''Cirrhilabrus wakanda'', the vibranium fairy wrasse, is a species of fairy wrasse from mesophotic reefs at depths of in the western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

off

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. It was first collected off the coast of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

, Tanzania by scientists from the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

. Its separation from the very similar '' C. rubrisquamis'' of the

Chagos Islands The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives archi ...

needs confirmation.

Etymology

The species is named after the fictional sovereign state

Wakanda Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda first app ...

from

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

and the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

Description

Based on a small number of measured specimens, ''C. wakanda'' is up to about in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

. The body is moderately elongated and compressed. Males have yellow

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

s, 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. A purple chain-link scale pattern is present, resembling the suit worn by the fictional superhero,

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

Species comparison

In comparison with other closely related species in the genus, the

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

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. 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 The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''C. rubrisquamis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65591197 Fish described in 2019 Taxa named by Luiz A. Rocha Fish of Tanzania Labridae