Assiculus

Assiculus is a genus of fish in the "dottyback" family Pseudochromidae. It is monotypic, containing only Assiculus punctatus.[2] It is a small species of dottyback which is covered in small, bright blue spots. The males are bluish in colour while the females are greenish-yellow and are smaller than the males.[3] A. punctatus is found in coastal areas in the vicinity of reefs and weedy areas; normally in rather turbid waters as deep as 30 metres (98 ft). This secretive species frequents areas where there are highly eroded limestone reefs and rocks.[4]

Assiculus
Assiculus punctatus from John Lort Stokes' 1846 Discoveries in Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Family:	Pseudochromidae
Subfamily:	Pseudochrominae
Genus:	Assiculus Richardson, 1846
Species:	A. punctatus
Binomial name
Assiculus punctatus Richardson, 1846[1]

The genus and species were first published by Sir John Richardson in an appendix to Volume 1 of John Lort Stokes' 1846 Discoveries in Australia.[5] The specific name punctatus references the small blue spots on the dorsal part of the body and fins.[6]

References

1. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Assicukus punctatus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2007). Species of Assiculus in FishBase. Jan 2007 version.
3. Dianne J. Bray. "Assiculus punctatus". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 20 Oct 2018.
4. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2018). "Assiculus punctatus" in FishBase. June 2018 version.
5. Richardson, John (1846). "Appendix: Descriptions of Six Fish". In Stokes, John Lort (ed.). Discoveries in Australia, Volume 1. London: T. & W. Boone.
6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (30 April 2018). "Subseries OVALENTARIA (Incertae sedis): Family PSEUDOCHROMIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 20 October 2018.