Recent News
Goodbye to CliffyThursday, October 23, 2014
There’s a longtail named Cliffy exploring the world, thanks to the efforts of a Paget couple
BAMZ Opens Following Hurricane Gonzalo
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo [BAMZ] remains open following Hurricane Gonzalo’s visit to Bermuda over the weekend, following its midday opening yesterday [Oct 19] as the island worked to repair the damage caused by the storm.
Aquarium and zoo open for visitors
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) is open for business — and has been since Sunday, in spite of sustaining some damage over the weekend from Hurricane Gonzalo.
Aquarium gets overdue facelift
Monday, October 13, 2014
BAMZ will be renovating their roof and their tanks to the Aquarium. The building, which was orginally constructed in the 1920's, will be getting an update and makeover in the next six months, to improve the facility. Wildlife from the tanks have been moved to holding tanks outside.
Injured turtle released into wild
Thursday, October 09, 2014
A turtle that had to have its flipper amputated after getting tangled up in fishing line has been released back into the wild.
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Latest News
All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
By Owain Johnston-Barnes
Published Dec. 3, 2013 at 8:00 am (Updated Dec. 2, 2013 at 10:33 pm)
The yellowfin chromis, one of two species recently recognised
as being endemic to Bermuda by the Smithsonian Institution.
A pair of Bermuda fish species have been recognised by the Smithsonian Institution as being unique to Bermuda’s waters.
The yellowfin chromis and the Collette’s halfbeak have been classified as endemic to Bermuda in an update to the authoritative 1999 Fishes of Bermuda publication. Both species have been known in Bermuda’s waters for some time but were only recently determined to be endemic.
Report writers William Smith-Vaniz and Bruce Collette also identified differences between the endemic Bermuda creole wrasse and its Caribbean relatives, suggesting they may also prove to be endemic.
“We recently became aware of two colour photographs, one of a school and the other of a single individual ... of wrasses from Bermuda (Lucas 2012) identified as clepticus parrae,” the researchers wrote.
The Collette’s halfbeak, one of two species recently recognised as being endemic
to Bermuda by the Smithsonian Institution. ((Photo credit to Heidi M. Banford))
“Terminal phase adults are distinctive in having very elongate outer caudal-fin rays, mostly solid blue body and fins and a bright yellow snout. We predict that subsequent research will show these fish to be another Bermuda endemic. All records of clepticus parrae from Bermuda apparently are based on misidentification of this undescribed clepticus.”
They noted the terminal male yellowhead wrasse, called “Redbacks” locally, have different colouration than its counterparts elsewhere in the region.
The Smithsonian also listed several species not previously known to reside in Bermuda, such as the whitenose pipefish, the roughtail stingray, a deepwater opah and blackear wrasse.
A Bermuda Zoological Society spokeswoman said: “In all, 24 new records were listed, and five older records have been discounted as errors, reminding us that we still have much to discover about life on our reefs and that diligent citizen scientists, fishermen and naturalists all have key roles to play.”
The research paper is available at the Natural History Museum Library at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo.