Melanostigma

Melanostigma
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Zoarcidae
Subfamily:	Gymnelinae
Genus:	Melanostigma Günther, 1881
Type species
Melanostigma gelatinosum Günther, 1881[1]
Synonyms[1]
Bandichthys Parin, 1980

Melanostigma is a cosmopolitan genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The fishes in this genus are found all round the world.

Species

The following species are classified within the genus Melanostigma:[2]

• Melanostigma atlanticum Koefoed, 1952
• Melanostigma bathium Bussing, 1965
• Melanostigma bellingshauseni Orlovskaya & Balushkin, 2020
• Melanostigma gelatinosum Günther, 1881
• Melanostigma inexpectatum Parin, 1977
• Melanostigma kharini Balushkin & Moganova, 2018
• Melanostigma orientale Tominaga, 1971
• Melanostigma pammelas Gilbert, 1896
• Melanostigma vitiazi Parin, 1980

In addition Catalog of Fishes recognises the following additional species which are not recognised as valid species in FishBase.[3]

• Melanostigma flaccidum Waite, 1914
• Melanostigma japonicum Balushkin, 2019
• Melanostigma lazarevi Orlovskaya & Balushkin, 2020
• Melanostigma meteori Balushkin & Orlovskaya, 2019
• Melanostigma olgae Balushkin & Moganova, 2017
• Melanostigma thalassium Orlovskaya & Balushkin 2019

References

1. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Gymnelinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Melanostigma". FishBase. June 2022 version.
3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Melanostigma". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 October 2022.