Cardinalfishes are a family, Apogonidae, of ray-finned fishes found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans; they are chiefly marine, but some species are found in brackish water and a few (notably Glossamia) are found in fresh water. A handful of species are kept in aquariums and are popular as small, peaceful, and colourful fish. The family includes about 370 species.
They are generally small fish, with most species being less than , and are often brightly coloured. They are distinguished by their large mouths, and the division of the dorsal fin into two separate fins. Most species live in tropical or subtropical waters, where they inhabit coral reefs and lagoons.
They are nocturnal, spending the day in dark crevices within the reef. At least some species brood their eggs inside the mouths of the males. Males do not feed during this incubation period. Males incubate the eggs in their mouth due to having longer heads and a larger jaw, which females do not acquire.Hoey, A., Bellwood, D., & Barnett, A. (2012). To feed or to breed: Morphological constraints of mouthbrooding in coral reef cardinalfishes. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 279(1737), 2426–2432.
Classification Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes recognises four subfamilies of the Apogonidae:
Subfamily Amioidinae Fraser & Mabuchi, 2014 Amioides H.M. Smith & Radcliffe, 1912 Holapogon T. H. Fraser, 1973 Subfamily Apogoninae Günther, 1859 Apogon Lacépède, 1801 Apogonichthyoides J. L. B. Smith, 1949 Apogonichthys Bleeker, 1854 Archamia T.N. Gill, 1863 Astrapogon Fowler, 1907 Cercamia J. E. Randall & C. L. Smith, 1988 Cheilodipterus Lacépède, 1801 Fibramia T. H. Fraser & Mabuchi, 2014Mabuchi, K., Fraser, T.H., Song, H., Azuma, Y. & Nishida, M. (2014): Revision of the systematics of the cardinalfishes (Percomorpha: Apogonidae) based on molecular analyses and comparative reevaluation of morphological characters. Zootaxa, 3846 (2): 151–203. Foa D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1905 Fowleria D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1905 Glossamia T.N. Gill, 1863 Jaydia J. L. B. Smith, 1961 Lachneratus T. H. Fraser & Struhsaker, 1991 Lepidamia T. N. Gill, 1863 Neamia H. M. Smith & Radcliffe, 1912 Nectamia D. S. Jordan, 1917 Ostorhinchus Lacépède, 1802 Paroncheilus J. L. B. Smith, 1964 Phaeoptyx T. H. Fraser & C. R. Robins, 1970 Pristiapogon Klunzinger, 1870 Pristicon T. H. Fraser, 1972 Pterapogon Koumans, 1933 Quinca Rhabdamia KoumansM. C. W. Weber, 1909 Siphamia M. C. W. Weber, 1909 Sphaeramia Fowler & B. A. Bean, 1930 Taeniamia T. H. Fraser, 2013 Verulux T. H. Fraser, 1972 Vincentia Castelnau, 1872 Xeniamia T. H. Fraser & Prokofiev, 2016Fraser, T.H. & Prokofiev, A.M. (2016): A new genus and species of cardinalfish (Percomorpha, Apogonidae, Sphaeramiini) from the coastal waters of Vietnam: luminescent or not? Zootaxa, 4144 (2): 227–242. Yarica Whitley 1930 Zapogon T. H. Fraser, 1972 Zoramia D. S. Jordan, 1917
Subfamily Paxtoninae Fraser & Mabuchi, 2014 Paxton C. C. Baldwin & G. D. Johnson, 1999 Subfamily Pseudaminae Smith, 1954 Gymnapogon Regan, 1905 Pseudamia Bleeker, 1865 Pseudamiops J. L. B. Smith, 1954
Fossil genera
The following fossil genera are also placed here:
Genus †Eosphaeramia Sorbini, 1983 Genus †Eritima Jordan & Gilbert, 1919 Genus †Eosphaeramia Sorbini, 1983 Genus †Leptolumamia Bannikov & Fraser, 2016 Subfamily Apogoninae Tribe †Eoapogonini Bannikov, 2005 Genus †Arconiapogon Marrama, Giusberti & Carnevale, 2022 Genus †Apogoniscus Bannikov, 2005 Genus †Bolcapogon Bannikov, 2005 Genus †Eoapogon Bannikov, 2005 Subfamily Pseudaminae Genus †Oligopseudamia Marrama, Giusberti & Carnevale, 2022
Fossil otoliths assigned to the otolith-based genus Apogonidarum are known from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of India and North Dakota, USA. If of apogonids, these represent the oldest record of the group.
References
External links Smith, J.L.B. (1961): "Fishes of the family Apogonidae of the Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea". Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 22. Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. Hoey, A., Bellwood, D., & Barnett, A. (2012). To feed or to breed: Morphological constraints of mouthbrooding in coral reef cardinalfishes. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 279(1737), 2426–2432.