[Biology] New Fish Species Discovered in Southern Taiwan Waters

[Biology] New Fish Species Discovered in Southern Taiwan Waters (Chinese Version)

CNA – Focus Taiwan (2012/05/09) Two new fish species have been discovered in waters of the Kenting area in southern Taiwan, the Kenting National Park Headquarters said May 9.

A lined dartfish, identified in Taiwan for the first time, was spotted when Cheng-ping CHEN, an associate researcher at the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute, and Yung-chun TSAI, director of a local underwater photography association, were scuba diving in February.

Ching-che LIN, a National Marine Museum worker, discovered the other new species, the rhinoceros leatherjacket, in April, in the same region, which has the richest marine ecology, including coral reefs, around Taiwan.

Both have been found in the Indian Ocean and in the Western Pacific, but had not previously been seen in Taiwan, according to Chen-jung CHEN, the park's director.

The previous month, another new species for the Kenting Park area -- the yellowback tubelip -- was found, while in April last year, the blackstriped angelfish was discovered, which was also the first for the waters in the 33,269-hectare park.

The tubelip has been previously recorded in the waters around Green Island off eastern Taiwan, while the angelfish has been recorded around Orchid Island and in several other areas, including Dongsha Island and the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Cheng-ping CHEN said.

The numbers of blackstriped angelfish have increased since the species was first spotted in Kenting last year, he added.

To date, More than 1,300 fish species have been discovered in Kenting waters, according to the park's director.

She said the discovery of new species, whether new to Taiwan or just to Kenting, indicates that the area is important to coral reef fish and suggests that more can be found as long as the ocean ecology in the area is well-preserved.


Reference:
CNA – Focus Taiwan 2012/05/09

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