Forsterygion Explained

Forsterygion is a genus of triplefins in the family Tripterygiidae native to coastal New Zealand, but also introduced to Tasmania, Australia.

Species

The following species are classified in this genus:

• Spotted robust triplefin, Forsterygion capito
• Yellow-and-black triplefin, Forsterygion flavonigrum Fricke & Roberts, 1994
• Tasmanian robust triplefin, Forsterygion gymnotum
• Common triplefin, Forsterygion lapillum Hardy, 1989
• Mottled triplefin, Forsterygion malcolmi Hardy, 1987
• Oblique-swimming triplefin, Forsterygion maryannae
• Estuarine triplefin, Forsterygion nigripenne
• Striped triplefin, Forsterygion varium (Forster, 1801)

Etymology

The name of this genus is an amalgam of Forster in honour of Johann Reinhold Forster (1729–1798) – a naturalist aboard Captain Cook’s second voyage on ; he collected the type on this voyage, describing it and naming it Blennius varius – and -ygion, the second part of the genus Tripterygion, into which F. varius and F. nigripenne had been placed.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Order BLENNIIFORMES: Families TRIPTERYGIIDAE and DACTYLOSCOPIDAE . The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database . Christopher Scharpf . Kenneth J. Lazara . Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara . 21 May 2019 . 29 January 2019.