''Opsanus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of toadfishes found in the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

. It currently has six recognised species, with the latest one described in 2005.

Species

The recognized

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

in this

are: * '' Opsanus beta'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1880) (Gulf toadfish) * '' Opsanus brasiliensis'' Rotundo,

Spinelli Spinelli is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Altiero Spinelli (1907–1986), Italian advocate for European federalism and founding father of the European Union * Anita Spinelli (1908-2010), Swiss artist and painter ...

& Zavala-Camin, 2005 (considered by some sources to be a junior synonym of O. tau) * '' Opsanus dichrostomus''

Collette Collette is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * (born 1995), French dancer and artist *Bruce Baden Collette (born 1934), American ichthyologist * Jeff Collette, professional wrestler who was managed by ...

, 2001 (bicolor toadfish) * '' Opsanus pardus'' (Goode & T. H. Bean, 1880) (leopard toadfish) * '' Opsanus phobetron'' Walters & C. R. Robins, 1961 (scarecrow toadfish) * '' Opsanus tau'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...

, 1766) (oyster toadfish)

References

Batrachoididae Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque {{Batrachoidiformes-stub