A completely new family of fishes may have been discovered in the coral beds of Indonesia. Dive company owners, Buck and Fitrie Randolph of Maluku Divers spotted the fish in January but waited to photograph additional specimens before contacting the experts. Interviewed by Seattle PI, University of Washington ichthyologist Ted Pietsch, who specializes in anglerfish, said it was unlike anything he had ever seen, sputtering "I'm still thrilled. It's an incredible thing. It's remarkable."
The pink-and-tan striped frogfish cannot be identified by any fish experts so far. While Pietsch is relatively sure it is a type of frogfish, given the sheath on the eggs and arm-like fins, there are some strong differentiators: It lacks a lure, has tiny pelvic fins and, most bizarrely, has a flat face with forward facing eyes. Typically a fish's eyes are on opposite sides of their head rather than side by side like human eyes. This means it is possible that this fish has binocular vision for improved depth perception and/or the fish has x-ray vision that allows it to look through female human bathing suits - an evolutionary adaptation Kevin Z of Deep Sea News has been working on in the lab for years.
The DNA is currently being analyzed by graduate student slaves. If actually a new species, Pietsch intends to name it Thefourinchfishus Thatgavemylifemeaningus.
Comments
Mom?
Posted by: jr | April 3, 2008 3:25 PM
yowza
Posted by: ym | April 3, 2008 4:50 PM
Whoa. Cool!
Posted by: y | April 3, 2008 7:56 PM
That fish is totally FUBAR. Completely ace though, wow.
Posted by: Dave Hone | April 3, 2008 9:16 PM
Now that's an interesting defensive strategy... look so bizarre that potential predators get crossed eyes and a headache! ;-)
Posted by: David Harmon | April 3, 2008 9:22 PM
uhmmm... why post an april's fool on 03/04?
M
Posted by: Marcello | April 4, 2008 4:48 AM
cool name!
Posted by: bact' | April 4, 2008 10:48 AM
Dammit! after all those years slaving away in the lab, I'm beaten by a weird frogfish?? Damn it all to hell and back again!
Posted by: kevin z | April 4, 2008 10:49 PM
The original story (link to Seattle PI) is clearer, not tweaked by putting in funny fabrications, and overall less goofy-sounding, and links to the photographer's (warning, completely flash-based website) page: http://www.starknakedfish.com with more images.
You wanta see _really_ scary, the first image that shows up when you go to the latter site will suffice.
Posted by: Hank Roberts | April 5, 2008 12:46 AM
i love the new species
Posted by: William Thomas | April 5, 2008 8:46 AM
So this isn't an april fool's joke?
Posted by: Eloheim | April 6, 2008 4:56 PM
You beat me to the punch on this one, Bleiman.
Posted by: Raging Wombat | April 7, 2008 6:37 PM
Cool!Completely ace though, wow.
Posted by: Kanser | April 8, 2008 6:52 AM
Hank- Nice comment to my bro! Venemous...I like it. I've always said that not only is Andrew's writing "goofy sounding," but so is his face. Also, I hate reading posts filled with "funny fabrications." When will Andrew learn that Zooillogix would be much more popular if he didn't try to be so hilarious all the time? It's exhausting, really. Good thing I have loyal allies like you to help me eventually murder my brother and bury his body somewhere in the desert outside of Reno. I know I can count on you. Hey, I know! Let's meet at a coffee shop in Berkeley to discuss. I was thinking that we could slip him a bunch of sleeping pills and then put a plastic bag over his head while he's sleeping, but I'm open to suggestions. We're in this together, Hank. Hank and Benny 4eva....4EVA!!!!!
Posted by: Benny | April 8, 2008 4:57 PM