Resolving the status of the genera Gastrophysus and Geneion in the family Tetraodontidae (Teleostei: Tetraodontiformes)
Creators: name: Jelks, Howard L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy

description: Geneion
Duméril (1855) completed a manuscript started by Bibron but unpublished due to his demise. Kottelat (2001) reviewed this manuscript to clarify taxonomic nomenclature of tetraodontiform fishes. Thirteen generic names were made available by diagnostic descriptions, including Amblyrhynchote and Geneion Duméril (1855, page 280).
Amblyrhynchote had four species assigned by Bibron: Tetraodon alboguttatus Bibron in Duméril 1855 (nomen nudum), T. honckenii Bloch 1785, T. oblongus Bloch 1786, and T. richei Fréminville 1813. Jordan (1919) designated T. honckeni Bloch as the orthotype for Amblyrhynchotus Bibron in Duméril 1855 and noted the apparent distinction from Lagocephalus Swainson 1839. The other two valid taxa are now known as Takifugu oblongus (Bloch 1786) and Contusus richei (Fréminville 1813). Kottelat (2001) substantiated the correct spelling as Amblyrhychote Bibron in Duméril 1855 in place of Amblyrhychotes Troschel 1856 and Amblyrhychotus Hollard 1857.
Geneion was described with a single species Tetraodon (Geneion) maculatum Bibron in Duméril 1855. Jordan (1919) listed the orthotype as G. maculatus Bibron, but considered Geneion a synonym of Lagocephalus Swainson 1839.
Fraser-Brunner (1943) revised the suborder Tetraodontoidea into seven families. In the Lagocephalidae he recognized four genera Amblyrhynchotes Troschel 1856, Lagocephalus Swainson 1839, Sphaeroides Anonymous 1798, and Torqui- gener Whitley 1930, and provided diagnostic keys. Geneion Bibron in Duméril 1855 and Gastrophysus Müller 1843 were both listed in the same publication as synonyms of Lagocephalus.
Both Jordan (1919) and Fraser-Brunner (1943) preceded the revision by Le Danois (1959) who retained both Amblyrhynchotus (misspelled) and Geneion. Shipp (1974) interpreted the synonymization of Geneion maculatum with G. honckenii by Le Danois (1959, page 189) as an endorsement of using Geneion in place of Amblyrhychotus. However, Le Danois also treated Amblyrhychotus as a valid genus with A. richei (Fréminville 1813) as the sole species in an earlier section of the same paper (page 171 versus 185). Shipp (1974) stated “In any case, Geneion is not a junior synonym of Lagocephalus as suggested by Jordan (1919), Fraser-Bruner (1943), and Norman (1966).” Hardy (1983) examined the specimen listed by Le Danois (1961) as the holotype of Geneion maculatum and identified it as Amblyrhynchotes honckenii. Hardy (1983) listed Geneion multistriatum Le Danois 1959 as a synonym of Torquigener whitleyi (Paradice in Paradice & Whitley 1927) and Geneion pantherinum Le Danois 1959 as a synonym of Torquigener vicinus Whitley 1930.
By rule of precedence, Amblyrhychote Bibron in Duméril 1855 is the valid genus of the single species A. honckenii (Bloch 1785). Geneion is relegated as a junior synonym of Amblyrhynchote.
description: Published as part of Jelks, Howard L., 2018, Resolving the status of the genera Gastrophysus and Geneion in the family Tetraodontidae (Teleostei: Tetraodontiformes), pp. 288-292 in Zootaxa 4532 (2) on pages 289-290, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4532.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/3714032