Recent News

Geckos Lay Eggs At BAMZ Madagascar Exhibit
Friday, April 04, 2014

The Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] recently announced the beginnings of new life in the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo’s Madagascar Exhibit, with both their Giant Day Geckos and Leaf-Tailed Geckos laying eggs.


Filming begins for Bermuda underwater documentary
Friday, March 21, 2014

Filming begins tomorrow on a TV documentary series which will explore the underwater life around Bermuda.


Students sign declaration for the conservation of the Sargasso Sea
Thursday, March 20, 2014

Last week students representing middle and senior schools across the island joined together at The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum Zoo.


Ocean Vet begins filming
Thursday, March 20, 2014

Lights, camera, ocean! Bermuda's journey from the deep blue on to the silver screen is underway as filming for the Bermuda-based Ocean Vet series starts tomorrow.


Ocean Vet Series To Begin Filming Tomorrow
Thursday, March 20, 2014

Filming for the highly anticipated marine life series Ocean Vet is set to begin in Bermuda tomorrow [Mar 21], with a 12-part documentary planned as the end result.



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All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!

Two fish recognised as unique to Island’s waters
Royal Gazette
Tuesday, December 03, 2013

By Owain Johnston-Barnes
Published Dec. 3, 2013 at 8:00 am (Updated Dec. 2, 2013 at 10:33 pm)

RG_131203_1a.jpeg
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.

RG_131203_1b.jpeg
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.