Goby, Trimma dalerocheila male paratype

Collected 1979
Common Name: Goby
Scientific Name: Trimma dalerocheila
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Pisces
Family: Gobiidae
Dimensions: Millimetres: 17.0 (maximum length of fish in lot), 10.6 (minimum length of fish in lot)
Museum ID Number: 40519
Image Number: ROM2004_1046_3
Location: Longitude: 0721233 E; Latitude: 052039 S; drop-off on west side of pass on north side of Isle Diabole; Chagos Archipelago; British Indian Ocean Territory; Salomon Atoll; Indian Ocean
Habitat/Biome: Coral; sponges; hydroids; seawhips
Collection Date: March 18, 1979

Description: One of the almost 80 species of pygmy gobies, the species reaches about 20 mm in length from snout tip to tail-fin base. It is common at depths between 20-40 m on the vertical drop-offs of the coral reefs surrounding the Chagos Archipelago. It has subsequently been collected at Mauritius and in the Seychelles, both in the Indian Ocean to which this species seems to be confined. The large number of individuals from a single collecting station suggests that this may be a schooling species that feeds primarily on the zooplankton wafting over the reefs. The scientific and common names derive from the fiery red lips and snout of the species, and also from the nickname “Holly Hotlips”, applied to a valued member of the expedition during which the species was first collected.