From the volcanic fjords of Tufi in Papua New Guinea, researchers have described a new-to-science species of a coral reef fish called a dwarfgoby with an unusual purplish-black color. The tiny fish is the “darkest of all described dwarfgobies,” the researchers say in the study, naming it Eviota vader after the Star Wars villain Darth Vader. Dwarfgobies are miniscule fish that live on reefs across the Indo-Pacific, measuring less than 1.8 centimeters (0.7 inches). Researchers found E. vader, also called black dwarfgoby, during a reef fish biodiversity survey at a depth of 4 meters (13 feet) in Tufi’s volcanic fjords. At the time, there were 134 known species of dwarfgobies globally, and the fish they spotted was unlike any of them. “It stood out to us immediately, as while there are many dwarfgobies in the 1-4m [3.3-13 ft] depth range on coral reefs, none have this unique purplish-black coloration,” Mark V. Erdmann, study co-author and executive director of ReShark and shark conservation director at Re:wild, told Mongabay by email. “So in short, yes, immediately upon seeing this fish we knew it was something special.” The lone black dwarfgoby the researchers spotted had large yellow eyes and was 1.15 cm (0.45 in) in length. They photographed it perched on a section of a large coral colony. The fish was later collected using clove oil, which is used to sedate small fish. The team didn’t encounter any other similar-looking fish during the survey. Erdmann said they sent their only specimen to David…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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