# KAUST researchers describe Trimma charon, a new Red Sea goby known from only two specimens

- Published: 2026-11-11 12:50 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Biology & biochemistry
- Tags: Trimma charon, Charon's pygmygoby, new fish species Red Sea, Red Sea gobies, mesophotic reefs, Walih Island, KAUST marine science, ZooKeys, Trimma identification key
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-729fd5a1c3cd95bd197496db_kaust_researchers_describe/

**A translucent goby of 12 and 17 mm was collected at 30 m at Walih Island in 2023 and has not been seen again despite searches of similar habitats.**

![KAUST researchers describe Trimma charon, a new Red Sea goby known from only two specimens](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/3e67ead31ced475a.jpg)
*Earth.com*

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have described a new fish species from the northern Red Sea, Charon's pygmygoby (Trimma charon), according to eurekalert.org [1]. The fish was found at the entrance to a cave on a steep reef slope. The two known specimens measure 12 and 17 millimetres [1].

The study was led by Viktor Nunes Peinemann of the KAUST Marine Science Program. His co-authors are Matthew D. Tietbohl Talas and Michael L. Berumen of KAUST, and Sergey V. Bogorodsky of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Germany. The work is published in the open access journal ZooKeys [1].

## Appearance and name

The species is small and translucent, with a broad orange-red stripe, golden spots on the tail and an unusual four-part eye [1]. It is named after Charon, the ferryman of Greek mythology who carried the dead across the river into the underworld; the dead were traditionally buried with a coin to pay for the crossing. Peinemann said the golden spots cover most of the tail fin and resemble small gold coins [1].

The name also refers to where the fish may live. The team suspects the species is more common on deep "mesophotic" reefs below 30 metres, which remain largely unexplored [1].

## Range and relatives

The fish was collected in May 2023 at Walih Island at 30 metres, the maximum depth of the team's scientific diving. Despite extensive searches of similar habitats since, it has not been seen again. According to Peinemann, the whole species is known from a single encounter and two specimens. The team suggests it may be the shallow edge of a species that mostly lives deeper [1].

The new species resembles the pallid pygmygoby (Trimma anaima), which occurs from East Africa to the Pacific but has never been recorded in the Red Sea. Genetic data suggest the two are close relatives, though further work is needed to confirm this [1].

With this description, 11 Trimma species are known from the Red Sea, making it the most species-rich goby genus in the region. At least nine appear to occur nowhere else in the world. The paper also provides an illustrated identification key to all 11 species, with photographs and field notes on where each lives [1].

## Sources

1. [eurekalert.org](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1150472)
2. [Earth.com](https://www.earth.com/animals/trimma-charon-goby-red-sea-cave)

---

Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-729fd5a1c3cd95bd197496db_kaust_researchers_describe/