marine fishes

Sunrise Over the Seabed: New Shrimpgoby Species Named for the “Sunrise of Java”

Researchers have described a beautiful new species of shrimpgoby from the coastal waters off Banyuwangi, East Java, and given it a name that pays tribute to both its fiery colouration and birthplace.

Researchers have described a beautiful new species of shrimpgoby from the coastal waters off Banyuwangi, East Java, and given it a name that pays tribute to both its fiery colouration and its birthplace.

Published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, a team led by Kunto Wibowo of the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, part of Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), has formally described Tomiyamichthys oriens sp. nov., a small reef fish characterised by radiant orange blotches along its flanks and a pair of elegant filaments trailing from the first dorsal fin of males.

Holotype of *Tomiyamichthys oriens* sp. nov., male, 35.6 mm SL, off Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. Image credit: Kunto Wibowo et al.

The two specimens on which the description is based, a male and a female each measuring roughly 35.5 mm in length, were first brought to the researchers’ attention by the ornamental fish exporter CV Cahaya Baru, having been collected from sandy shallows off Banyuwangi. Both are now housed at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense in Bogor.

The name oriens is where this discovery really shines. It is a Latin participle meaning “east” or “the rising sun”, chosen for two reasons. Firstly, it evokes the fish’s own vivid orange markings, said to recall the hues of a sunrise. Secondly, it honours the species’ place of origin: Banyuwangi sits at the easternmost tip of Java and is popularly known throughout Indonesia as “The Sunrise of Java”. The authors have given the fish the English common name Oriens Shrimpgoby.

Tomiyamichthys oriens belongs to a genus of shrimp-associated gobies found across the tropical Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Fiji. Its closest known relative is T. hyacinthinus, a species only recently described from southern Japan. The two share a rare combination of features within the genus: nine segmented rays in both the dorsal and anal fins, and, in males, two elongated filamentous spines on the first dorsal fin.

Paratype of *Tomiyamichthys* *oriens* sp. nov., female, 35.5 mm SL, off Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. Image credit: Kunto Wibowo et al.

Despite this resemblance, the Indonesian fish can be told apart by a suite of subtle differences, including its number of pectoral fin rays, branched caudal fin rays, longitudinal scale rows and gill rakers, as well as finer details of its colour pattern. Genetic analysis of the mitochondrial COI gene reinforced the case for a distinct species, revealing a divergence of 3.1% between the Indonesian and Japanese fish.

The discovery adds to an already remarkable tally for Indonesia, which sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle and now hosts 13 recognised species of Tomiyamichthys, more than any other country. According to local fishermen consulted during the study, the new species favours sandy bottoms in shallow coastal water, though its relationship with the burrowing alpheid shrimps typically associated with the genus has yet to be directly observed in the wild.

The description brings the total number of valid Tomiyamichthys species worldwide to 21, underscoring how much remains to be learned about the small reef fishes that share Indonesia’s waters with its shrimp partners.

“It is always exciting to discover a species that is new to science. We hope this finding will inspire further exploration of Indonesia’s fish biodiversity, where many small and overlooked species are likely still awaiting discovery.”
Kunto Wibowo

Original source:

Wibowo K, Pratiwi HM, Dharmayanthi AB, Tjiptadi D, Tarmini W, Priyadi A, Kusumah RV (2026) Tomiyamichthys oriens, a new species of shrimpgoby (Teleostei, Gobiidae) from the coast of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. ZooKeys 1283: 67-77. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1283.194940

For more articles on zoology, visit the ZooKeys website and follow the journal on BlueSky and Facebook.

“Oscar describes Oscar”: Interview with Oscar Lasso-Alcalá, Pt 3

“This is why Mikolji’s Oscar is a highly appreciated species in the aquarium hobby. It is more than just a fish in an aquarium when it is considered a true pet.”

In this last part, we talked with ichthyologist Oscar Miguel Lasso-Alcalá about what makes Astronotus mikoljii – a new to science cichlid species that he recently described in ZooKeys – so special.

Find Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview.

What makes this species so charismatic and loved by aquarists and ichthyologists?

I already spoke about my experience as an aquarist from an early age, where the qualities of the species of the Astronotus genus, known as Oscars are highlighted.

Different varieties and color patterns have been obtained from them through selective breeding, or genetic manipulation, which are called living modified organisms (LMOs) or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

However, the true lovers of nature, the aquarians of the “Biotope Aquarium” movement and the like, prefer pure specimens to manipulated or artificially modified ones. This is why Mikolji’s Oscar is a highly appreciated species in the aquarium hobby. It is more than just a fish in an aquarium since it is considered a true pet.

For ichthyologists, it is remarkably interesting and at the same time very challenging to study a genus like Astronotus, which already has only three described species (Astronotus ocellatus, A. cassiprinnis and A. mikoljii).

This is an unusual situation, which, as we have reported, requires an integrative approach and the work and experience of different specialists for its study. With all certainty, as in the case of Mikolji’s Oscar, other species of the genus Astronotus remain to be studied and described, and we hope that we will have the fortune to participate with our experience in these new works.

Local people have long known this species. What role does it have in their lives?

It is important to clarify that Astronotus mikoljii is a new species for science, but it is not a “new species” for people who already knew it locally under the name of Pavona, Vieja, or Cupaneca in Venezuela or Pavo Real, Carabazú, Mojarra and Mojarra Negra in Colombia. Nor for the aquarium trade, where it was known by the common name of Oscar and scientific name of Astronotus ocellatus, or, to a lesser degree, as Astronotus cassiprinnis.

This species has been of great food importance for thousands of years for at least nine indigenous ethnic groups.

Much less is it a new species for the nine thousand-year-old indigenous ethnic groups that share their world with the habitat of this fish, who baptized it with some 14 different names, known in their languages as mijsho (Kariña), boisikuajaba (Warao), hácho (Pumé = Yaruro), phadeewa, jadaewa (Ye’Kuana = Makiritare), perewa, parawa (Eñepá = Panare), yawirra (Kúrrim = Kurripako), kohukohurimï, kohokohorimï, owënawë kohoromï” (Yanomami = Yanomamï), eba (Puinave), Itapukunda (Kurripako), uan (Tucano).

Hence, the importance of scientific names, since the same species can have multiple common names, in the same language or in multiple languages.

It is important to note that very few studies that describe new species for science include the common names of the species, as given by the indigenous ethnic groups or natives of the regions, where the species live.

This species has been of great food importance for thousands of years for at least nine indigenous ethnic groups, and for more than 500 years to the hundreds of human communities of locals who inhabit the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela and Colombia. In our studies, in the plains of Orinoco from 30 years ago, we were able to verify its consumption, as well as high gastronomic value, due to its pleasant taste and enhanced texture.

However, due to my imprint as an aquarist, I have not wanted to consume it on the different occasions that it was offered to me, because it is very difficult to eat the beloved pets that we had in our childhood.

Why is this fish important to people and to ecosystems?

It is especially important to highlight that the Astronotus mikoljii species plays a very important role in the ecosystem, due to its biological and ecological background.

Although it can feed from different sources, it is a fundamentally carnivorous species, and therefore, it “controls” other species in the ecosystem.

Without Mikolji’s Oscar, the aquatic ecosystem would lose one of its fundamental links and the delicate balance of its functioning, because the species it feeds on could increase their populations uncontrollably, becoming veritable pests. This would put in great danger the entire future of the aquatic ecosystem of the Orinoco River basin and the permanence of other species of ecological importance.

In addition, it would surely affect other species used by man, both those of commercial importance (sold as food or as ornamental species), and for the subsistence fishing of native and indigenous inhabitants.

Mikolji’s Oscar, although a carnivorous species, also has its natural predators, for example piranhas and other predatory fish. For this reason, it evolved with an ocellus, or false eye, at the base of the caudal fin, to confuse its predators and guarantee its survival. Obviously, this species will be compromised if we don’t learn about it, use its populations wisely and preserve it in the long term.

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Photos by Ivan Mikolji.

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You can find Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview with Oscar.

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Follow the ZooKeys journal on Twitter and Facebook.

Scientific divers from the California Academy of Sciences discover new species of dazzling, neon-colored fish

Post originally published by the California Academy of Sciences

Named for Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty, a new species of fish enchants Academy scientists

On a recent expedition to the remote Brazilian archipelago of St. Paul’s Rocks, a new species of reef fish—striped a vivid pink and yellow—enchanted its diving discoverers from the California Academy of Sciences.

First spotted at a depth of 400 feet beneath the ocean’s surface, this cryptic fish inhabits rocky crevices of twilight zone reefs and is found nowhere else in the world. Upon discovery, the deep-diving team was so captivated by their finned find that they didn’t notice a massive sixgill shark hovering above them in an exciting moment captured on camera. The new fish description published today in Zookeys.

“This is one of the most beautiful fishes I’ve ever seen,” says Dr. Luiz Rocha, the Academy’s Curator of Fishes and co-leader of the Hope for Reefs initiative. “It was so enchanting it made us ignore everything around it.”

The sixgill shark stretched nearly ten feet long and cruised overhead as Rocha and post-doctoral fellow Dr. Hudson Pinheiro delicately collected the fish for further study back at the Academy. Behind the camera, the team’s diving officer Mauritius Bell enthusiastically announced the behemoth visitor to the duo, but to no avail. Aptly named, Tosanoides aphrodite enchanted its discoverers much like Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty, enchanted the ancient Greek gods.

“Fishes from the twilight zone tend to be pink or reddish in color,” says Pinheiro. “Red light doesn’t penetrate to these dark depths, rendering the fishes invisible unless illuminated by a light like the one we carry while diving.”

Back at the Academy, laboratory and collections manager Claudia Rocha helped the diving duo describe the new species: Males are outfitted with alternating pink and yellow stripes while females sport a solid, blood-orange color. Using a microscope, the team counted fins and measured spine length; DNA analysis revealed the new species is the first Atlantic-dwelling member of its genus.

*Male specimen of the new species (Tosanoides aphrodite). Photo by LA Rocha.*

The new denizen of the deep is a remarkable testament to the vast ocean habitats that still remain unexplored. Rocha and Pinheiro are part of a deep-diving research team that ventures to twilight zone reefs—mysterious coral habitats stretching across a narrow band of ocean 200 – 500 feet beneath the surface. In these deep reefs, animals live in partial darkness—beyond recreational diving limits, yet above the deep trenches patrolled by submarines and ROVs. As part of its Hope for Reefs initiative, the Academy team and their collaborators are exploring this unknown frontier with the help of high-tech equipment like closed-circuit rebreathers that allow scientists to extend their research time underwater.

Nearly 600 miles offshore the coast of Brazil, St. Paul’s Rocks is so remote that it required the team to utilize the research vessel M/V Alucia as their homebase to explore the archipelago. The rocky outcroppings are extensions of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge—an active, tectonic plate boundary—puncturing the ocean’s surface. Given the region’s unique geology and isolated location, many of the species that live there are found nowhere else on Earth. Through their research, the Hope for Reefs team is finding that twilight zone habitats also host many location-specific species.

In a recent landmark paper, the team found that twilight zone reefs are unique ecosystems bursting with life and are just as vulnerable to climate change threats as their shallow counterparts. Their findings upended the long-standing assumption that species might migrate between habitats to avoid human-related stressors. As documented in the footage from this new fish’s discovery, a piece of fishing line can be seen streaming behind the sixgill shark—evidence that human impacts extend to depth too.

“In a time of global crisis for coral reefs, learning more about unexplored reef habitats and their colorful residents is critical to our understanding of how to protect them,” says Rocha. “We aim to highlight the ocean’s vast and unexplored wonders and inspire a new generation of sustainability champions.”

Research article:

Pinheiro HT, Rocha C, Rocha LA (2018) Tosanoides aphrodite, a new species from mesophotic coral ecosystems of St. Paul’s Rocks, Mid Atlantic Ridge (Perciformes, Serranidae, Anthiadinae). ZooKeys 786: 105-115. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.786.27382