''Springerichthys'' is a genus of

triplefin Threefin or triplefin blennies are blenny, blenniiforms, small Percomorpha, percomorph marine fish of the family Tripterygiidae. Found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the ...

s 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 ...

Tripterygiidae. The two species in this genus are found in the western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy and characteristics

The genus is closely related to the genera '' Ceratobregma'' and ''

Enneapterygius ''Enneapterygius'' is a genus of fish in the family Tripterygiidae found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Species There are currently 63 recognized species in this genus: * '' Enneapterygius abeli'' ( Klausewitz, 1960) (Yellow triplefin) * '' ...

''. The species in this genus are characterised by the possession of a discontinuous

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

which comprises a series of 17-31 tubular pored scales at its anterior end and 13-21 notched scales in a series towards its posterior end. The belly is half covered in scales while the head is lacking in scales but it does have tiny spines in the occipital area. The first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

has three spines, the second dorsal fin has 11-19 spines while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has two fused spines and the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

has a single spine and two rays.

Species

There are two species currently recognised in ''Springerichthys'': * Japanese blacktail triplefin, '' Springerichthys bapturus'' (

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Snyder, 1902) * Kulbicki's triplefin, '' Springerichthys kulbickii'' (Fricke & Randall, 1994)

Etymology

The name of the genus, ''Springerichthys'' honours the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Victor G. Springer Victor Gruschka Springer (June 2, 1928 – September 18, 2022) was an American biologist who was a Senior Scientist emeritus, Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. He was a specialist in the a ...

of the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

in recognition of his contribution to the

systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

of the

Blenniiformes Blenniiformes is an order of percomorph fish in the clade Ovalentaria, of which it is the most diverse group. This order contains several well-known fish groups such as blennies and damselfish. The term is derived from the Latin word '' blenn ...

References

Tripterygiidae {{blenniiformes-stub