Animals

This beautiful, 15cm-long fish lives in open water above the seabed at around 400–500m. A similar species was discovered under the same conditions after a volcano sunk into the sea in Hawaii.

Discovered in 2007, this small scorpion fish, less than 10cm long, lives at depths of 200–500m, where it hunts for crustaceans and other small fish.

This new weevil species, about 5mm long, is found in forest soils at the Plaine des Fougères de Sainte-Marie, at an altitude of 1,400m.

Discovered after the lava flows of 2007, this beautiful 9cm-long damselfish is distinguished from its reef ‘cousins’ by its large eyes, which are better adapted to the low light of its biotope, in rocks at 200m below sea level.

This tiny beetle, just over 2mm long, with its very rustic appearance, is still being described. It was discovered in 2008 in soil at Takamaka, at an altitude of over 1200m.

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This beautiful little pistol shrimp, about 3cm long, has been spotted on the west coast.
It lives in a burrow alongside a goby, with whom it maintains constant contact using its antennae.

The pectoral sandpiper was first observed on Reunion Island in January 2008. It is a migratory shorebird that nests in the Northern Hemisphere beyond the Arctic Circle.

This small weevil measuring 4–5mm long is found on tree ferns at an altitude of over 1,000m, on the Plaine des Fougères de Sainte-Marie.