Assiculus

Assiculus
Assiculus punctatus from John Lort Stokes' 1846 Discoveries in Australia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Blenniiformes
Family:	Pseudochromidae
Subfamily:	Pseudochrominae
Genus:	Assiculus Richardson, 1846
Species:	A. punctatus
Binomial name
Assiculus punctatus Richardson, 1846[1]

Assiculus is a genus of fish in the "dottyback" family Pseudochromidae. It is monotypic, containing only Assiculus punctatus.[2] It is a small species of dottyback which is covered in small, bright blue spots. The males are bluish in colour while the females are greenish-yellow and are smaller than the males.[3] A. punctatus is found in coastal areas in the vicinity of reefs and weedy areas; normally in rather turbid waters as deep as 30 metres (98 ft). This secretive species frequents areas where there are highly eroded limestone reefs and rocks.[4]

The genus and species were first published by Sir John Richardson in an appendix to Volume 1 of John Lort Stokes' 1846 Discoveries in Australia.[5] The specific name punctatus references the small blue spots on the dorsal part of the body and fins.[6]

References

1. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Assicukus punctatus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Assiculus". FishBase. Jan 2007 version.
3. Dianne J. Bray. "Assiculus punctatus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
4. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Assiculus punctatus". FishBase. June 2018 version.
5. Richardson, John (1846). "Appendix: Descriptions of Six Fish". In Stokes, John Lort (ed.). Discoveries in Australia, Volume 1. London: T. & W. Boone.
6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (30 April 2018). "Subseries OVALENTARIA (Incertae sedis): Family PSEUDOCHROMIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2018.