Trimma

Richard Winterbottom, 2003, A new species of the gobiid fish Trimma from the Western Pacific and Northern Indian Ocean coral reefs, with a description of its osteology., Zootaxa 218, pp. 1-24 : 1

[[ Trimma ]]

Trimma contains some 80 species of small (less than 30 mm SL), often colourful gobiids, primarily associated with Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Trimma may be recognized by the lack of cephalic sensory canal pores, much reduced cephalic sensory papillae pattern, wide gill opening extending to below the vertical limb of the preopercle or anterior to this, lack of spicules on the outer gill rakers of the first gill arch, fewer than 12 dorsal and anal rays, and a fifth pelvic fin ray that is equal to or more than half the length of the fourth pelvic fin ray. This last value has now been reduced to 40% in order to include the new species.

There is currently no detailed description of the osteology of any species of Trimma available, although certain selected features may be found in Winterbottom’ s (1990) phylogenetic study of heterochrony in Trimmatom , where Trimma anaima was used as the secondary outgroup. The osteological descriptions presented here will form the basis for ongoing studies aimed at resolving at least some of the phylogenetic relationships within the genus.