Forsterygion maryannae (Hardy, 1987)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The oblique-swimming triplefin (Forsterygion maryannae) is a triplefin, found along the north east coast of the North Island of New Zealand from depths of about 5 m to 50 m. They are the only triplefins not to spend most of their time resting on the bottom, instead swimming in loose schools of up to hundreds of individuals above rocky reefs. When swimming their head is higher than the tail, giving rise to their common name.
Its length is between 5 and 8 cm. The body is orange-brown with a red tinged head, a black eye, and a wide black lengthwise stripe on each flank. Oblique-swimming triplefins are plankton feeders taking their tiny copepod and euphausid crustacean food in mid-water.
Its specific name honours the underwater photographer Maryann W. Williams.
Wikipedia contributors, Oblique-swimming triplefin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:33:13.090055+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Forsterygion maryannae (Hardy, 1987)
- Name authority
- (Hardy, 1987)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Tripterygiidae
- Genus
- Forsterygion
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderBlenniiformes
- familyTripterygiidae Whitley, 1931
- subfamilyTripterygiinae Whitley, 1931
- genusForsterygion Whitley & Phillipps, 1939
- speciesForsterygion maryannae (Hardy, 1987)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Forsterygion. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Forsterygion varium (Forster, 1801) | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Forsterygion nigripenne (Valenciennes, 1836) | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Forsterygion capito (Jenyns, 1842) | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Forsterygion gymnotum Scott, 1977 | TripterygiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Obliquichthys maryannae Hardy, 1987 Hardy, 1987 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=712814 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6JJ9C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.