A Fish Named...

A researcher received the ultimate honor when a freshwater fish discovered on the African island nation of Madagascar was named after him.

Paul Loiselle, a researcher from the Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium has dedicated much of his career safeguarding Madagascar's little-known freshwater fish. 

He received the honor from a team of biologists from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), after they named a new species of cichlid Ptychochromis loisellei.  The announcement was made in a recent edition of American Museum Novitates.

Like so much of Madagascar's wildlife, all of its freshwater fish species are found nowhere else on earth.  The newly described black and gold cichlid is about five inches long, and known locally as a "garaka."  It occurs in several river systems in the northeastern part of the country.

Loiselle himself has discovered fifteen freshwater fish during his fourteen years of field work in Madagascar.  He is considered one of the world's experts on cichlids - a family of perch-like fishes comprising nearly 2,000 different species.

Large-scale deforestation and other kinds of human impact have put Madagascar's unique wildlife at great risk.  Despite limited resources, the Malagasy government has made conservation a priority in recent years, announcing plans to set up new protected areas. 

---LiveScience Staff

• Amazing Images: Photos You Submit
• Image Galleries: Science All Around You
• Videos: Science and Nature in Action

Credit: Wildlife Conservation Society