Sueviota aethon: A new species of Dwarf Gobi from the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.

First described in 1988, the Dwarf Gobi genus Sueviota is distinguished from the closely related Eviota on the structure of its pelvic fins. The genus currently contains eight species, found from Papua New Guinea and the northwestern coast of Australia through to the Red Sea.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 12 September 2024, Viktor Nunes Peinemann and Lucía Pombo-Ayora of the Red Sea Research Center of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Luke Tornabene of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture of the University of Washington, and Michael Berumen, also of the Red Sea Research Center of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, describe a new species of Sueviota from the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.

The new species is named Sueviota aethon, where 'aethon' derives from Aethon, one of the four Horses which drew the chariot of the Sun God Helios in Greek mythology; it is so named due to its similarity to the previously described Sueviota pyrios; Pyrios having been another of the four Horses. The species is described from ten specimens collected from exposed offshore reefs on the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast, at depths of between 10 m and 30 m, although Nunes Peinemann et al. note that another specimen was observed at a depth of 53 m.

Holotype specimen of Sueviota aethon (UW 203365), shortly after being collected. Nunes Peinemann et al. (2024).

Specimens of Sueviota aethon are between 9.2 mm and 16.7 mm in length, and most known specimens are dark red in colour (one was a yellow-orange colour). The first dorsal fin is rounded-to-square in shape, with the second and third spines longer than the first. The rays of the second dorsal fin are commonly branched (at least some of these are branched in all known specimens). The body is covered by ctenoid (comb-edged) scales, but these are absent from the head and breast. Two rows of irregularly spaced conical teeth are present on both the lower and upper jaws. Both jaws also have enlarged canine teeth, with these forming part of the outer tooth-row in the upper jaw and the inner tooth-row in the lower jaw.

Micro-CT scan of Sueviota aethon (UW 203365, holotype) showing its osteological characters. (a) Close-up of head showing the enlarged canines on the upper jaw, (b) dentary, showcasing two enlarged canines in the internal row of teeth, (c) lateral view of the complete skeleton. Nunes Peinemann et al. (2024).

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