Dartfishes are a group of fish, formerly considered to be a subfamily, Ptereleotrinae, of

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 fishes in the family Microdesmidae of the order

Gobiiformes Gobiiformes (meaning "goby-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, ...

, Authorities now consider the species in the family Microdesmidae are within the

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 ...

, although the researchers do not define the taxonomic status of this grouping within that family. They are saltwater fish.

References

{{Fish-stub Microdesmidae Gobiidae