Going out with a bang. The last dive on the Kermadec Biodiversity expedition was at L’Esperance Rock, the southern-most of the Kermadec islands. And it was a very spectacular and very productive dive, which left the fish team buzzing with excitement.
What a finish: Tom with the new New Zealand family record of brownspot bigeyes discovered in the last dive © M. Francis
The highlight was a fish called Priacanthus macracanthus, or the brownspot bigeye, which is another new family record for New Zealand. Tom says it’s only ever been recorded from the top of the east coast of Australia and north of there, so these fish are a long way from home!
Bigeyes, as their name suggests, have large eyes, which they use to feed at night – during the day they hide in crevices, so they often go unnoticed by divers. In this photo you can see another smaller group of fishes that are also known as bigeyes in New Zealand, and they too have huge eyes.
What's in a name? More bigeyes - they've adapted so they can fish well at night, by day they hide in crevices © M. Francis
Clinton was filming during the last dive, and he managed to get some footage of the brownspot bigeye. It’s the plain dark fish that is usually near the centre of frame. The black fish with two prominent white dots are two-spot demoiselles, and towards the end of the clip the group of fish is joined by a bigger white fish which is an adult Kermadec scalyfin (Parma kermadecensis, which featured in blog 42, in the story about fish having different colour patterns at different stages of their life). You also get glimpses of divers collecting fish.
Check out Clinton’s footage of the brownspot bigeye cruising through the water (he’s the plain dark fish near the centre of the frame):
But wait – there’s more! Also on the last dive the team collected a juvenile surgeonfish. Although they don’t yet know exactly which species it is, it is almost certainly a new species record for New Zealand. Adult surgeonfish have been seen in New Zealand before, but not collected, so this may well be the first specimen as well.
Double or nothing: the last dive may have yielded a second new record for New Zealand - a yet-to-be identified specimen of juvenile surgeonfish
Written by
Alison Ballance
May 29, 2011
That’s awesome, all of you!! Great adventures, great finds, great teamwork and awesome blogging!! Thanks for letting us share in the excitement! How much longer can we look forward to hearing from you for?
Hi Steve, I will ask the team about jellyfish – I am just about to pass on news of their arrival on the mainland so it may take a little while for an answer. As to how long you can look forward to hearing from us – we intend to carry on providing updates as the team formally identifies the specimens they have collected and names anything that they have the opportunity to name. We probably won’t be a prolific as we’ve been because, as you no doubt know, the identification process and that of naming any new finds is not necessarily a speedy one. But we’re definitely not done yet.
Loved hearing about all the fish and other finds. Any jellyfish? I only ask because the jellyfish lady from Tasmania says NZ is an unresearched field with many new species possibly yet to discover.
Thanks again!!
What a way to go out in L’Esperance. Exciting news, and so jealous!
Great work and many thanks to the team that has been busy on both ends of the communication chain. We have really enjoyed the updates as the trip as progressed. Eli was busy explaining to me via ‘facetime’ what was happening and showing me the updates as they came in.
Safe travels. We look forward to seeing you soon.