Recent sighting of shoal of Bumphead Parrotfish in Guam by Peter Green,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfnOGkZpl3o
The fish we never knew - by Eric Simmons in BayNature about the Galapogos Damselfish Azurina eupalama; interview with Prof Luiz Rocha of California Academy
False positives: Taxonomic reconsideration means that the 'extinct' Green wrasse (Anampses viridus) in Mauritius never was. New paper shows that these specimens incorrectly ascribed to a new species were actually the adult male terminal phase colour form (and junior synonym) of a common and widespread species A. caeruleopunctatus Rüppell 1829. The 'extinction' of this 'species' was first brought to our attention by a paper lead by Julie Hawkins which stated, "The wrasse Anampses viridis was described from Mauritius in 1839 (Randall, J. E. 1972. A revision of the labrid fish genus Anampses. Micronesica 8:151–195) but has not been seen in recent years despite intensive sampling. It may now be extinct, possibly a victim of sedimentation and nutrient pollution that has been degrading the reefs of Mauritius since the nineteenth century" (Hawkins, J. P., C. M. Roberts, and V. Clark. 2000. The threatened status of restricted-range coral reef fish species. Animal Conservation 3:81-88). This paper, and our subsequent propagation of this extinction were dependent on the taxonomic status. Clearly if it is not a valid species then it was never extinct. The 180-year old mystery has been nicely cleared by Barry Russell and Matthew Craig (Russell, B. C., and M. T. Craig. 2013. Anampses viridis Valenciennes 1840 (Pisces: Labridae)—a case of taxonomic confusion and mistaken extinction. Zootaxa 3722:83–91).
While taxonomic revision can often reveal greater extinction risk in species complexes (see Iglesias et al. and Dulvy and Reynolds Commentary) this is a rare case of the elimination of extinction risk by taxonomic tidying.
Dulvy, N. K., and J. D. Reynolds. 2009. Biodiversity: Skates on thin ice. Nature 462:417.
Iglésias, S. P., L. Toulhout, and D. P. Sellos. 2010. Taxonomic confusion and market mislabelling of threatened skates: Important consequences for their conservation status. Aquatic Conservation - Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20:319-333.
Sea snakes disappear from coral reef. Roberta Kwok | 13 August 2013 Conservation Magazine
Lukoschek, V., Beger, M., Ceccarelli, D., Richards, Z. and Pratchett, M. (2013) Enigmatic declines of Australia’s sea snakes from a biodiversity hotspot. Biological Conservation, 166, 191-202.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfnOGkZpl3o
The fish we never knew - by Eric Simmons in BayNature about the Galapogos Damselfish Azurina eupalama; interview with Prof Luiz Rocha of California Academy
False positives: Taxonomic reconsideration means that the 'extinct' Green wrasse (Anampses viridus) in Mauritius never was. New paper shows that these specimens incorrectly ascribed to a new species were actually the adult male terminal phase colour form (and junior synonym) of a common and widespread species A. caeruleopunctatus Rüppell 1829. The 'extinction' of this 'species' was first brought to our attention by a paper lead by Julie Hawkins which stated, "The wrasse Anampses viridis was described from Mauritius in 1839 (Randall, J. E. 1972. A revision of the labrid fish genus Anampses. Micronesica 8:151–195) but has not been seen in recent years despite intensive sampling. It may now be extinct, possibly a victim of sedimentation and nutrient pollution that has been degrading the reefs of Mauritius since the nineteenth century" (Hawkins, J. P., C. M. Roberts, and V. Clark. 2000. The threatened status of restricted-range coral reef fish species. Animal Conservation 3:81-88). This paper, and our subsequent propagation of this extinction were dependent on the taxonomic status. Clearly if it is not a valid species then it was never extinct. The 180-year old mystery has been nicely cleared by Barry Russell and Matthew Craig (Russell, B. C., and M. T. Craig. 2013. Anampses viridis Valenciennes 1840 (Pisces: Labridae)—a case of taxonomic confusion and mistaken extinction. Zootaxa 3722:83–91).
While taxonomic revision can often reveal greater extinction risk in species complexes (see Iglesias et al. and Dulvy and Reynolds Commentary) this is a rare case of the elimination of extinction risk by taxonomic tidying.
Dulvy, N. K., and J. D. Reynolds. 2009. Biodiversity: Skates on thin ice. Nature 462:417.
Iglésias, S. P., L. Toulhout, and D. P. Sellos. 2010. Taxonomic confusion and market mislabelling of threatened skates: Important consequences for their conservation status. Aquatic Conservation - Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20:319-333.
Sea snakes disappear from coral reef. Roberta Kwok | 13 August 2013 Conservation Magazine
Lukoschek, V., Beger, M., Ceccarelli, D., Richards, Z. and Pratchett, M. (2013) Enigmatic declines of Australia’s sea snakes from a biodiversity hotspot. Biological Conservation, 166, 191-202.
