PORT PHILLIP BAY


Slender Sandburrower 

Creedia haswelli Ramsay, 1881

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Meristics.
Dorsal fin spines/rays: 13-16
Anal fin spines/rays: 24-28
Caudal fin rays: 11
Pectoral fin rays: 8-9
Ventral fin spines/rays: I, 4
Lateral line: 42-43

Interpreting fin count meristics.
Spines are in Roman numerals and soft rays are in Arabic numerals. Spines and rays that are continuous in one fin are separated by a comma. Fin sections are separated by semicolons.

Detailed descriptions of fin count and other meristics are in:
Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds) (2008) Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Order level detail.
A large and highly diverse group of modern bony fishes many of which have a generalized perch like body form. Most have pelvic fins with one spine and 5 rays and the maxillary bone is excluded from the gape of the mouth. Interrelationships of the group are poorly understood and continue to be studied. They inhabit almost all aquatic habitats from high-altitude strams to the deep sea, although most are marine.

Family level detail.
Small slender, sand dwelling fishes with large scales, long-based dorsal and anal fins, a sharp fleshy snout overlapping a lower jaw lined with cirri; independently-movable eyes; fin rays unbranched.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Craniata
Superclass:
Gnathostomata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Creediidae
Genus:
Creedia
Species:
haswelli

General Description

Body very long, slender; eyes small, close-set on top of head; dorsal fin about half length of anal fin, arising well behind anal-fin origin and terminating distinctly before the rear end of anal-fin base; males with much longer pectoral and pelvic fins than females. Translucent with darker above, paler below, fins transparent. To 9 cm.

Biology

This species is occasionally taken in trawls and dredges.

Habitat

Builds burrows in sand or loose gravel, in depths of 26-366 m.

Soft substrates

Distribution guide

Southern Australia.

Species Group

Fishes › Sandburrowers

Depth

Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Max Size

9 cm

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Bray, D.J.

Di Bray is a Senior Collection Manager of ichthyology at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Gomon, M.F.

Dr. Martin Gomon is a Senior Curator of ichthyology at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. & Gomon, M.F., 2011, Slender Sandburrower, Creedia haswelli, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 25 Feb 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/6377

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