Vibrant New Species in Ocean

(CNN)Hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface, somewhere between the dark ocean floor and the bright blue shallows, lies the twilight zone.

It's a world of the unknown, but in some tropical and subtropical waters coral reefs thrive. Very few scientists have ventured to these deep reefs, known technically as mesophotic coral ecosystems, meaning "middle light," and many assumed that the lack of light and chilly temperatures meant few species could exist there.

But one scientist has been diving into the inky depths to show there's much more to life there than was first thought.

"When you get up close, it's a very colorful ecosystem," says Luiz Rocha, Brazilian ichthyologist (a person who studies fish) and co-director of the Hope for Reefs initiative at the California Academy of Sciences. "There's many different kinds of fish and many of them are unknown."

Despite its dimness, the twilight zone is home to fish of a stunning variety of colors, such as the Cirrhilabrus wakanda.

Rocha, whose studies focus on ocean life between 200 and 500 feet deep, was attracted to twilight zone reefs because of their mystery.

"Every dive we do to those depths (leads to) a new discovery," he says.
To date, he has identified around 30 new species -- from a purple fairy wrasse named after the mythical nation of Wakanda, to the Tosanoides aphrodite, a pink and yellow reef fish named after the Greek goddess of love. 

But his deep-sea explorations have also proven that these reefs and the rainbow-hued species that roam them are under threat. His mission is to protect them.  READ MORE...