the philippines is a country that's made
up of over 7 000
islands that are filled with stunning
lakes and beaches
all of which have their own unique
wildlife the country is located at the
coral triangle
a region having more fish and coral
species than any other area on the
planet
tropical reefs are the world's richest
marine ecosystems
and those found in the philippines have
an unrivaled richness of life and color
and because of its rich marine ecosystem
the philippines is home to dozens of
rare and endemic fish species
before we begin be sure to hit the like
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now here are 10 rare fish species found
in the philippines
number 10 lobed river mullet if you've
watched our videos before you're
probably already aware of this species
if you haven't seen that video yet click
on the pop-up above
anyways the lobed river mullet or
locally known as
ludong is a species of mullet that live
in fresh water
they're known for their distinct flavor
and scent after being cooked
making them extremely sought after for
the preparation of delectable food
they are the most costly fish in the
country with a mature fish weighing
around .25 to about two kilograms
costing four to five thousand pesos per
kilo because it's seasonal and difficult
to catch
it commands a premium market price while
the lobed river mullet is said to be
endemic to the kagayan river basin
verifiable and credible reports of
listed areas such as fiji
as places where they can be found
because of their precarious status the
ludong is actually on the verge of
becoming an endangered species
in fact data acquired from kagayan fish
dealers revealed that the volume of
ludong capture has been steadily
declining year after year
number nine humphead rass
this species reigns supreme over the
coral reefs
the humphead wrasse named because of the
bulge on its head
can reach six feet in length weigh up to
four hundred pounds
and live for thirty years male hump head
rasses can reach a length of two meters
typically weigh around 180 kilograms
while the females are slightly smaller
the two black lines located behind their
eyes
large lips and a hump that looks like
their forehead are all distinguishing
features of this species
they also come in a range of colors from
blue green to purplish blue
this rare fish is not only beautiful but
also plays a critical role in the health
of coral reefs
crustaceans mollusks other fish and
chinoderms
sea urchins and other invertebrates are
among the sea animals eaten by these
fish
unfortunately the population of this
species is in decline due to a variety
of factors such as
unreported and unregulated illegal
fishing
humphead rasses were once solely eaten
by royalty
but they are now highly sought after in
east asia's luxury food business
number eight mega mouth shark
yes sharks are fish back in 2009
fishermen in the philippines caught a
mega mouth shark one of the rarest fish
species in the world
and ate it shortly after the 500
kilogram megamouth died in their net off
the coast of various island in the
central part of the philippines
this rare fish had a striking appearance
but not much is known about the species
they have a brownish black top and a
white underbelly
as well as an uneven tail with a long
upper lobe
similar to a thresher shark unlike most
sharks the mega mouths are filter
feeders with a calm demeanor and mostly
feed on plankton
their blubbery mouths are approximately
one meter wide
and bordered with a bright silver ring
according to the world wildlife fund
just 40 additional shark sightings have
ever been documented
the fish was tagged to mega mouth 41 and
it's the world's 41st mega mouth
according to the florida museum of
natural history
it was also only the eighth mega mouth
to ever be discovered in the philippine
waters
number seven clown frog fish frog fish
are discovered in practically all
tropical and subtropical oceans
and seas around the world including the
philippine seas
in the philippines they may be found in
darwin and appo
island and maktan clown frog fish like
all frog fishes are ferocious predators
that will attack
any tiny animal that comes into its
strike range
which are primarily fish they're small
short and stocky with spinals and other
detailing on their bodies that help them
camouflage
the camouflage protects them from
predators and allows them to attract
prey
their prey can range in size from small
to as large as they are
these rare animals have what's called
biofluorescence which means that when
exposed to blue or ultraviolet light
it re-emits it as red and appears
differently from when exposed to white
light
number 6. zebra fish zebrafish are a
popular aquarium fish
native to south asia sometimes sold
under the trade name
zebra danio they're usually found in
laguna lake and ta'al lake in the
philippines
but they can also be found in other
parts of south and southeast asia
they're usually swimming in streams
canals ditches oxbow lakes
ponds and rice paddies preferring
shallow water that's stagnant to
moderately flowing
this rare fish gets its name from the
five horizontal pigmented blue stripes
on the side of the body
that extends to the end of the cardinal
fin resembling zebra stripes
their mouths are pointed upwards and
their bodies are laterally compressed
they are omnivorous feeding primarily on
zooplankton
phytoplankton insects and insect larvae
although they can also eat worms and
small crustaceans if their preferred
food sources
aren't readily accessible we're now
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number five pelagic thresher the pelagic
thresher shark is one of three types of
thresher sharks
all of which have very long tails the
open ocean is home to the pelagic
thresher which may be found at the
surface or
up to a depth of at least 500 feet the
color of the pelagic thresher is unique
compared to other thresher species
when alive or extremely fresh this
species dorsal surface color is
blue-gray
but fades to a pale grey shortly after
death the long upper caudal fin lobes of
these sharks are immediately
identifiable
and they're used to hunt small pelagic
species such as anchovies
sardines hakke mackerel and squid
in fact they get their name from the
long scythe-like tail that they use to
swat and stun fish before devouring them
they're generally not a threat to humans
but they are sometimes preyed upon by
top level predators
such as killer whales and larger sharks
number four
knife tooth sawfish also known as the
narrow sawfish or the
pointed sawfish the knife tooth sawfish
can be found in the warm areas of the
indo-pacific ocean
which includes the philippines this
species can survive a wide range of
salinity and can live in both estuarine
and marine habitats
they are usually found larger offshore
and inversely
are smaller inshore moreover females are
more often found offshore
the long narrow and flattened protrusion
on their snout are what instantly
distinguishes them from the other
species
due to their small size they are not
really considered prey
and can actually be quite friendly to
humans however when threatened they will
often flail their heads from side to
side trying to protect themselves
which can cause significant injuries to
a human number three
ornate eagle ray one of the few eagle
ray species lacking a stinging barb
the ornate eagle ray are strong swimmers
who have been known to leap many meters
into the air
the ornate eagle ray is the largest of
the three species in the genus and is a
rare ray that has not been observed in
large numbers since its discovery in
1852
on its back the ornate eagle ray has a
characteristic pattern of reticulate
black
lines and rings with a disc diameter of
roughly 240 centimeters
although the ornate eagle ray was
previously plentiful it's now considered
rare in places like the philippines
even in remote protected marine zones
demersal
fisheries which are fisheries that catch
fish on or close to the seabed
are often placed in their habitat and
are the most serious threat this species
face
they are generally kept and sold in fish
markets after being caught
and unfortunately there have been no
species-specific conservation measures
yet implemented
number 2. roa rumsfeldi the roa
rumsfeldi was first discovered in 2016
in the twilight zone depths of around
400 feet on the philippine reefs around
oriental mindoro and batangas
in contrast to the other roa specimens
this species features vertical
white and brown stripes on the ventral
fin and a black spine
the reduced amount of poured scales in
the lateral line
longer snout shorter caudal fin pelvic
fin color
and genetics are key distinctions that
make the row of rum spell die different
from others in its genus
the name honors donald rumsfeld the
former u.s secretary of defense
because he once said quote there are
known knowns there are things we know we
know
we also know there are known unknowns
that is to say we know there are some
things we do not know
but there are also unknown unknowns the
ones we don't know we don't know
end quote somehow this applies to this
species
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number one fella fur hype solopterous
this fish is so rare that there are only
around 10
images of a live one on the internet
fortunately we've compiled a bunch of
them for you
daniel campo a filipino marine
conservationist was visiting his
normal underwater areas at batangas on
march 29th
when something caught his eye it appears
to be a young bat fish but it has a
strange appearance
ocampo thought to himself he aimed his
camera at the weird little critter and
managed to snap
a single photo he had no idea that he
had just made history in a matter of
seconds
the fishy photograph turned out to be
the elusive fella for hypsilopterus
which ended up being the first sighting
of the species in the philippines
fellow farids are extremely rare and
only have a few museum specimens
sri lanka taiwan and australia are the
only countries to have ever collected
the rare species
but because it's so rare we
unfortunately don't really know much
about this creature
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