A pair of Bermuda fish species have been recognised by the Smithsonian Institution as being unique to Bermuda’s waters.

The yellowfin chromis and the Collette’s halfbeak have been classified as endemic to Bermuda in an update to the authoritative 1999 Fishes of Bermuda publication. Both species have been known in Bermuda’s waters for some time but were only recently determined to be endemic.

Report writers William Smith-Vaniz and Bruce Collette also identified differences between the endemic Bermuda creole wrasse and its Caribbean relatives, suggesting they may also prove to be endemic.

“We recently became aware of two colour photographs, one of a school and the other of a single individual ... of wrasses from Bermuda (Lucas 2012) identified as clepticus parrae,” the researchers wrote.

“Terminal phase adults are distinctive in having very elongate outer caudal-fin rays, mostly solid blue body and fins and a bright yellow snout. We predict that subsequent research will show these fish to be another Bermuda endemic. All records of clepticus parrae from Bermuda apparently are based on misidentification of this undescribed clepticus.”

They noted the terminal male yellowhead wrasse, called “Redbacks” locally, have different colouration than its counterparts elsewhere in the region.

The Smithsonian also listed several species not previously known to reside in Bermuda, such as the whitenose pipefish, the roughtail stingray, a deepwater opah and blackear wrasse.

A Bermuda Zoological Society spokeswoman said: “In all, 24 new records were listed, and five older records have been discounted as errors, reminding us that we still have much to discover about life on our reefs and that diligent citizen scientists, fishermen and naturalists all have key roles to play.”

The research paper is available at the Natural History Museum Library at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo.