MEXICO CITY — While swimming off a remote Pacific Ocean archipelago in 2013, a diver spotted a “mysterious” and brightly colored fish. He quickly snapped several blurry photographs before it darted away, leaving behind a trail of questions in its wake.
Now, over a decade later — after returning to the island chain — researchers have identified the peculiar fish, which they said belongs to a brand new species, according to a study published on February 28 in the journal PeerJ.
Thousands of new species are found each year. Here are three of our most eye-catching stories from the past week.
A male (A) and a female Halichoeres sanchezi (B). Photos from the journal PeerJ
The Revillagigedo Archipelago, located 500 miles west of Mexico, is known as the “Mexican Galapagos.” Its protected waters are teeming with unique marine life — making it popular with recreational divers but still relatively understudied.
In 2022, a team of researchers conducted dozens of dives off the island chain, where they photographed over 100 species, according to a news release from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Researchers were keen on encountering the mystery fish photographed in 2013, but as the expedition entered its final days, they saw no signs of it.
However, on the very last day of the survey, one of the researchers captured a small fish that matched up perfectly with the fish in the photograph.
Eventually, seven other specimens were collected.
By BRENDAN RASCIUS/Miami Herald