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
ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...
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 ...
Odacidae
The Odacidae are a small Family (biology), family of ray-finned fishes commonly known as cales and weed whitings, formerly classified within the Order (biology), order Perciformes. They are related to the much larger families of the wrasses and p ...
which are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Southern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n coastal waters. These fish are characterized by their extremely elongate bodies and live primarily in seagrass beds.
Gaimard
Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist.
Biography
Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...
Fishbase
FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.
places all six of these species in the genus ''Siphonognathus'', the
Catalog of Fishes
Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...
places ''S. attentuatus'', ''S. beddomei'', ''S. radiatus'' and ''S. tanyourus'' in the separate genus ''Sheardichthys'' and places ''S. caninis'' on the
monospecific
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
genus ''Parodax'', leaving ''Siphonognathus'' as a monospecific genus containing only the tubemouth (''S. argyrophanes'').