Cirrhilabrus squirei: First specimen caught and shipped to BlueHarbor

Beautiful male specimen of "Cirrhilabrus squirei"."

“Cirrhilabrus squirei” is a spanking new labrid to be added to the growing list of fairy wrasses species. Collected in the Coral Sea, this ultra gorgeous species pays homage to Cirrhilabrus johnsoni, as well as Cirrhilabrus cf. lanceolatus (The Pintail Fairy Wrasse). “Cirrhilabrus squirei” has not been officially described but the scientific name has been more or less agreed on, and was named in honor of Lyle Squire of Cairns Marine.

"Cirrhilabrus squirei" has tremendously long yellow tail filaments which sways gracefully when it swims.

We had the privilege of visiting BlueHarbor recently and were lucky enough to not only enjoy the sights of the store, but witness firsthand the unpacking and acclimation of this brand new beautiful Cirrhilabrus species. These pictures were taken on scene minutes after acclimation. In fact, keep a lookout for our recounts of visiting BlueHarbor.

C. squirei resting shortly after acclimation.

C. squirei is a resident of the Coral Sea and this one and only specimen was collected by Cairns Marine. The depth at which it lives in is not as deep as some of the other rarer Cirrhilabrus. That, coupled with its accessible location, would probably mean that we’ll definitely be seeing more of these amazing fish in the future. The form of this species closely resembles Cirrhilabrus johnsoni, but the color is many times more beautiful with dashes of pink and yellow, similar to that of the Pintail Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus cf. lanceolatus.

C. squirei boasts of some of the longest caudal filaments of any Cirrhilabrus so far.

What is more interesting is the pair of really beautiful trailing filaments seen on male specimens. These yellow tail filaments are some of the longest of any lunate-tailed species so far. We’re really digging the black accents on its unpaired fins as well, that contrast so beautifully with the gold, pink and orange. This is truly an exquisite species with a hefty price tag.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuUpa2X13tw&feature=channel&list=UL[/youtube]

Here’s a video by Koji Wada of Cirrhilabrus squirei. We really hope to see more of these appearing soon. Hats off to Cairns Marine and BlueHarbor. Another feather added to the caps of two astounding names.

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KaiTheFishGuy

Kai is a systematic ichthyologist at The Australian Museum, Sydney. His research interests combine the use of cutting-edge next generation sequencing techniques with traditional methods of morphology to better understand the evolutionary history of coral reef fishes. He is a legacy ReefBuilders contributor, having previously written close to give hundred articles under his pseudonym LemonTYK.