Cirrhilabrus wakanda
male (top), transitional (middle), female (bottom)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Cirrhilabrus
Species:
C. wakanda
Binomial name
Cirrhilabrus wakanda
Tea, Pinheiro, Shepherd & L. A. Rocha, 2019

Cirrhilabrus wakanda, the vibranium fairy wrasse,[1][2] is a species of fairy wrasse from mesophotic reefs at depths of 50–100 m (160–330 ft) in the western Indian Ocean off Tanzania and Mozambique.[3][4] It was first collected off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania by scientists from the California Academy of Sciences.[5] Its separation from the very similar C. rubrisquamis of the Chagos Islands needs confirmation.[4]

Etymology

The species is named after the fictional sovereign state Wakanda from Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[6][7]

Description

Based on a small number of measured specimens, C. wakanda is up to about 7 cm (2.8 in) in standard length.[3] The body is moderately elongated and compressed. Males have yellow heads, with purple and blue bodies. Females and juveniles are very similar. Both sexes have a pair of prominent facial stripes above and below the orbit; and both sexes have notable purple scales and elements that persist and stain purple.[3] A purple chain-link scale pattern is present, resembling the suit worn by the fictional superhero, Black Panther.[8]

Species comparison

In comparison with other closely related species in the genus, the mitochondrial DNA of Cirrhilabrus wakanda differs from C. rubrisquamis by 0.6%, from C. blatteus by 1.9%, and from C. sanguineus by 1.5%. Small genetic differences between closely related fairy wrasses are not unusual.[3] A later review found that the "C. rubrisquamis" used for comparison were from the population found to be a separate species, C. finifenmaa, in 2022. Consequently, a detailed, direct comparison with true C. rubrisquamis is lacking, but their appearance is very similar and it is possible that C. wakanda is a junior synonym of C. rubrisquamis.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Weiss, Josh (2019-07-12). "New species of 'vibranium' wrasse fish named for Marvel's Black Panther". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Cirrhilabrus wakanda" in FishBase. August 2019 version.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Tea, Yi-Kai; Pinheiro, Hudson T.; Shepherd, Bart; Rocha, Luiz A. (2019-07-11). "Cirrhilabrus wakanda, a new species of fairy wrasse from mesophotic ecosystems of Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa (Teleostei, Labridae)". ZooKeys (863): 85–96. doi:10.3897/zookeys.863.35580. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 6639353. PMID 31341393.
  4. 1 2 3 Tea, Y.-K.; Najeeb, A.; Rowlett, J.; Rocha, L.A. (2022). "Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa (Teleostei, Labridae), a new species of fairy wrasse from the Maldives, with comments on the taxonomic identity of C. rubrisquamis and C. wakanda". ZooKeys (1088): 65–80. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1088.78139.
  5. ↑ SCIMEX (11 July 2019). "A fish called Wakanda". Scimex. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "A fish called Wakanda a new species of fairy wrasse". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Rare colourful 'vibranium' fish found off coast of Tanzania named Wakanda". Face2Face Africa. 2019-07-13. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  8. ↑ Rocha, Luiz A.; Shepherd, Bart; Pinheiro, Hudson T.; Tea, Yi-Kai (2019-11-07). "Cirrhilabrus wakanda, a new species of fairy wrasse from mesophotic ecosystems of Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa (Teleostei, Labridae)". ZooKeys (863): 85–96. doi:10.3897/zookeys.863.35580. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 6639353. PMID 31341393.
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