Neon Eviota, Eviota atriventris Greenfield & Suzuki 2012


Other Names: Blackbelly Dwarfgoby, Gold Neon Pygmy Goby, Neon Pygmy Goby, Neon Pygmy-goby, Red Pygmygoby

A Blackbelly Dwarfgoby, Eviota atriventris, on the lagoon entrance bommie, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Victor Huertas / Lizard Island Field Guide, http://lifg.australianmuseum.net.au/. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

A small, translucent reddish-orange goby with a distinctive black peritoneum crossed by a prominent curved white stripe, yellow stripes on the head, and yellow internal stripes. In Australia, this species has been misidentified as Eviota pellucida.

Video of a Neon Gobies in the Solomon Islands (also called a Blackbelly Dwarfgoby).


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Eviota atriventris in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/1355

Neon Eviota, Eviota atriventris Greenfield & Suzuki 2012

More Info


Distribution

Rowley Shoals, Western Australia, and the entire Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and some reefs in the Coral Sea. Elsewhere, the species occurs in the tropical east-Indo-west-Pacific from Japan (southern Ryukyu Islands), Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Palau, Indonesia (NW Kalimantan and Bali eastwards), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, south to Australia and east to New Caledonia.

Individuals or small groups hover above or between the branches of Acropora corals, feeding on plankton in the water column.

Features

Dorsal fin VI+I,8-9 (usually 8); Anal fin I,7-8 (usually 7); Pectoral fin (unbranched rays) 13-15 (usually 14); Caudal fin (branched rays) 11; Caudal fin (segmented rays) 17; Lateral scale rows 23; Transverse scale rows 7.

Fifth pelvic-fin ray 40% or more of 4th ray; 3-5 branches on 4th ray; 4–9 segments between consecutive branches of 4th pelvic-fin ray; embedded cycloid scales on breast; first four spines of dorsal fin filamentous in males, the 4th the longest, extending to caudal-fin base when depressed; genital papilla in male not fimbriate, bilobed at tip and usually extending to or past first anal-fin ray; cephalic sensory-pore system pattern group 2 (only IT missing) (Greenfield & Suzuku 2012).

Size

To about 2.5 cm SL.

Colour

Body translucent reddish-orange, abdomen black with a bright white stripe running over the black area from the pectoral-fin base to the anal-fin base; a narrow golden line from each eye joining to become a single narrow stripe from the back of the head to the middle of the tail base; a narrow golden line from tip of snout through the top part of the eye and onto the body above the black abdomen; a short golden line through the eye below the pupil. Ventral surface with a golden line from anal-fin origin to tail base; underside a pale translucent cream. Fin-rays reddish-orange, fin membranes with fine dark spots.

Feeding

Feeds on zooplankton.

Biology

Species of the genus Eviota mature at a very small size and have very short life spans (usually only a few months). Females lay demersal eggs that are guarded by the male. After hatching, the larvae are pelagic in open water for three weeks or more before settling out on the reef. They attain sexual maturity in a matter of weeks, and releasing large numbers of larvae (Greenfield 2016).

Fisheries

The Neon Eviota is traded in the aquarium industry and breeds readily in captivity.

Remarks

Previously misidentified in Australia as Eviota pellucida, a species known only from the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, Ponape, Mariana Islands, and the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

Similar Species

In Australian waters, the Neon Eviota is most similar to Eviota prasites, which has a distinctive dark spot at the top of the pectoral-fin base, and often a dark spot at the caudal-fin base that is lacking in E. atriventris. E. prasites may also have small red spots on the dorsal and caudal fins, which are lacking in E. atriventris. Unlike most other Eviota species which rest on the bottom, the Neon Eviota hovers just above the substrate.

Etymology

The specific name atriventris is from the Latin atrus (= black) and venter (= belly), in reference to the black internal pigment on the abdomen.

Species Citation

Eviota atriventris Greenfield & Suzuki 2012, Zootaxa 3197: 56, figs. 1, 6–8. Type locality: Palau, due west of Koror where lagoon rises to outer barrier reef, 07º20’44.3" N, 134º16’47.2" E, 0–7.9 m, patch reef of numerous Porites bommies.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Neon Eviota, Eviota atriventris Greenfield & Suzuki 2012

References


Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Greenfield, D. 2016. Eviota atriventris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T47402970A72351584. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T47402970A72351584.en. Downloaded on 14 December 2016.

Greenfield, D.W. 2017. An overview of the dwarfgobies, the second most speciose coral-reef fish genus (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Eviota). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 29: 32-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1115683

Greenfield, D.W. & Randall, J.E. 2016. A review of the dwarfgobies of Fiji, including descriptions of five new species (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Eviota). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 20: 25-75. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.48268

Greenfield, D.W. & Suzuki, T. 2012. Eviota atriventris, a new goby previously misidentified as Eviota pellucida Larson (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Zootaxa 3197: 55–62. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3197.1.3

Greenfield, D.W. & Winterbottom, R. 2016. A key to the dwarfgoby species (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Eviota) described between 1871 and 2016. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 24: 35–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.219620

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls. (as Eviota pellucida)

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. (as Eviota pellucida)

Kuiter, R.H. & T. Tonozuka. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 3. Jawfishes - Sunfishes, Opistognathidae - Molidae. Zoonetics, Australia. p. 623-893. (as Eviota pellucida)

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs. (as Eviota pellucida)

Stiefel, K.M., Merrifield, A., Reed, M., & Joyce, D.B. 2014. A comparison of the gobiid fauna between a shoal and an island habitat in the central Visayas (Philippines). 17 pp + figs, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/006049

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37428128

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:3-20 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:~2.5 cm SL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map