Awaous stamineus

Description

Family Gobiidae

Chiefly marine and brackish , some species are catadromous . Often the most abundant fish in freshwater on oceanic islands . Distribution: mostly tropical and subtropical areas. Pelvic fins fused into an adhesive disc , when well developed. Spinous dorsal present or absent; when present with 2-8 flexible spines and discontinuous with soft dorsal. Cycloid or ctenoid scales almost always present. Prominent head barbels present in some species. To 50 cm maximum length ; most species below 10 cm. The largest family of marine fishes (possibly > 2,000). The smallest fishes (and vertebrates ) in the world belong to this family. Mostly marine in shallow coastal waters and around coral reefs. Most are cryptic bottom dwelling carnivores of small benthic invertebrates ; others are planktivores . Some species have symbiotic relationships with invertebrates (e.g. shrimps) and others are known to remove ecto-parasites from other fishes. Typically nest spawners with non-spherical eggs guarded by the male. Many are popular aquarium fishes. The following subfamilies are recognized: Oxudercinae, Amblyopinae, Sicydiinae, Gobionellinae and Gobiinae.The family Gobiidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 212 genera and 1875 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish, and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Many members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are guarders . The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is diodontiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. This family may be found from 62° n to 45° s and 124° w to 178° e. Etymology of this family name : Latin, gobius = goby

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia () - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Deuterostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Chordonia () - (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Phylum: Chordata () - Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
        Subphylum: Vertebrata () - Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
        Infraphylum: Gnathostomata () - Auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
        Superclass: Osteichthyes () - Huxley, 1880 - Bony Fishes
        Class: Actinopterygii () - Huxley, 1880 - Ray-Finned Fishes
        Subclass: Actinopterygii () - Ray-Finned Fishes
        Infraclass: Actinopteri ()
        Cohort: Clupeocephala ()
        Superorder: Acanthopterygii ()
        Order: Perciformes () - �
        Suborder: Gobioidei ()
        Family: Gobiidae () - Gobies
        Genus: Awaous ()
        Specific name: stamineus
        Scientific name: - Awaous stamineus (Valenciennes, 1837)