Links to images from Red Sea Trip Aug 2015

[drbill]

I have posted quite a number of still images from my recent trip to the Red Sea, diving mostly land-based between Safaga and Marsa Alam with a day boat trip to the Salem Express and a liveaboard trip out of Hurghada. If you are not a member of Facebook, the following links will get you to the albums:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102342177319671.1073741895.11616&type=1&l=c445a86f3b

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102342203207791.1073741896.11616&type=1&l=de81fd3c56

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102342173113101.1073741894.11616&type=1&l=202d6f717a

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102349323503661.1073741899.11616&type=1&l=6c31295585

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102342254659681.1073741898.11616&type=1&l=d4a3d96c65

[url]https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102342215323511.1073741897.11616&type=1&l=ec467b8283
[/URL]

 

[diverLux]

Great stuff ! El Quseir and Pharaoh Dive Club are my favored destination on the Red Sea, this is where I learned to dive, my instructor was Fathy and on the last day of the course we met with the dugong at Sheikh Maleg.

 

[drbill]

Really enjoyed diving with them, too.

Any of you Red Sea experts that notice a misidentification of a species, please don't hesitate to let me know. I want to be accurate and appreciate any corrections.

 

[Searcaigh]

Hi Bill,

On Album 3 what you describe as Arabian Angelfish looks more like a Yellowbar Angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosas) to me. The Arabian Angelfish (Pomacanthus asfur) is a much darker blue and the yellow marking generally runs over the dorsal area.

 

[drbill]

Interesting. Thanks. I used Debelius' Red Sea Reef Guide for the ID (as well as Steve, the co-owner at Roots Camp). Unless I am misreading Debelius, he calls Pomacanthus maculosus the Arabian angelfish and P. asfur the crescent angelfish. I agree that the one pictured should be P. maculosus. So much for common "common" names! I had to send the copy of Lieske and Myers back since the bookseller sent me the Russian version and am awaiting the English version.

Found a number of species with different "common" names in the two books. Since my videos target non-biologists I generally use the common names for the species I present, but will usually give more than one common name for a species if I'm aware of them.

Hi Bill,

On Album 3 what you describe as Arabian Angelfish looks more like a Yellowbar Angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosas) to me. The Arabian Angelfish (Pomacanthus asfur) is a much darker blue and the yellow marking generally runs over the dorsal area.

 

[Searcaigh]

Hi Bill,

My main reference book for the Red Sea has always been Red Sea Reef Fishes by John E. Randall, called "Randall's book of dead fish" by a marine biologist friend of mine that used to dive with me when we both lived in Jeddah.

I was always taught to use Latin names as they generally describe the fish better such as Amblyglyphidodon leucogaster - White bellied Damselfish or Plectroglyphidodon leucozona - Whitebar Damselfish

Some Latin knowledge from my medical background comes in handy sometimes.

I did notice that some of the common names you used for various fish differ slightly