Viewing: Bony fishes
June 26, 2018
Banded Morwong sighting at Western River, Kangaroo Island
David Muirhead recently posted two old slide scans of an adult Banded Morwong, (Cheilodactylus spectabilis) from 1989 on iNaturalist. David’s comments accompanying the two slides read: – “2 old slide scans of an adult Banded Morwong at a (Western Cleaner Clingfish) station in a big, open cave near cliff base at Western River (via charter boat tender). …. a leatherjacket... Read morePosted in Bony fishes | By Steve Reynolds
June 8, 2018
Sunfish sightings in the Encounter Bay/Waitpinga Cliffs area (Updated)
Our Waitpinga correspondent, Elizabeth Steele-Collins recently reported the sighting of three sunfish (Mola) in the “Encounter Bay/Waitpinga Cliffs area” in one week. We heard that the three sightings involved “at least two different individuals (owing to size differences)”. Elizabeth has now clarified the matter as follows: – “I personally only sighted the 1 Sunfish from Waitpinga Cliffs (6th June 2018)... Read morePosted in Bony fishes | By Steve Reynolds
May 8, 2018
More Tropical Fish Cleaners
I recently came across this photo of a sunfish (Mola) at Nusa Lambongan, apparently being cleaned by bannerfish (Heniochus) posted by PT Hirschfield of Pink Tank Scuba on her Facebook page. Heniochus banner fish cleaning a sunfish (Image supplied PT Hirschfield / Pink Tank Scuba) The apparent cleaning of the sunfish by the bannerfish caught my eye. The situation is... Read morePosted in Bony fishes | By Steve Reynolds
April 4, 2018
The Removal of Shark Parasites
I recently saw some film footage on an episode of David Attenborough’s “Blue Planet II” showing several silky sharks, Carcharhinus falciformis, seemingly scraping parasites off of a whale shark, Rhincodon typus. It occurred to me that this was a form of fish cleaning to add to my growing list. I found confirmation of what I had seen on “Blue Planet... Read morePosted in Bony fishes, Sharks & Rays | By Steve Reynolds
March 7, 2018
Sea Turtle Cleaners
To extend upon my series of article regarding cleaning symbiosis and fish cleaners, I will now discuss the cleaning of sea turtles. According to Wikipedia, “Cleaning symbiosis is known from several groups of animals both in the sea and on land. Cleaners include fish, shrimps and birds; clients include a much wider range of fish, marine reptiles including turtles and... Read morePosted in Bony fishes, Turtles | By Steve Reynolds
February 8, 2018
The Japanese Goby is similar to Krefft’s Goby
I have been helping Catherine McMahon from Port River Shellfish Restoration Project to monitor oysters being kept in baskets in the Port River system. One interesting aspect of the monitoring is the marine life that turns up in the oyster baskets. We have found fish, shells, pygmy squid, nudibranchs, flatworms, shrimps, blue-ringed octopus, etc.. I have been pleased to find... Read morePosted in Bony fishes, Invasive species | By Steve Reynolds
February 8, 2018
Cleaner Clingfish Cleaning Common Seadragons Captured on Camera at Sydney
Further to my article titled The study of fish cleaning behaviour in South Australian waters , at iNaturalist , Mark McGrouther shows two Common Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus images by Andrew Trevor-Jones. Mark reports that the images show an Eastern Cleaner Clingfish, Cochleoceps orientalis on the side of a Common Seadragon. An Eastern Cleaner Clingfish, Cochleoceps orientalis on the side of... Read morePosted in Bony fishes | By Steve Reynolds
February 4, 2018
The study of fish cleaning behaviour in South Australian waters
Several papers and publications either authored, co-authored or edited by our Patron, Dr Scoresby Shepherd, detailed his early work regarding the study of fish cleaning behaviour in South Australian waters. These include:- “Paradise is Underwater – Memoir of a marine biologist” (2016) by Dr Scoresby A. Shepherd AO (p.261). “Ecology of Australian Temperate Reefs – The Unique South” (2013) edited... Read morePosted in Bony fishes, Research | By Steve Reynolds
January 15, 2018
More About Tropical Fish Cleaners (esp. re Manta Rays as hosts)
A couple of things this week have spurred me on to write a couple of additional things about “Tropical Fish Cleaners and Their Mimics”. It started with a photo of a Bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, cleaning in the mouth of a giant moray, Gymnothorax javanicus, in Egypt (the Red Sea) on The Global Diving Community Facebook page. It had... Read morePosted in Bony fishes, Sharks & Rays | By Steve Reynolds
December 31, 2017
Bridled leatherjackets and Toothbrush leatherjackets
This photo was taken at Rapid Bay between the old and new jetties: The fish in the background, behind the adult Castelnau’s (aka Pretty polly) wrasse, is an older, juvenile Bridled leatherjacket. The leatherjacket is over a seagrass meadow, predominantly Amphibolis (aka ‘wireweed’). The Bridled leatherjacket is one of our state’s smallest ‘leatheries’, and smallest of the several seagrass-dependent ‘niche... Read morePosted in Bony fishes | By David Muirhead