Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

Kraemeriidae

Kraemeriidae

<I>Kraemeria merensis</I> holotype

Kraemeria merensis holotype

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CAAB: 37432000

Family KRAEMERIIDAE

Sand Darts


Compiler and date details

8 April 2015 - Douglass F. Hoese & Matthew M. Lockett

Introduction

Members of the Kraemeriidae, sand darts, are restricted to the Indo-west-central Pacific, where they bury themselves in sand, typically in drainage channels at the mouths of small creeks on islands. They are characterised by having an elongate body and a protruding lower jaw, with a distinctly enlarged chin. Maximum size reached is 7 cm, but most species are less than 5 cm in length.

Rofen (1958) revised the family and recognised two genera and nine species. One species is known from Australia, and although specimens are known from only few localities, it is likely that additional species will be discovered. The name Kraemeria samoensis has been widely applied in the Indo-Pacific to more than one species. The identity of the species recorded under that name from Cocos (Keeling) Islands by Allen & Smith Vaniz (1994) is uncertain. The family is thought to be close to very specialised gobiids (Hoese 1984) and recently molecular work includes them within the gobiids (Tornabene et al. 2013).

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
14-May-2015 GOBIOIDEI 01-Apr-2015 MODIFIED Dr Doug Hoese
12-Feb-2010 (import)