[1][2][3] C. finifenmaa was spotted by John Ernest Randall in 1983 and was initially thought to be an adult version of C. rubrisquamis, a fish from the Chagos Archipelago island chain.

[5] Ahmed Najeeb, a biologist at the MMRI, co-authored the paper announcing the discovery, making him the first Maldivian to describe a new species.

This species can be distinguished from similar ones in having a round caudal fin, crosshatch marks on the chest, and unmarked scales on the posterior body.

[1] Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa individuals are found at a depth of around 50 meters in warm mesophotic coral ecosystems.

As described previously, male individuals of Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa develop bright coloration as they age, with the pigment of the whole body dimming off towards the posterior end.

Previously, it was observed that spawning occurs from July to September, but some scientists argue it can happen year-round.

During spawning, a male quickly approaches a female from behind, and together they dash upwards, reverse direction, and return to the herd.

[11] It was also found that Cirrhilabrus had one of the highest mortality rates for juveniles and adults, but members could live up to four or five years for small reef species.

If the intruding male does not leave, both individuals develop a blue body coloration that intensifies as aggressiveness increases.

Recently, it has been observed that the mucosa produced by the buccal cavity plays a role in prey acquisition.

The Cirrhilabrus genus has a large amount of mucus secretion from cells of the buccal cavity, a trait uncommon in other planktivores.

[12] Cirrhilabrus eat by plucking small, suspended prey/material with suction rather than filtering the water column.

[12] Scientists believe that the mucus is not primarily related to particle retention, but it is used to help ingest gelatinous materials.

For example, the dominant predator to Cirrhilabrus temminckii, which lives off the coast of Japan, is Synodus ulae, the lizardfish.

Moving eggs and sperm away from the habitat might increase their chances of survival and prevent them from being eaten by larger predators.

[10] Labridae, the family of wrasse fishes, provide benefit to the mesophotic coral ecosystem.

While they feed on the organic materials produced by other fishes and corals, they in turn positively impact those individuals by creating clearer waters for this mesophotic system (Sun et al., 2015).

[13] Because of the unique mucoidal characteristic of Cirrhilabrus fishes as described previously, this allowed them to fit certain niches within the ecosystem and evolutionarily explode.

Perhaps this could lead to a new avenue of economic relevance of the wrasses if they become involved in maintaining the health of aquaculture systems (Skiftesvik et al., 2013).

In turn, this again affects the habitat and food that many fishes like Cirrhilabrus species rely on to survive.

Without the presence of coral habitats, these fishes can experience ecological pressures and possibly reach endangerment or extinction.