{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Austrolycus depressiceps.jpg | image_caption = ''Austrolycus depressiceps'' | image2 = Austrolycus latiicinctus.jpg | image2_caption = ''Austrolycus laticinctus'' | taxon = Austrolycus | authority = Regan, 1913<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family|family=Lycodinae|access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> | type_species = Austrolycus depressiceps | type_species_authority = Regan, 1913<ref name = CofF/> }} '''''Austrolycus''''' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The two species in this genus are found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the western South Atlantic Ocean off southern South America and the Falkland Islands.
==Taxonomy== ''Austrolycus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus by the English zoologist Charles Tate Regan in 1913 when he described ''Austrolycus depressiceps'', giving the type locality as the Magellan Strait. Later, ''Lycodes laticinctus'', which had been described by Carlos Berg in 1895 from mouth of the Rio Santa Cruz in Argentina, was placed within ''Austrolycus''.<ref name = CofF/><ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Austrolycus|access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> This genus is classified within the subfamily Lycodinae, one of 4 subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts.<ref name = A&F2004>{{cite journal | author1 = Anderson , M. E. | author2 = V. V . Fedorov | name-list-style = and | year = 2004 | title = Family Zoarcidae Swainson 1839 — eelpouts | journal = California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes | volume = 34 | url = https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/zoarcidae.pdf}}</ref>
==Species== ''Austrolycus'' contains two species:<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase genus|genus=Austrolycus|month=June|year=2022}}</ref> {{Linked species list | Austrolycus depressiceps | Regan, 1913 | Austrolycus laticinctus | (C. Berg, 1895) }}
==Etymology== ''Austrolycus'' is a compound of ''austro'' meaning "south" and ''lykos'', meaning "wolf"in Greek. the root of the type genus of the Lycodinae, ''Lyciodes''.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes14/ | title = Order Perciformes Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Family: Zoarcidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 6 May 2022 | access-date = 16 October 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>
==Characteristics== ''Austrolycus'' eelpouts have pelvic fins and they have 6 branchiostegal rays. The gill slit does not extend down as far as the lower rays of the pectoral fins. There are between 27 and 33 vertebrae before the caudal fin. They do not have a pyloric caecum. There are 6 or 7 pores below the eye and a single one behind the eye above the gill slit. The lack of a whitish strip on snout and head distinguishes these species from ''Phucocoetes latitans''. In ''A. depressiceps'' the pelvic fins do not extend as far as, or just reach a vertical line through the base of the pectoral fin base and there are between 72 and 79 caudal vertrebrae. In ''A. laticinctus'' the pelvic fins clearly extend beyond a vertical line through the base of the pectoral fin and there are 80-89 caudal vertebrae.<ref name = A&G1991>{{cite journal | author1 = M. Eric Anderson | author2 = Atila E. Gosztonyi | name-list-style = and | year = 1991 | title = Studies on the Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes) of the Southern Hemisphere IV. New records and a new species from the Magellan Province of South America | journal = Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology | volume = 55 | pages = 1–16 | url = http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:14999?site_name=GlobalView&exact=sm_title%3A%22Studies+on+the+Zoarcidae+%28Teleostei%3A+Perciformes%29+of+the+Southern+Hemisphere+IV.+New+records+and+a+new+species+from+the+Magellan+Province+of+South+America%22&collection=vital%3A91}}</ref> The maximum published total lengths of theses eelpouts are {{cvt|57|cm}} in ''A. depressiceps'' and {{cvt|82.4|cm}} in ''A. laticinctus''.<ref name = Fishbase/>
==Distribution and habitat== ''Austrolycus'' eelpouts are found around southern South America. '' depressiceps'' is found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean from Chiloé Island south to Tierra del Fuego and it also occurs in the South Atlantic at the Falkland Islands,<ref name = Fishbase2>{{FishBase|Austrolycus|depressifrons|month=June|year=2022}}</ref> while ''A. laticinctus'' is found in the southwestern Atlantic in Argentina from Puerto Deseado south to Tierra del Fuego.<ref name = Fishbase3>{{FishBase|Austrolycus|laticinctus|month=June|year=2022}}</ref> These demersal fishes are found in rocky areas in estuaries and in well vegetated areas of the intertidal zone.<ref name = Fishbase/><ref name = Fishbase3/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2914324}}
Category:Lycodinae Category:Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan