Eschmeyer’s Scorpionfish

Fish > Scorpionfish

Eschmeyer’s Scorpionfish (Rhinopias eschmeyeri) is one of the most spectacularly ornate, coveted marine teleosts inhabiting the coral reef systems of the Indo-West Pacific. Named in honor of renowned American ichthyologist William N. Eschmeyer, this rare...

Golden Nugget Pleco

Fish > Catfish

The Golden Nugget Pleco (Baryancistrus xanthellus), celebrated in the aquarium trade under the code L018/L085, is one of the most stunning armored suckermouth catfishes in South America. Endemic strictly to the clear-water rapids of the Rio Xingu and its major...

Emerald Green Corydoras

Fish > Catfish

The Emerald Green Corydoras (Corydoras eques) is a strikingly beautiful, peaceful callichthyid armored catfish native to the dark, tea-colored blackwater creeks of the Rio Tefé basin in the Brazilian Amazon. Discovered and described by Franz Steindachner in 1876, this...

Barnes’ Garden Eel

Fish > Eels

Barnes’ Garden Eel (Gorgasia barnesi) is an exceptionally slender, colonial marine congrid eel that inhabits clear, current-swept sand slopes across the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific. First described in 1984, this remarkable benthic species lives in...

Viper Dogfish

Fish > Dogfish Sharks

The Viper Dogfish (Trigonognathus kabeyai) is an extraordinary, rarely encountered deep-sea shark belonging to the squaliform family Etmopteridae. First captured off the coast of Japan in 1986, this bizarre predator seems plucked from science fiction, characterized by...

Pearl River Stingray

Fish > River Stingrays

The Pearl River Stingray (Potamotrygon jabuti) is a mesmerizing obligate freshwater stingray endemic to the crystal-clear waters of the Rio Xingu basin in the Brazilian Amazon. Formally described in 2008, it is revered by ichthyologists and nature enthusiasts for its...

Mariana Snailfish

Fish > Snailfishes

The Mariana Snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) is an extraordinary extremophile vertebrate, reigning as the deepest-living fish ever captured by marine scientists. Inhabiting depths exceeding 26,000 feet in the Mariana Trench, this delicate-looking scorpaeniform thrives...

Pointy-nosed Blue Chimaera

Fish > Ghost Sharks & Chimaeras

The Pointy-nosed Blue Chimaera (Hydrolagus trolli) is an enigmatic, ancient holocephalan fish roaming the deep bathypelagic waters of the Pacific Ocean. Named in honor of Alaskan artist Ray Troll, this ethereal creature belongs to a lineage that diverged from true...

Bornean Pygmy Minnow

Fish > Cyprinids

The Bornean Pygmy Minnow (Paedocypris micromegethes) is one of the smallest vertebrate animals known to science, formally described in 2006 from the ancient peat swamp forests of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Measuring barely 11 millimeters in length at full adult...

Ruby Dragonet

Fish > Dragonets

The Ruby Dragonet (Synchiropus sycorax) is an exquisitely colored benthic reef fish described scientifically in 2016 from the coral rubble reefs of Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. Named after Sycorax, the enchantress and mother of Caliban in William...