Family CREEDIIDAE

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Introduction

The family Creediidae comprises eight genera and 17 species (Nelson 2006; Shibukawa 2010), with three genera and six species recorded from Australia and an additional genus and species from Cocos (Keeliing) Islands and Christmas Island.

Tommyfishes are small, sand-diving fishes, found in tropical and temperate areas of the Indian Ocean eastward to Hawaii and Easter Island. Some species are associated with rocky or coral reefs, but others occur off sand beaches in coastal environments to depths of around 50 m. Maximum size is less than 10 cm.

Nelson (1978) reviewed the family and included Limnichthyidae as a synonym of Creediidae. The genus Squamicreedia was subsequently assigned to the family Percophidae (Nelson 1982); here it is referred to the family Hemerocoetidae. Nelson (1985) discussed the relationships within the family and Nelson (2001) presented a key to Australian genera.

Smith & Johnson (2007) placed the group as a subfamily within the Trichonotidae. Subsequently Odani & Imamura (2011) suggested a close relationship between the Creediidae and Leptoscopidae. Thacker et al. (2015) proposed a close relationship between the family and the Hemerocoetidae, placing both within the Hemerocoetoidei.

 

General References

McCulloch, A.R. 1922. Checklist of the fish and fish-like animals of New South Wales. Part 3. The Australian Zoologist 2(3): 86-130 pls 25-43

Nelson, J.S. 1978. Limnichthys polyactis, a new species of blennioid fish from New Zealand with notes on the taxonomy and distribution of other Creediidae (including Limnichthyidae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 5(2): 351-364 figs 1-5

Nelson, J.S. 1982. Pteropsaron heemstrai and Osopsaron natalensis (Perciformes : Percophidae), new fish species from South Africa, with comments on Squamicreedia obtusa from Australia and on the classification of the subfamily Hemerocoetinae. Special Publication of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology Rhodes University 25: 1-11 figs 1-7

Nelson, J.S. 1985. On the interrelationships of the genera of Creediidae (Perciformes: Tachinoidei. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 32(3): 283-293

Nelson, J.S. 2001. Trichonotidae, Creediidae, Percophidae. pp. 3511-3516 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 601 pp.

Odani, K. & Imamura, H. 2011. New phylogenetic proposal for the Family Leptoscopidae (Perciformes: Trachinoidei). Bulletin of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University 61(2/3): 49-63

Shibukawa, K. 2010. Myopsaron nelsoni, a new genus and species of sandburrowers (Perciformes: Trichonotidae: Creediinae) from the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science Supplement 4: 49–66

Smith, D.G. & Johnson, G.D. 2007. A new species of Pteropsaron (Teleostei: Trichonotidae: Hemerocoetinae) from the western Pacific, with notes on related species. Copeia 2007(2): 364–377

Thacker, C.E., Takashi P., Satoh, T.P., Katayama, T., Harrington, R.C., Eytan, R.I. & Near, T.J. 2015. Molecular phylogeny of Percomorpha resolves Trichonotus as the sister lineage to Gobioidei (Teleostei: Gobiiformes) and confirms the polyphyly of Trachinoidei. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 93: 172–179

Waite, R.E. 1899. Scientific results of the trawling expedition of H.M.C.S. "Thetis", off the coast of New South Wales, in February and March, 1898. Introduction. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 4(1): 3-23 [63, fig. 6]

 

Common Name References

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1979. The Fishes of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Aust. Natl. Parks Wldlf. Ser. Spec. Publ. 2. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service 81 pp. 15 pls. [130] (Sandburrowers)

Whitley, G.P. 1948. A list of the fishes of Western Australia. Western Australia Fish Department. Fisheries Bulletin 2: 1-35 map [27] (Creed's Sandfishes, Tommyfishes)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
08-Oct-2015	TRACHINOIDEI	19-Sep-2015	MODIFIED	Dr Dianne Bray (NMV) Dr Doug Hoese (AM) Dr Matthew Lockett (AM)
22-Sep-2011		22-Sep-2011	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)