As if we needed any more reason to love the dwarf gobies of the genus Eviota, E. jewettae and E. pinocchioi are the latest nano fish to be described. Some of the new species of Eviota can be drab or have eluded living color photography but this is the furthest from the case with Eviota pinocchioi and E. jewettae. Both of the newly described dwarf gobies have a basic pattern of red banding and an adorned face but as you might guess about Eviota pinocchioi, it sports a conspicuous protuberance from its face.
Eviota pinocchioi pictured above has a lightish colored body with reddish orange stripes transecting the body. It is described as having a very colorful eye with black pupils, blue iris and red-orange spokes surrounding the pupil. The most remarkable feature of E. pinocchioi is by far the elongated nostrils which prtrude far beyond the snout and which are even accentuated with black tips. Pinocchio’s nano goby was first collected in Palau in the south west corner of Uchelbeluu Reef.
Eviota jewettae pictured below looks somewhat more muted in coloration in the wild but the preserved specimens show patterns which are a more vivid red color. This species has been collected over a wider geographic area ranging from Philippines, Palau, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The two newest Eviota nano gobies are described by David Greenfield and Richard Winterbottom in the latest issue of Zootaxa.
