Nemateleotris exquisita Randall & Connell, 2013
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Nemateleotris exquisita is a species of dartfish which was described in 2013 from specimens collected in the Red Sea, off Mauritius and Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Formerly, the elegant firefish (Nemateleotris decora) was thought to be found in the western Indian Ocean but N. exquisita was found to be larger, with a more slender body and longer snout, as well as the having a shorter first spine on the first dorsal fin. They also differ in colour with this species being yellow in the anterior part of the body and this colour extends further towards the tail than the analogous coloured area on N. decora. A hybrid N. decora x esquisita is thought to have been photographed in the Maldives in 1988, while the IUCN states that further taxonomic research is required to ascertain the validity of N. exquisita.
Wikipedia contributors, Nemateleotris exquisita; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:17:54.237754+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nemateleotris exquisita Randall & Connell, 2013
- Name authority
- Randall & Connell, 2013
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderGobiiformes
- familyMicrodesmidae Regan, 1912
- subfamilyPtereleotrinae Bleeker, 1875
- genusNemateleotris Fowler, 1938
- speciesNemateleotris exquisita Randall & Connell, 2013
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nemateleotris. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| elegant firefishNemateleotris decora Randall & Allen, 1973 | MicrodesmidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nemateleotris helfrichi Randall & Allen, 1973 | MicrodesmidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nemateleotris magnifica Fowler, 1938 | MicrodesmidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Randall, J. E., & Connell, A. D. (2013). Nemateleotris exquisita, a new microdesmid fish from the Indian Ocean (Perciformes: Microdesmidae). Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 8: 18–29. 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:D5937. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.