Meet the Rainbow Fish! Stunning new species of wrasse is discovered living in the 'twilight zone' off the coast of the Maldives

Meet the Rainbow Fish! Stunning new species of wrasse is discovered living in the 'twilight zone' off the coast of the Maldives

By Sam Tonkin

Source: dailymail

3/10/2022

A stunning new rainbow-coloured fish has been discovered living in the 'twilight zone' off the coast of the Maldives.

The rose-veiled fairy wrasse, a colourful species that is new to science, was found living at depths of between 131 to 229 feet (40 to 70 metres) beneath the ocean surface.

It has been given the scientific name Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa, partly in honour of the national flower of the Maldives, which is a pink rose.

'Finifenmaa' means 'rose' in the local Dhivehi language.

The wrasse is the first fish to be described by a Maldivian scientist — Ahmed Najeeb, a co-author of the study and biologist at the Maldives Marine Research Institute.

'It has always been foreign scientists who have described species found in the Maldives without much involvement from local scientists, even those that are endemic to the Maldives,' he said in a statement.