Aquatic scientific names in the news …

Two new species of tropical reef fishes have been recently described in the journal, Zootaxa.The first is a new species of Dottyback from Indonesia, Pseudochromis stellatus

The second species is an anthiadine serranid, or ‘Anthias‘ from the Ogasawara and Mariana Islands.

Pseudanthias tequila, Image: N. Tsuji.

Etymology

Pseudochromis stellatus Gill, Allen, & Erdmann, 2017, the Greenhead Dottyback.

Pseudochromis – Greek, Pseudo-, pseudes (ψευδης), false; -chromis (χρομις), genus Chromis, referring back to the Greek, Chromis, a sea-fish (classical).

stellatus – Latin, set with stars, starry. “The specific epithet is from the Latin, meaning starry or starred, and alludes to the yellow spots on the upper part of the body. The name was selected by high school students as part of a science activity in the Macleay Museum.” *

* Gill, Allen, & Erdmann, 2017 Pseudochromis stellatus, a new species of dottyback from Indonesia (Teleostei: Pseudochromidae)

Pseudanthias – Greek, Pseud-, pseudes (ψευδης), false; -anthias (ανθιας), a catch-all common name for fishes of the Anthiinae, referring back to the Greek, Anthias , a sea-fish (classical).

tequila – Spanish, a distilled alcoholic drink, named for the town in Mexico where it was originally made. “The specific epithet refers to the alcoholic beverage tequila sunrise, alluding to the vibrant life colours of the males of the species. *

* Gill, Tea, & Senou, 2017 Pseudanthias tequila, a new species of anthiadine serranid from the Ogasawara and Mariana Islands