Species Bathygobius krefftii (Steindachner, 1866)

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CAAB: 37428069

Species Bathygobius krefftii (Steindachner, 1866)

Krefft's Frillgoby, Frayedfin Goby, Freyed-fin Goby, Krefft's Goby, Mottled Goby

Gobius krefftii Steindachner, F. 1866. Über die Fische von Port Jackson in Australien. Anzeiger der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Wien 3(7): 50-55 [53] [originally as G. kreftii, but often incorrectly regarded as a lapsus calami; described in more detail in Steindachner, F. 1866. Zur Fischfauna von Port Jackson in Australien. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften. Wein 53(1): 424–480 pls 1–7 [451]].
Type data:
Syntype(s) NHMW 76985, Port Jackson, NSW.
Gobius flavidus Macleay, W.J. 1881. Descriptive catalogue of the fishes of Australia. Part 2. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 5(4): 510-629 pls 13-14 [602].
Type data:
Syntype(s) MMUS F1156, Port Jackson, Sydney, NSW
Comment: syntypes missing, see (Stanbury, P.J., 1969).
Type locality references:
Stanbury, P.J. 1969. Type specimens in the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney. I. Fishes. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 93(2): 203-210.
Gobius watkinsoni De Vis, C.W. 1884. New fishes in the Queensland Museum. No. 4. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 9(3): 685-698 [685].
Type data:
Holotype QM I.9933, Moreton Bay, QLD.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

Generic Combinations

Mapo krefftii (Steindachner, 1866). —
McCulloch, A.R. & Ogilby, J.D. 1919. Some Australian fishes of the family Gobiidae. Records of the Australian Museum 12(10): 193-291 figs 31-37 [234] (changed combination and removed from synonymy, with krefftii spelling attributed to Steindachner 1866)
Bathygobius krefftii (Steindachner, 1866). —
McCulloch, A.R. 1929. A check-list of the fishes recorded from Australia. Part III. Records of the Australian Museum 5: 329–436 [375]
Bathygobius watkinsoni (De Vis, 1884). —
Whitley, G.P. 1964. A survey of Australian Ichthyology. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 89(1): 11-127 [55]

Miscellaneous Literature Names

Gobius criniger Valenciennes, 1836 [misidentification]. —
Steindachner, F. 1867. Ichthyologische Notizen (6) 2. Zur Fischfauna von Port Jackson. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse 56(1): 320-335 fig. 1 [326] (regarded Gobius kreftii as a junior synonym)

Introduction

Note that the species has typically been called Bathygobius krefftii on the assumption that it was named after Gerard Krefft. However, Steindachner (1866, 1867) consistently used the spelling of kreftii and did not indicate for whom he named the fish. Also newspaper articles of the period often spelled Gerard Krefft's name as Kreft (see for example Launceston Examiner, 3 May 1866). Under ICZN rules, a spelling error must be able to be determined from information within the article. Because Steindachner did not indicate the origin of the name, the spelling krefftii is an incorrect spelling. However, we have been unable to find any usage of kreftii since Steindachner (1867) other than Eschmeyer (1998), and it is clear that the name Bathygobius krefftii is in prevailing usage and meets 33.3.1 of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (1999), which states "when an incorrect subsequent spelling is in prevailing usage and is attributed to the publication of the original spelling, the subsequent spelling and attribution are to be preserved and the spelling is deemed to be a correct original spelling". Consequently we retain the name krefftii.