Gobiiformes (meaning "

goby The Gobioidei are a suborder of percomorph fish. Many of these fishes are called gobies. It is by far the largest and most diverse order within the order Gobiiformes, and one of the most diverse groups of ray-finned fish in general. The subord ...

-like") is an order of percomorph fish containing three suborders: Apogonoidei, Trichonotoidei, and Gobioidei. The order was formerly defined as containing only the gobies (now placed within the Gobioidei). However, more recent taxonomic treatments also place their close relatives (the cardinalfishes, nurseryfishes, and sand-divers) with them, based on phylogenetic studies that unexpectedly found a close relationship between these groups. The Gobioidei are the most speciose clade of the family. Despite the differing appearances of members of this group, all share the trait of adhesive eggs with elaborate structures. Many species within this group also display elaborate forms of parental care by the male. Gobiiforms are a relatively basal clade of the percomorphs, with only the ophidiiforms and batrachoidiforms being more basal. They are estimated to have diverged from the rest of the group during the early-to-mid

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

(about 120 million years ago), and the first presumed fossils of the family are of apogonid otoliths from the

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...

. This suggests that all three suborders within the group had diverged during the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

. However, much of the order's modern diversity, especially within the gobioids, appears to have evolved relatively recently.

Taxonomy

The following taxonomy is followed by ''

Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

'': * Order Gobiiformes ** Suborder Apogonoidei *** Family Kurtidae Bleeker, 1859 (nurseryfishes) *** Family

Apogonidae Cardinalfishes are a family, Apogonidae, of ray-finned fishes found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans; they are chiefly marine, but some species are found in brackish water and a few (notably '' Glossamia'') are found in fresh water. ...

Günther, 1859 (cardinalfishes) ** Suborder Trichonotoidei *** Family Trichonotidae Günther, 1861 (sand-divers) ** Suborder Gobioidei *** Family Rhyacichthyidae

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, 1905 (loach gobies) *** Family Odontobutidae Hoese & Gill, 1993 (Asian freshwater sleepers) *** Family Milyeringidae Whitley, 1945 (cave gudgeons) *** Family Eleotridae Bonaparte, 1835 (sleepers or bullies) *** Family Xenisthmidae Miller, 1973 (collared wrigglers) *** Family Butidae Bleeker 1874 (gudgeons) *** Family Thalasseleotrididae Gill & Mooi, 2012 (ocean sleepers) *** Family Oxudercidae Günther, 1861 (mudskippers and allies) *** Family

Gobiidae Gobiidae or gobies is a family (biology), family of bony fish in the order (biology), order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising over 2,000 species in more than 200 genus, genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typ ...

Cuvier, 1816 (gobies)

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q20403870 Gobiiformes Ray-finned fish orders Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker