Banded Dwarfgoby, Trimma fasciatum Suzuki, Sakaue & Senou 2012

Other Names: Yellow-banded Pygmygoby

Freshly collected holotype of the Banded Dwarfgoby, Trimma fasciatum, a male, OMNH-P 35167, from Ngemlis Reef, Ngis Island, Palau. Source: Fig 39b, in Winterbottom (2019) Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 34: 1-61. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

A semi-translucent pale yellow dwarfgoby with four bright yellow bands (3-4 scales wide) on the body and pale blue interspaces along the back, a broad orange stripe through the middle of the dorsal and anal fins, a yellowish-orange caudal fin, a broad white margin on the dorsal and caudal fins, and brilliant blue eyes and interorbital region.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Trimma fasciatum in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Jan 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5165

Banded Dwarfgoby, Trimma fasciatum Suzuki, Sakaue & Senou 2012

More Info

Distribution	Known from the Australian territory of Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species occurs in Palau, the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands. Inhabits drop-offs, caves and crevices. At Christmas Island, the species was seen singly or in pairs, swimming vertically or upside-down deep inside a large submarine cave (Tan 2014).
Features	Dorsal fin VI + I,7; Anal fin I,8; Pectoral fin 14-16; Longitudinal scales 23-24; Predorsal scales 8; Vertebrae 10+16=26. First dorsal fin without elongate, filamentous spine; all pectoral-fin rays unbranched.
Similar Species	Differs from other species in the genus Trimma in having the following combination of characters: 8 predorsal scales; no elongate and filamentous spine of first dorsal fin; all pectoral-fin rays unbranched; height of basal membrane between innermost pelvic-fin rays about 23% of length of fifth pelvic-fin ray; nape with 1, and body with 4, broad (3 to 4 scales wide) bright yellow-orange bands when fresh or alive (Tan 2014).
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin fasciatum (= banded), in reference to the yellow bands on body of this species.
Species Citation	Trimma fasciatum Suzuki, Sakaue & Senou, 2012, Bull. Nat. Mus. Nat. Sci. (Ser. A) Suppl. 6: 68, Figs 1-2. Type locality: Ngemlis Reef, Ngis Island, Palau, 7°08'17.0'N, 134°13'18.5"E, depth 30 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Banded Dwarfgoby, Trimma fasciatum Suzuki, Sakaue & Senou 2012

References

Hobbs, J-P.A., S .J. Newman, G.E.A. Mitsopoulos, M.J. Travers, C.L. Skepper, J.J. Gilligan, G.R. Allen, H.J. Choat & A.M. Ayling. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202. See ref online

Hui, T.H., Maruse, T., Fujita, Y., Kiat, T.S. 2014. Observations on the fauna from submarine and associated anchialine caves in Christmas Island, Indian Ocean Territory, Australia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 30: 406-418. See ref online

Suzuki, T., Sakaue, J. & Senou, H. 2012. Two new species of the gobiid fish genus Trimma (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Gobiidae) from Japan and Palau. Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Series A (Zoology), Supplement 6: 67-77.

Tan, H.H. 2014. A new record of Trimma fasciatum Suzuki, Sakaue & Senou, 2012 (Perciformes: Gobiidae) from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Australia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 227–229. See ref online

Winterbottom, R. 2019. An illustrated key to the described valid species of Trimma (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 34: 1-61. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3525429