Psychedelic New Fish Species Found

[Misteria]

I saw this on the news this past week, amazing new species found in indonesia.



Frogfish Bounces Like Rubber Ball Along Ocean Floor Near Indonesia

A funky, psychedelic fish that bounces on the ocean floor like a rubber ball has been classified as a new species, a scientific journal reported.

The frogfish - which has a swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes that extend from its aqua eyes to its tail - was initially discovered by scuba diving instructors working for a tour operator a year ago in shallow waters off Ambon island in eastern Indonesia.

The operator contacted Ted Pietsch, lead author of a paper published in this month's edition of Copeia, the journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, who submitted DNA work identifying it as a new species.

The fish - which the University of Washington professor has named “psychedelica” - is a member of the antennariid genus, Histiophryne, and like other frogfish, has fins on both sides of its body that have evolved to be leg-like.

But it has several behavioral traits not previously known to the others, Pietsch wrote.

Each time the fish strike the seabed, for instance, they push off with their fins and expel water from tiny gill openings to jet themselves forward. That, and an off-centered tail, causes them to bounce around in a bizarre, chaotic manner.

Mark Erdman, a senior adviser to the Conservation International's marine program, said Thursday it was an exciting discovery.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n4831909.shtml

[AlbertJ]

amazingness

[92Notch]

lets fry it up and put it on a sammich.

[cellularsociety]

Presumably the chaotic bouncing is some sort of anti predator adaptation.

mark

[Misteria]

sadly it will become extinct once the aquariums get orders for this species

[cellularsociety]

In the wild possibly. I'm not actually sure what level (if any) of protection the waters off indonesia have. It should be strict because indonesia waters contain some of the most biologically diverse reef systems anywhere in the world.

Sadly this is probably not the case.

Mark

[Misteria]

The world has such hidden beauties and undiscovered.
I want to visit Indonesia one day.

[oki]

thats a strange fish.

[Misteria]

its too cute! i love the way it bounces

[Saison]

Further proof that god loves LSD and wants us to be happy.

[oki]

and that god loves teh disabled.

[cellularsociety]

It is strange. It's covered in vivid markings - usually used to ward off predators. Random swimming (well bouncing) pattern - evade predators.

And yet when it swims it manages to look EXACTLY like a lump of raw meat.

Strange fish.

Mark

[Misteria]

lol so true Mark.