''Microphilypnus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small fishes in the family

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 t ...

native to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

basins in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. At up to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

, they are among the smallest sleeper gobies, but however larger than the ''

Leptophilypnion ''Leptophilypnion'' is a genus of tiny fishes in the family Eleotridae endemic to the Amazon Basin in South America. At less than in standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their ...

'' sleeper gobies from the same region.Roberts, T.R. (2013): ''Leptophilypnion'', a new genus with two new species of tiny central Amazonian gobioid fishes (Teleostei, Eleotridae). ''aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology, 19 (2): 85–98.'' The bottom-dwelling ''Microphilypnus'' are typically found in shallow water among leaf-litter or partially buried in sand,Carvalho, L.N.; J. Zuanon; and I. Sazima (2006). The almost invisible league: crypsis and association between minute fishes and shrimps as a possible defence against visually hunting predators. Neotrop. Ichthyol. 4(2). and they can be very abundant in their habitat.Amazonian Fish
Gobiformes.
Retrieved 23 September 2017. Their small size combined with a speckled and semi-transparent appearance makes them highly cryptic. They somewhat resemble certain freshwater shrimp (''

Palaemonetes ''Palaemon'' is a genus of caridean shrimp in the family Palaemonidae Palaemonidae is a family of shrimp in the order Decapoda. Many species are carnivores that eat small invertebrates, and can be found in any aquatic habitat except the deep ...

'' and '' Pseudopalaemon''), as well as '' Priocharax'' characins, and they sometimes group together. ''Microphilypnus'' feed on tiny invertebrates.

Species

The recognized species in this genus are: * '' Microphilypnus acangaquara'' Caires & J. L. de Figueiredo, 2011 * '' Microphilypnus amazonicus'' G. S. Myers, 1927 * '' Microphilypnus macrostoma'' G. S. Myers, 1927 * '' Microphilypnus tapajosensis'' Caires, 2013Caires, R.A. (2013): ''Microphilypnus tapajosensis'', a new species of eleotridid from the Tapajós basin, Brazil (Gobioidei: Eleotrididae). ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 24 (2): 155–160.'' * ''

Microphilypnus ternetzi ''Microphilypnus'' is a genus of small fishes in the family Eleotridae native to the Amazon Basin, Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America. At up to in standard length, they are among the smallest sleeper gobies, but however larger than the ' ...

'' G. S. Myers, 1927

References

Eleotridae {{Eleotridae-stub