Recent News
4 Foot, 2 Inch Squid Washes Up On South ShoreFriday, March 27, 2015
[Updated] A four foot, two inch squid washed up on the South Shore today [Mar 27], with the specimen now on its way to the Aquarium for analysis.
HSBC fund to aid water conservation
Monday, March 23, 2015
The Global HSBC Water Programme has received funding to support two conservation projects in Bermuda.
Waging war on Island’s lionfish menace
Friday, March 20, 2015
A full-time, deep sea culling programme to help to control the number of invasive lionfish is being created by the Ocean Support Foundation.
Tracking the epic journey of sea turtles
Friday, March 13, 2015
New data about Bermuda’s sea turtles, including research tracing the journey of young animals from Bermuda to foreign shores, is to be presented at an upcoming talk.
Educational Opportunities Aboard Endurance
Friday, February 27, 2015
From exploring the surface, to diving beneath the ocean waves, a voyage aboard the Endurance brings with it a multitude of raw emotions that can embolden the most fearful, inspire the most discouraged, and impassion the most indifferent.
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Latest News
All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
By Owain Johnston-Barnes
Published Dec. 3, 2013 at 8:00 am (Updated Dec. 2, 2013 at 10:33 pm)
The yellowfin chromis, one of two species recently recognised
as being endemic to Bermuda by the Smithsonian Institution.
A pair of Bermuda fish species have been recognised by the Smithsonian Institution as being unique to Bermuda’s waters.
The yellowfin chromis and the Collette’s halfbeak have been classified as endemic to Bermuda in an update to the authoritative 1999 Fishes of Bermuda publication. Both species have been known in Bermuda’s waters for some time but were only recently determined to be endemic.
Report writers William Smith-Vaniz and Bruce Collette also identified differences between the endemic Bermuda creole wrasse and its Caribbean relatives, suggesting they may also prove to be endemic.
“We recently became aware of two colour photographs, one of a school and the other of a single individual ... of wrasses from Bermuda (Lucas 2012) identified as clepticus parrae,” the researchers wrote.
The Collette’s halfbeak, one of two species recently recognised as being endemic
to Bermuda by the Smithsonian Institution. ((Photo credit to Heidi M. Banford))
“Terminal phase adults are distinctive in having very elongate outer caudal-fin rays, mostly solid blue body and fins and a bright yellow snout. We predict that subsequent research will show these fish to be another Bermuda endemic. All records of clepticus parrae from Bermuda apparently are based on misidentification of this undescribed clepticus.”
They noted the terminal male yellowhead wrasse, called “Redbacks” locally, have different colouration than its counterparts elsewhere in the region.
The Smithsonian also listed several species not previously known to reside in Bermuda, such as the whitenose pipefish, the roughtail stingray, a deepwater opah and blackear wrasse.
A Bermuda Zoological Society spokeswoman said: “In all, 24 new records were listed, and five older records have been discounted as errors, reminding us that we still have much to discover about life on our reefs and that diligent citizen scientists, fishermen and naturalists all have key roles to play.”
The research paper is available at the Natural History Museum Library at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo.