Eleotridae Bonaparte 1835

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 32

Family Eleotridae Bonaparte 1835 ( Fig. 3I ). Sleepers, Spinycheek Sleepers, Gudgeons; Guavinas, Dormilones, Chupapiedras

Description: Body elongate, stout; up to 60 cm in length, usually less than 20 cm; head short, broad; snout blunt; mouth usually terminal, never inferior; lateral line absent, but canals and pores on head presents; pelvic fins separate (no sucking disc); two separate dorsal fins, the first with 6–7 weak spines, the second with one weak spine and 6–12 rays ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Marine, brackish and freshwater; most tropical and subtropical areas (rarely temperate areas) (Nelson et al. 2016). Seven genera and fourteen species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 2; Bryconidae (A), Characidae (B), Gymnotidae (C), Loricariidae (D), Heptapteridae (E), Ariidae (F), Batrachoididae (G), Syngnathidae (H), Eleotridae (I), Gobiidae (J), Synbranchidae (K), Centropomidae (L), Polynemidae (M) and Paralichthyidae (N). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).