A Rare Fish Find on Bonaire's Bari Reef

Active REEF surveyor and Advanced Assessment Team member, Patti Chandler and her husband Scott, recently found a new fish species for Bonaire! Scott and Patti, of ReefNet, were in Bonaire as presenters for the Second Annual Fish ID Challenge. Nearing the end of a lengthy night dive on Bari Reef over sand, in 10 feet of water, something very strange was illuminated by their video lights catching Scott and Patti's eyes. It was a clear fish,1 inch in length, with a rounded tail, and large pectoral fins that practically encircled it, giving it an appearance of wearing a tutu with yellow dots.

The little fish was very active in the water column making photography and videography more of a challenge than usual. This fish was a very young juvenile, more precisely described in the scientific community as post larval in the "settling stage". As they were at a loss for its identification, photos of the strange little fish were sent off for identification to Les Wilk, Head of Scientific Research at ReefNet who in turn sent them to Benjamin Victor, who is the recognized expert for juveniles of any kind, especially larvae. Ben is a frequent poster to the REEF Discussion Forums and has a very useful website, www.coralreeffish.com.

Ben made a positive ID for the wacky little fish. It is a juvenile Reef Bass, Pseudogramma gregoryi! The adult version of the Reef Bass looks totally different. Very few reference guides even mention this obscure but beautiful fish. You can see a photo of the adult at on the bottom of this webpage. The new species was reported on Patti's REEF survey and will be added to the species count for Bonaire. Bonaire's Bari Reef is the ONLY place this fish has ever been reported to REEF in the entire Tropical Western Atlantic! Bari Reef was already the number one reported reef for species diversity in Tropical Western Atlantic and this new species just increases the lead.

The Annual Fish ID Challenge is sponsored by Bonaire Dive & Adventure, Budget Car Rental, ReefNet, and Sand Dollar Condominium Resort for promotion of marine education and conservation.