Trimma tevegae
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image =Trimma tevegae male 16 mm, Rabaul.jpg
| image_caption = Male from Rabaul, New Britain, {{convert|16|mm|in|abbr=on|2}}
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Trimma tevegae
| authority = Cohen & Davis, 1969
}}
Trimma tevegae, commonly known as the bluestripe pygmygoby or blue-striped cave goby among other names, is a species of goby from the western Pacific. They are small fish, averaging at {{convert|2|cm|in|abbr=on|2}}, orange-brown with white undersides in life, with characteristic iridescent blue or lavender stripes on the sides and on top of the body. They are usually found in large schools in the sloping or vertical drop-offs at coral reef edges. They are sometimes caught for the aquarium trade, and are also known by hobbyists under the name blue line flagtail goby. The species is named in honor of the schooner Te Vega.
Taxonomy
T. tevegae belongs to the Trimma tevegae species group of the dwarfgoby genus Trimma. It was included in the true goby subfamily Gobiinae in the goby family Gobiidae.{{cite journal|author1=Richard Winterbottom |author2=Robert H. Hanner |author3=Mary Burridge |author4=Margaret Zur |name-list-style=amp |year=2014|title=A cornucopia of cryptic species - a DNA barcode analysis of the gobiid fish genus Trimma (Percomorpha, Gobiiformes)|url=https://archive.org/details/pubmed-PMC3950426 |journal=ZooKeys|issue=381|pages=79–111|doi=10.3897/zookeys.381.6445|pmid=24624015|pmc=3950426|doi-access=free }} However, the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World does not give any subfamilies in the Gobiidae.{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=752 |publisher=Wiley |isbn= 978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ }} It was first described by the ichthyologists Daniel M. Cohen and William P. Davis in 1969 from specimens collected in Rabaul, New Britain.{{cite journal|author1=Daniel M. Cohen |author2=William P. Davis |name-list-style=amp |year=1969|title=Vertical orientation in a new gobioid fish from New Britain |journal=Pacific Science|volume=23|issue=3|pages=317–324|url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/3387/v23n3-317-324.pdf?sequence=1}} The generic name Trimma is derived from Greek τρίμματος (trimmatos, "something crushed"). The specific name is in honor of the schooner Te Vega, which was used as the research vessel (then under the Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station) by the authors during the collection trip.
In 2005, the ichthyologist Richard Winterbottom examined specimens of Trimma caudomaculatum, described in 1975 by the Japanese ichthyologists Tetsuo Yoshino and Chūichi Araga, and compared them with specimens of T. tevegae. Based on morphology, he concluded that they belonged to the same species, and thus synonymized T. caudomaculatum with T. tevegae.{{cite journal|author=Richard Winterbottom|year=2005a|title=On the status of Trimma tevegae and Trimma caudomaculata (Gobiidae). |journal=Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology|volume=10|issue=2|pages=51–56}} However, he reversed this opinion after a 2011 phylogenetic study on the genus Trimma. T. caudomaculatum is now again considered to be a separate valid species, though still closely related to T. tevegae. The study also revealed that T. tevegae may be a cryptic species complex.
T. tevegae is known under a number of common names in English, mostly based on the characteristic blue stripe running through the body. These include various permutations of the names "bluestripe pygmgygoby", "blue-striped cave goby", or "blue-striped dwarfgoby".{{cite web|url=http://www.tropicalfavourites.com/Speciesinfo289.aspx|title=Species name: Trimma tevegae|author1=Ole Johan Brett |author2=Harald Angell |name-list-style=amp |date=2012|publisher=Tropical Favourites |access-date=November 28, 2014}} It is also known under various non-specific common names in other languages, like mano'o-moi in Samoan and kultit or paku in Calamian Tagbanwa in the Philippines.
Description
File:Trimma tevegae male 22.5mm, Koror, Palau.jpg, Palau, {{convert|22.5|mm|in|abbr=on|2}}]]
Bluestripe pygmygobies are tiny fish, usually averaging at {{convert|2|cm|in|abbr=on|2}}. The maximum recorded length is {{convert|4.5|cm|in|abbr=on|2}}. The dorsal fin has seven spines and eight to nine soft rays. The second dorsal spine in males is elongated and filamentous. The anal fin has one spine, and eight to nine soft rays.
They are predominantly orange-brown in color with a white underside. The source of their common name is a lavender to blueish stripe running through the middle of the upper body; from the upper lip, across the upper part of the eye, and towards the tail. A narrower stripe of the same color also runs along the base of the dorsal fin. On the base of the tail is a large dark reddish-brown blotch. They seem drab in preserved specimens, but in living specimens they display brilliant blue, green, and vivid pink iridescence when light shines upon their bodies.{{cite book|author=Estelita Emily Capuli |editor1=R. Froese |editor2=D. Pauly |title =FishBase|chapter = Trimma tevegae Cohen & Davis, 1969|year =2014|chapter-url=http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?genusname=Trimma&speciesname=tevegae}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/486|title= Bluestripe Pygmygoby, Trimma tevegae Cohen & Davis 1969|author=Dianne J. Bray|date=2011|publisher=Fishes of Australia|access-date=November 28, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tonywublog.com/journal/blue-striped-cave-goby-trimma-tevegae-papua-new-guinea|title= Truly Beautiful|author=Tony Wu|date=May 18, 2011|publisher=Tony Wu Blog|access-date=November 28, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://reefbuilders.com/2010/09/28/trimma-tevegae-coolest-nano-gobies-readily/|title=Trimma tevegae has got to be one of the coolest nano gobies which is readily available|author=Jake Adams|date=September 28, 2010|publisher=Reef Builders|access-date=November 28, 2014}}
Distribution
T. tevegae can be found in the Western Pacific coral reefs usually at depths of {{convert|10|to|40|m|abbr=on|0}}, with a maximum recorded depth being {{convert|72|m|abbr=on|0}}. They have been recorded in the Ryukyu and Izu Islands of Japan to New Britain, Papua New Guinea; and from the Rowley Shoals of Australia to Tonga.{{cite web|url=http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:5160cefe-3eca-40f3-ae1c-00a729e90f3b|title= Trimma tevegae Cohen & Davis, 1969|publisher=Atlas of Living Australia|access-date=November 28, 2014}}
Ecology
Bluestripe pygmygobies generally congregate in large, loose schools near coral reef drop-offs pockmarked by caves or recesses. They may school together with related species like the nasal dwarfgobies (Trimma nasa) or wasp pygmygobies (Trimma flavatrum). They usually orient themselves vertically with their heads facing upwards along the coral reef wall and feed on zooplankton traveling down the water column. When threatened they will quickly retreat inside hiding places.{{cite web|url=http://reefbuilders.com/2014/02/05/trimma-waiting-discovered-offered/|title= There are so many more Trimma out there waiting to be discovered and offered|author=Tea Yi Kai|date=February 5, 2014|publisher=Reef Builders|access-date=November 28, 2014}}
T. tevegae has one of the longest lifespans among the characteristically very short-lived dwarfgobies. The longest on record was an individual in captivity in the Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii which lived for 20 months.{{cite web|url=http://www.reefsmagazine.com/showthread.php?t=82591&do=print&type=pdf|title= Aquarium Fish Longevity |author1=J. Charles Delbeek |author2=John E. Randall |name-list-style=amp |date=2010|publisher=Reefs Magazine|access-date=November 28, 2014}}
Importance
Bluestripe pygmygobies are not fished for food by humans, but they are sometimes caught for the aquarium trade. Though rarely available, they are comparatively the most common dwarfgoby species kept in reef aquaria, particularly in the smaller nano reef tank setups. This is due their hardiness, the ease of their care, their size, and their shoaling behavior.{{cite web|url=http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/100584-shoaling-fishes-part-3-gobies-dartfishes.html|title= Shoaling Fishes Part 3: Gobies and Dartfishes|author=Matt Wandell|publisher=Reefs Magazine|access-date=November 28, 2014}} In addition to usual common names, they are sometimes referred to as the "blue line flagtail goby" by hobbyists.{{cite web|url=http://www.qualitymarine.com/Products/Fish/Wild/Gobies/Trimma-tevegae/Blue-Line-Flag-Tail|title=Trimma tevegae - Blue Line Flag Tail|date=2010|publisher=Quality Marine|access-date=November 28, 2014}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Trimma tevegae|Trimma tevegae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q585936}}
Category:Taxa named by Daniel Morris Cohen