在一个充满珊瑚礁和地理景观的世界中，没有地方像惊人而美妙的西巴布亚一样吸引我。多年来，陆地和水生的陆生和水生植物均与几乎所有地方的孤立和分离，陆地和水生植物都在和谐中演变为一系列高度流行的物种。作为鱼极客，很少有人会引起我的兴奋程度，尤其是因为该地区拥有大量高度专业的鱼，并且主要是在浅水深处。
To the northwest province of West Papua lies the Bird’s Head Peninsular, so named because it is said to resemble the head of a bird. The Bird’s Head Peninsular is the epicentre of three important reefs where many of the endemic species we’re covering today come from. To it’s west is theRaja Ampatisland group which consists of Misool, Salawati, Waigeo and Batanta. To the east liesCenderawasih bay, and just south of that, Triton Bay. These three geographical areas are triangulated in red in the map above. Throughout this article we will be jumping back and forth between the three island groups, as we show some of the endemic species.
Peppered within these island groups are highly endemic and specialised reef fishes in multiple genera that have evolved due to allopatric isolation over the years.Cirrhilabrusis represented in West Papua byC. Cenderawasih, whose name was given based on its type locality of Cenderawasih bay.C. Cenderawasih与C. walindi, and both are members of the “adornatus“ 复杂的。The males are typical of the complex, and are pinkish fading to white near the belly. A series of black spots line the dorsal flank and a yellow elongated blotch runs across the pink/white demarkation starting from the pectoral fin up to about two thirds the body length.
Like the other closely related species, the females are entirely pink with a single black caudal pedunclar spot, and otherwise nearly impossible to differentiate without contextual clues such as geographical location and presence of males.
C. Cenderawasihinhabits waters of 20-60m, but is most commonly found below 35m. Like many others in its genus, it favours rubble slopes where they swim above the substrate to pick off floating zooplankton. All Cirrhilabrus are haremic, andC. Cenderawasihis no exception. They are found in numbers ranging from 10-20, or more, and are mostly females. A few satellite males will be present, and the entire group is kept in control by a dominant terminal phased male.
Two species ofParacheilinusflasher wrasse are endemic to the Bird’s Head.Paracheilinus walton在Cenderawasih地区发现，与该属的其他细丝物种非常相似。上面由Dive Dream Indonesia拍摄的图片，该公司组织了潜水的鸟类岛岛集团，显示了一名全面展示的男性及其后方的女性。
P. walton, named after the Walton Family Foundation, is a beautiful species which bears spectacular characteristic during nuptial display. Males develop a white dorsal fin and filaments when flashing, along with a bright crimson red flank on the lower back of its dorsal region. LikeCirrhilabrus Cenderawasih,P. waltonlives in a large group of mostly females dominated by a single or few terminal males. The two species mix in the wild and are abundant where they are found.
The other endemicParacheilinusis found on the other side of the peninsular, in Raja Ampat. If you thought P. walton was beautiful,P. nursalimwill give it a run for its money. We’ve already done a full article on this species前, but because it is such an iconic fish of Raja Ampat, we will feature it again.
P. nursalimfeatures a white dorsal fin during nuptial display as well, just likeP. walton. However it possesses two characteristic black saddles, one on the anterior dorsal region and the other on the posterior anal region just before the caudal peduncle. Just like many otherParacheilinus, the species lives in large groups over rubble and deadFungiacrops where the numerous females are dominated by a single or a few terminal phased males.
Now back again to Cenderawasih Bay.Chrysiptera Priceiis an endemic damselfish from the area which belongs to the “parasema“ 复杂的。Like others in the same group, it is a small bluish species with the typical shape and markings. However the coloration differs most differently from others in the complex, such asc . parasema,C. springeri,C. arzanaeandC. hemicyanea.C. Priceiis more subdued in hue, and lacks the typical bright yellow that presents itself in each of the (exceptC. springeri) “parasema“ 复杂的。取而代之的是，它具有暗淡的黄色米色腹部和更微妙的蓝色上衣。
There are numerous endemic dotty backs to the Bird’s Head region, andPictichromis caitlinaeis one of them.P. caitlinaeis found in Cenderawasih bay, and is common in the shallows. It bears a reverse coloration ofP. diadema. It is most similar toP. Aurifrons, which lives in Papua New Guinea.
再次回到拉贾·安帕特（Raja Ampat），我们还有另一个地方性的傻瓜和eviota。上面的杂物来自属Manonichthys，并且是最不寻常和最好奇的物种之一。M. jamali模仿水坝Chromis retrofasciatain coloration, and apart from the shape, is actually a very faithful mimic.
It is not very clear what the dotty back gains from this unusual mimesis.Chromis retrofasciata在整个印度尼西亚都发现，散布非常广泛，但是M. jamaliis found only in Raja Ampat.Manonichthys jamaliis not the only member in this genus to mimic other fish.M. paranoxis jet black in coloration with no markings, and it mimics the dwarf angelfish中央副本NOXdown to its swimming pattern.
Pseudochromis ammerias well asEviota rajaare two beautiful species also endemic to the area. We’ve coveredP. ammeriin relative detail before, and we know that a striped as well as a non-striped form exists. However it’s always nice to see new pictures of these fish, since they live so far away and not many photographs of them exist.
Eviota rajais a dainty red and yellow striped species that bears similar resemblance to many others in this genus. It is most closely related to the gorgeouseviota pamae, which it bears superficially in colour and resemblance. However not much else is known aboutE. raja, orE. pamae对于这个问题。
一个新的流行Forcipigeralso calls Cenderawasih Bay home.F. wanaidiffers from the closely relatedF. longirostrisby having a darker body coloration as well as meristics. LikeF. longirostris,F. wanai还具有罕见的黑色黑色分阶段形式。三个都Forcipiger重叠在康达瓦西（Cenderawasih）的范围F. flavissimusis the rarest and least often encountered.
In this day and age it is fascinating and surprising that a shallow water big fish like a butterflyfish could still be found and described. There is still so much we do not know, have not seen, and that is the same to be said of West Papua. This post is just a tiny tiny sampling of the new endemic fishes that have been described in West Papua and the Bird’s Head Peninsular.
If you have a copy of Allen and Erdmann’s three part series on thefishes of the East Indies, you would be able to see and enjoy, at your fingertips, the plethora of endemics native to this area, and the surrounding. The book also includes description of some of the newer species, and wild photos of the Bird’s Head Peninsular endemics.
