Mendosoma Explained

Mendosoma should not be confused with Telescopefish.

Mendosoma is a genus of marine ray finned fish belonging to the family Latridae, the trumpeters.

Taxonomy

Mendosoma was first formally described in 1848 by the French zoologist Alphonse Guichenot.

Some authorities consider the genus Mendosoma to be monotypic, but others recognise three species within the genus:

• Mendosoma caerulescens Guichenot, 1848
• Mendosoma fernandezianum Guichenot 1848
• Mendosoma lineatum Guichenot, 1848

Both M. caerulescens and M. fernandezianum have been considered nomina dubia in the past.^[1]

The generic name, Mendosoma, was created by combining the word méndola, a Spanish name for the blotched picarel (Spicara maena), and soma meaning "body", referring to the similarity in body shape between M. lineatum and S. maena.^[2]

Notes and References

1. O. Gon . P. Heemstra . amp . 1987 . Mendosoma lineatum Guichenot 1848, first record in the Atlantic Ocean, with a re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of other species of the genus Mendosoma (Pisces, Latridae) . 11 . 2 . 183–193.
2. Web site: Order Centrarchiformes: Families Centrarchidae, Elassomatidae, Eoplosidae, Sinipercidae, Aplodactylidae, Cheilodactylidae, Chironemidae, Cirrhitidae, Latridae, Percichthydiae, Dichistitidae, Girellidae, Kuhliidae, Kyphosidae, Oplegnathidae, Terapontidae, Microcanthidae, and Scorpididae . The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database . Christopher Scharpf . Kenneth J. Lazara . amp . 25 February 2021 . 13 August 2021 . Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara.