Description:

Dorsal spines: 7; Dorsal rays: 8; Anal spines: 1; Anal rays: 7. 

Small goby with elongate body. Front of head sloped, profile an angle of about 70° from horizontal axis. Mouth slanted obliquely upwards. Lower jaw does 
not project. Maxilla extends to below posterior margin of pupil. Anterior narial tube long, extending anteriorly beyond posterior margin of lip. First 
dorsal fin triangular. Pectoral-fin pointed when depressed. Pelvic fin reaching past anal-fin origin. Caudal fin rounded with branched and segmented 
rays. 25 lateral-line scales. Urogenital papilla of male a flat rounded plate; female urogenital papilla smooth, bulbous, with long finger-like projections 
on end.

This species is distinguished by the following characters: cephalic sensory-canal pore system lacking only an IT pore; pointed pectoral-fin when depressed.
Absence of dark markings on head. Long, white anterior narial tubes. Bright red-and-white markings on head and orange and yellow bars crossing the 
translucent body.

Colour. Base colour of head translucent gray and body translucent and colourless. Head with red and white markings. Elongate 
anterior narial tubes stark white, jaws red, and snout white. Iris white with irregular red markings, not bars. Two red bars under eye, one at 6 o’clock, 
the other at 5 o’clock position. Area behind eye stark white crossed by three red bars from top of head. Top of head with a red triangle enclosing a white
spot between eyes just posterior to bifurcation of interorbital canal, a crescent-shaped red bar on each side behind triangle, followed by a large 
crescent-shaped red area crossing top of head. Red area on preoperculum with a white spot on ventral portion. Operculum red with white area dorsally, 
joining white area behind eye. Pectoral-fin base yellow, crossed by a stark white bar extending posterioventrally down from white area behind eye. Area 
above pectoralfin base and white bar with red blotch, grey nape above it crossed by two yellow bars. White line extending down vertebral column, 
interrupted by red, orange, and yellow segments. First body bar behind pectoral-fin base, orange dorsally grading to yellow ventrally. Second body bar, 
separated from first by white area, similar in colour pattern followed by similar white area. Remaining body bars yellow, with narrow white bars in 
between, extending to ventral surface. Fin membranes clear with a few scattered melanophores on distal margin of first dorsal fin and distal margin of 
second dorsal fin edged with yellow.

Maturity: Unknown. Max length : 10.3 cm SL.

Found associated with either a large massive Porites coral colony or a marginal algal-covered section of the reef with a mix of rubble and hard corals 
(primarily Acropora spp.) (depth 2-16 m). 
Currently known only from the Amirante Islands and specifically a small coral patch north of D’Arros Island.

This species is not protected or subject to fishery regulations. 

Currently believed to be endemic to the Amirantes. This species was discovered in 2017 on a reef north of D'Arros Island by Ryan Daly and Luke Gordon 
(Greenfield & Gordon 2019). 
Photo courtesy and (c) 2019 Ryan Daly.

Froese, R. & D. Pauly. (Eds.) (2023). FishBase. Eviota dalyi. https://fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=69015&AT=Amirante+dwarfgoby (26/10/23). 
Greenfield, D.W. and L. Gordon, (2019). Eviota dalyi, a new dwarfgoby from the Amirante Islands, Seychelles (Teleostei: Gobiidae). J. Ocean Sci. Found. 33:9-15.

Daly, R. & Nevill, J.E.G. (2023). Eviota dalyi, Amirante dwarfgoby. Seychelles Seatizens. www.seatizens.sc. https://seatizens.sc/species/eviota-dalyi-greenfield-gordon-2019/