New Fish Discovered in the Beautiful Waters of the Maldives

Saturday 12th of March 2022

In the 1990s, researchers collected a fish that was mistaken to be the adult version of a Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis.

However, after a new study was conducted on both adults and juveniles of the species, it has been confirmed that this was a unique species.

The new rainbow-colored fish, officially named 'Cirrhilabrus Finifenmaa', is the first fish species to be described by a Maldivian researcher.

The 'Finifenmaa' in the name translates to 'rose' in the Dhivehi language, which is also the country's national flower.

Co-author and biologist at the Maldives Marine Research Institute, Ahmed Najeeb, has said in a statement "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. This time it is different and getting to be part of something for the first time has been really exciting, especially having the opportunity to work alongside top ichthyologists on such an elegant and beautiful species.".

The fish was found in the 'twilight zone' reefs of Maldives, a largely unexplored coral ecosystem between 50 and 150 meters (160 to 500 feet) underneath the ocean's surface.

Even though the fish has only recently been scientifically described, it has been noted by the California Academy of Sciences Hopes for Reefs Initiative that the C. finifenmaa is already a target of the aquarium hobby trade.

“Though the species is quite abundant and therefore not currently at a high risk of overexploitation, it’s still unsettling when a fish is already being commercialized before it even has a scientific name,” says Luiz Rocha, a codirector of the initiative.

"It speaks to how much biodiversity there is still left to be described from coral reef ecosystems."