''Xenisthmus'' is the most well-known genus in the family

Xenisthmidae Collared wrigglers are perciform fishes in the family Xenisthmidae. They are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, where they are mostly reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath ...

, which is regarded as a

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with the

Eleotridae 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 th ...

, a part of

Gobiiformes 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 rel ...

. These small to very small fish are known as wrigglers, and live in reefs and among rubble in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

Species

''Xenisthmus'' contains the following species: *'' Xenisthmus africanus''

J.L.B. Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought to be long e ...

, 1958 – flathead wriggler'' or ''African wriggler'' *'' Xenisthmus balius''

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

& Randall, 1994 – freckled wriggler *'' Xenisthmus chapmani'' (

Schultz Schultz is a Germans, German surname derived from ''Schultheiß'', meaning village headman or constable/sheriff in the medieval sense (akin to today's office of mayor). It has many variations, such as Schuldt, Schulte, Schulten, Schultes, Schultheis ...

, 1966) *'' Xenisthmus chi'' Gill & Hoese, 2004 – chi wriggler *'' Xenisthmus clarus'' (

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

& Seale, 1906) – clear wriggler *'' Xenisthmus eirospilus'' Gill & Hoese, 2004 – spotted wriggler *'' Xenisthmus oligoporus'' Gill, Bogorodsky & Mal, 2017 *'' Xenisthmus polyzonatus'' ( Klunzinger, 1871) – bullseye wriggler or polyzonate wriggler *'' Xenisthmus semicinctus'' Gill & Hoese, 2004

References

{{Gobiiformes-stub