Discovery
In June 1992, a shipment of assorted fishes from Bali, Indonesia, to the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park revealed "something different"— two curious-looking anglerfish that became known as the "paisley anglers". They were in "very poor condition", and they died that same month. The specimens were preserved and sent to Pietsch for identification, along with a photo, although the photo was poor quality. However, after having been fixed in formalin and preserved in ethanol, their colors faded to a solid white, and their frilled faces lost their distinct frill shape. When the fish were analyzed, they were misidentified as cryptic anglerfish (Histiophryne cryptacanthus). These specimens were preserved and placed on a shelf. No one returned to them until their recent rediscovery in 2008.
The species was first photographed in the wild during its second sighting in January 2008 by Buck Randolph, Fitrie Randolph and Toby Fadirsyair of Maluku Divers, located in Ambon, Indonesia. This quickly made headlines across American and Indonesian online newspapers, and the species was named one of the top 10 species discovered in 2009 by the International Institute for Species Exploration.
Researchers were not sure how to classify it, since it was so different from any other fish known to man. The nearest genus, Histiophryne had so many differences it was debated whether the fish deserved its own genus. In fact, it was even considered that the new fish did not belong in the Antennariidae family. However, DNA tests, which are today's standard for making the final call on whether a species is new, proved that the fish belonged in the genus Histiophryne.
Ichthyologists Pietsch, Arnold, and Hall collected a holotype from the Laha I dive site at Maluku Divers on April 2, 2008. They discovered that the fish, when fixed in formalin and preserved in ethanol, shrank 23% (especially the fleshy cheeks and chin) within four months and hardened considerably. The colors all faded to a solid white, but when viewed using a dissecting microscope, the stripes were again visible. These observations were consistent with the mysterious paisley anglers from Bali in 1992. This was subsequently tested on the two specimens saved from 1992, and the stripes could still be found using this method.
Read more about this topic: Psychedelic Frogfish
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