Malcolm with bar-tailed goatfish (Upeneus francisi) named after him
The little fish Malcolm is holding is commonly called a bar-tailed goatfish, and has the scientific name Upeneus francisi, after Malcolm Francis. The name was bestowed by Jack Randall from Hawaii, who described the fish.
The person who describes a new species of fish has the honour of naming the fish, and sometimes, as in this case, they name it after a person.
In this close-up photo you can see the distinctive forked tail that gives it the common name of ‘bar-tailed’.
Close up of bar-tailed goatfish
Other fish are given names that describe a particular feature. The scientific name of this gold-spot pufferfish is Torquigener altipinnis. Torquigener is the genus, or group, that the fish belongs to (like our family name). Altipinnis is the species name, which is like the fish’s first name, and it means high, or tall, fins (think ‘alti’ as in ‘altitude’).
Gold-spot pufferfish, Torquigener altipinnis. Altipinnis means high, or tall, fins (think ‘alti’ as in ‘altitude’).
Naming and describing species, which is a science known as taxonomy, is very important. Once a species is formally described, anyone anywhere in the world can identify it, whether they are an occasional snorkeller or a full-time scientist. This makes taxonomy the foundation stone for building knowledge about life in the ocean.
Part of the process of taxonomy is that species are described from specimens – a taxonomist prefers to have a number of specimens to work with so they can get a sense of the natural variation between individuals (you and I, for instance, look different, but are still the same species). The main specimen, often chosen as the most typical example, is known as the holotype, and it is permanently lodged in a national collection so it can be referred to again if necessary.
One of the main purposes of this trip is to build up the national collections of fishes so that our fish taxonomists can be sure they have described fish correctly, and also allow them to describe the new species that we are finding.
We are very aware that it is an immense privilege to work in a marine reserve, and we have gone through a rigorous process of getting permits to allow us to collect here. Doing it once, and doing it properly, will ensure that in future people who want to study marine life from the Kermadecs can go to a collection and work on the material there, rather than make another sampling trip.
