The dottybacks are a family, Pseudochromidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes

Perciformes

The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is one of the largest orders of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch-like. They belong to the class of ray-finned fish and comprise over 7,000 species found in almost all aquatic environments...

. Around 100 species belong to this family.

They are found in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific

Indo-Pacific

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...

, where they inhabit coral reef

Coral reef

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...

s. They are brightly coloured fish, often showing striking sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...

. They are generally small, mostly less than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length, and some less than 2 centimetre (0.78740157480315 in). They are distinguished from other families by the presence of three or less spines in the dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

 and an incomplete lateral line

Lateral line

The lateral line is a sense organ in aquatic organisms , used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water. Lateral lines are usually visible as faint lines running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill covers to the base of the tail...

 organ.

Genera

Family Pseudochromidae

• Subfamily Anisochrominae
  • Anisochromis
• Subfamily Congrogadinae - Eel blennies
  • Blennodesmus
  • Congrogadus
  • Halidesmus
  • Halimuraena
  • Halimuraenoides
  • Haliophis
  • Natalichthys
  • Rusichthys
• Subfamily Pseudochrominae
  • Assiculoides
  • Assiculus
    Assiculus
    Assiculus is a genus of fish in the "dottyback" family Pseudochromidae. It is monotypic, containing only Assiculus punctatus.The genus and species were first published by Sir John Richardson in an appendix to Volume 1 of John Lort Stokes' 1846 Discoveries in Australia....
    
    
  • Cypho
  • Labracinus
  • Manonichthys
  • Ogilbyina
  • Oxycercichthys
  • Pholidochromis
  • Pictichromis
  • Pseudochromis
    Pseudochromis
    Pseudochromis is a genus of dottybacks with around 70 described species.- Species :* Pseudochromis aldabraensis - Orange dottyback* Pseudochromis alticaudex* Pseudochromis andamanensis- Andaman dottyback* Pseudochromis aureolineatus...
    
    
• Subfamily Pseudoplesiopinae
  • Amsichthys
  • Chlidichthys
  • Lubbockichthys
  • Pectinochromis
  • Pseudoplesiops
    Pseudoplesiops
    Pseudoplesiops is a genus of dottyback fishes currently with ten described species. They are distributed in the south Pacific and in the Indian Ocean as far west as the Maldive Islands.-Species:*Pseudoplesiops annae*Pseudoplesiops collare...