Have you seen this fish?

I am Ana Gaisiner and I'm a Field Associate at the California Academy of Sciences under the direction of Dr. Alison Gould. Part of my project involves diving in search of Siphonfish, genus Siphamia. They are a group of tiny cardinalfish that exhibit bioluminescence though symbiosis with light producing bacteria.

Mark suggested I enlist some help from the fabulous Australasian Fishes Project divers to record any sightings of Siphonfish. Some species such as the Urchin Cardinalfish, S. tubifer can be found hiding in the spines of tropical sea urchins for protection from predators. The Wood's Siphonfish, S. cephalotes, inhabit temperate kelp beds of coastal Australia, while the Pinkbreasted Siphonfish, S. rosiegaster (image above) has a more tropical range and can be found around piers and under other structures.

So if you happen across these little wonders (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=92086) please snap a photo or two and post them on iNaturalist. Any details about the habitat, depth, time of day, the number of individuals etc. would be greatly appreciated too!

For more information you can contact me via iNaturalist @anagaisiner or via email, agaisiner@gmail.com.

If you would like to learn more about our work check out our recent publications at https://alisongould40.com/publications/