They might not be giants: The #genetics behind why some #fish remain tiny
https://phys.org/news/2025-10-giants-genetics-fish-tiny.html

"Some of these #gobies are so small, they spend the entirety of their lives within a single head of coral, with a two-square-meter range... Emily Troyer found that certain gobies overexpress two genes that inhibit growth, keeping some species miniaturized... miniature gobies have used the same genetic pathways to regulate their size since the #Eocene, more than 50 million years ago."

OMG. The waterfall these fish have to climb is incredibly high!

Hawaii’s upland rivers provide a safe haven from predators for young gobies, while also acting as a resource for food. To access these waters, gobies must face a treacherous climb, pulling themselves up an enormous waterfall using the suction from their mouths and fins. The journey can take days, and around 99 percent of these tiny fish perish before they reach the top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmwM7dwtvKA

#nature #fish #gobies

Amazing diversity of shapes found among #plankton-feeding fishes https://theconversation.com/we-study-planktivores-and-found-an-amazing-diversity-of-shapes-among-plankton-feeding-fishes-254296 paper by Isabelle Ng et al.: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-025-09940-z

"Some truly fit the typical plankton-feeding #fish model with a forked tail, torpedo-shaped body, large eyes, small extendable jaws. But most others break the mould entirely. Tiny #gobies cling onto whip corals & adopt a sit-and-wait approach for plankton to pass by. Other deep-bodied #damselfishes depart a small distance from their coral hosts to feed."

Colorful New Species of #Dartfish Discovered in Pacific Ocean
https://www.sci.news/biology/nemateleotris-lavandula-11768.html

#Nemateleotris is a small genus of #dartfishes in the bony #fish family #Gobiidae (#gobies). When startled they quickly dart into small holes or crevices in the substrate, emerging a few minutes later when the threat has passed. Their diet is primarily #plankton and other small #invertebrates which they pick out of the water column.

#NewSpecies
New goby from the Red Sea just swam in:

Fusigobius humerosus

Treatment: http://treatment.plazi.org/id/D97587D9-D11B-FFEA-83AA-FF32FC2DA193
Publication: http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5256.2.1
#Zootaxa

#FAIRdata
#science #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #Fish #TeamFish #ichthyology #gobies #redsea