Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment.
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term 'sardine' was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes from the Italian island of Sardinia, around which sardines were once supposedly abundant.
Collared wrigglers are perciform fishes in the family Xenisthmidae. They are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, where they are mostly reef-dwelling.
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
The arrow wriggler, also known as Tyson's wriggler, is a species of fish in the monotypic genus Tyson of the Xenisthmidae (wriggler) family, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae, Tyson's wriggler was discovered in 1983. It moves by wriggling, like other wrigglers. The genus is named for American ichthyologist Tyson R. Roberts; the specific epithet belos is Greek for "arrow". The arrow wriggler has been recorded from scattered localities in the West Pacific Ocean including Flores in Indonesia, the Trobriand Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. It is found at depths ranging from is 10 to 30 metres.
Dorothea's wriggler, Allomicrodesmus dorotheae, is a species of fish in the monotypic genus Allomicrodesmus which is regarded by some authorities as being in the family Xenisthmidae, the wriggler family, but in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World this is treated as a synonym of the family Eleotridae, sleeper gobies. It is 5 cm (2.0 in) in length. It is known from just two specimens, one from the Great Barrier Reef and the other from the Marshall Islands. It has been collected from a depth of around 10 m (33 ft) in a channel in a reef. The specific name honours Dorothea Bowers Schultz, the wife of Leonard Peter Schultz, who illustrated the monograph in which this species is described, although not this species.
Xenisthmus is the most well-known genus in the family Xenisthmidae, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae, a part of Gobiiformes. These small to very small fish are known as wrigglers, and live in reefs and among rubble in the Indo-Pacific.
Xenisthmus balius is a species of fish in the Xenisthmidae (wriggler) family, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae,. It is found in the Persian Gulf.
Rotuma lewisi, or Lewis's wriggler, is a species of fish in the family Xenisthmidae, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae. Rotuma is a monotypic genus. The generic name refers to the volcanic island of Rotuma, north of Fiji while the specific name honours Anthony D. Lewis, a Fisheries Officer of the Government of Fiji who supported Springer's field work in Fiji. It has been recorded from Fiji, Tonga, the Santa Cruz Islands, the Comoros Islands, and the Chesterfield Islands.
Xenisthmus africanus, also known as the flathead wriggler or African wriggler, is a species of fish in the Xenisthmidae (wriggler) family, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae,. It is found in the Indian Ocean, ranging from the coast of east Africa and to the islands in the western Indian Ocean. It has a flatter head than most other wrigglers.
Xenisthmus clarus, better known as the clear wriggler, is a species of fish in the Xenisthmidae (wriggler) family, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae.
Xenisthmus chi is a species of fish in the wriggler family, Xenisthmidae, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae,. Japan wrigglers are tiny and clear. Before Paedocypris progenetica and the dwarf goby were discovered, the Japan wriggler was the smallest known fish.
Paraxenisthmus springeri is a species of fish in the genus Paraxenisthmus of the Xenisthmidae (wriggler) family, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae, from the West Pacific. Its specific name honours the American ichthyologist Victor G. Springer of the U.S. National Museum for his contributions to fish systematics.
Xenisthmus eirospilus, the spotted wriggler, is a species of fish in the wriggler family, Xenisthmidae, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae,. It is distributed in the western Pacific from Middleton Reef and Ashmore Reef off Australia, West Papua, Indonesia, to Rotuma and Tonga. Its habitat is sand patches among reefs and rubble, as well as in shallow surge areas.
Paraxenisthmus cerberusi is a species of fish in the genus Paraxenisthmus of the Xenisthmidae (wriggler) family, which is regarded as a synonymous with the Eleotridae, from Palau and Fiji in the West Pacific. Its specific name refers to Cerberus, the three-headed dog which guards the entrance to Hades in Greek mythology, given to this species because of its relatively large number of teeth and in reference to the black juveniles and the red and black adults, the colours of which are associated with Hell in Christianity. This small fish was found in a drop-off which had caves and ledges with shelves and slopes covered in silt and sand. The area had growths of hydroids, sea fans, a range of hard corals and some Halimeda.
Xenisthmus chapmani is a species of goby from the sleeper goby family Eleotridae which is known from a single specimen collected in Espiritu Santo Harbour, Vanuatu. Its specific name honours Dr. Wilbert M. Chapman the collector of the holotype.
Xenisthmus oligoporus, the few-pored wriggler, is a species of goby from the family Eleotridae. It is found in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia.
