elegant firefish

Open encyclopedia reference

Nemateleotris decora, the elegant firefish or purple firefish, is a species of dartfish native to tropical waters in the Indo-West Pacific, from Mauritius to Samoa, north to Ryukyu Islands, and south to New Caledonia, from depths ranging between 25 and 70 m (82 and 230 ft). It is found over hard, open bottoms of reefs, sandy patches and rubble, as well as deeper coastal outer reef drop-offs where there are strong currents. It reaches a maximum length of 9 cm (3 in). This species is often found in pairs and is monogamous. They feed on zooplankton, especially the larvae of copepods and crustaceans. They will dart into holes when alarmed. The populations of this species from the western Indian Ocean have been recognised by some workers as a distinct species, Nemateleotris exquisita, however, the validity of this taxon needs more taxonomic research.

Wikipedia contributors, Elegant firefish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:00:06.973039+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Nemateleotris decora Randall & Allen, 1973

Name authority

Randall & Allen, 1973

Common name

elegant firefish

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Gobiiformes

Family

Microdesmidae

Genus

Nemateleotris

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderGobiiformes
11. familyMicrodesmidae Regan, 1912
12. subfamilyPtereleotrinae Bleeker, 1875
13. genusNemateleotris Fowler, 1938
14. speciesNemateleotris decora Randall & Allen, 1973

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Nemateleotris. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 85 records assigned to Microdesmidae.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Randall, J. E., & Allen, G. R. (1973). A revision of the gobiid fish genus Nemateleotris, with descriptions of two new species. Quarterly Journal of the Taiwan Museum (Taipei), 26 (3/4): 347–367. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:466NS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.