About the Authors
Gerald R Allen
DR GERALD R. ALLEN is the author of more than 500 scientific articles and 37 books. He served as Senior Curator of Fishes at the Western Australian Museum in Perth between 1974 and 1997 and is an international authority on the classification of coral reef fishes. Since leaving the Museum he has served as a private consultant, primarily involved with coral reef fish surveys in Southeast Asia for Conservation International. Dr. Allen definitely has an “old school” approach, spending as much time in the field as behind a desk looking through a microscope. He received a Ph.D. in marine zoology from the University of Hawaii in 1971 and since then has logged well over 12,000 hours of scuba diving in all tropical seas, especially the vast Indo-Pacific region. The quest to discover new species has been a driving force throughout his career with nearly 600 new taxa described to date. Underwater photography is also a consuming passion and hundreds of his photos have appeared in a variety of international publications. Originally from the USA, Gerry and his wife Connie have resided in Australia for over 50 years. They have two married sons, Tony and Mark, who also live in Perth. Gerry is a past President of the Australian Society for Fish Biology, an honorary foreign member of the American Society of Ichthyology and Herpetology, and the recipient of major international accolades for outstanding contributions to ichthyology, including the K. Radway Allen Award (Australia), Bleeker Award (Indo-Pacific region), and Joseph Nelson Award (USA). He also received a prestigious NOGI award for science from the Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.
Mark V Erdmann
DR MARK V. ERDMANN is the Vice President of Asia Pacific Marine Programs for Conservation International, with a primary focus on providing strategic guidance and technical and fundraising support to CI's marine programs in the Asia Pacific region, especially West Papua and New Zealand. Mark is a coral reef ecologist (Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley) who lived and worked for 23 years in Indonesia, though is now based in New Zealand. During this time he has logged over 12,000 scuba dives (many with Dr. Allen!) while surveying marine biodiversity throughout the region, and has now described 182 new species of fish, mantis shrimp and corals. He has published 237 scientific articles and 5 books. Erdmann was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation in 2004 for his work in marine conservation education. Though his work is now largely focused on the management of marine protected areas, his continuing research interests include reef fish and mantis shrimp biodiversity and elasmobranch conservation and movement ecology, and he maintains a research associate position with the California Academy of Sciences and advises several PhD and Master’s students at the University of Auckland. He is also active on the boards of a number of local Indonesian NGOs including Thrive Conservation and is a scientific advisor to Manta Trust. Mark now lives with his wife Arnaz and children in Auckland, and maintains a deep personal commitment to do whatever is necessary to ensure his children will be able to enjoy the same high-quality underwater experiences that continue to provide the inspiration for his dedication to the marine environment.
Reef Fishes of the East Indies App Statistics
2914
Reef Fish Species Covered
128
Fish Families Represented
4000+
High Resolution Photographs
80+
Years of Intensive Field-Based Research Represented
373
Regional Endemic Fish Species Included
ALL
of the known reef fishes from the Coral Triangle included!