In November/December 2017 we took part in a fantastic trip with GBR Legacy to the Far-North section of the Great Barrier Reef. This includes the remote reefs up north of Princess Charlotte Bay that are rarely visited and poorly known.
We have been fortunate enough to make extended trips to this area on two previous occasions but it was great to get back in the Far-North and explore some more reefs. During this trip a number of fishes were photographed that we had not seen before on the GBR. We also photographed a remarkable sea cucumber or holothurian that was not like any we'd seen before.
After enquiring with the experts in these fields we have confirmed that several of these animals have never been recorded from Australia before. One fish was a new record for the GBR and two other fishes had only been seen on the GBR on one previous occasion!
The new records for Australia are the candycane sea cucumber Thelenota rubralineata and the spaghetti garden eel Gorgasia maculata. The ambon emperor Lethrinus amboinensis was a new record for the GBR. The goldback damselfish Pomacentrus nigromanus and the strange-looking squarenose unicornfish Naso mcdadei had both only been seen once before on the GBR. I've included some pictures of these animals below.
