Close The feisty fairy wrasses turned to a neon kaleidoscope all thanks to a coral reef "species pump." Fairy wrasses are swimming jewels, dancing, and flouncing around coral reefs. The finger-length fishes' arrogant, vibrant courtship exhibitions are meant for mates and competitors, and a recent study proposes that the gentle waxing and waning of ice sheets glaciers and ice sheets may be partially accountable for such a variety of performances. (Photo : Jannet Serhan) Colorful Reef Fishes Scientists reported on the 23rd of February in Systematic Biology that a recent genetic analysis of over three dozen fairy wrasse species details the approximately 12 million years of evolution that created their wide assortment of colors, shapes, and behaviors. And the schedule of these transformations means that over 60 species of fairy wrasses may owe their great diversity to cyclic sea-level alteration over the previous few millions of years.