VARIICHTHYS, A REPLACEMENT NAME FOR THE TERAPONTID FISH GENUS VARIA AND FIRST RECORD OF V. LACUSTRIS FROM AUSTRALIA

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 1 decade ago

Vari (1978) revised the family Terapontidae (spelled Theraponidae or Teraponidae by some authors). These perch-like fishes inhabit the lndo-West Pacific region with 33 of 45 known species being confined to fresh waters of Australia and New Guinea Vari provisionally assigned Therapon jamoerensis Mees (1971) from southern New Guinea to the genus "Terapon". He stated that it belonged to a new genus, but failed to describe it because of its uncertain relationships. Although he did not examine specimens of Therapon lacustris Mees and Kailola (1977), Vari mentioned in the addendum of his 1978 work that it was possibly the sister species of T. jamoerensis.

Allen (1991) eventually placed the two species in a new genus Varia. However, Carl J. Ferraris, Jr. of the Department of Ichthyology at the American Museum of Natural History (New York) recently informed theauthor that this generic name is preoccupied. Walker (1867) described Varia as a new genus of moths (Lepidoptera). Therefore, its use for terapontid fishes is invalid. The replacement name Variichthys is proposed herein.

A brief diagnosis of this genus is presented below and the flrst record of its presence in Australia is noted.