Wormfishes are a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

, Microdesmidae, of goby

Goby

The gobies form the family Gobiidae, which is one of the largest families of fish, with more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm in length...

-like fishes in the order Perciformes

Perciformes

The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is one of the largest orders of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch-like. They belong to the class of ray-finned fish and comprise over 7,000 species found in almost all aquatic environments...

.

They are found in shallow tropical waters, both marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 and brackish, often burrowing in estuarine

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 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 dartfish

Dartfish

Dartfishes are a family, Ptereleotridae, of goby-like fishes in the order Perciformes. They are saltwater fish.The dartfishes were formerly classified as the subfamily Ptereleotrinae of the wormfishes, Microdesmidae, but this classification made Microdesmidae polyphyletic, hence the elevation to a...

es in the subfamily Ptereleotrinae, but this inclusion made the family polyphyletic

Polyphyly

A polyphyletic group is one whose members' last common ancestor is not a member of the group.For example, the group consisting of warm-blooded animals is polyphyletic, because it contains both mammals and birds, but the most recent common ancestor of mammals and birds was cold-blooded...

 and these fishes are now grouped in their own family, Ptereleotridae.

FishBase

FishBase

FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish species . It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web...

 lists 27 species in five genera:

• Genus Cerdale
  • Cerdale fasciata Dawson, 1974.
  • Pugjaw wormfish, Cerdale floridana Longley, 1934.
  • Spotted worm goby, Cerdale ionthas Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & 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
    Curious wormfish
    The curious wormfish, Gunnelichtys curiosus, is a wormfish of the genus Gunnelichtys, found in the Indo-Pacific. It reaches a maximum length of . This fish is easily harmed, and can be eaten by even the smallest predators. It buries itself in fine sand when it feels threatened.-References:*...
    
    , Gunnellichthys curiosus Dawson, 1968.
  • Gunnellichthys grandoculis (Kendall & Goldsborough, 1911).
  • Gunnellichthys irideus Smith, 1958.
  • Onespot wormfish, Gunnellichthys monostigma Smith, 1958.
  • Onestripe wormfish, Gunnellichthys pleurotaenia Bleeker
    Pieter Bleeker
    Pieter Bleeker was a Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia – Atlas Ichthyologique des Orientales Neerlandaises – which was published 1862–1877....
    
    , 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
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Gilbert, 1882.
  • Spotside wormfish, Microdesmus suttkusi Gilbert, 1966.
• Genus Paragunnellichthys
  • Seychelle's wormfish, Paragunnellichthys seychellensis Dawson, 1967.
  • Paragunnellichthys springeri Dawson, 1970.