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 fish in the
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 ...
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
,
Gobionellinae
The Gobionellinae are a subfamily of fish which was formerly classified in the family Gobiidae, the gobies, but the 5th Edition of ''Fishes of the World'' classifies the subfamily as part of the family Oxudercidae. Members of Gobionellinae mostl ...
, native to fresh, brackish and marine waters of
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and the western
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Some species in the genus are among the
smallest fish
The world's smallest fish depends on the measurement used.
Based on minimum standard length at maturity the main contenders are '' Paedocypris progenetica'' where females can reach it at ,Genetic and geographical differentiation of ''Pandaka'' gobies in Japan. ''Ichthyological Research'' 51(3), 222-27. the male ''P. pygmaea'' can be just 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 ...
at maturity.Froese, R. and D. Pauly. (Eds. ''Pandaka pygmaea''. FishBase. 2011.
The genus name is a word for a
dwarf
Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore
* Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...
in the a number of languages of the Philippines and refers to the small size of these fish.
Pandaka pygmaea
The dwarf pygmy goby or Philippine goby (''Pandaka pygmaea'') is a tropical species of fish in the subfamily Gobionellinae from brackish water and mangrove areas in Southeast Asia. It is one of the List of smallest fish, smallest fish species in ...
Barnard Barnard is a surname of Old English origin, derived from the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon given name "Beornheard". It is composed of two elements: "Beorn," meaning "young warrior" or "bear," and "heard," meaning "hardy," "brave," or "strong." In some ...