New “Mesmerizing” Rainbow-Colored Fish Stuns Scientific World

A new fish is turning heads in the water world.

The scientific name of the fish is Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa. It's a rose-veiled fairy wrasse. The fish is known for its rainbow coloring. Scientists found it off the coast of the Maldives. The creature is beautiful.

The California Academy of Sciences calls it a “multicolored marvel.”

The fish has actually been around for a while. In the 1990s, scientists identified it as a known species by accident. Then, scientists looked at the fish again for a new study. They took a closer look at its scales, size, and color. They realized the fish was a new species.

Not only that, but the scientists who made the discovery included a marine biologist from the Maldives. He co-authored a study on the fish. He is the first scientist from his country to formally describe a new species.

It’s “always been foreign scientists who have described species found in the Maldives,” he said. “This time 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 is named, in part, for the Maldives’ national flower, the pink rose. “Finifenmaa” means “rose,” in Dhivehi. That's the language spoken there.

Photo by Yi-Kai Tea.