Richardsonichthys

Richardsonichthys, is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae, the waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. The only species in the genus is the whiteface waspfish (Richardsonichthys leucogaster), also known as the whitebelly roguefish, rouge fish, Torres Strait soldier fish or '''Richardson's waspfish'. This species is native to reefs of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

==Taxonomy== Richardsonichthys was first described as a genus in 1958 by the South African ichthyologist J. L. B. Smith as a monotypic genus, the only species being Apistes leucogaster. A. leucogaster had been described in 1848 by the Scottish naval surgeon, Arctic explorer and naturalist John Richardson with its type locality given as the "Sea of China". This taxon is included in the subfamily Tetraroginae within the Scorpaenidae in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World however other authorities place that subfamily within the stonefish family Synanceiidae, while other authorities classify this subfamily as a family in its own right. Smith named the new genus, Richardsonichthys, in honour of Richardson and appended his name with ichthys, which is Greek for "fish". The specific name, leucogaster, means "white-bellied", an allusion to the white ventral surface of this species.