The Unique Eyes of Incredibly Diverse Eviota Gobies

No doubt one of the features that helps us to relate to, and be fascinated by, aquarium fish is their large, noticeable eyes. Saltwater fish in particular can have such large and colorful eyes adorned with both colors and features, that it’s sometimes possible to identify a fish based solely on a picture of their eyes.

This idea is fully expressed in the recent overview of the Eviota dwarf gobies, one of the most numerous genera of tropical reef fish. Dr. David Greenfield has described most of the species we’ve shared on the website over the last decade and he put a particular focus on the eyes of the Eviota for helping to identify the different species.

With 116 species of Eviota, this genus is second only to the Gymnothorax eels in overall numbers but they have much nicer looking peepers. Although their eyes might be only a few millimeters across, the various species of Eviota have each evolved to have very interesting looking eyeballs, both in terms of color and pattern, and the face around them.

Live eye-color patterns of various species of Eviota: 1) E. algida (M.V. Erdmann); 2) E. tetha (M.V. Erdmann); 3) E. teresae (R. Whitworth); 4) E. bilunula (R. Whitworth); 5) E. cometa (R. Whitworth); 6) E. fallax (G.R. Allen); 7) E. flebilis (K. Yano); 8) E. infulata (J.E. Randall); 9) E. melanosphena (A. Gonzáles-Cabello); 10) E. natalis (G.R. Allen); 11) E. nigriventris (M.V. Erdmann); 12) E. piperata (M.V. Erdmann); 13) E. ancora (H. Kanehara); 14) E. dorsogilva (J. Eyre); 15) E. pamae (G.R. Allen); 16) E. karaspila (J.E. Randall); 17) E. korechika (M.V. Erdmann); 18) E. randalli (D.W. Greenfield); 19) E. winterbottomi (M.V. Erdmann); 20) E. cf. sigillata (J.E. Randall); 21) E. oculopiperita (S.V. Bogorodsky); 22) E. pellucida (K. Kanehara); 23) E. susanae (J.E. Randall); 24) E. rubriguttata (H. Kanehara); 25) E. atriventris (R. Patzner); 26) E. prasina (S.V. Bogorodsky); 27) E. rubriceps (M.V. Erdmann); 28) E. rubrisparsa (J.E. Randall); 29) E. zebrina (S. V. Bogorodsky); 30) E. dorsopurpurea (J.E. Randall); 31) E. santanai (M.V. Erdmann); 32) E. nigrispina (H. Kanehara); 33) E. pinocchioi (M.V. Erdmann); 34) E. albolineata (J.E. Randall); 35) E. prasites (H. Kanehara); 36) E. mikae (R. Patzner).

Jake Adams

Jake Adams has been an avid marine aquarist since the mid 90s and has worked in the retail side of the marine aquarium trade for more than ten years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and has been the managing editor of ReefBuilders.com since 2008. Jake is interested in every facet of the marine aquarium hobby from the concepts to the technology, rare fish to exotic corals, and his interests are well documented through a very prolific career of speaking to reef clubs and marine aquarium events, and writing articles for aquarium publications across the globe. His primary interest is in corals which Jake pursues in the aquarium hobby as well as diving the coral reefs of the world.