The Blackspot Razorfish Steps Out of the Shadows in Cambodian Waters

A small, jewel-toned fish has just made a formal entrance into Cambodia's marine biodiversity records. The blackspot razorfish (Iniistius evides) has been officially recorded in Cambodian waters for the first time, the result of a collaboration between Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC) and the Royal University of Agriculture.

Illustration — © Cambodge Mag

The announcement came Thursday from Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC): the organization has made the first official record of the blackspot razorfish, Iniistius evides, within Cambodia's marine territory. This small wrasse, part of the broader Labridae family, had never before been formally documented in the Kingdom's waters, despite a range that stretches widely across the western Pacific.

Beyond the natural-history curiosity, the finding carries real weight: it enriches the scientific inventory of Cambodia's marine fauna and, according to MCC, should help raise public awareness of the country's still largely under-documented underwater biodiversity.

Science built in the field, with students at the center

This first record is no accident — it's the result of a long-running partnership between MCC and the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA). The program combines field research, fish taxonomy, and student training, with the explicit goal of advancing knowledge of the country's marine ecosystems year after year.

The study behind this identification was led by Ke Pheara, student and lead author of the paper, marking his very first peer-reviewed scientific publication — a milestone for a young Cambodian researcher working in marine science.

MCC publicly acknowledged the role of academic supervision in this achievement, thanking in particular supervisor Chhouy Sam Ol and Dean Ngor Peng Bun for their continued support, alongside MCC researcher Sebastián Muñoz-Duque, who accompanied the project.

A discreet fish, but far from a minor one

Iniistius evides belongs to the Labridae family, the wrasses, and typically lives on sandy bottoms, where it can burrow quickly to escape predators. Widespread across the western Pacific, it rarely exceeds about twenty centimeters and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Its presence, now confirmed in Cambodia, fills in a previously blank spot on the regional map of wrasse biodiversity.

Kep, a living laboratory for marine conservation

This discovery builds on work MCC has carried out since 2008 in the Kep Archipelago, where the organization helped establish the country's second Marine Fisheries Management Area (MFMA) in 2018, and where it continues seagrass restoration programs and marine mammal monitoring, focused on Irrawaddy dolphins and dugongs. The archipelago was also named a "Hope Spot" by Sylvia Earle's Mission Blue in 2019, in recognition of the impact of these conservation efforts.

For MCC, this new record is further encouragement to keep exploring Cambodia's waters scientifically — and proof that there is still much to discover beneath their surface.