Family CALLIONYMIDAE

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Introduction

Members of the Callionymidae occur worldwide in tropical and temperate regions. Currently, 18 genera and 182 species are recognised worldwide (Nelson 2006). In Australian waters, 47 species in 15 genera have been recorded.

Dragonets or stinkfishes occur over sand, silt or mud in a variety of habitats, including estuaries, coral reefs and offshore continental shelf and slope environments. Callionymids are small sized, with adults ranging in size from 3 to 25 cm in length.

The relationships within the family are discussed by Nakabo (1983). Some of the most significant papers dealing with the Australian callionymid fauna are those of Fricke (1981, 1983, 2000). Fricke (1993) also revised species from New Caledonia, many of which occur in Australia, and treated some species from the western Pacific (Fricke 2001). For species accounts the works of Fricke are followed here. Generic revisions were undertaken by Fricke (1982) and Nakabo (1982), and it is the work of Nakabo that is followed here for generic placement. The genus Callionymus has been widely used for species throughout the world, but Nakabo (1982) restricted the genus to five species from the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Many of the genera recognised by Nakabo (1982) are treated as subgenera of Callionymus or Synchiropus by Fricke (2002).

 

General References

Fricke, R. 1981. Revision of the genus Synchiropus (Teleostei : Callionymidae). Theses Zoologicae 1: 194, 1-46 figs [Braunschweig : J. Cramer]

Fricke, R. 1982. Nominal genera and species of dragonets (Teleostei: Callionymidae, Draconettidae). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Genova 84: 53-92

Fricke, R. 1983. Revision of the Indo-Pacific genera and species of the dragonet family Callionymidae (Teleostei). Theses Zoologicae 3: 1-774 figs 1-212

Fricke, R. 1993. Pisces Teleostei: Callionymidae of New Caledonia with descriptions of new species. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris [1936-1950] 158: 361-376

Fricke, R. 2000. Callionymidae of New Caledonia, with remarks on related species and descriptions of 10 new species from New Caledonia, Australia, New Guinea, and Hawaii (Teleostei). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie) 617: 1-81 figs 1-35

Fricke, R. 2001. Suborder Callionymoidei. pp. 3549-3573 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.

Fricke, R. 2002. Annotated checklist of the dragonet families Callionymidae and Draconettidae (Teleostei: Callionymoidei), with comments on callionymid fish classification. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie) 645: 1-103

Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. 2006. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp. [1578]

Nakabo, T. 1982. Revision of genera of the dragonets (Pisces : Callionymidae). Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 27(1/3): 77-131 figs 1-30

Nakabo, T. 1983. Comparative osteology and phylogenetic relationships of the dragonets (Pisces: Callionymidae) with some thoughts of their evolutionary history. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 28(1/4): 1-73 figs 1-62

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

 

Common Name References

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp. [341] (Dragonets)

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

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
08-Oct-2013	CALLIONYMOIDEI	08-Oct-2013	MODIFIED	Dr Doug Hoese (AM) Dr Matthew Lockett (AM)
		12-Feb-2010	(import)