Wormfishes were a subfamily, Microdesminae, which are formerly classified in the family Microdesmidae and are also currently classified, with no intervening rank, in the family Gobiidae and the order Gobiiformes.

[1][2] They are found in shallow tropical waters, both marine and brackish, often burrowing in estuarine mud.

They are small fishes, the largest species reaching only about 12 cm in length.

[3]