ROSS: 2011 PHILIPPINE BIODIVERSITY EXPEDITION 
49 
Figure 10: Matt, Rich and the Aquascapes crew 
capes, we sprung baek into aetion. Sinee we had already paeked up a shipment the week before, 
everyone knew the drill. The Aquaseapes staff had everything ready for us ineluding water at the 
right salinity and temperature as well styrofoam floats for the eorals. Sinee they don’t normally 
export eorals, the staff and owners of Aquaseapes were very interested in what we were packing, 
how we paeked it and why we were doing what we were doing — they took copious notes and pho¬ 
tographs. As a huge rainstorm let loose on the eity, we got into a packing rhythm — Matt and I 
bagged everything while sitting on tiny stools, the Aquaseapes erew would seal the bags with, or 
without, an air gap depending on the animal, and Bart worked with the office staff to make sure 
everything was paeked and documented correetly. Three hours later we were done and on our way 
to the Dusit Manila for our first real shower in 16 days, and then the the airport the next day for 
the flight home. 
Peri’s Snake Eel 
Baek in the States, the researehers are still proeessing and elassifying speeimens. The estimate 
of speeies new to seienee diseovered on the Expedition is eurrently between 300 and 500. That list 
ineludes sharks, fish, polyehetes, nudibranehs, eorals and eehinoderms. Personally, the new discov¬ 
ery that really stands out for me involves a new speeies of snake eel, and it stands out beeause we 
were directly involved in its eollection. 
Near the beginning of the Expedition, Matt, Bart and I were diving the shallows a at a site eall 
LiagLiag, while some Aeademy researehers were deeper and further out on the reef slops. The site 
had seemingly aeres of nonAcropora SPS eorals in 2 to 15 feet of water. Excited over collecting a 
Soft Coral Anemone (Heterodactyla hemprichii) we were taking in the expansive site ineluding the 
