The fish genus Cirrhilabrus includes dozens of species of fairy wrasse, which have been found in tropical waters around the globe except in eastern Africa. Now, that “biogeographical puzzle” has been completed with the discovery of a new species. Marine biologist Luiz Rocha found the fish while SCUBA diving off Zanzibar. He consulted collaborator Yi-Kai Tea, who confirmed it as a new species of fairy wrasse. Tea is a Marvel fan, and confronted with a new purple fish in an isolated area of Africa, he and Rocha have named the fish Cirrhilabrus wakanda, to be commonly called the Vibranium fairy wrasse.
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C. wakanda joins a growing list of animals named after pop culture figures, a practice that some of the stuffier types in taxonomy are skeptical of. Tea and Rocha wave off such concerns. “I see this as a way to bridge the divide between science and the general public,” Tea said. “Research is important, but it is equally important to convey it to people with more general interests. Taxonomy is often seen as boring, but it has massive implications for biodiversity conservation. Inspiring the next generation of taxonomists by making science sound exciting is our goal.”
They’re right: if they had named this fish anything else, I wouldn’t have learned about fairy wrasses today, and I wouldn’t have realized that vibranium is purple. For those who haven’t been keeping up, vibranium is a fictional metal found in the fictional country of Wakanda, where the Marvel superhero Black Panther is from. Read more about the new discovery at Earther.
(Image credit: Luiz Rocha)
Source: neatorama