Trimma irinae is a new species of deepwater nano reef goby hailing from Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. It may not be that novel to see a new species from Papua New Guinea, Milne Bay, or from the genus Trimma, but this fish is not only a looker but also unusual in being one of the few known species of Trimma from deep water.
Trimma irinae is an exquisitely striking species with an endowment of both color and pattern. The light bluish head of Trimma irinae is colored with red spots that are replaced with yellow spots further down the posterior half of its body. If that weren’t enough to make Trimma iriniae stand out among the many newly described species of nano reef gobies, it is also adorned with an elongated first dorsal spine that is light white to blue in color, with one to a couple dark spot at the base of the anterior part of the dorsal fin for added contrast.
65 meters or 215 feet is a long way to go looking for such a tiny fish but in the case of Trimma irinae, the journey is well worth the effort. If you needed any further evidence that Trimma irinae is special, it is named in honor of the wife of Dr. Richard Winterbottom who described the species, and a specialist in the taxonomy of Eviota and Trimma species.
