''Antipodocottus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

es belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cottidae The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology ...

, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. This is the only genus of Cottids represented in the Southern Hemisphere, although their classification in the Cottidae is not universally accepted.

Taxonomy

''Antipodocottus'' was first proposed as a

monospecific genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

in 1952 by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Rolf Ling Bolin Rolf Ling Bolin (22 March 1901 – 23 August 1973) was an American academic ichthyologist. A genus of lanternfish, '' Bolinichthys'', is named for him. Biography Bolin was born on 22 March 1901 in New York City to Scandinavian American parents. ...

when he described ''Antipodocottus galathea'' from the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

off New Zealand. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' classifies the genus ''Alcichthys'' within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Cottinae Cottinae is a subfamily of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera.Kane, E. A. and T. ...

of the family Cottidae, however, other authors classify the genus within the subfamily Psychrolutinae of the family

Psychrolutidae The fish family Psychrolutidae (commonly known as blobfishes, toadfishes, flathead sculpins, tadpole sculpins,) contains over 35 recognized species in 8 genera. This family consists of bottom-dwelling marine sculpins shaped like tadpoles, with l ...

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * ''

Antipodocottus elegans ''Antipodocottus elegans'' or the dwarf sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. Most commonly found in the benthic zone around depths of 400 meters, ''A. elegans'' is found almost exc ...

'' R. Fricke & Brunken ( de), 1984 (Dwarf sculpin) * ''

Antipodocottus galatheae ''Antipodocottus galatheae'', the Galathea sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species found on the continental shelf around New Zealand. It has also been recorded off Tasma ...

Bolin Bolin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bert Bolin (1925–2007), Swedish meteorologist * Bob Bolin (born 1939), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Charles E. Bolin (1843–1924), American politician * Jane Bolin (1908� ...

, 1952 (Galathea sculpin) * ''

Antipodocottus megalops ''Antipodocottus megalops'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found on the continental shelf around New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the ...

'' H. H. DeWitt, 1969 * ''

Antipodocottus mesembrinus ''Antipodocottus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the western Pacific Ocean. This is the only genus of Cottids represented in the Southern Hemisphere, altho ...

'' (R. Fricke & Brunken, 1983)

References

Cottinae Taxa named by Rolf Ling Bolin Ray-finned fish genera {{Scorpaeniformes-stub