Have you ever seen this frogfish (Histiophryne sp.) in the wild? Or anything that resembles it?
It’s an undescribed frogfish species that has been spotted in Lombok and possibly Cebu. Please note that it’s not one of the normal Antennarius frogfish species you see on dives.
Rachel Arnold, who is one of the key people at the University of Washington who described the new Maluku frogfish (Histiophryne psychedelica photo | video) and has just written her Masters thesis on the evolutionary history of frogfish (based on DNA analysis), is currently studying this fish.
Though I haven’t met her in person, Rachel was kind enough to take time to talk with me about the Maluku frogfish after I photographed it.
She is also quite active monitoring the internet for photographs and video of frogfishes posted by divers. In other words, she values input and feedback from the dive community, which…as some of you many know…is more often the exception rather than the rule among academics.
I firmly believe that we in the diving and underwater photographic communities should work with and learn from the research community, as well as give back when we can. We spend much more time in the water than researchers do.
So if you’ve seen this fish before, please let me know, so we can help Rachel gather more information about this fish’s habitat and geographic distribution.
