Navigobius dewa is a sensational new species and genus of dartfish with some very firefish-like qualities. Described in 2009 from specimen collected in Kagoshima Bay, Japan, Navigobius dewa is so unique that it was placed into a genus all it’s own, perhaps because of this fish’s unique similarity with dartfish of the genus Ptereleotris and the firefish of the genus Nemateleotris.
The business (head) end of Navigobius looks very much like a firefish, a purple firefish with a big eye. The delicately patterned finnage of Navigobius looks at once like a firefish and somewhat like a lined dartfish, Ptereleotris grammica but that ostentatious colorful lyretail is entirely unique to Dewa’s dartfish. So far only known form a tiny region in Southern Japan, and at depths between 150-300 feet, don’t expect Navigobius dewa to show up in the American or European reef scenes anytime soon.
