''Gymnelus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small fish in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Zoarcidae The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family (biology), family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the 300 species are ocean, marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts a ...

found in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

, and adjacent parts of the North Pacific and North Atlantic. They are highly variable in color, which has resulted in the description of several

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

now considered

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Species

There are currently eleven recognized species in this genus: * '' Gymnelus andersoni'' Chernova, 1998 * '' Gymnelus diporus'' Chernova, 2000 * '' Gymnelus gracilis'' Chernova, 2000 * '' Gymnelus hemifasciatus'' Andriashev, 1937 (Halfbarred pout) * '' Gymnelus obscurus'' Chernova, 2000 * '' Gymnelus pauciporus'' Anderson, 1982 * '' Gymnelus popovi'' ( Taranetz & Andriashev, 1935) (Aleutian pout) – often in monotypic genus ''Commandorella'' * '' Gymnelus retrodorsalis'' Le Danois, 1913 (Aurora unernak) * '' Gymnelus soldatovi'' Chernova, 2000 * '' Gymnelus taeniatus'' Chernova, 1999 * '' Gymnelus viridis'' J. C. Fabricius, 1780 (Fish doctor) Many of the above species described in this genus are regarded as

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

by some authorities (''G. hemifasciatus'' with synonyms ''G. diporus'', ''G. knipowitschi'' and ''G. soldatovi''; ''G. retrodorsalis'' with synonyms ''G. andersoni'', ''G. esipovi'' and ''G. taeniatus''; and ''G. viridis'' with synonyms ''G. barsukovi'', ''G. bilabrus'', ''G. gracilis'', ''G. obscurus'' and ''G. platycephalus'').

References

Gymnelinae {{Perciformes-stub