Blog

Larval whalefish at Apo Island

By: Mark McGrouther, Category: Science, Date: 29 Feb 2012

It is exceedingly rare to see a juvenile whalefish (a tapetail) in shallow water.

Tapetail postlarval stage of cetomimid whalefish

Tapetail postlarval stage of cetomimid whalefish
Donald Hughes © Donald Hughes

From YouTube: "Flora Teng and Bill Durbin saw this unusual fish at only 20 feet (7 m) on the morning of March 26, 2011 while diving at Rock Point West, Apo Island, Philippines." View the clip on You Tube.

The 'hidden identity' of the tapetails was revealed in 2008 in the ground-breaking paper of Johnson and colleagues.

Blog home More in this category More by this author

Tags fishes, ichthyology, Larval whalefish, tapetail, Apo Island, Philippines,

2 comments

Mark McGrouther - 3.03 PM, 27 March 2012

Hi randys.  I agree with you.  The life cycle of the whalefishes is truly remarkable, not the least of which is, as you say, the differences in habitats between the larvae and the adults.  In case you didn't see it, this page gives more information on the amazing life cycle of the whalefishes.

randys - 3.03 AM, 27 March 2012
This is amazing footage. Who would have guessed a midwater fish would have made it so far inland....

Report misuse