The King demoiselle is not just one type of fish, but three separate groups that recently split from each other, according to a new study.

By essentially catching one species in the process of turning into three, the revision suggests that preservation efforts might be failing a variety of species that have yet to be identified.

King demoiselles are common in low waters throughout the region's reefs. The fish are small -- about the size of a human thumb. And they come in an extensive range of color patterns, from spotted blue to gray with a big yellow stripe.

Those color variations alone don't essentially mean much. In plenty of reef species, individual fish can take on an enormous variety of appearances. Juveniles often look dissimilar from adults. Males might look different from females. While doing other research in the field, though, Drew's colleagues noticed that groups of King demoiselles looked dissimilar in different geographical regions.