Checklist of interstitial fishes

In addition to fishes which inhabit the relatively large conduits of caves (which by definition are enterable by humans), and those in the relativley small conduits of groundwater aquifers, there is another group which live substantially, or obligately, in the sediments on the beds of rivers or in marine sands. Many of these fishes develope some degree of troglomorphy, as a result of life in darkness, and can thus legitimately be considered as subterranean fishes. The habitat has several names including the interstitial, the psammophillic ("sand loving") and the meiobenthos. We will here use the first of these names. Although no vertebrates are mentioned within them the most critical sources for this habitat are Giere (2009), Giere and Schratzberger (2023) and Martinez (2023). Other valuable sources are Rundle, Robertson and Schmid-Araya (2002), Higgins and Thiel (1988), Heip (1984), Shields and Malcolm (2009) and Wood, Hannah and Sadler (2007). Schmid and Schmid-Araya (2002) discuss the value of invertebrate meiofauna as food for fishes and this is clearly of importance to permanently interstitial fishes. The International Association of Meiobenthology have a useful website.

As currently understood three subfamilies of the Trichomycteridae with 29 species (all in freshwater), one genus of Gobiidae with 14 species and one species of Gobiesocidae, with 5 species, (all marine) have permanently interstitial representatives. Both of the marine genera have remakable adaptations to the spine to allow them easier access to the restricted environment (Luciogobius - Yamada et al. 2009, Gouania - Wagner et al. 2019, Wagner et al. 2020).

Species accounts for all of the interstitial fishes have yet to be written but will be written as time allows.

Total: 55 species

Order: Siluriformes (30 species)

Suborder: Loricarioidei (30 species)

Family: Callichthyidae (1 species)

Aspidoras psammatides Britto, Lima and Santo 2005 [NE] Brazil

Family: Trichomycteridae (29 species)

Sub Family: Glanapteryginae (11 species)

Glanapteryx anguilla Myers 1927 [NE] Negro and Orinoco Rivers, Brazil, Venezuela
Glanapteryx niobium de Pinna 1998 [TLO LC:3.1:2009] Brazil
Pygidianops amphioxus de Pinna and Kirovsky 2011 [NE] Brazil
Pygidianops cuao Schaefer, Provenzano, de Pinna and Baskin 2005 [NE] Venezuela
Pygidianops eigenmanni Myers 1944 [NE] Negro River, Brazil
Pygidianops magoi Schaefer, Provenzano, de Pinna and Baskin 2005 [NE] Brazil
Typhlobelus auriculatus de Pinna and Zuanon 2013 TLO [NE] Brazil
Typhlobelus guacamaya Schaefer, Provenzano, de Pinna and Baskin 2005 [NE] Venezuela
Typhlobelus lundbergi Schaefer, Provenzano, de Pinna and Baskin 2005 [NE] Venezuela
Typhlobelus macromycterus Costa and Bockmann 1994 [NE] Brazil
Typhlobelus ternetzi Myers 1944 [NE] Brazil

Sub Family: Sarcoglanidinae (10 species)

Ammoglanis amapaensis Mattos, Costa and Gama 2008 [NE] Brazil
Ammoglanis diaphanus Costa 1994 [NE] Brazil
Ammoglanis pulex de Pinna and Winemiller 2000 [NE] Venezuela
Ammoglanis multidentatus Costa, Mattos and Santos 2019 TLO[NE] Brazil
Ammoglanis natgeorum Henschel, Lujan and Baskin 2020 TLO[NE] Venezuela
Ammoglanis obliquus Henschel, Bragança, Rangel-Pereira and Costa 2020 TLO[NE] Brazil
Malacoglanis gelatinosus Myers and Weitzman 1966 MG [LC:3.1:2016] Colombia
Sarcoglanis simplex Myers and Weitzman 1966 MG [NE] Brazil
Stauroglanis gouldingi de Pinna 1989 MG [NE] Brazil
Stenolicmus ix Wosiacki, Coutinho and De Assis Montag 2011 [NE] Brazil

Sub Family: Microcambevinae (8 species)

Microcambeva barbata Costa and Bockmann 1994 TLO[NT] Brazil
Microcambeva draco Mattos and Lima 2010 [EN] Brazil
Microcambeva ribeirae Costa, Lima and Bizerril 2004 [NT] Brazil
Microcambeva mucuriensis Costa, Katz, Mattos and Rangel-Pereira 2019 [NE] Brazil
Microcambeva jucuensis Costa, Katz, Mattos and Rangel-Pereira 2019 [NE] Brazil
Microcambeva bendego Medeiros, Moreira, de Pinna and Lima 2020 [NE] Brazil
Microcambeva filimentosa Costa, Vilardo and Katz 2020 [NE] Brazil
Microcambeva watu Medeiros, Sarmento-Soares and Lima 2021 [NE] Brazil

Order: Gobiiformes (19 species)

Suborder: Gobioidei (19 species)

Family: Gobiidae (19 species)

Luciogobius adapel Okiyama 2001 [NE] Japan
Luciogobius elongatus A Regan 1905 [NE] Japan
Luciogobius elongatus B [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius elongatus C [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius elongatus D [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius elongatus E [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius elongatus F [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius grandis A Arai 1970 [NE] Japan
Luciogobius grandis B [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius parvulus A (Snyder 1909) [NE] Japan
Luciogobius parvulus B [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius platycephalus A Shiogaki and Dotsu 1976 [NE] Japan
Luciogobius platycephalus B [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius undescribed species [Yamada, Sugiyama, Tamaki, Kawakita and Kato 2009] [NE] Japan
Luciogobius yubai Ikeda, Tamada and Hirashima 2019 [NE] Japan
Luciogobius opisthoproctus Chen and Liao 2024 [NE] Taiwan
Trypauchen vagina (Bloch and Schneider 1801) Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes 1837 [LC:3.1:2019] [Larson 2019] Indo-West and east Pacific:marine
Gobius vagina Gobioides ruber
Trypauchen pelaeos Murdy 2006 Malaysia
Trypauchenopsis intermedia Volz 1903 MG[LC] [Larson 2016] West, South, East Pacific: brackish
Brachyamblyopus intermediusTaenioides jacksoniTaenioides limicola

Order: Synbranchiformes (1 species)

Suborder: Synbranchoidei (1 species)

Family: Synbranchidae (1 species)

Ophisternon berlini Arroyave, Angulo, Mar-Silva and Stiassny 2024 [NE] Costa Rica

Order: Gobiesociformes (5 species)

Suborder: Gobiesociformes (5 species)

Family: Gobiesocidae (5 species)

Gouania willdenowi (Risso 1810) [LC] Mediterranean
Lepadogaster pigerGouania prototypusRupisuga nicensisLeptopterygius coccoi
Gouania adriatica Wagner, Kovačić and Koblmüller 2020 [NE] Mediterranean
Gouania wildenowi
Gouania orientalis Wagner, Kovačić and Koblmüller 2020 [NE] Mediterranean
Gouania wildenowi
Gouania hofrichteri Wagner, Kovačić and Koblmüller 2020 [NE] Mediterranean
Gouania wildenowi
Gouania pigra (Nardo 1827) [NE] Mediterranean
Lepadogaster pigerGouania prototypusGouania pigerLeptopterygius piger