Apps, websites and books for working out what was in the photo, by region.
App and websiteCaribbean
- Good for:
- Bonaire fish
- Corals and creatures
- How common, how deep
A free, non-commercial project from Bonaire: about 800 species of fish, corals and other reef life photographed around the island, in more than 3,000 photos. Each entry gives the distinctive features, how often it is seen and its usual depth range, so it doubles as a checklist of what to expect.
Free · website plus iPhone, iPad and Android apps · photos shared under CC BY-NC 4.0.
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WebsiteCaribbean
- Good for:
- Narrowing down a fish
- Lookalikes side by side
- Species list for a site
- Range maps
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s reference to Caribbean shore fishes, by D. R. Robertson and J. Van Tassell. “Find a Fish” narrows down an ID, “Compare” puts 2 to 6 species side by side, and the Species List Assembly lists what has been recorded at one or two sites. In English and Spanish, with iPhone and Android apps.
Website in English and Spanish · Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
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WebsiteEastern Pacific
- Good for:
- Narrowing down a fish
- Lookalikes side by side
- Island species lists
The same Smithsonian system for the eastern Pacific, by D. R. Robertson and G. R. Allen. Its region takes in the offshore islands, Revillagigedo (Socorro), Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo and the Galápagos, so it is the closest thing to a complete fish list for those guides. Same tools: Find a Fish, side-by-side comparison, common-name search and species lists for one or two sites.
Website in English and Spanish · Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
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BooksCaribbeanEastern PacificIndo-Pacific
- Good for:
- ID on the boat
- Lookalikes and color phases
The dive-boat standard from New World Publications, by Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach, arranged by family with the marks that separate lookalikes. Regional editions: Florida · Caribbean · Bahamas (4th edition, 2014, 683 species), Tropical Pacific (about 2,000 species, with Gerry Allen, Roger Steene and John Jackson), Baja to Panama, and Galápagos (2nd edition).
Printed books · New World Publications.
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BooksIndo-Pacific
- Good for:
- Coral Triangle fish
- Deep reference
Gerald Allen and Mark Erdmann’s three-volume reference to 2,631 reef fishes from the Andaman Sea east to the Solomon Islands. Too heavy for a dive bag, but the most thorough reference for Solomons fish. First published in 2012; now in a second edition.
Printed books, 3 volumes.
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App and websiteWorldwide
- Good for:
- Getting a photo identified
- Logging what you saw
Post a photo and iNaturalist suggests what it might be; other naturalists, specialists among them, then confirm or correct the ID. Useful for the odd invertebrate or juvenile that the books skip, and every observation becomes data for researchers. Run by an independent nonprofit. Its sister app Seek gives an ID from the camera without posting anything.
Free · website, iPhone and Android.
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WebsiteWorldwide
- Good for:
- Fish missing from your regional book
- Survey photos
A scientific reef-monitoring program whose volunteer divers have recorded 5,291 reef species in 53 countries. Its “Reef Species of the World” is a searchable online field guide built from those surveys.
Free website.
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No resources match this region in this section.
