That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information
Fishes are the most numerous and diverse of all vertebrates, so it’s no surprise that many fascinating new species were discovered in 2012. Among them were 9 brilliantly-colored American Darters and a Vietnamese fish that carries its sexual organs on its head (dubbed, for the lack of a better name, the Genitalia-Headed Fish). Shallow Tennessee streams, ocean trenches nearly 2 miles deep, Indonesian coral reefs and many other habitats yielded wonderful surprises, and hinted that fish enthusiasts have much more to look forward to. Today I’ll highlight a few grabbed my attention; please post your own favorites (whether covered here or not) below.
US Darters: the Obama Fish and other “Politicos”
Nine new species of freshwater Darter were described from the southeastern USA this past year (Bulletin of the Alabama Museum of Natural History). Five were named in honor of the environmental awareness exhibited by current and former politicians: Etheostoma obama, E. teddyroosevelt, E. gore, E. jimmycarter and E. Clinton. Read More »