"'Psychedelica' seems the perfect name for a species of fish that is a wild swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes and behaves in ways contrary to its brethren. So says University of Washington's Ted Pietsch, who is the first to describe the new species in the scientific literature and thus the one to select the name." -- University of Washington Office of News and Information
With its flattened face, the fish's eyes appear to be directed forward and may provide it with binocular vision, a special attribute well developed in humans that provides the ability to accurately judge distance. Only very few fishes have eyes whose radius of vision overlaps in front, providing such vision.
A H. psychedelica sits on its leg-like pectoral fins, with its tail curled about to one side. It prefers to inhabit crevices and holes in the reef, sometimes vigorously twisting and turning its body to enter such spaces. The skin of the body is thick, loose and spongy. Perhaps that's the reason the fish moves among sharp edged corals without being scraped and scarred.
A H. psychedelica jet-propels itself through the water. More than a dozen individuals have been seen in Ambon Harbor, Indonesia, since divers with Maluku Divers first spotted one of the fish in January 2008. The fish have been found in 15 to 25 feet of water near a commercial jetty in the busy harbor.
Leg-like pectoral fins are commonly found in anglerfish which prefer crawling to swimming
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