Family Oxudercidae

Sand gobies and mudskippers

Oxudercid gobies constitute a large group of fishes, comprising approximately 110 genera and 745 species. They are found predominantly in coastal and brackish waters, as well as in freshwater habitats. Their previous family name was Gobionellidae. However, it is now considered a junior synonym of Oxudercidae . In the freshwaters of West Asia, Oxudercidae is represented by the amphidromous genus Awaous, the sand gobies of the genus Knipowitschia, non-native Rhinogobius, and three mudskippers ( Boleophthalmus dussumieri, Periophthalmus waltoni, Scartelaos tenuis). Mudskippers are found often associated with mud flats and mangroves in the Persian Gulf and around the Arabian Peninsula. They may also be occasionally found in freshwater, particularly following heavy rainfall, but they do not occur regularly in freshwater; instead, they are only found in brackish waters and the sea. Some mudskippers are occasionally seen at considerable distances up in brackish rivers, as B. dussumieri in the upper Shur (Iran), 55 km upriver from the coast. The key includes Periophthalmus and Scartelaos but excludes them from the list of freshwater fishes of West Asia.

Further reading. Agorreta et al. 2013 (phylogeny); Thacker 2013 (phylogeny); Nelson et al. 2016 (diversity).