The dottybacks are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
, Pseudochromidae, of fishes which were formerly classified in the
order Perciformes
Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...
, but this has been revised and the family is regarded as of uncertain affinities, or ''
incertae sedis
' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...
'' within the
Ovalentaria
Ovalentaria is a clade of ray-finned fishes within the Percomorpha, referred to as a subseries. It is made up of a group of fish families which are referred to in ''Fishes of the World's'' fifth edition as'' incertae sedis'', as well as the orde ...
, a
clade within the
Percomorpha
Percomorpha () is a large clade of ray-finned fish that includes the tuna, seahorses, gobies, cichlids, flatfish, wrasse, perches, anglerfish, and pufferfish.
Evolution
Percomorpha are the most diverse group of teleost fish today. Teleosts, and ...
. Around 152 species belong to this family.
They are found in the tropical and subtropical
Indo-Pacific, where most inhabit
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
s. Many species are brightly coloured fish, often showing striking
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
. They are generally small, mostly less than in length, and some less than .
The largest by far, at up to , is ''
Congrogadus subducens''.
[Lieske, E., and Myers, R. (1999). Coral Reef Fishes. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. ] Dottybacks are distinguished from other families by the presence of three or less spines in the
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
and an incomplete
lateral line organ.
[
Several of the brightly coloured members of the family are often seen in the ]marine aquarium
A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps marine plants and animals in a contained environment. Marine aquaria are further subdivided by hobbyists into fish only (FO), fish only with live rock (FOWLR), and reef aquaria. Fish only tanks ofte ...
trade, although some species are aggressively territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
.[Goemans, B. (November 2008)]
Dottybacks—Choose Carefully!
TFH Magazine. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Genera
Family Pseudochromidae
* Subfamily Anisochrominae
** '' Anisochromis''
* Subfamily Congrogadinae - eel blennies
**'' Blennodesmus''
**'' Congrogadus''
**'' Halidesmus''
**'' Halimuraena''
**'' Halimuraenoides''
**'' Haliophis''
**'' Natalichthys''
**'' Rusichthys''
* Subfamily Pseudochrominae
**'' Assiculoides''
**'' Assiculus''
**'' Cypho''
**'' Labracinus''
**'' Manonichthys''
**'' Ogilbyina''
**'' Oxycercichthys''
**'' Pholidochromis''
**'' Pictichromis''
**'' Pseudochromis''
* Subfamily Pseudoplesiopinae
**'' Amsichthys''
**'' Chlidichthys''
***'' Chlidichthys inornatus''
**'' Lubbockichthys''
**'' Pectinochromis''
**'' Pseudoplesiops''
Timeline
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The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text: Oligocene
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist.
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The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text: Oligocene
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist.
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
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References
*
Ovalentaria
{{ray-finned fish-stub