BRIN Researchers Discover New Shrimp Goby Species in East Java Waters

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has discovered a new species of shrimp goby in the waters off Banyuwangi, East Java. The fish has been named Tomiyamichthys oriens, with ‘oriens’ derived from Latin meaning ‘east’ or ‘sunrise’. The name was inspired by the orange spots along the fish’s body and its discovery location, Banyuwangi, which is known as ‘The Sunrise of Java’. The research, led by Kunto Wibowo from the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, part of BRIN, used two specimens, a male and a female measuring 35.5 mm, as the basis for the scientific description. The male of the species features a pair of elegant filaments on its first dorsal fin. The genus Tomiyamichthys is known for living symbiotically with shrimp and is distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Fiji. This new species differs from its recently discovered relative in Japan, T. hyacinthinus, in the number of pectoral and caudal fin rays, longitudinal scale rows, and gill raker structures. According to local fishermen, the Oriens shrimpgoby prefers shallow, sandy-bottomed habitats. This discovery brings the total number of known Tomiyamichthys species worldwide to 21, underscoring the vast potential for further discoveries of small, overlooked reef fish in Indonesian waters. Wibowo expressed hope that this finding will inspire further exploration of the nation’s fish biodiversity.