Take a moment to soak in the wild color and pattern of the rarely seen Trimma goby pictured above. This is the first time this fish has been seen in nearly twenty years, having been photographed by Dr. Luiz Rocha in the twilight reefs of Palau.
While currently on a mission to explore the reefs of Palau at abyssal depths of Palau, Dr. Rocha spotted this very distinctive looking little Trimma at a depth of 120 meters, nearly 400 feet! Apparently, this fish was sighted by Dr. Pyle & Friends on a similar deep diving trip to Palau, but that was way back in 1997!
The undescribed Trimma from the deep of Palau does share some similar color motifs with other species of Trimma from Palau. Most notably, Trimma fasciatum sometimes shows that attractive blue coloration of the eyes, with light blue and orange on the body, but that’s where the similarities end.
This newly photographed Trimma has a distinctive pattern of two light, shiny blue stripes on a pale, peach colored body. The unique appearance of this Trimma goby is almost certainly an unknown species, big thanks to Dr. Rocha for letting us share his one of a kind photo of this exciting new goby from Palau’s twilight reefs.
