Schindleria | |
---|---|
Schindleria macrodentata | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Gobiiformes |
Family: | Gobiidae |
Genus: | Schindleria Giltay, 1934 |
Type species | |
Hemiramphus praematurus Schindler, 1930 | |
Species | |
See text. |
Schindleria is a genus of marine fish. It was the only genus of family Schindleriidae, among the Gobioidei of order Perciformes but is now classified under the Gobiidae in the Gobiiformes. [1] The type species is S. praematura, Schindler's fish. The Schindleria species are known generically as Schindler's fishes after German zoologist Otto Schindler (1906–1959), [2] or infantfishes. They are native to the southern Pacific Ocean, from the South China Sea to the Great Barrier Reef off eastern Australia, and Rapa Nui. [3] [4]
The infant fishes are so called because they retain many of their larval characteristics (an example of neoteny). Their elongated bodies are transparent, and many of the bones never develop. S. praematura reaches a length of 2.5 cm (0.98 in). All of the Schindleria species are reef fishes. They may be among the most common fish of the reefs, based on the results of plankton tows, but because of their transparency and small size, they are infrequently seen in life.
A recently described species, the stout infantfish, S. brevipinguis, was briefly the world's smallest known vertebrate at 8 mm (about one-third inch), smaller even than the dwarf gobies, until the new record was set by the 7.9-mm Paedocypris progenetica in early 2006 and supplanted by the 7.7-mm frog Paedophryne amauensis in 2012. [5]
Apparently several (at least eight) further Schindleria species, native to the Ryukyu Islands, are yet to be described formally.
Schindleria contains the following species: [6]
Gobiidae or gobies is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm (3.9 in) in length, and the family includes some of the smallest vertebrates in the world, such as Trimmatom nanus and Pandaka pygmaea, Trimmatom nanus are under 1 cm long when fully grown, then Pandaka pygmaea standard length are 9 mm (0.35 in), maximum known standard length are 11 mm (0.43 in). Some large gobies can reach over 30 cm (0.98 ft) in length, but that is exceptional. Generally, they are benthic or bottom-dwellers. Although few are important as food fish for humans, they are of great significance as prey species for other commercially important fish such as cod, haddock, sea bass and flatfish. Several gobiids are also of interest as aquarium fish, such as the dartfish of the genus Ptereleotris. Phylogenetic relationships of gobiids have been studied using molecular data.
Schindleria brevipinguis is a species of marine fish in family Gobiidae of Perciformes. Known as the stout infantfish, it is native to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
Trimmatom nanus, the midget dwarfgoby, is a species of marine goby native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It can mainly be found on oceanic drop-offs at depths of from 20 to 30 metres though it can occasionally be found in outer reef areas and lagoons at depths of from 5 to 35 metres. This species can reach a length of 1 centimetre (0.39 in) SL.
Eleotridae is a family of fish commonly known as sleeper gobies, with about 34 genera and 180 species. Most species are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, but there are also species in subtropical and temperate regions, warmer parts of the Americas and near the Atlantic coast in Africa. While many eleotrids pass through a planktonic stage in the sea and some spend their entire lives in the sea; as adults, the majority live in freshwater streams and brackish water. One of its genera, Caecieleotris, is troglobitic. They are especially important as predators in the freshwater stream ecosystems on oceanic islands such as New Zealand and Hawaii that otherwise lack the predatory fish families typical of nearby continents, such as catfish. Anatomically, they are similar to the gobies (Gobiidae), though unlike the majority of gobies, they do not have a pelvic sucker.
Eviota readerae is a species of goby associated with reefs and tide pools. It has a very limited distribution in the southwest Pacific, being found only on the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs and the Lord Howe Rise in the Tasman Sea.
Stenogobius is a genus of fish in the goby subfamily, Gobionellinae. They are native to fresh, brackish and marine waters along the coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are known commonly as coastal stream gobies.
The Gobiiformes are an order of fish that includes the gobies and their relatives. The order, which was previously considered a suborder of Perciformes, is made up of about 2,211 species that are divided between seven families. Phylogenetic relationships of the Gobiiformes have been elucidated using molecular data. Gobiiforms are primarily small species that live in marine water, but roughly 10% of these species inhabit fresh water. This order is composed chiefly of benthic or burrowing species; like many other benthic fishes, most gobiiforms do not have a gas bladder or any other means of controlling their buoyancy in water, so they must spend most of their time on or near the bottom. Gobiiformes means "goby-like".
Schindleria praematura, Schindler's fish is a species of neotenic goby which was formerly placed in the monogeneric family Schindleriidae but which is currently classified within the Gobiidae. It is associated with reefs and has an Indo-Pacific distribution from South Africa and Madagascar to Hawaii and the sea mounts of the South Pacific. The generic name and the common name honour the German zoologist Otto Schindler (1906–1959) who described the species.
True gobies were a subfamily, the Gobiinae, of the goby family Gobiidae, although the 5th edition of the Fishes of the World does not subdivide the Gobiidae into subfamilies. They are found in all oceans and a few rivers and lakes, but most live in warm waters. Altogether, the Gobiinae unite about 1149 described species in 160 genera, and new ones are still being discovered in numbers.
Gobius kolombatovici is a species of goby native to the northern Adriatic Sea where it occurs at depths of from 15 to 38 metres in areas with patches of rock and softer sediments. This species can reach a length of 9.2 centimetres (3.6 in) SL. The specific name honours the Croatian mathematician, naturalist and taxonomist Juraj Kolombatovic (1843-1908), who carried out extensive work on the small inshore fishes of the Adriatic Sea.
Didogobius is a genus of small marine fish in the family Gobiidae, the true gobies. They are native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The name of the genus is a compound noun made up of Dido, the mythical founder and first queen of Carthage, and the Latin gobius meaning "goby".
Paedophryne amauensis, common name Amau frog, is a species of microhylid frog endemic to eastern Papua New Guinea. At 7.7 mm (0.30 in) in snout-to-vent length, it is considered the world's smallest known vertebrate.
Osprey Reef is a submerged atoll in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Northwestern Group of the Coral Sea Islands. Osprey Reef is roughly oval in shape, measuring 25 by 12 kilometres, and covers around 195 square kilometres (75 sq mi). It has a perimeter of 69.5 kilometres (43.2 mi). The central lagoon is only 30 metres (98 ft) deep.
Steinitz's goby is a species of goby. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea near Marseilles. It has been recently recorded in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy, and in the Black Sea in Ukraine. This species can be found in underwater grottoes in inshore waters at depths of 2 to 15 metres. Steinitz's goby can reach a length of 3.8 centimetres (1.5 in) SL. Its name honours the marine biologist and herpetologist Heinz Steinitz (1909-1971) of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Paedogobius kimurai is a species of goby from the subfamily Gobionellinae, and the only member of the monotypic genus Paedogobius. It is native to marine and brackish waters of inner bays in Japan, Thailand and Australia. Its English language common names include wide-gape paedomorphic goby and babyface goby. Its Japanese language common name is shirasukiba-haze.
Belobranchus segura is a species of eleotrid sleeper goby which has been found in Indonesia on Halmahera, in Papua Barat and also on the Solomon Islands. It is an anadromous species in which the eggs are laid over rocky and gravel bottoms in freshwater streams. The free-swimming larvae then drift downstream to the sea where they undergo a planktonic stage before migrating up streams to mature and breed. It feeds on small crustaceans and fish. The specific name honours the French hydrobiologist Gilles Segura for his contribution to the study of fish faunas.
Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments.
Helen K. Larson is an ichthyologist who specialises in the fishes of the Indo-Pacific.
Gobiopsis namnas is a species of goby found in the north-western Pacific Ocean off Japan.
Schindleria squirei is a tiny species of fish native to the surroundings of Easter Island, Chile. It belongs to the family Gobiidae, the same family as gobies. The specimens captured for study were caught in deep waters off Hanga Roa. Before its description as a new species, this fish was considered part of Schindleria praematura, because it is native to the Hawaiian archipelago and nearby islands, but Schindleria squirei has a long dorsal spine, different from the other species.