COMMENTS
v. 5.1 – 30 March 2024 view/download PDF
Family EPHIPPIDAE Spadefishes and Batfishes
8 genera · 15 species
Chaetodipterus Lacepède 1802 di-, two; pterus, fin, like and/or related to Chaetodon (which at that time included both butterflyfishes and angelfishes), but with a dorsal fin divided into separate spiny and soft portions
Chaetodipterus faber (Broussonet 1782) name based on Faber marinus fere quadratus from Sloane’s 1725 Voyage to Jamaica, etymology not explained nor evident; faber can mean blacksmith, coppersmith, carpenter, artisan, workmanlike and skillful, perhaps referring in some way to the fish’s shape, described by Sloane as “almost square with the Fins”
Chaetodipterus lippei Steindachner 1895 in honor of Dr. Lippe (no other information available), who collected a specimen of this fish in Freetown, Sierra Leone, during a voyage of the SM Helgoland
Chaetodipterus zonatus (Girard 1858) banded, referring to six black bars on head and side (faded in large adults)
Ephippus Cuvier 1816 horseman or cavalier (calvaryman), allusion not explained nor evident
Ephippus goreensis Cuvier 1831 –ensis, eastern Atlantic off Gorée, Senegal, type locality
Ephippus orbis (Bloch 1787) disc, referring to disc-shaped body
Parapsettus Steindachner 1875 para-, near, proposed as a subgenus of Psettus (=Monodactylus, Eupercaria: Monodactylidae), reflecting its classification at the time
Parapsettus panamensis (Steindachner 1875) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Pacific coast of Panama, type locality
Platax Cuvier 1816 derived from platys, flat, referring to strongly compressed body of P. teira; according to Cuvier (1831), he borrowed Platax from a name of the Nile Perch, Lates niloticus, used by Greco-Egyptian author Athenaeus (late 2nd to early 3rd centuries AD) in the Deipnosophistae (an important source of classical Greek recipes sometimes called the oldest surviving cookbook), thinking it was more appropriate for a batfish
Platax batavianus Cuvier 1831 –anus, belonging to Batavia (now Jakarta), Indonesia, type locality (but widely occurs in Indo-West Pacific)
Platax boersii Bleeker 1853 in honor of Major W. J. A. W. Boers (1814-?), Dutch East Indian Army, who supplied Bleeker with fishes, including type of this one, from the Dutch East Indies
Platax orbicularis (Forsskål 1775) circular or disc-shaped, referring to somewhat round body shape
Platax pinnatus (Linnaeus 1758) finned, referring to very long dorsal and anal fins (especially juveniles)
Platax teira (Forsskål 1775) latinization of Teyra, Arabic name for small (juvenile?) specimens along the Red Sea of Yemen
Proteracanthus Günther 1859 proteros, earlier; acanthus, thorn or spine, referring to recumbent spine before dorsal fin
Proteracanthus sarissophorus (Cantor 1849) sarissa, long spear or pike; phorus, bearer, presumably referring to “excessively long” fourth dorsal-fin spine (not counting recumbent spine)
Rhinoprenes Munro 1964 rhinos, snout; prenes, hanging forward, referring to swollen, bluntly rounded snout “strongly projecting above a small inferior mouth”
Rhinoprenes pentanemus Munro 1964 penta-, five; nemus, thread, referring to long dorsal-, pectoral- and ventral-fin filaments that reach base of tail or beyond
Tripterodon Playfair 1867 tri-, three; pterus, fin; odon, tooth, presumably referring to three anal-fin spines and several rows of large, moveable tricuspid teeth in both jaws
Tripterodon orbis Playfair 1867 circle, presumably referring to round-shaped body
Zabidius Whitley 1930 etymology not explained nor evident
Zabidius novemaculeatus (McCulloch 1916) novem, nine; aculeatus, spined, referring to nine dorsal-fin spines
Family LEIOGNATHIDAE Ponyfishes or Slipmouths
10 genera · 52 species
Subfamily LEIOGNATHINAE
Aurigequula Fowler 1918 auriga, coachman, referring to long, whip-like dorsal- and anal-fin spines, like a coachman’s whip; Equula, general suffix for ponyfishes, diminutive of equus, horse, i.e., colt, foal or mare (and possible source of the common name “ponyfish”), introduced by Forsskål (1775), who believed Leiognathus equula was a small mackerel (Scomber, original genus), called cavalla (mare) in Spain and Portugal
Aurigequula fasciata (Lacepède 1803) banded, referring to narrow, dusky or yellowish bars on upper sides (most broken into spots ventrally)
Aurigequula longispinis (Valenciennes 1835) longus, long; spinis, from spina, thorn, referring to long, whip-like dorsal- and anal-fin spines [often but incorrectly treated as an adjective, longispina]
Leiognathus Lacepède 1802 leios, smooth; gnathus, jaw, referring to jaws without “proper” (translation) teeth (they are small and weak)
Leiognathus bindoides (Bleeker 1851) –oides, having the form of: allusion not explained, perhaps referring to similarity to Photopectoralis bindus
Leiognathus edwardsi Evermann & Seale 1907 in honor of Brig. Gen. Clarence R. Edwards (1859-1931), U.S. Army, Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, U.S. War Department; he acquired a collection of Filipino fishes, including type of this one, during the Philippine-American War (1899-1902)
Leiognathus equula (Forsskål 1775) diminutive of equus, horse, i.e., colt, foal or mare (and possible source of the common name “ponyfish”); according to Cuvier (1815), Forsskål applied this diminutive believing this fish was a small mackerel (Scomber, original genus), called cavalla (mare) in Spain and Portugal
Leiognathus mazavasaoka (Baldwin & Sparks 2011) from the Malagasy words mazava, lighted or illuminated, and saoka, chin, referring to translucent gular (chin) patch (selection of Malagasy alludes to its occurrence throughout coastal Madagascar)
Leiognathus parviceps (Valenciennes 1835) parvus, small; ceps, head, referring to smaller head compared to congeners known at the time
Leiognathus robustus Sparks & Dunlap 2004 stout or full-bodied, referring to its robust nature and large size compared to all congeners except L. equula, its sister taxon, and L. fasciatus (now Aurigequula fasciata)
Leiognathus ruconius (Hamilton 1822) from Ruconi chanda, its local name along the Ganges River estuaries of India
Leiognathus striatus James & Badrudeen 1991 striped, referring to as many as 11 distinct yellowish bands (gray in alcohol) on upper sides of body
Subfamily GAZZINAE
Deveximentum Fowler 1904 devexum, hanging or declining down; mentum, chin, referring to very oblique chin of D. insidiator
Deveximentum hanedai (Mochizuki & Hayashi 1989) in honor of Yata Haneda (1907-1995), who studied luminescent organisms, including ponyfishes, and established the Haneda Luminous Pisces Collection at the Yokosuka City Museum (Japan)
Deveximentum indicium (Monkolprasit 1973) marked, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to 15-22 irregular vertical dark markings consisting of dots and dashes dorsolaterally on body
Deveximentum insidiator (Bloch 1787) ambusher or lurker, presumably referring to its highly protrusible mouth, which extends to form an upwardly pointed tube to suck in invertebrate organisms (perhaps Bloch believed it snatched and sucked in bigger prey)
Deveximentum interruptum (Valenciennes 1835) interrupted, referring to how lateral line ends before caudal peduncle
Deveximentum mekranense Alavi-Yeganeh, Khajavi & Kimura 2021 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mekran (also spelled Mokran, Makran and Mecran), old Persian name for the Gulf of Oman, only known area of occurrence [originally spelled mekranensis; emended to agree with neuter gender of Deveximentum]
Deveximentum megalolepis (Mochizuki & Hayashi 1989) megalo-, large; lepis, scale, referring to large cheek and body scales compared to congeners then placed in Secutor (=Leiognathus)
Equulites Fowler 1904 –ites, like: proposed as a subgenus of Leiognathus, previously known as Equula, tautonymous with Leiognathus equula (see above)
Equulites aethopos Suzuki & Kimura 2017 aethes, unusual or strange; opos, face, referring to shape of head (although shape is not described), perhaps referring to straight anterodorsal profile of E. elongatus species group
Equulites berbis (Valenciennes 1835) from Berbîs, one of two Arabic names for this species along the Red Sea (the other is Melliet)
Equulites elongatus (Günther 1874) elongate, height of body nearly ⅕ of SL
Equulites laterofenestra (Sparks & Chakrabarty 2007) lateralis, of the side; fenestra, window, referring to expansive cornucopia-shaped translucent lateral flank patch in males
Equulites leuciscus (Günther 1860) leukiskos, Greek word for chub, probably derived from leukos, white, allusion not explained, possibly referring to silvery coloration
Equulites macrolepis Suzuki, Osmany & Kimura 2023 macro-, long or large; lepis, scale, referring to larger scales (and therefore fewer scale rows) compared with congeners
Equulites oblongus (Valenciennes 1835) referring to oblong body shape
Equulites popei (Whitley 1932) in honor of Thomas E. B. Pope, scientific assistant in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries; replacement name for Leiognathus elongatus, co-described by Pope in 1906, preoccupied in Leiognathus by Equula elongata Günther 1874
Equulites rivulatus (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) rivulated, i.e., marked by irregular streaks, referring to “numerous blackish flexuous stripes” (translation) on back
Equulites ryukyuensis Kimura & Suzuki 2023 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ryukyu Kingdom, historical name for Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, type locality
Eubleekeria Fowler 1904 eu-, good or well; –ia, belonging to: Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878), the “most voluminous of writers in Ichthyology, and whose work on the fishes of Sumatra is the most complete ever given”
Eubleekeria jonesi (James 1971) in honor of biologist Santhappan Jones (1910-1997), Director, Central Marine Fisheries Institute (Kochi, India), “in grateful acknowledgement of his interest” in James’ work
Eubleekeria kupanensis (Kimura & Peristiwady 2005) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kupang, Timor, Indonesia, type locality
Eubleekeria rapsoni (Munro 1964) in honor of Alan Morris Rapson (1912-2001), Chief of the Division of Fisheries, Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries, Papua New Guinea, who collected and supplied Munro with many fishes for identification, including presumably this one
Eubleekeria splendens (Cuvier 1829) bright or shining, based on a description in Russell (1803), who described sides as “shining white, changing in different lights like mother of pearl”
Gazza Rüppell 1835 local name for G. equulaeformis (=minuta) in Eritrea, type locality
Gazza achlamys Jordan & Starks 1917 a-, without; chlamys, cloak, referring to scaleless back
Gazza dentex (Valenciennes 1835) with large teeth, referring to its long and pointed teeth
Gazza minuta (Bloch 1795) small, presumably referring to “kleine Makrele” and “little Mackrel,” its common names in German and English, respectively, as reported by Bloch
Gazza rhombea Kimura, Yamashita & Iwatsuki 2000 diamond shaped, referring to deep-bodied profile
Gazza squamiventralis Yamashita & Kimura 2001 squamis, scale; ventralis, ventral, referring to ventrolateral surface of body scaled anterior to a line from pectoral fin base to pelvic fin origin
Karalla Chakrabarty & Sparks 2008 local name for ponyfishes in Sri Lanka and surrounding region, where members of this genus commonly occur
Karalla daura (Cuvier 1829) etymology not explained nor evident, possibly a local name at Vizagapatam on the Coromandel Coast of India (type locality)
Karalla dussumieri (Valenciennes 1835) in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who provided type from the Coromandel coast of India
Nuchequula Whitley 1932 nuch-, nuchal, referring to saddle-shaped nuchal marking on N. nuchalis (present on all members of genus); Equula, general suffix for ponyfishes, diminutive of equus, horse, i.e., colt, foal or mare (and possible source of the common name “ponyfish”), introduced by Forsskål (1775), who believed Leiognathus equula was a small mackerel (Scomber, original genus), called cavalla (mare) in Spain and Portugal
Nuchequula blochii (Valenciennes 1835) in honor of physician-naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723-1799), who possessed a specimen of this species in his natural-history cabinet; he named it “Zeus notatus” but never published a description
Nuchequula flavaxilla Kimura, Kimura & Ikejima 2008 flavus, yellow; axilla, axil, referring to prominent yellow marking behind pectoral-fin base
Nuchequula gerreoides (Bleeker 1851) –oides, having the form of: allusion nor explained but clearly referring to its similarity to members of the mojarra genus Gerres (Gerreiformes: Gerreidae)
Nuchequula glenysae Kimura, Kimura & Ikejima 2008 in honor of Glenys Jones (b. 1952), now with the Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service, who revised the ponyfishes of Australia in 1985
Nuchequula longicornis Kimura, Kimura & Ikejima 2008 longus, long; cornis, horn, referring to long second dorsal-fin spine
Nuchequula mannusella Chakrabarty & Sparks 2007 mannus, pony, referring to ponyfish, common name for family; sella, saddle, referring to saddle-shaped nuchal marking present on all members of genus
Nuchequula nuchalis (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) nuchal (of the nape), referring to saddle-shaped nuchal marking (present on all members of genus)
Photolateralis Sparks & Chakrabarty 2015 photos, light; lateralis, of the side, unique among ponyfishes in possessing a translucent mid-lateral flank stripe (absent or poorly developed in females)
Photolateralis antongil (Sparks 2006) named for Antongil Bay, northeastern Madagascar, presumed type locality (described from specimens purchased at a market supplied by fishermen who work on Antongil Bay)
Photolateralis moretoniensis (Ogilby 1912) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Moreton Bay, off Moreton Island, Queensland, Australia, type locality
Photolateralis polyfenestrus Sparks & Chakrabarty 2019 poly, many; fenestrus, window, referring to translucent midlateral flank stripe comprised of multiple independent translucent windows
Photolateralis stercorarius (Evermann & Seale 1907) relating to dung, referring to numerous vermiculate brownish lines on upper half of body, like fly-specks
Photopectoralis Sparks, Dunlap & Smith 2005 photos, light; pectoralis, pectoral region or chest, referring to pectoral-axil luminescence produced by males
Photopectoralis aureus (Abe & Haneda 1972) gold, referring to “luminous organ glittering like gold around the esophagus” (also described as a “beautiful … metallic [sic] golden glitter”)
Photopectoralis bindus (Valenciennes 1835) latinization of Bindoo from Bindoo-karah, its local name at Vizagapatam on the Coromandel Coast of India as reported by Russell (1803)
Photopectoralis hataii (Abe & Haneda 1972) in honor of the late Shinkishi Hatai (1876-1963), founder of the Palau Tropical Marine Biological Laboratory, where, through his “courtesy,” the authors studied during their 20s
Photopectoralis panayensis (Kimura & Dunlap 2003) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Panay Island, Philippines, type locality
Family SCATOPHAGIDAE Scats
2 genera · 3 species
Scatophagus Cuvier 1831 skatos, dung; phaga, to eat, referring to its “singular taste for human excrement” (translation) [note: although said to opportunistically feed on human waste dumped into the water, this behavior has not been confirmed in diet studies]
Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus 1766) Argus, mythical hundred-eyed guardian of Io, whose eyes after death where transformed into the feathers of a peacock, referring to brown to red-brown spots on body (fainter or restricted to upper body on adults)
Scatophagus tetracanthus (Lacepède 1802) tetra, four; acanthus, spine or thorn, referring to four anal-fin spines
Selenotoca Myers 1936 selene, moon; tokos, offspring, i.e., born of the moon, allusion not explained nor evident
Selenotoca multifasciata (Richardson 1846) multi-, many; fasciatus, banded, referring to dark vertical bars along upper side of body
Family ANTIGONIIDAE
1 genus · 18 species
Antigonia Lowe 1843 etymology not explained, probably anti-, against and goneus, ancestor, referring to how A. capros “forms a most distinct genus, throwing considerable light on the affinities of several other genera, which, before its discovery, had been placed very much at random”
Antigonia aurorosea Parin & Borodulina 1986 auro-, gold; rosea, rosy, referring to its golden-rosy color in life
Antigonia capros Lowe 1843 boar, but in this case referring to the genus Capros (Caproidae), presumed to be confamilial at the time
Antigonia combatia Berry & Rathjen 1959 –ia, belonging to: M/V Combat, chartered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service primarily for deepwater trawling exploration off the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States; collections made with this vessel (which burned and sank off México in December 1957), including type of this species, added “greatly” to our biological knowledge of the area
Antigonia emanuela Prokofiev, Psomadakis & Gon 2020 in honor of scientific illustrator Emanuela D’Antoni, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), for her “valuable contribution to our knowledge of the world’s aquatic biodiversity through the production of more than 30.000 drawings of species included in FAO’s national, regional and global species identification tools for fisheries purposes” [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Antigonia eos Gilbert 1905 Eos, goddess of morning-glow, presumably referring to light-red color in life
Antigonia hulleyi Parin & Borodulina 2005 in honor of Percy Alexander “Butch” Hulley (b. 1941), Iziko South African Museum, where type specimens are housed and made analysis of them possible
Antigonia indica Parin & Borodulina 1986 Indian, referring to type locality in northern Indian Ocean off peninsular (south) India
Antigonia kenyae Parin & Borodulina 2005 of Kenya, referring to type locality off coast of Kenya, western Indian Ocean
Antigonia malayana Weber 1913 –ana, belonging to: etymology not explained, Malay, presumably referring to its occurrence in the Malay Archipelago
Antigonia ovalis Parin & Borodulina 2006 oval, referring to body shape
Antigonia quiproqua Parin & Borodulina 2006 qui pro qua, Latin for “one instead of another,” referring to how almost all specimens, including holotype, were included as paratypes into the type series of A. saya
Antigonia rhomboidea McCulloch 1915 –oides, having the form of: rhomboid, presumably referring to body shape
Antigonia rubescens (Günther 1860) reddish, allusion not explained but clearly referring to light reddish-orange body color
Antigonia rubicunda Ogilby 1910 reddish, referring to rose-pink body color
Antigonia saya Parin & Borodulina 1986 named for Saya de Malha Bank, western Indian Ocean, type locality
Antigonia socotrae Parin & Borodulina 2006 of the Socotra Slope, Indian Ocean, only known area of occurrence
Antigonia undulata Parin & Borodulina 2005 wavy, referring to upper anterior profile, moderately steep but typically with notches above the eye
Antigonia xenolepis Parin & Borodulina 1986 xenos, strange or foreign (i.e., different); lepis, scale, referring to unusual scales on ventral parts of body, with thick and blunt finger-like ctenii
Family SIGANIDAE Rabbitfishes
1 genus & subgenus · 32 species
Siganus Forsskål 1775 latinization of Sidjan and/or Sigian (=rabbitfish), Arabic names for S. rivulatus along the Red Sea of Yemen (type locality)
Subgenus Siganus
Siganus argenteus (Quoy & Gaimard 1825) silvery, referring to “beautiful silver” (translation) color of cheeks and middle and lower body
Siganus canaliculatus (Park 1797) channeled or grooved; Park described fin spines as canaliculate, probably referring to anterolateral grooves along dorsal- and anal-fin spines (which Park did not know contain venom glands, common to all rabbitfishes)
Siganus corallinus (Valenciennes 1835) pertaining to coral, derived from its local name in the Seychelles, cordonnier de coral (coral shoemaker), perhaps referring to its occurrence in the coral-rich areas of lagoons (cordonnier is a local name for rabbitfishes in the former French colonies of Seychelles and Mauritius dating from the early 1800s; see S. sutor, below)
Siganus doliatus Guérin-Méneville 1829-34 barred, presumably referring to ~30 bars on body, yellow above, rosy below, variously joined below base of dorsal fin with free ends tapering away just above belly [name dates to a plate from a series of plates published over the course of several years; date range usually given as 1829-38 but almost certainly published by 1834 based on copy of plate published elsewhere in 1834]
Siganus fuscescens (Houttuyn 1782) darkish, presumably referring to brown or darker upper body (fading to silvery below)
Siganus guttatus (Bloch 1787) spotted, referring to brown-red spots on sides, “shaped like wafers” (translation)
Siganus insomnis Woodland & Anderson 2014 sleepless (insomniac), referring to its preference for feeding at night
Siganus javus (Linnaeus 1766) latinization of Java, Indonesia, from where it was first mentioned (Valentyn 1726) in the literature (occurs in Indo-West Pacific from Persian Gulf east to Vanuatu, north to southern China, south to northern Australia)
Siganus labyrinthodes (Bleeker 1853) –oides, having the form of: a labyrinth, allusion not explained but probably referring to head, back and sides with “numerous thin, blue bands arranged variously, undulating, reticulating, transverse and horizontal” (translation)
Siganus laqueus von Bonde 1934 trap or snare, from Chafi Uzio (Chafi=kind of fish, Uzio=trap), Swahili name for this fish, probably referring (per von Bonde) to its frequent capture in fish traps used by fishermen of Zanzibar, Tanzania (type locality)
Siganus lineatus (Valenciennes 1835) lined, described as having 9-10 wavy bands or lines, tawny in color, running length of body
Siganus luridus (Rüppell 1829) pale yellow, name coined by its collector, Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1795-1876), who described its body color as yellow brown, with many fine pale yellow lines (per Valenciennes 1835), yet Rüppell described the color as bluish black with some irregular, lighter spots and a yellowish ring around pupil
Siganus margaritiferus (Valenciennes 1835) margarita, pearl; fero, to bear, referring to small, pearly spots on body of adults
Siganus puelloides Woodland & Randall 1979 –oides, having the form of: referring to similarity of this Indian Ocean species to the Pacific S. puellus
Siganus puellus (Schlegel 1852) little boy, allusion not explained nor evident
Siganus punctatissimus Fowler & Bean 1929 very spotted, referring to body “everywhere with minute gray dots”
Siganus punctatus (Schneider & Forster 1801) spotted, referring to golden-yellow spots on head, body and caudal fin
Siganus randalli Woodland 1990 in honor of John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), who drew Woodland’s attention to this species and offered “considerable help” during the course of his revision of the family
Siganus rivulatus Forsskål & Niebuhr 1775 rivulated, i.e., marked by irregular streaks, referring to yellow streaks on sides
Siganus spinus (Linnaeus 1758) thorn or spine, presumably referring to procumbent spine anterior to dorsal fin (the only spine Linnaeus mentioned), but name could also refer to strong (and venomous) spines on dorsal, anal and pelvic fins
Siganus stellatus (Forsskål 1775) covered with stars, presumably referring to small, close-set, dark-brown-to-black hexagonal spots all over body and caudal fin
Siganus studeri (Peters 1877) in honor of Swiss zoologist Théophile Rudolphe Studer (1845-1922), member of the German expedition (1874-76) aboard the frigate Gazelle, during which type was collected
Siganus sutor (Valenciennes 1835) shoemaker or cobbler, from the French cordonnier, local name for rabbitfishes in the former French colonies of Seychelles (type locality) and Mauritius dating from the early 1800s, allusion not explained; the skin of siganids is too thin to be tanned to make shoes, but the fin spines could have been used to puncture leather (David J. Woodland, pers. comm.)
Siganus trispilos Woodland & Allen 1977 tri-, three; spilos, mark or spot, referring to three chocolate brown patches on sides above the midline
Siganus vermiculatus (Valenciennes 1835) referring to narrow vermiculate dark-brown bands on body in living specimens (vermiculate pattern obscure or lost in alcohol)
Siganus virgatus (Valenciennes 1835) striped, presumably referring to two diagonal brown bands, one from nape to chin, the other from base of 4th or 5th dorsal spines to base of pectoral fin
Siganus woodlandi Randall & Kulbicki 2005 in honor of David J. Woodland, University of New England (New South Wales, Australia), for his research on rabbitfish systematics
Subgenus Lo Seale 1906 “Polynesian name used in Samoa for the three species of Siganidae that occur there; however, none of the five species of siganid assigned to the subgenus Lo occur in Samoa; in fact, their distribution does not include a single locality where the name Lo is used” (David J. Woodland, pers. comm.)
Siganus magnificus (Burgess 1977) splendid, referring to its beautiful color pattern
Siganus niger Woodland 1990 black, referring to black appearance (apart from bright-yellow pectoral fins) in its natural habitat
Siganus unimaculatus (Evermann & Seale 1907) uni-, one; maculatus, spotted, referring to large, round brownish-black spot on lateral line under base of last three dorsal spines and first dorsal ray
Siganus uspi Gawel & Woodland 1974 in honor of U.S.P., named “as a courtesy to those peoples of the Pacific region who support the University of the South Pacific (U.S.P.), which provided both authors with facilities to study the fishes of the region”
Siganus vulpinus (Schlegel & Müller 1845) fox-like, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to pointed snout (rabbitfishes in the subgenus Lo are commonly called “foxface”)
Family CAPROIDAE Boarfish
Capros Lacepède 1802 kapros, Greek for boar, referring to its “somewhat cylindrical snout, terminated by a fairly small opening and by an extendible upper lip, which gives this part of the head some resemblance to the snout of a pig or a boar” (translation)
Capros aper (Linnaeus 1758) Latin for wild boar, referring to long pig-like snout with extendible upper lip
Family LUVARIDAE Luvars
one extant species
Luvarus Rafinesque 1810 from Luvaru Impiriali, its common name in Sicily, expressing a “certain resemblance of color and shape with the real Luvaro” (translation), Sparus pagel (=Pagellus erythrinus, Acanthuriformes: Sparidae)
Luvarus imperialis Rafinesque 1810 of the empire or emperor (i.e., majestic), referring to Luvaru Impiriali, its common name in Sicily, perhaps referring to its palatability (see Tylosurus acus imperialis, Beloniformes: Belonidae and Arnoglossus imperialis, Carangiformes: Bothidae)
Family ZANCLIDAE Moorish Idol
Zanclus Cuvier 1831 from zanklon, Greek for sickle, referring to sickle-shaped dorsal fin
Zanclus cornutus (Linnaeus 1758) horned, presumably referring to short horn-like projections above eyes
Family ACANTHURIDAE Surgeonfishes and Unicornfishes
7 genera/subgenera · 86 species/subspecies
Acanthurus Forsskål 1775 acanthus, thorn or spine; oura, tail, referring to sharp scalpel-like scales on caudal peduncle (hence the common names surgeonfish and doctorfish)
Acanthurus achilles Shaw 1803 etymology not explained, perhaps named for Achilles, a strong Trojan warrior and the hero of the Iliad, referring to sharp scalpel-like scales on caudal peduncle
Acanthurus albimento Carpenter, Williams & Santos 2017 albus, white; mento, variation of mentum, chin, referring to distinctive white chin
Acanthurus albipectoralis Allen & Ayling 1987 albus, white; pectoralis, pectoral, referring to overall blackish coloration except outer half of pectoral fins, which are white (and easily visible underwater)
Acanthurus auranticavus Randall 1956 aurantia, orangish; cavus, cavity, referring to orange socket of caudal spine
Acanthurus bahianus Castelnau 1855 –anus, belonging to: Bahia, Brazil, type locality (occurs in western Atlantic from Brazil and offshore islands, and at Ascension and St. Helena islands in southcentral Atlantic, with an invasive population at the Canary Islands)
Acanthurus bariene Lesson 1831 from barîène, local name for this surgeonfish at Offack Bay, Waigeo, Indonesia, type locality
Acanthurus blochii Valenciennes 1835 in honor of physician-naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723-1799), who reported this species as Chaetodon (now Acanthurus) nigricans in 1787
Acanthurus chirurgus (Bloch 1787) surgeon, referring to sharp scalpel-like scales on caudal peduncle (hence the common names surgeonfish and doctorfish)
Acanthurus chronixis Randall 1960 etymology not explained, perhaps from chronikos, of or concerning time, possibly referring to considerable differences between juveniles and adults in Acanthurus and their transformation over time, as discussed in Randall’s description of this species
Acanthurus coeruleus Bloch & Schneider 1801 blue, referring to adult coloration (juveniles are yellow)
Acanthurus dussumieri Valenciennes 1835 in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who collected type
Acanthurus fowleri de Beaufort 1951 in honor of Henry Weed Fowler (1878-1965), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who reported this species as Hepatus (now Acanthurus) pyroferus in 1929
Acanthurus gahhm (Forsskål 1775) Arabic name for this surgeonfish along the Red Sea
Acanthurus grammoptilus Richardson 1843 –ilus, adjectival suffix: gramme, line, i.e., lined, allusion not explained; described as having “five dark longitudinal streaks on the dorsal, and some lines more faintly traced on the border of the anal, both these fins being also very narrowly edged with black”
Acanthurus guttatus Forster 1801 spotted, referring to white spots on dorsal and anal fins and posterior half of body
Acanthurus japonicus (Schmidt 1931) Japanese, described from Ryukyu Islands, Japan (occurs in western Pacific from Malaysia to Philippines, including Taiwan, Ryukyu and Ogasawara Islands)
Acanthurus leucocheilus Herre 1927 leukos, white; cheilos, lip, referring to reddish lips in life, surrounded (or nearly surrounded) by a pearly white line with a black band behind it
Acanthurus leucopareius (Jenkins 1903) leukos, white; pareius, cheeked, referring to whitish band, broadly bordered by dark-brown bands, running from dorsal-fin origin across operculum just behind eye (faded in some specimens)
Acanthurus leucosternon Bennett 1833 leukos, white; sternon, breast, referring to chalky white band on isthmus and chest
Acanthurus lineatus (Linnaeus 1758) lined, referring to alternating yellow and blue lines outlined in black on head and body
Acanthurus maculiceps (Ahl 1923) maculatus, spotted; ceps, head, referring to numerous white spots on head
Acanthurus mata (Cuvier 1829) local name for this fish on the Coromandel Coast of India as reported by Russell (1803) [misspelled meta by Cuvier; corrected spelling is in prevailing usage]
Acanthurus mindorensis Herre 1927 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mindoro Island, Philippines, type locality
Acanthurus monroviae Steindachner 1876 of Monrovia, Liberia, type locality (occurs in Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic from Morocco to Angola, including offshore islands)
Acanthurus nigricans (Linnaeus 1758) swarthy or blackish, referring to black or blue-black body color
Acanthurus nigricauda Duncker & Mohr 1929 nigri-, black; cauda, tail, proposed as a variety (subspecies) of A. gahm but with a dark-brown (instead of pale or white) caudal peduncle (although it should be noted color is quite variable among different specimens and ages)
Acanthurus nigrofuscus (Forsskål 1775) nigro-, black; fuscus, dark, referring to its dusky or black-brown coloration (actually brown to purplish or bluish-brown in life)
Acanthurus nigroris Valenciennes 1835 niger, black; oris, mouth, referring to its black lips (perhaps only in alcohol, not in life)
Acanthurus nigros Günther 1861 black, referring to black vertical fins and lips and/or black spot posteriorly in axil of dorsal and anal fins
Acanthurus nubilus (Fowler & Bean 1929) cloudy, referring to “dull dark brown” body color with “dusky over vertical fins and ventrals”
Acanthurus olivaceus Bloch & Schneider 1801 olive-colored, referring to dark-olive (actually grayish brown) body color
Acanthurus polyzona (Bleeker 1868) poly, many; zona, band, referring to 12 vertical black bars (four on head, six on sides, two on caudal peduncle)
Acanthurus pyroferus Kittlitz 1834 pyros, fire; fero, to bear, presumably referring to diffuse orange area (described as saffron) behind gill opening extending to axil of pectoral fin
Acanthurus reversus Randall & Earle 1999 reversed, referring to reversal of color pattern of caudal fin compared to that of the closely related A. olivaceous
Acanthurus sandvicensis Streets 1877 –ensis, suffix denoting place: proposed as a subspecies of A. triostegus occurring in the Sandwich Islands (name given to Hawaiian Islands by James Cook in 1778)
Acanthurus sohal (Forsskål 1775) Arabic name (also spelled sahal) for this surgeonfish along the Red Sea
Acanthurus tennentii Günther 1861 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of James Emerson Tennent (1804-1869), Colonial Secretary of Ceylon (Sri Lanka, type locality) and author of Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon (1861)
Acanthurus thompsoni (Fowler 1923) in honor of John W. Thompson, artist and modeler at the Bishop Museum (Honolulu), who obtained type
Acanthurus tractus Poey 1860 streak, allusion not explained, possibly referring to wavy, yellow longitudinal lines across upper body
Acanthurus triostegus triostegus (Linnaeus 1758) trio-, three; stegus, cover, presumably referring to three branchiostegal membranes
Acanthurus triostegus marquesensis Schultz & Woods 1948 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Marquesas Islands, where it is endemic
Acanthurus tristis Randall 1993 sad, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its ashy or mournful color; name dates to an unpublished manuscript and color painting by British army officer, artist and ornithologist Samuel R. Tickell (1811-1875), mentioned by Francis Day in 1888, who described color as “slate-gray and slightly cinereous along the back,” with an irregular black band extending from upper edge of orbit to base of pectoral fin
Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes 1835 xanthus, yellow; pterus, fin, referring to yellow outer third of pectoral fins (dorsal and anal fins are yellowish)
Ctenochaetus Gill 1884 cteno, comb; chaetus, bristle, allusion not explained but almost certainly referring to slender bristle- or comb-like teeth
Ctenochaetus binotatus Randall 1955 bi-, two; notatus, marked, referring to two black marks, one at axil of soft dorsal fin and the other at axil of anal fin
Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus Randall & Clements 2001 cyano-, blue; cheilos, lip, referring to blue lips in life (darker brown in alcohol)
Ctenochaetus flavicauda Fowler 1938 flavus, yellow; cauda, tail, referring to “brilliant yellow caudal fin,” but Randall & Clements (2001) report that caudal fin is “pure white” except for small all-yellow juveniles
Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis Randall 1955 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hawai‘i Island, type locality (occurs in western and central Pacific from Mariana Islands to Marshall Islands, east to Hawaiian Islands and northern Line Islands, and Tuvalu, Samoa and Tonga east to Marquesas Islands and Pitcairn Group)
Ctenochaetus marginatus (Valenciennes 1835) edged or bordered, referring to blue basal band on dorsal and anal fins
Ctenochaetus striatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1825) grooved or furrowed (i.e., striped), referring to numerous longitudinal lines following scale rows and extending onto basal part of dorsal and anal fins
Ctenochaetus strigosus (Bennett 1828) slender, allusion not explained, probably referring to its “very numerous, slender, and elongated” teeth
Ctenochaetus tominiensis Randall 1955 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gulf of Tomini, Sulawesi, Indonesia, where type locality (Sadaa Island) is situated (occurs in western Pacific from Indonesia east to Palau and Fiji, north to Philippines, south to Queensland, Australia)
Ctenochaetus truncatus Randall & Clements 2001 referring to truncate caudal fin of large adults
Naso Lacepède 1801 nose, referring to “protuberance in the shape of a horn or a large magnifying glass on the nose” (translation, actually forehead) on adults of N. fronticornis (=unicornis)
Subgenus Naso
Naso annulatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1825) ringed, referring to white ring around (or saddle across) caudal peduncle of juveniles
Naso brachycentron (Valenciennes 1835) brachy, short; centron, thorn or spine, referring to shorter dorsal-fin spines compared to the similar N. fronticornis (=unicornis)
Naso brevirostris (Cuvier 1829) brevis, short; rostris, snout, allusion not explained, probably referring to shorter snout (not horn) compared to N. unicornis
Naso caesius Randall & Bell 1992 Latin for bluish gray, referring to its most common ground color
Naso elegans (Rüppell 1829) fine, elegant or select, referring to its “beautiful color dress” (translation)
Naso fageni Morrow 1954 in honor of Capt. R. W. Fagen of Miami, Florida (USA), “friend and guide on several ichthyological expeditions”
Naso hexacanthus (Bleeker 1855) hexa-, six; acanthus, thorn or spine, referring to six dorsal-fin spines
Naso lituratus (Forster 1801) smeared, erased or blotted, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to faint vertical stripes on sides, which appear almost “erased”
Naso lopezi Herre 1927 in honor of G. A. Lopez, collector for the Philippine Bureau of Science; whether he collected or obtained type (probably destroyed in WW2) of this species is not clear
Naso maculatus Randall & Struhsaker 1981 spotted, referring to numerous dark spots on both juveniles and adults
Naso mcdadei Johnson 2002 in honor of Michael McDade, “accomplished” spearfisherman and long-time records officer for the Australian Underwater Federation, who collected and donated many rare fishes to the Queensland Museum, including type of this one
Naso reticulatus Randall 2001 net-like or netted, referring to dark reticular pattern on head and body
Naso tergus Ho, Shen & Chang 2011 authors say tergus means “to hide,” referring to how the typical appearance of this species makes it resemble subadults of many other Naso species (actually, tergus is Latin for the noun hide (e.g., back, skin, leather), not the verb
Naso tonganus (Valenciennes 1835) –anus, belonging to: Tonga Islands, South Pacific, type locality (occurs in Indo-West Pacific from East Africa east to Micronesia and Samoa, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to northern Australia)
Naso tuberosus Lacepède 1801 covered with lumps or tumors, referring to large bulbous protuberance at front of snout in adults
Naso unicornis (Forsskål 1775) uni-, one; cornis, horn, referring to unicorn-like horn on forehead of adults
Naso vlamingii (Valenciennes 1835) in honor of Admiral Cornelis de Vlamingh (ca. 1678-1735), Dutch explorer and naval officer, who collected and illustrated many fishes for the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris); description of this species was based in part on one of his illustrations (actually a copy made by another illustrator)
Subgenus Axinurus Cuvier 1829 axino-, ax (i.e., ax blade); oura, tail, presumably referring to single square trenchant blade on each side of caudal peduncle (compared to two in subgenus Naso)
Naso caeruleacauda Randall 1994 caeruleus, blue; cauda, tail, referring to blue caudal fin, its “most striking color feature” in life
Naso minor (Smith 1966) little, at 108-215 mm FL, the smallest member of the genus
Naso thynnoides (Cuvier 1829) –oides, having the form of: thynnus, tuna, referring to its more elongate and compressed form, roughly similar to that of a tuna (per Valenciennes 1835)
Paracanthurus Bleeker 1863 para-, near, referring to previous placement of P. hepatus in Acanthurus
Paracanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus 1766) hepatos, a name used by Aristotle for an unidentified species of marine fish, first applied to this species by Gronow (1763); hepatos means “of the liver” in Greek, but there is nothing liver-colored (dark red) about this blue fish, commonly known as the Blue Tang
Prionurus Lacepède 1804 prion, saw; oura, tail, referring to 3-7 fixed, keeled bony plates on caudal peduncle
Prionurus biafraensis (Blache & Rossignol 1962) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bight of Biafra, Gulf of Guinea, where type locality (São Tomé Island) is situated
Prionurus chrysurus Randall 2001 chrysos, gold; oura, tail, referring to bright golden-yellow caudal fin, its most conspicuous color feature
Prionurus laticlavius (Valenciennes 1846) latus, wide; clavius, bar, i.e., broad-striped, presumably referring to juvenile coloration, described and illustrated as having a yellow body with a wide brown or blackish-brown stripe on sides
Prionurus maculatus Ogilby 1887 spotted, referring to small yellow spots on head and upper sides
Prionurus microlepidotus Lacepède 1804 micro-, small; lepidotus, scaled, referring to its very small scales (“les écailles très-petites,” italics in original)
Prionurus scalprum Valenciennes 1835 scalpel, referring to 4-5 sharp, unserrated bony plates on caudal peduncle
Zebrasoma Swainson 1839 soma, body, referring to zebra-like stripes or bars on body of Z. velifer
Zebrasoma desjardinii (Bennett 1836) in honor of French zoologist Julien François Desjardins (1799-1840), who spent several years on Mauritius (type locality) and presented a collection of fishes (including type of this one) to the Zoological Society of London [although Desjardins’ name is correctly spelled multiple times in the text, the specific name is missing the “s”; emendment is not necessary since Desjardins means “the gardens” in French, in which case the fish’s name can be regarded as a latinization of jardini in plural, adding the Latin plural “i” and then the genitive “i” (Ronald Fricke, pers. comm.)]
Zebrasoma flavescens (Bennett 1828) golden yellow, referring to color in life
Zebrasoma gemmatum (Valenciennes 1835) jeweled, presumably referring to numerous white spots on black body
Zebrasoma rostratum (Günther 1875) beaked, referring to longer snout compared to Z. flavescens
Zebrasoma scopas (Cuvier 1829) brush or broom, referring to brush-like bristles near the scalpel-like scales on caudal peduncle
Zebrasoma velifer (Bloch 1795) velum, sail; fero, to have or bear, referring to its elevated dorsal fin [although name is an adjective, and often spelled veliferum, it is treated as a noun per ICZN Art. 31.2.2]
Zebrasoma xanthurum (Blyth 1852) xanthos, yellow; oura, tailed, referring to yellow caudal fin