Auction Catalogue for Unique Marine Conservation Event
World’s Most Unique Auction Support of Marine
Conservation
Saturday 19 July 1967
6:00 P.M.
For Additional Information Contact
Katie Phillips
NIMR
(888) 222-NIMR
Sotheby’s will hold a unique silent auction for 20 lots and the proceeds will benefit marine conservation programs associated with the long-term preservation of such species as well as other environment and biodiversity-related programs.
Fifteen of the 20 lots will be for the naming rights of new marine species, supporting programs or expeditions. All winning bidders will be presented with a certificate displaying the lot number, a photograph of your successful bid along with the latinization of the name for the species or the expedition name.
The last five lots will be a group of secret lots. The bidder will not know what they are specifically bidding on, but are guaranteed a very unusual exciting unique experience. The winners of the secret auction lots will also be given a certificate for display.
You may submit sealed bids prior to the gala dinner and entertainment. Bidding will continue until conclusion of the event. The winners will be notified within one week.
Lot # 1 – Naming of the Walking
Shark
Suggested opening bid: $500,000
The naming of Hemiscyllium Cendrawasih (walking shark) is auctioned for the benefit of the Marine Conservation Education Initiative
.
This
shark is known only from
The completely singular evolutionary path this shark has taken, finds it pectoral fins uniquely developed for «walking». This form of motion, unknown in other sharks, made this distinctive species an international media darling when it was discovered. Although it can swim if frightened, this shark commonly crawls across shallow coral reefs in search of its prey. Also notable are the male’s unusually large clasper organs.
Lot # 2 – Naming of the Lion Fish
Suggested opening bid: $250,000
The naming of the Pterois lionfish is auctioned for the benefit of the Marine Conservation Education Initiative.
Lionfish
are one of the most spectacular and dangerous of reef fishes, having poisonous
spines that cause excruciating pain for up to three days after a wound is
inflicted. Docile during the day, they emerge just before sunset and perform
elaborate courtship displays with their showy fins extended. This species can
“herd” small fish by throwing its pectoral fins out like a net, encircling its
prey, and then striking out with lightning speed to ingest its quarry whole.
First collected from
Suggested opening bid: $150,000
The naming of the Pseudanthias fairy basslet is auctioned for the benefit of the Marine Conservation Education Initiative.
This is
a highly unique fish in the aspect that all fairy basslets mature first as females,
later changing sex to become males, as they grow larger. Males typically
oversee a harem of up to 20 females. Fairy basslets form massive colorful
shoals that hover a few meters above the reef, feeding on plankton. This
species has been collected only from deep reefs in
Suggested opening bid: $200,000
Naming of an expedition is a
personal gift from His Supreme Highness.
The lucky winner will meet Prince Rainer and then be included on an
expedition to support biodiversity and environmental protection programs
carried out by Monaco NGOs under the leadership of the Prince Rainer III
Foundation.
This is
for those individuals who are keen to discover their own new species. We are
arranging a 10-day expedition with six CI marine scientists to explore and find
possible new species in the waters around
Suggested opening bid: $250,000
The
naming of the Hippocampus
bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse
is auctioned for the benefit of the Marine Conservation Education Initiative.
The Pygmy Seahorse only grows to 2 cm in length and has a
short snout, rounded knob-like coronet. Only two colour morphs are recorded for
this species, one is pale grey or purple with pink or red tubercles, the second
is yellow with orange tubercles. It is remarkably well camouflaged. The colour
of the fish matches the gorgonians (sea fans) of the genus Muricella it
inhabits at depths of 16-40m.
Suggested opening bid: $150,000
Naming the Chrysiptera damselfish is auctioned for the benefit of the Marine
Conservation Education Initiative
Considered the gems of the coral reef, brightly-coloured Chrysiptera
damselfish are found exclusively in areas of healthy coral. Although small,
these fish can live up to 15 years and produce copious numbers of offspring —
with the males actually taking the primary role in tending the eggs. The
beautiful species on auction is known only from
Suggested opening bid: $100,000
The naming of the Corythoichthys
pipefish is auctioned to support the Bird’s Head Marine Enforcement Initiative.
Pipefish,
like their seahorse relatives, stand out in the fish world because of their
“male pregnancy” — the female deposits her fertilized eggs in a specialized
pouch on the male’s belly and he tends the eggs until they hatch. The subtle
but ornate color pattern on this new species differentiates it from other
pipefish, while also keeping it camouflaged on the reef’s shallow coral heads
and in gorgonian sea fans.
Suggested opening bid: $75,000
Naming the Chrysiptera damselfish is auctioned for the benefit of the Marine
Conservation Education Initiative
The giant clam has a system of channels, which branch out
to all parts of its mantle, and the algae live in these channels. The clam can discard old algae if there are
too many or if it becomes overheated, or retain all of them if it needs more. They
can weigh more than 227 kilograms (500 pounds) and measure as much as 1.2
metres (4 feet) across, and have an average lifespan in the wild of 100 years
or more.
Suggested opening bid: $ 400,000
The naming of the Paracheilinus
flasher wrasse is auctioned to support the Indonesian Marine Empowerment
Initiative.
Considered the most spectacularly
coloured of all coral reef fishes, flasher wrasse derive their common name from
the unique courtship behaviour of the males – which rise up in the water column
and suddenly “flash” electric neon colours while simultaneously erecting their
fins to draw the attention of potential mates. Photographing a male in full
courtship display is considered a “holy grail” for accomplished underwater
photographers. This species is arguably the most stunning of all the flashers.
It is known only from the southern Bird’s Head Seascape, from Raja Ampat to
Suggested opening bid: $45,000
The naming of the Melanotaenia
rainbowfish is auctioned to support the Indonesian Marine Empowerment
Initiative.
The lone freshwater fish in the auction. This rainbowfish
has been found in only two small mountain streams on the
Suggested opening bid: $100,000
The naming of the Pseudochromis
dottyback is auctioned to support the Indonesian Marine Empowerment Initiative.
Distantly related to groupers, the
dottybacks are secretive fish highly sought by advanced scuba divers. This
distinctive species — with yellow and black “racing stripes,” blue eyes and
cherry belly — was discovered amid the deep reefs in
Suggested opening bid: $ 50,000
The naming of the Pterocaesio
fusilier is auctioned to
support the Indonesian Marine Conservation Enforcement Initiative.
Colorful fusiliers typically form
large conspicuous shoals of thousands of individuals that swirl around divers
visiting outer reef slopes. This species is one of the smaller but more vividly
colored of the known fusiliers, with gold blaze across its body making it
visible even in the dark depths.
Suggested opening bid: $400,000
This highly prized lot is a, 2- week scientific diving expedition for four people on the NIMR submarine Seaview, as a guest of Admiral Harriman Nelson and his crew.
You will be able to personally dive in the waters where Seaview’s Command Staff have previously dived and view the marine life that is being support by this unusual auction.
Depending upon the area chosen for your dive, the diver may encounter anything from a multitude of unusual sea life to wreck diving.
In the event you or some your guests do not desire to dive in these beautiful waters, they will still have a fabulous time viewing the fantastic scenes through the unique windows in Seaview’s nose. Seaview may possibly surface allowing you and your guest the chance for strolling along a pristine beach, snorkeling or even a picnic lunch provided Seaview’s premier chef.
Suggested opening bid: $150,000
Naming the Asthenosoma Fire Urchin is auctioned for the benefit of the Marine
Conservation Education Initiative
This is a large urchin species and
it has small short spines that inflict a considerable amount of pain and
discomfort if a diver is unfortunately stung. The test of this species is quite
flexible which allows it to squeeze into tight crevices and holes. It can be
found living on coral reefs, in coastal bays and lagoons and on sandy or rubble
bottoms. There are many different species that can be found living on Asthenosoma
varium. You can see the Striped Urchin
Crab Zebrida adamsii on this specimen.
Suggested opening bid: $140,000
The naming of the Pictichromis
dottyback is auctioned to support the Indonesian Marine Conservation Enforcement Initiative.
Known only from
Suggested opening bid: $200,000
The
naming of the Floating Ranger Station is being auctioned to support
biodiversity and environment protection programs carried out by Monaco NGOs under the leadership of the
Prince Rainer III Foundation.
This patrol vessel will be purchased and refitted by your generous bids as a customized vessel for patrolling the remote reefs of Raja Ampat. A full patrol team can be stationed comfortably at sea for several weeks on this vessel, which uses a fast speedboat for engagement with suspected illegal fishing activities, such as blast fishing and shark finning.
Lots # 17 - 21
These ‘ surprise’ lots could be anything
from an invitation to the Monaco Grand Prix as a personal guest of HSH Prince
Rainer III and HRH Princess Grace, with dinner at the Gala reception afterwards,
to one day’s diving lessons conducted aboard Seaview by it’s highly qualified
personnel. Also available, a one-day cruise of the Mediterrian or along the
NOTE: This idea
was inspired by the Conservation International website and the actual Blue
Auction held in the support of marine environment. The majority of the photo’s
are from the Blue Auction site and Conservation International and are used
without their permission. Thanks as always to Lill. for
her hard work with the catalogue, invitation and auction flyer.