Neon-coloured fish species discovered in remote Brazilian archipelago
The fish is named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty.
Near the remote Brazilian island chain Saint Paul Archipelago, scientists discovered a new fish species - a flashy yellow and pink creature, the Daily Mail reported.
They have named it after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty.
Aptly named after Greek goddess #Aphrodite, #NewSpecies of stunning #fish 'enchanted' its discoverers from @calacademy so that they failed to notice a 6-foot #shark swimming above their heads.
— ZooKeys (@ZooKeys_Journal) September 25, 2018
Check out the blog post: https://t.co/5g9hhXYJZi @Pensoft #ichthyology #MarineScience pic.twitter.com/cs7HYYoQa6
According to Phys.org, California Academy of Sciences researchers found it at a depth of 400 feet.
It has gone unnoticed for centuries because it swims in very deep waters.
The New York Post quotes post-doctoral fellow Hudson Pinheiro: “Red light doesn’t penetrate to these dark depths, rendering the fishes invisible unless illuminated by a light like the one we carry while diving.”
The males are bright pink with yellow stripes and the females have a bloody orange colour.
"This is one of the most beautiful fishes I’ve ever seen," Luiz Rocha, the co-leader of the Hope for Reefs initiative, is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. Adding, "It was so enchanting it made us ignore everything around it."
The finding was originally published Monday in the biology journal ZooKeys.