Sympterichthys
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| Sympterichthys | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Sympterichthys unipennis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Family: | Antennariidae |
| Subfamily: | Brachionichthyinae |
| Genus: | Sympterichthys Gill, 1878 |
| Type species | |
| Lophius laevis Lacépède, 1804 | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Sympterichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Brachionichthyidae, the handfishes. These fishes are endemic to Australia.
Sympterichthys was first proposed as a genus in 1878 by the American biologist Theodore Gill with Lophius laevis, a species described in 1804 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède, as its type species.[1] Lophius naevis was preoccupied by Pierre André Latreille in 1804, so the first available name for this taxon was Chironectes uripennis used by Georges Cuvier in 1817.[2] This genus is classified within the family Brachionichthyidae which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the family Brachionichthyidae within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.[3]
Etymology
Sympterichthys is a combination of symphysis, meaning "grown together", with ichthys, meaning "fish". This is a reference to the first dorsal fin spine being connected to the second by a membrane and to the third spine being connected to the second, soft-rayed dorsal fin, by an incised membrane.[4]
Species
Sympterichthys has the following two species classified within it:[5]
- Sympterichthys moultoni Last & Gledhill, 2009 (Moulton's handfish)
- Sympterichthys unipennis (G. Cuvier, 1817) (Smooth handfish) (likely extinct)[6]