Understanding, enjoying and caring for our oceans
David Muirhead recently witnessed some unusual behaviour by a pair of Moonlighter, Tilodon sexfasciatus at Moonta Bay jetty (11th March 2022). He later posted four photos that he managed to take of the pair during his snorkel in the jetty swimming enclosure on iNaturalist. David reported his sighting thus: “Initially […]
I now have a copy of Edgar Waite and Herbert Hale’s “Review of the Lophobranchiate Fishes (Pipefishes and Seahorses) of South Australia”, thanks to the generosity of Robert Browne. The review is an ‘Authors’ Reprint’ “From Records of the South Australian Museum, Vol.1, No.4, January 29th, 1921”. Edgar R. Waite […]
Renate Honow took this photo of a school of silver drummer, Kyphosus sydneyanus at Christies Beach recently: – A school of silver drummer, Kyphosus sydneyanus at Christies Beach (Taken by Renate Honow) Note that the large fish in the centre of the photo (unusually) has a black head. This is […]
Ralph Foster from the SA Museum is keen to find out if divers in SA have seen any bicoloured specimens of Whitebarred Boxfish, Anoplocapros lenticularis. He is referring to orange & white colouration without any dark markings. He says that orange & white Whitebarred Boxfish without any dark markings are […]
Congratulations to downunderpix’s Paul Macdonald & Elizabeth Solich on having the little rod-less anglerfish that they have been finding at Edithburgh confirmed as being a new species that has been given the name Narungga Frogfish, Histiophryne narungga. It was previously thought to have been the cryptic or rodless anglerfish, Histiophryne […]
This article was inspired by Jenni Wyrsta’s photo of a dolphin playing with what appears to be a red gurnard, Chelidonichthys kumu. Jenni posted this photo on Facebook on 1st August 2020: – A dolphin playing with what appears to be a red gurnard (Photo taken by Jenni Wyrsta) Further investigation […]
David Muirhead recently found out via the iNaturalist “About link” that many (most?) of the world’s 100+ species* of clingfish, especially those in the miniaturisation clade, which includes most of the southern Australian species, have a mucous coat that is distasteful to humans and outright toxic to their predators. * […]
I wanted to do a shallow sub-tidal snorkel at the cliff base at Carrickalinga. I was able to do a shore entry via a walking track from the North Bay car park. This location has been part of a Green Sanctuary Zone in the Carrickalinga Cliffs MPA since 2014. (Personal […]
Fish are now thought to feel pain in a way that is comparable to land animals. Although not all scientists agree, the consensus that fishes actually do suffer like us is fast approaching. There is also much work being done on fish cognition and emotion, which shows that fish “have […]
More on Mimicry, Mutualism and Symbiosis by Steve Reynolds I keep returning back to my roots. As reported in The Colour of Fish in 2017, my first ever attempt at writing about marine life started in 1979 after I had read an article titled “Colour it Blue” by respected fishing […]