''Vespicula'' 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 ...

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

ous

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 ...

es,

waspfish Tetraroginae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as waspfishes or sailback scorpionfishes, belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the We ...

es belonging to the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Tetraroginae Tetraroginae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as waspfishes or sailback scorpionfishes, belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the ...

, which is

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...

as part of the family

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family (biology), family of mostly ocean, marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp ...

, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

and the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Although FishBase recognises this genus as valid, other authorities, such as 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 ...

'' regard it as a synonym of '' Trichosomus''.

Taxonomy and etymology

''Vespicula'' was first described as a genus in 1910 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Robert Earl Richardson as a monotypic genus containing only ''Prosopodasys gogorzae'', which they also designated the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. ''P. gogorzae'' had been described by Jordan and

Alvin Seale Alvin Seale (July 8, 1871 – July 28, 1958) was a naturalist known for his aquarium design and as an ichthyologist. Early life Alvin Seale was born on July 8, 1871, in Fairmount, Indiana, to a family of Quakers. In 1892, he attended Stanford Un ...

in 1905 from the

Negros Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...

in the Philippines. This genus is included in the subfamily Tetraroginae within the Scorpaenidae in the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' however other authorities place that subfamily within the stonefish family

Synanceiidae Synanceiinae is a subfamily of Venom, venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classification of life, classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific ocean ...

, while other authorities classify this subfamily as a family in its own right. In 2001 Sergey Anatolyevich Mandrytsa proposed that ''Prosopodasys'' was a synonym of ''Vespicula''. Various workers had then included the species ''Apistus bottae'', ''Apistus dracaena'', ''Prosopodasys cypho'', ''Apistes depressifrons'' , ''Apistus trachinoides'' and ''Apistus zollingeri'' in the genus ''Vespicula''. More recently ''A. depressifrons'' was placed in the monotypic genus ''

Neovespicula The leaf goblinfish (''Neovespicula depressifrons'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a waspfish belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. This ...

'', ''A. dracaena'' in '' Pseudovespicula'', and ''A. trachinoides'' into '' Trichosomus'' with ''A. bottae'' and ''A. gogorzae'' being regarded as

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

s of ''Trichosomus trachinoides''. As the type species of ''Vespicula'' is regarded as a junior synonym of ''T. trachinoides'', it follows that ''Vespicula'' is a

of ''Trichosomus''. This left ''P. cypho'' and ''A. zollingeri'' in ''Vespicula'' but these two species share a number of characteristics with ''P. dracaena'' so they were placed in an expanded ''Pseudovespicula''. The genus name ''Vespicula'' is a diminutive of ''Vespa'', meaning wasp, i.e. a waspfish.

Species

''Vespicula'' contains the following 3 valid species according to

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.

: * '' Vespicula cypho'' ( Fowler, 1938) (Hunchback waspfish) * '' Vespicula trachinoides'' ( G. Cuvier, 1829) (Mangrove waspfish) * '' Vespicula zollingeri'' ( Bleeker, 1848)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2348700 Tetraroginae Marine fish genera Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Robert Earl Richardson