63 species - 45 minutes snorkelling - Mamutik

A strange kind of Anemone to say the least, this was photographed off Sapi island back on 11th July 2008.

After a long weekend SCUBA diving near Cebu in the Philippines last month and processing all the emerging photos, I'm now able to get back to more recent events nearer home - this time a chance to test out my newly repaired video camera snorkelling off Mamutik island. Not very good I'm afraid, but it has still been possible to pick out 63 fish species during just 3/4 hour before the battery gave up. And three of these are new to my TARP fish list (now standing at 430 species), one also being new to the comprehensive TARP fish checklist (now at 551 with evidence).

The overall new fish is the Halfbeak Hyporhamphus dussumieri. The other two are the Damsel Pomacentrus simsiang and wonderfully - the Butterflyfish Chaetodon adiergastos (last listed here in 1992).

Going back to the 63 fish species in 45 minutes, I'm wondering whether there could ever be enough interest to have some sort of contest in TARP - to photograph and identify as many fish species as possible whilst snorkelling? Maybe something for the future...

Crazy fool of a fish

It's a quick way to go: July 6th 2008 saw this delicious little Ghost goby (pleurosicya mossambica) off Mamutik island doing the craziest thing; but maybe you should try to see for yourself and I'll tell you at the end in case you haven't got it...

Along the way that day, I was pleased to be able to turn up another three new species for my personal TARP fish checklist (total now 347). These were the Cardinalfish Archamia bleekeri, the venomous-spined Eeltail catfish Paraplotosus albilabris, and the Queenfish Scomberoides lysan. Additionally, I created a new ID panel for the Female Sanddiver Trichonotus elegans, and amended the original to represent only the male. Furthermore (and somewhat embarrassingly) I have revised my ID of Wrasse Leptojulis cyanopleura (misnamed by me Hologymnosus doliatus). Lastly, better examples of previously photographed specimens presented themselves for inspection and have been incorporated into the relevant ID panel: Snake eel Ophichthus altipennis; Gobies Amblyeleotris rubrimarginata, Pleurosicya mossambica, Cryptocentrus inexplicatus (a somewhat different colour morph) and Fusigobius longispinus; Turkeyfish Pterois russelii; Wormfish Gunnellichthys viridescens.

I am gratified by the comments from Tarquin; however I have found the feeds for this blog with both Firefox (at the end of the address bar) and MS Internet Explorer (via a permanently visible portion of the toolbar) so I am not sure why you may not be able to set up a feed to my blog. If necessary, add the blog address to your 'home' addresses to open automatically when you load your browser and you will then be able to see when there is a new contribution.

By the way, the Ghost goby in the photo today is sitting on the nose of one of its worst enemies - an incredibly well camouflaged Scorpionfish!

Ruby Friday

Only its ruby eye betrayed this Lizardfish (family SYNODONTIDAE) lurking in the sand waiting for its next meal to happen by, back on Friday 4th July 2008 off Mamutik island. More clear were another 14 species I saw in TARP for the first time and one I realised was not yet in my checklist from before, bringing my total species checklist to 344 over the last two years.

The list now adds the Shrimpgobies Amblyeleotris latifasciata, Amblyeleotris periophthalma, Cryptocentrus fasciatus and Cryptocentrus inexplicatus. Alongside these is the Scad Atule mate, the Ghoul Inimicus sinensis, the Velvetfish Paraploactis kagoshimensis, the Sweeper Pempheris molucca, the Angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus (amazing to think I have missed it these last two years seeing as it is dazzlingly coloured - it is certainly encouraging to see new Angelfish in TARP), the Cardinalfish Siphamia elongata (which likes to hide amongst the spines of Sea urchins), the Leaf scorpionfish Taenianotus triacanthus, the Sanddivers Trichonotus elegans and Trichonotus setiger, and the Razorfish Xyrichtys melanopus.

Additionally, the Cardinalfish Cheilodipterus intermedius turns out to have been in my database all along but mixed up with Cheilodipterus macrodon. Lastly, I forgot to update my Stonefish picture Synanceia verrucosa yesterday (now I have a full-body ugly-mug shot instead of just its mouth previously), and I didn't realise till processing the photo from 4th July that I now have two Juvenile morphs of Monocle bream Scolopsis affinis to present in a new panel.

New sites; new fishes

This juvenile Horn-nosed boxfish (Ostracion rhinorhynchos) was enjoying chewing on a Comb jelly (Phylum Ctenophora) on the 4th of July 2008 on The Pyramid off Mamutik island so much that it pretty much ignored me despite being metres up in the open. In the past, I have assigned similar juveniles to the species Ostracion cubicus but I've realised it isn't so it has come off my species checklist today. However, an example of a Scorpionfish pretty much convinced me to reintroduce Scorpaenopsis venosa to my checklist and to firm up my diagnoses of examples of Scorpaenopsis possi, so the total species count remains at 329 (before adding new species from 4th July - more in another blog).

As mentioned, the dives on 4th July included The Pyramid - a nice site in good visibility (my first under such conditions) - and the sand slope east of Mamutik island jetty. Perhaps it was their novelty which handed me a good number of new fish sightings. Anyway, along the way I was able to improve on my photos (and associated ID panels) for Surgeonfish Acanthurus xanthopterus, Damselfish Pomacentrus vaiuli, Anemonefish Amphiprion perideraion (not widely found in TARP), Cardinalfishes Apogon ventrifasciatus (it seems externally indistinguishable from A. moluccensis so I will only report A. ventrifasciatus in my checklist - principally because all examples I have seen have have been much smaller than the larger A. moluccensis size listed in FishBase) and the rare Apogon sealei, and lastly Grouper Epinephelus areolatus. I have also added new colour morphs for Shrimpgoby Cryptocentrus cinctus and Cardinalfish Apogon chrysopomus, and being sufficiently different to merit their own ID panels were the non-breeding Damselfish Chromis cinerascens, the Juvenile Triggerfish Balistoides viridescens, and the Adult form of the Parrotfish Chlorurus bleekeri.

Fish ID website on the way

This is not a fish. If I'm not mistaken, its name is Cerianthus filiformis from the anemone family CERIANTHIDAE, taken on 13th June 2007 on the Pyramid near Mamutik island.

Given my predilection for fish, I thought I'd get this in first or be accused of having a fish-only general marine website; having said that, today's blog is to let those interested know that I am beavering away at creating a simple key-based TARP fish identification website which I hope will be ready for testing in the next few days. The committed may already have tried via my TARPFish blog to view my 325+ illustrated panels of fish descriptions: not easy going, although quite a visual feast if using PicLens. Without a means to publish them (preferably as a way to test an unorthodox key for them first) I know some people would like some kind of guidance and I am trying to make it possible for someone to have a choice of only 4-6 fish when they first encounter any of my descriptive panels, rather than all 325 on their first shot!

Anyway, bear with me. After that, I need to analyse another snorkelling session recently which I know has turned up a few more species, so watch this space.

Red Tides & Feather Worms

I was the teensiest bit concerned yesterday to discover that I'd missed the Fisheries Department notification of a Red Tide off Kota Kinabalu on 19th March 2008; perhaps it was the disorientation of having just arrived from Papua New Guinea? I wonder how many others heard it when it was announced. Some of you will remember the Red Tide off Sabah in early 2004; links to information about this and an ongoing problem in the Philippines can be found here. Perhaps like the Fisheries Department of Brunei, prayers are needed... Either way, Marufish produces regular satellite imagery for north Borneo including chlorophyll levels and sea water temperature: fascinating stuff!

Anyway, here's a creature you're unlikely to try to eat: a feather-duster worm from the family SABELLIDAE taken on 19th May 2007 on the Pyramid off Mamutik Island.