Eviota melasma explained

Eviota melasma, commonly called headspot eviota or melasma pygmy goby among various other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Gobiidae.[1]

The headspot eviota has been documented only in Australia; records of the fish elsewhere are thought to be misidentifications.[2] The fish is found on offshore reefs and coastal reefs,[3] just below the tidal zone.

The headspot eviota is a small-sized fish, growing up to length.[4] It is a semi-transparent pygmy goby marked with irregular rufous internal bars along the length of its body, with a black spot above the opening of the gills, irregular reddish blotches on its nape, and three reddish blotches which are separated by whitish barring on the belly. It also has a thin white stripe at the base of the pectoral fin.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Common Names List - Eviota melasma.
  2. David W. Greenfield . Richard Winterbottom . 2016 . A key to the dwarfgoby species (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Eviota) described between 1871 and 2016 . Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation . 24 . 35–90.
  3. Web site: Bray, D.J. . 2016 . Eviota melasma . Fishes of Australia . 27 August 2018 . Museums Victoria.
  4. Kuiter, R.H. and T. Tonozuka, 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 3. Jawfishes - Sunfishes, Opistognathidae - Molidae. Zoonetics, Australia. p. 623-893.