Their scales are so deeply pigmented that the deep purple remains even when preserved for research, when color is usually lost.The fish were named Cirrhilabrus wakanda, or the vibranium fairy wrasse, in honor of Wakanda and "Black Panther.""When we thought about the secretive and isolated nature of these unexplored African reefs, we knew we had to name this new species after Wakanda," said Yi-Kai Tea, lead author of the study and an ichthyology Ph.D. student from the University of Sydney. "We've known about other related fairy wrasses from the Indian Ocean but always thought there was a missing species along the continent's eastern edge. When I saw this amazing purple fish, I knew instantly we were dealing with the missing piece of the puzzle."Researchers found 16 other new species of fish this year, including a cat-eyed cardinalfish.