A bright red fish with huge eyes and drooping lips surprised a team of research scientists as they were exploring the Farasan Banks in the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia.
The discovery, published in early September, was led by marine scientist Viktor Nunes Peinemann and a global team of researchers from the University of Washington and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology of Saudi Arabia.
Incidentally, Peinemann came across the specimen while exploring coral reef fish diversity on a diving expedition in the Red Sea.
At first glance, Peinemann and his team thought it might be a rare fiery dwarfgoby fish (Sueviota pyrios), which hadn’t been spotted since 1972.
Upon further examination, they realized that the “tiny horror” they had discovered was an entirely new species.
Its scientific name is Sueviota aethon, but its common name — the “grumpy” dwarfgoby — was given with the fish’s distinctive, frowning maw in mind.
“Grumpy dwarfgoby refers to the fish’s apparent grumpy and rather unhappy appearance, primarily due to the extremely upturned mouth position,” the researchers wrote in their research article.
In a press release, researcher Lucía Pombo-Ayora said he found the name to be fitting for the fish, which only measures up to two centimeters in length.
“I imagine in its own tiny world, it is a fearsome predator,” Pombo-Ayora said. “Its grumpy expression and large canines certainly make it look the part, despite its small size.”
Why is this good news?
From the Gongga Mountains of China to the seafloor in the Gulf of Alaska, scientists are constantly discovering new species and expanding knowledge of the animal kingdom and its importance in the natural world.
For Peinemann and his research team, their latest discovery sheds light on how much is still left to learn — especially in the Red Sea, which extends 190 miles.
“The ongoing discovery of distinctive new species like this grumpy dwarfgoby shows how much biodiversity remains undiscovered in the Red Sea,” Viktor Nunes Peinemann explained in the press release.
“This is concerning given the recent environmental changes in the region. In some cases, species could go extinct before we even describe them.”
Recent, rapidly rising water temperatures and mass coral bleaching events have had a dramatic impact on fish populations around the globe — particularly in the Red Sea, which already contains some of the hottest and saltiest seawater on the planet.
But, hopefully, meme-worthy animals like the grumpy gobyfish might drive higher interest in climate justice and marine conservation.
According to the press release, the entire team agrees that “the fact that new species are still being discovered in this rapidly changing environment highlights the urgency of continued research and conservation efforts.”
Header image via Dereck Keats (CC BY-SA 2.0)
