Researchers Discover New Species of Perchlet in Maldives

A new species of perchlet, Plectranthias raki, has been discovered in mesophotic coral ecosystems of the Maldives at depths between 100 and 125 metres. The discovery was made by researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, the University of São Paulo, and the Maldives Marine Research Institute, and published in the journal ZooKeys. The species name 'raki' means 'feeling shy to confront people' in Dhivehi. The fish is white to light pink with red-orange patches and gold markings, measuring approximately 7.5 cm. With this discovery, the genus Plectranthias now has 67 valid species. This follows the identification of another deep-sea species, Chromis abadhah, by the same team in early December of the previous year.

A new species of perchlet, Plectranthias raki, has been discovered in mesophotic coral ecosystems of the Maldives at depths between 100 and 125 metres. The discovery was made by researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, the University of São Paulo, and the Maldives Marine Research Institute, and published in the journal ZooKeys. The species name 'raki' means 'feeling shy to confront people' in Dhivehi. The fish is white to light pink with red-orange patches and gold markings, measuring approximately 7.5 cm. With this discovery, the genus Plectranthias now has 67 valid species. This follows the identification of another deep-sea species, Chromis abadhah, by the same team in early December of the previous year.

A new species of perchlet, Plectranthias raki, has been discovered in mesophotic coral ecosystems of the Maldives at depths between 100 and 125 metres. The discovery was made by researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, the University of São Paulo, and the Maldives Marine Research Institute, and published in the journal ZooKeys. The species name 'raki' means 'feeling shy to confront people' in Dhivehi. The fish is white to light pink with red-orange patches and gold markings, measuring approximately 7.5 cm. With this discovery, the genus Plectranthias now has 67 valid species. This follows the identification of another deep-sea species, Chromis abadhah, by the same team in early December of the previous year.

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