Varicus Explained
Varicus is a genus of fish in the family Gobiidae, the gobies. They are native to the western Atlantic Ocean.
The genus was recently reexamined, and several new species were described and added to the group in 2016.[1]
Species include:[1]
- Varicus adamsi Gilmore, Van Tassell & Tornabene 2016 (twilight goby)
- Varicus benthonis (Ginsburg, 1953)
- Varicus bucca C. R. Robins & J. E. Böhlke, 1961
- Varicus cephalocellatus Gilmore, Van Tassell & Baldwin, 2016 (ocellated splitfin goby)
- Varicus decorum Van Tassell, Baldwin & Tornabene, 2016 (decorated splitfin goby)
- Varicus lacerta Tornabene L, Robertson DR, Baldwin CC (2016)[2] - (Godzilla goby)
- Varicus marilynae Gilmore, 1979 (Orangebelly goby)
- Varicus nigritus Gilmore, Van Tassell & Baldwin, 2016 (banded splitfin goby)
- Varicus prometheus Fuentes, Baldwin, Robertson, Lardizábal & Tornabene 2023 (Promethean goby)[3]
- Varicus roatanensis Fuentes, Baldwin, Robertson, Lardizábal & Tornabene 2023 (Roatan goby)
- Varicus veliguttatus Van Tassell, Baldwin & Gilmore, 2016 (spotted-sail goby)
- Varicus vespa (Hastings & Bortone, 1981)
The whiteband goby (Paedovaricus imswe) was formerly known as Varicus imswe.[1] This genus is closely related to genus Chriolepis, and now contains some species formerly included there.[1]
Notes and References
- Tornabene, L., et al. 2016. Molecular phylogeny, analysis of character evolution, and submersible collections enable a new classification of a diverse group of gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Nes subgroup), including nine new species and four new genera. Zoological journal of the Linnean Society 177(4): 764–812. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12394.
- Tornabene, L., et al. Varicus lacerta, a new species of goby (Teleostei, Gobiidae, Gobiosomatini, Nes subgroup) from a mesophotic reef in the southern Caribbean. ZooKeys 596 (2016): 143.
- Web site: Gay . Jeremy . 2023-09-25 . Two New Species of Gobies Described from the Deep Reefs of the Caribbean . 2023-10-14 . Reef Builders The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog . en-US.
