The mutant wrasse (''Cirrhilabrus apterygia''), also known as Connie's wrasse, is a species of

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine ray-finned fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into nine subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, ...

only known to occur in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Rowley Shoals The Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centred on , on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll covers a ...

at depths from . This species grows to a total length of . This species is sometimes classified in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

''Conniella''. This unusual wrasse lacks

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s and the males have a long, pointed tail.

References

Labridae apterygia Fish described in 1983 Taxa named by Gerald R. Allen {{Labridae-stub