Gymnapogon is a genus of fish in the family Apogonidae. They are native to the Indo-West Pacific and central Pacific Oceans, where they occur in reefs and nearby habitat types. These species are usually no more than 5 centimeters long and have semitransparent bodies without scales. The genus name is a compound noun formed by combining the Greek gymnos meaning "naked", referring to the lack of scales in the type species, Gymnapogon japonicus, and Apogon, the type genus of the Apogonidae. One species, the B-spot cardinalfish (Gymnapogon urospilotus), is notable for its larvae being rather large, conspicuous and fast-swimming.
Species There are currently 9 recognized species in this genus:Mabuchi, K., Fraser, T.H., Song, H., Azuma, Y. & Nishida, M. (2014): Revision of the systematics of the cardinalfishes (Percomorpha: Apogonidae) based on molecular analyses and comparative reevaluation of morphological characters. Zootaxa, 3846 (2): 151–203. Gymnapogon africanus J. L. B. Smith, 1954 (Crystal cardinalfish) Gymnapogon annona (Whitley, 1936) (Naked cardinalfish) Gymnapogon foraminosus (S. Tanaka (I), 1915) Gymnapogon janus T. H. Fraser, 2016 Fraser, T.H. (2016): A new species of cardinalfish (Gymnapogon, Gymnapogonini, Apogonidae, Percomorpha) from the Philippines. Zootaxa, 4107 (3): 431-438. Gymnapogon japonicus Regan, 1905 Gymnapogon melanogaster Gon & Golani, 2002 Gymnapogon philippinus (Herre, 1939) (Philippines cardinalfish) Gymnapogon urospilotus Lachner, 1953 (B-spot cardinalfish) Gymnapogon vanderbilti (Fowler, 1938) (Vanderbilt's cardinalfish)
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