Cirrhilabruswakanda, a new species of fairy wrasse from mesophotic ecosystems of Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa (Teleostei, Labridae).

ABSTRACT: Cirrhilabruswakanda sp. nov. is described on the basis of the holotype and four paratypes collected between 50 and 80m depth over low-complexity reef and rubble bottoms at the east coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa. The new species belongs to a group of fairy wrasses from the western Indian Ocean, sharing a combination of characters that include: short pelvic fins (not or barely reaching anal-fin origin); relatively unmarked dorsal and anal fins; males with a strongly lanceolate caudal fin (except in C.rubrisquamis); both sexes with a pair of prominent facial stripes above and below the orbit; and both sexes with prominent purple scales and osseus elements that persist, and stain purple, respectively, even in preservation. This group of fairy wrasse is part of a larg

SUBMITTER: Tea YK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6639353 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature