Arrow and worm gobies

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microdesmidae

Obsolete systematic group

The taxon dealt with here is not part of the systematics presented in the German-language Wikipedia. More information can be found in the article text.

Scissor-tail torpedo legs (Ptereleotris evides)

Scissor-tail torpedo legs ( Ptereleotris evides )

Systematics
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorpha)
Order : Perch-like (Perciformes)
Paraphyletic taxon :
Family : Microdesmidae
Scientific name
Microdesmidae
Regan , 1912

The arrow and worm gobies are a group of gobies (Gobiidae) that used to have the status of an independent family under the name Microdesmidae. They are small fish that occur in the tropical Indo-Pacific and in the tropical West Atlantic from the Caribbean to Brazil. Today the family is no longer valid. Together with the neotene genus Schindleria, however , the genera of the arrow or worm gobies form a monophyletic clade within the gobies.

features

The different types of the arrow and worm gobies are 4 to 30 centimeters long are laterally strongly flattened, elongated, the members of the subfamily of the worm gobies are eel-shaped. Their scales are small, cycloid, and embedded in the skin. The eyes are on the side of the head. The dorsal fin is long, extends over most of the body and in the worm gobies can have grown together with the caudal and anal fin to form a continuous fin edge. In the others, the caudal fin is separated from the dorsal and anal fin.

Way of life

The species of the arrow and worm gobies live as solitary animals, live in pairs or in small colonies, mostly at depths of 5 to 50 meters above open sand or mud bottoms and in coral reefs . Few species also go into brackish or fresh water. They feed on zooplankton , especially pelagic crustaceans and fish larvae, which they prey by swimming 20 to 100 centimeters above the ground with undulating movements. If disturbed, they disappear in a flash, upside down in caves they have dug themselves or in hiding places in the reef, where they also lay their eggs. They probably do brood care . The larvae are transparent and live pelagic .

Systematics

The Microdesmidae family was introduced in 1912 by the British ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan . At times the family only included the worm gobies and the so-called arrow gobies were placed in the independent family Ptereleotridae. Today all genera and species of both taxa belong to the gobies.

Genera and species

FishBase gives 86 species (including 31 worm goby species) in twelve genera for the family:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World. Wiley, New York 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
  2. ^ Hans A. Baensch , Helmut Debelius, Horst Moosleitner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 1 , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1997, ISBN 3-88244-110-0
  3. ^ A b Joseph S. Nelson, Terry C. Grande, Mark VH Wilson: Fishes of the World. Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2016, ISBN 978-1118342336
  4. ↑ a b Christine E. Thacker, Dawn M. Roje: Phylogeny of Gobiidae and identification of gobiid lineages. Systematics and Biodiversity (2011), 9 (4): 329-347, ISSN  1478-0933 doi : 10.1080 / 14772000.2011.629011

Web links

Commons : Ground Gobies  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files
Commons : Arrowheads  - Collection of images, videos and audio files