The leaf goblinfish (''Neovespicula depressifrons'') is a species 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 h ...
, a
waspfish belonging to the
subfamily Tetraroginae
Tetraroginae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as waspfishes or sailback scorpionfishes, belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the We ...
, which is
classified as part of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. This is the only species in the
monotypic
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 "unispe ...
genus ''Neovespicula''. It is found in coastal habitats of the
Indo-West Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
region.
Taxonomy
The leaf goblinfish was first formally
described in 1848 as ''Apistes depressifrons'' by the
Scottish naval surgeon
A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail.
Ancient uses
Speciali ...
,
Arctic explorer and
naturalist John Richardson with its type locality given as the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...
.
The genus ''Neovespicula'' was described in 2001 by the Russian
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...
Sergey Anatolyevich Mandritsa Sergey may refer to:
* Sergey (name), a Russian given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Sergey, Switzerland, a municipality in Switzerland
* ''Sergey'' (wasp), a genus in subfamily Doryctinae
The Doryctinae or doryctine wasps are ...
as a monotypic genus for the leaf goblinfish.
This taxon is included in the subfamily Tetraroginae within the Scorpaenidae in the 5th edition of ''
Fishes of the World''
however other authorities place that subfamily within the stonefish family
Synanceiidae,
[ while other authorities classify this subfamily as a family in its own right.][
The genus name is a ]compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...
of ''neo'' , which means “new” and ''Vespicula
''Vespicula'' is a genus of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocea ...
'', the genus this species had previously been placed in and which derives from ''Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy to ...
'' which means “wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...
”. The specific name combines ''depressus'' meaning “pressed down” and ''frons'', which means “brow” or “forehead”, an allusion to the low angle of the dorsal profile of the head of this species.
Morphology
The leaf goblinfish is a small species, reaching a maximum size of 10 cm.[ It is similar to the bullrout in shape and colouration - mottled brown with a distinctive light stripe running along the dorsal surface from the nose and along the back of the fish.][ It has two ]dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
s, the first being notably taller than the second.
Distribution
The leaf goblinfish has been reported from Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, and the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.[
]
Ecology
The leaf goblinfish, like other waspfishes, is a stealthy predator that feeds on various small fish and invertebrates. Also in common with other waspfish, it is equipped with venomous spines.[ ''N. depressifrons'' is a euryhaline species, so may be found in saltwater, ]brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...
water, and freshwater environments.[
]
Commercial importance
The leaf goblinfish is of no commercial importance, but occasionally gets traded as an aquarium fish.[ They have the alternative names of freshwater waspfish or phantom goby in the aquarium trade.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2618731
Tetraroginae
Fish of Indonesia
Fish of the Philippines
Taxa named by John Richardson (naturalist)
Fish described in 1848