the Dartfish Parioglossus rainfordi. My personal checklist of fishes photographed in TARP now stands at 439, with the aggregated list of fish-with-evidence at 559. Of these, 444 have been noted in the last 4 years.

I'm hoping also to gain access to a list of fishes identified here by a Japanese marine biologist working with Sabah Parks a couple of years ago which I think will add 20-40 more to the list in due course. By the time I leave Sabah permanently later this month, it would be great if I had been able to coax the list to top 600 species: this would be tremendously significant for TARP and I hope it would be a stimulus to enhance the park's protection and help ward off future attempts at such astounding schemes as building a bridge to Gaya island, or a ring road and residential developments on it (believe it: I've seen the proposals vegetating where last left after being rejected, but who knows what monster resurrection might be attempted by a future Frankenstein).

Today's photo shows a Sabellid worm jockeying for space amongst a host of large coral polyps off Sapi island on 24th June 2009.