Named after the national flower of the Maldives, the species was discovered as part of the global Hope for Reefs initiative.
31 Oct 2022 18:09
(updated on 11/01/2022 at 11:59 am)
New species of “rainbow fish” called Pink Fairy Wrasse
Photo: Disclosure / Hope for Reefs
Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences have discovered a new species fishes rainbow colored fairy fish im Maldives islands. The animal changes its appearance and gender as it ages. called pink fairy fish (Cirrilabrus finifenmaa), the fish is 40 and 70 meters below the Indian Ocean.
This is one of the first species to be named after the local Dhivehi language ‘Inifenmaa’ means pink, in reference to the pink hues of the fish and the region’s nation’s national flower.
These fish, like all wrasses, begin life as females and mature into males, becoming considerably more colorful. Males dress up in different colors during the mating season, presumably to impress females.
The species C. finifenmaa, first collected by researchers in the 1990s, was originally thought to be the adult version of another species, Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis. This had been described from a single juvenile specimen from the Chagos Archipelago, a 1,000 km long chain of islands south of the Maldives.
However, in this new study, the team was able to examine more adult and juvenile specimens of the fish in detail. The researchers measured and recorded several characteristics, such as the color of adult males and the height of each pillar supporting the fin on the fish’s back.
The data was then compared to the C. rubrisquamis specimen along with genetic analyzes to confirm that C. finifenmaa is indeed a unique species.
“What we previously thought was one common fish species are actually two different species, each with a potentially much more restricted distribution,” lead author and University of Sydney PhD student YiKai Tea said in a publication.
In his opinion, this illustrates why the description of new species and taxonomies in general are important for the conservation and management of biodiversity.
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