There are two names that every rare fish nerd should know, Jack Randall and Richard Pyle. Without the work and dedication of these two ichthyologists, many of the most coveted and beautiful species in the trade would be unknown. Here is a talk by Richard Pyle on his life’s work that was given at TED2004 [...]
There are two names that every rare fish nerd should know, Jack Randall and Richard Pyle. Without the work and dedication of these two ichthyologists, many of the most coveted and beautiful species in the trade would be unknown. Here is a talk by Richard Pyle on his life’s work that was given at TED2004 in Monterrey, California. It’s refereshing to that once a fish geek always a fish geek. The passion Richard Pyle has for these beautiful animals is infectious.
You can read a follow up interview, where Richard discusses Pyle stops, Conservation, and the unfortunate circumstance that found him in the middle of Thrasher Sharks: TED Interview with Richard Pyle
In addition to this video, here’s a second one showing Richard and Brian Greene taking a deep (and cold) dive down to 400 feet. The video is titled A Christmas Chill: An Encounter with Hypothermia-Induced Tourette Syndrome … the title certainly does it justice. ” Tourettes” + Helium = A Good Laugh.
WARNING: This video contains language that is inappropriate for children, and may be offensive to some adults. In search of new species of fishes, a pair of marine biologists descend down a deep coral-reef drop-off in the central Pacific, using high-tech closed-circuit rebreathers and breathing a mixture containing mostly helium. As they pass a depth of 320 feet on the way down, they discover what it feels like to penetrate a thermocline from the balmy 85-degree equatorial sea-surface temperatures, to the 50-degree deep upwelled water below. The diver carrying the camera, who was wearng only a t-shirt and swimsuit under his rebreather gear, had no idea that every helium-affected word he was saying was being picked up by the camera’s microphone
And if those two videos are not enough to satisfy your inner fish geek, here’s a brief clip from the Discovery Channel, showing Richard Pyle and John Earle resolving some technical difficulties while diving. Enjoy!
