Wormfishes are a family, Microdesmidae, of goby-like fishes in the order Perciformes.^[1]

They are found in shallow tropical waters, both marine and brackish, often burrowing in estuarine mud. They are small fishes, the largest species reaching only about 12 cm in length.

Genera and species

The family formerly included five genera of dartfishes in the subfamily Ptereleotrinae, but this inclusion made the family polyphyletic and these fishes are now grouped in their own family, Ptereleotridae.^[2]

FishBase lists 27 species in five genera:^[1]

• Genus Cerdale
  • Cerdale fasciata Dawson, 1974.
  • Pugjaw wormfish, Cerdale floridana Longley, 1934.
  • Spotted worm goby, Cerdale ionthas Jordan & Gilbert, 1882.
  • Cerdale paludicola Dawson, 1974.
  • Cerdale prolata Dawson, 1974.
• Genus Clarkichthys
  • Flagtail wormfish, Clarkichthys bilineatus (Clark, 1936).
• Genus Gunnellichthys
  • Gunnellichthys copleyi (Smith, 1951).
  • Curious wormfish, Gunnellichthys curiosus Dawson, 1968.
  • Gunnellichthys grandoculis (Kendall & Goldsborough, 1911).
  • Gunnellichthys irideus Smith, 1958.
  • Onespot wormfish, Gunnellichthys monostigma Smith, 1958.
  • Onestripe wormfish, Gunnellichthys pleurotaenia Bleeker, 1858.
  • Yellowstripe wormfish, Gunnellichthys viridescens Dawson, 1968.
• Genus Microdesmus
  • Microdesmus aethiopicus (Chabanaud, 1927).
  • Olivaceous wormfish, Microdesmus affinis Meek & Hildebrand, 1928.
  • Microdesmus africanus Dawson, 1979.
  • Microdesmus bahianus Dawson, 1973.
  • Stippled wormfish, Microdesmus carri Gilbert, 1966.
  • Banded worm goby, Microdesmus dipus Günther, 1864.
  • Spotback wormfish, Microdesmus dorsipunctatus Dawson, 1968.
  • Lancetail wormfish, Microdesmus lanceolatus Dawson, 1962.
  • Pink wormfish, Microdesmus longipinnis (Weymouth, 1910).
  • Microdesmus luscus Dawson, 1977.
  • Rearfin wormfish, Microdesmus retropinnis Jordan & Gilbert, 1882.
  • Spotside wormfish, Microdesmus suttkusi Gilbert, 1966.
• Genus Paragunnellichthys
  • Seychelle's wormfish, Paragunnellichthys seychellensis Dawson, 1967.
  • Paragunnellichthys springeri Dawson, 1970.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Microdesmidae" in FishBase. March 2006 version.
2. ^ C. Thacker; Schaefer, S. A. (2000). Schaefer, S. A.. ed. "Phylogeny of the Wormfishes (Teleostei: Gobioidei: Microdesmidae)". Copeia 2000 (4): 940–957. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2000)000[0940:POTWTG]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0045-8511.