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cookmedoc

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Posts posted by cookmedoc

  2. Posted

    There are several white blotched species, I did not find this one in Allen, Steene etc... but your fish matches perfectly the Xyrichtys melanopus in Kuiter & Debelius, p. 616 bottom right. I think the small black patch at the end of anal fin is important, combined with other characteristics is truly this one.

     

    In the Philippines here this kind of fish is rare, and we only meet them like 20 m and down on sandy mud bottoms with more sand than mud.

     

    Guido

  3. Posted

    After a long silence we start uploading again photos on www.poppe-images.com.

     

    There are 46 622 photos from marine life of the Philippines today. 4500 photos will be uploaded in the coming weeks and over 10 000 are in processing stage. Please visit.

     

    We need help for corrections on many groups as we are experts in mollusks only (but that concerns 56000 marine species - of which about 5000 are living in front of my house here and we discovered over 2000 new species in the last 6 years. Expected are 12000 species for the Philippines in the short term future). Of the newly discovered ones we could describe and let describe about 250 in the latest two years, looking for funding also in order to proceed fast with the description of the 1800 undescribed ones waiting in drawers. Contact us if interested in this project.

     

    Guido

  4. Posted

    The shell is definitely not a clam, clams (Pectinidae) have eyes that look as pearls all around the "tentacles". This shell belongs to the family LIMIDAE and it is most probably Lima lima (Linnaeus,1758).

     

    References are Rios (1994), Abbott (1974), Macsotay, Campos & Vilarroel (2001) and a live one was figured by Humann (1999)

     

    Guido

  5. Posted

    Leslie & All,

     

    The photo from Scuba equipment is probably the same as on:

     

    http://www.daveharasti.com/nelsonbay/seasl...Volva_volva.jpg

     

    The fabulous shot shows the host: the gorgonian, and below the shell are the egg capsules of Volva volva. This is most probably a "première".

     

    It also proves that the species lives within diving depths. All by all the Volva volva has been photographed at least 4 times by now.

  7. Posted

    Leslie is right, the first one is the juvenile Ovula ovum - the colors match with certain nudibranches - which are poisonous - and the juvenile of this large common sea cucumber.

    The second one is a fantastic photo: it is a Volva volva crawling on the bottom. Same family.

    Photos of this species alive a rarities: I've dredged one piece at 80 m deep in the central Philippines and photographed it, but in 1300 dives in all sort of biotopes we could never photograph one. Apparently the species is 60 m and down, from where... fishermen take them in quantities between 100 and 150 m on gravel and mud bottoms.

  11. Posted

    Hello Leslie,

     

     

    no such thing exists as yet. The usual problem between the photo and the "jar" with the animal that is not collected - I can't blame anybody because we also photograph and don't take the animals unless it's a VERY RARE shell, which almost never happens because rare shells have the unfortunate property of being rare. Debelius figures a lot. In most shellbooks there are a few sparse photos.

    This is a problem for the family as Ovulids have also a sexual dimorphism in many species and the shell shapes are MOST PROBABLY depending from the gorgonians they eat and live on. So, it is important to collect the "two" specimen if they are sitting together as often the case and to figure them somewhere on a place as this one here.

     

    Guido

  12. Posted

    Yes Leander,

     

    in this case the image is not enough. It probably concerns a juvenile judging after the transparancy of the shell. If you have the shell front and backview we can try a determination. An identical animal is figured in Debelius (1998) also as "sp".

     

    Guido

  15. Posted

    Dear Leander,

     

    this is a member of the family OVULIDAE - not a real cowry. Genus Phenacovolva. For more determination, we need to see the shell in detail. There are many species in the Indo-Pacific.

     

     

    Guido

  16. Posted

    These are great shots, but we have nothing in the databases (as yet) that resembles this one. Apparently this group of animals is difficult to photograph and even more difficult to identify. Kuiter & Debelius also make no attempt of determination. They write on page 102: "Flyingfish are difficult to identify without having examined a specimen". A sentence we hear too much these days...

    Now, among the photos viewed: none have this delicious moustache. And instead of a yellow band in the centre of the big fins most species are transluscent exactly on this spot.

     

    Guido

  17. Posted

    Richard,

     

    I looked up the miniata in the literature we have and the Poppe-images. The species starts young as a dull orange, then becomes bright red with the spots (your photo) and when big it loses the red a lot, its general appearance rather black-brown with spots.

    Your shot is fine as the miniata in this stage likes crevices and it is difficult to photograph the whole body. In the Philippines it is even more difficult than elsewhere I presume, because most want this magnificent species in the dish, so they are shy except in well protected sanctuaries. I've seen adults there (Hilutungan) from well over 60 cm in only 3 m of water.

     

    Guido

  21. Posted

    Great photograph: I didn’t see anything like this in our databases which are already quite extensive.

    It is definitely an Ovulidae. Based on the shape, locality and size we find the following in literature:

     

    Pseudocyphoma gibsonsmithorum Petuch

    - described from Venezuela and 15 mm plus, fits the shape, but locality is far away and much bigger than 10 mm.

     

    Cyphoma sedlaki Cate

    - 15 mm and from off Southeast Florida – quite near and locality OK, but the dorsal view of shell should be broad, not slender. A dorsal view can help a lot here.

     

    Simnia uniplicata (Sowerby, 1848)

    - 13 mm. From Virginia to Brazil, 13 mm and up. Fits best locality, shape and size.

     

    There is a lot of confusion in Caribbean Ovulids.

     

    As William suggested, when encountering Ovulids, it is essential to take photos after a gentle touch on the dorsum. Turning the shell on the back and photographing the aperture is very important in this group. Put them always back very near the base of the gorgonian they are living on, but in a case as this one, better collect the shell for photography and determination. If you don’t collect, the Ovulids in general crawl up their gorgonian right away after being photographed.

     

    Few Ovulids have been figured alive in literature. Most of the photographs are impossible to identify without the shells shown from both sides… and determinations are doubtfull in many cases. Lots of work to be done and this is another example of an important photograph which may be worth diving again for more info on this magnificent animal.

     

    I want to point up that the whole family is only described and understood in part. Every year a number of species is described and often their range is wider than expected.

     

    Guido

  22. Posted

    We photographed this one in Sogod Bay, southern Leyte, the Philippines.

     

    Its colors are close to A. thiellei but it also can be a freakish A. perideraion.

     

    Also in Sogod Bay, we photographed what may be our first Philippine A. percula.

     

    Go to possible A. thiellei: www.poppe-images.com

     

    Go to first A. percula: www.poppe-images.com

     

    926929.jpg

     

    927464.jpg

     

    For color variants of Amphiprion go to: http://wish.wodonga.tafe.edu.au/~kwaldon/species.htm

     

    greetings

     

    Guido

  23. Posted

    Hello Leslie,

     

     

    good you are in the field, nothing such as the real thing ! We are (Guphil I) just back from Ticao and Masbate and you were often in the mind and on the tongue "that's one for Leslie !". Now 1800 images to process before you can correct our elephants ! Thanks for all the help.

     

    Guido

  24. Posted

    A very difficult one. Which book can we use for these flatworms ? They are as beautiful as the nudis - but how to determinate ?

     

    In the "white group" I found several, everything seems to play on the color of the periphery: from inside to outside:

    Pseudoceros jebborum is black and yellow (this could be a young one ?)

    Pseudoceros bimarginatus: white - brown-red- black - yellow

    Pseudoceros confusus - white black dark yellow-black-white

    Could not get further...

  25. Posted

    Yes, this snail is world news - I wonder how come we see so little about it. We mailed this around to all our registered members about 2 years ago, it's good to see the results of it - it's even more strange now, not just the armor.

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