There’s been a lot going in the gobiid taxonomic world lately with a big push to describe new species of Eviota gobies by Drs. Greenfield and Randall. Just over a month ago we got our first look at the gorgeous little Eviota nigrispinna and now we have four more species to which we can firmly put a name.
Eviota rubrisparsa, E. shimadai, E. winterbottomi and E. toshiyuki are the newcomer species to the Gobiidae, one of the most species rich family of bony fish in the world. Several of the new species are being distinguished from similar looking, previously described species such as E. guttata.
Eviota winterbottomi and E. toshiyuki are only represented by some rather drab images, but E. shimadai and E. rubrisparsa appear like they could be promising nano reef aquarium subjects. As the name implies, Eviota rubrisparsa is distinguished by small red spots but we are particularly taken by the intricate color and pattern of it’s irises.
E. shimadai looks even cooler with a pattern of red stripes and spots and two elongated dorsal filaments which probably make for a fascinating display. E. shimadai is described from specimens taken mainly from the Ogasawara Islands of Japan but the description mentions that the species is also known to occur in Palau. The description of the four new Eviota species can be found in the journal Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences and a few more pictures can be seen after the break.
