COMMENTS
v. 10.0 – 3 Oct. 2021 view/download PDF
4 families · 24 genera/subgenera · 99 species
Family ARGENTINIDAE Argentines or Herring Smelts
3 genera/subgenera · 29 species
Argentina Linnaeus 1758 Spanish for silvery, referring to bright silver peritoneum and scales of A. sphyraena, which were used to make artificial pearls
Argentina aliceae Cohen & Atsaides 1969 in honor of Alice Holland, former Secretary, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Systematics Laboratory, U.S. National Museum, for her “devoted” services to ichthyology
Argentina australiae Cohen 1958 of Australia, proposed as an Australian subspecies of A. elongata
Argentina brasiliensis Kobyliansky 2004 –ensis, suffix denoting place: coastal waters of Brazil, where it occurs
Argentina brucei Cohen & Atsaides 1969 in honor of ichthyologist Bruce B. Collette (b. 1934), who helped collect many of the type specimens
Argentina elongata Hutton 1879 referring to its elongate body
Argentina euchus Cohen 1961 Greek for “the thing prayed for,” referring to fact that this species is the “answer to a longstanding puzzle,” i.e., the true identity of specimens of A. sphyraena recorded from the western Indian Ocean but subsequently lost
Argentina georgei Cohen & Atsaides 1969 in honor of George Clipper, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Systematics Laboratory, U.S. National Museum, where the authors are “indebted for [his] efficient assistance”
Argentina kagoshimae Jordan & Snyder 1902 of Kagoshima, a city on the island of Kyushu, Japan, type locality (also occurs off coasts of Korea and Taiwan)
Argentina sialis Gilbert 1890 Greek for plump, allusion not explained, possibly referring to “much deeper body” compared to the similar A. elongata
Argentina silus (Ascanius 1775) presumably a latinization of Vas-Sil, its vernacular name in Bergen, Norway, where Ascanius ate several and enjoyed its excellent flesh
Argentina sphyraena Linnaeus 1758 ancient word recalling the idea of a javelin, a pointed stake, or prow of a ship, historically used for slender, sharp-headed fishes (which this one certainly is)
Argentina stewarti Cohen & Atsaides 1969 in honor of shark expert Stewart Springer (1906-1991), for numerous contributions to the ichthyology of the tropical western Atlantic
Argentina striata Goode & Bean 1896 striated, referring to “obliquely striate” scales in lateral line
Glossanodon Guichenot 1867 glossum, tongue; an-, without; odonto-, tooth, referring to perceived absence of tongue dentition on G. leioglossus (small teeth are present on many specimens)
Subgenus Glossanodon
Glossanodon australis Kobyliansky 1998 southern, referring to occurrence in near-shore waters off eastern Australia in the Tasman Sea
Glossanodon danieli Parin & Shcherbachev 1982 in honor of ichthyologist Daniel M. Cohen (1930-2017), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, for contributions to the knowledge of the family Argentinidae
Glossanodon elongatus Kobyliansky 1998 elongate, referring to body shape
Glossanodon kotakamaru Endo & Nashida 2010 named for the R/V Kotaka-maru, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science (Kochi, Japan), from which paratypes and many other scientific specimens from Tosa Bay, Japan, were collected
Glossanodon leioglossus (Valenciennes 1848) leios, smooth; glossum, tongue, referring to perceived absence of tongue dentition (small teeth are present on many specimens)
Glossanodon lineatus (Matsubara 1943) lined, allusion not explained, possibly referring to “definite dark brown longitudinal band” immediately above lateral line and/or silvery band below it (figure accompanying description illustrates both of these features but also shows a prominent lateral line)
Glossanodon macrocephalus Bineesh & Endo 2019 macro-, large; cephalus, head, referring to larger head compared to congeners
Glossanodon melanomanus Kobyliansky 1998 melano-, black; –oma, suffix denoting tumors and other abnormal growths, referring to black spot on pectoral fin
Glossanodon microcephalus Endo & Nishida 2012 micro-, small; cephalus, head, referring to smaller head compared to most congeners
Glossanodon mildredae Cohen & Atsaides 1969 in honor of Mildred H. Carrington (1908-1988), “whose tasteful and accurate drawings have contributed greatly to the progress of ichthyology”
Glossanodon nazca Parin & Shcherbachev 1982 named for the Nazca Ridge, eastern South Pacific, type locality
Glossanodon polli Cohen 1958 in honor of Belgian ichthyologist Max Poll (1908-1991), who first reported and illustrated this species (as Argentina sphyraena) in 1953
Glossanodon pseudolineatus Kobyliansky 1998 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this species may superficially resemble G. lineatus, such an appearance is false
Glossanodon semifasciatus (Kishinouye 1904) semi-, half; fasciatus, banded, referring to 7-10 dusky blotches or saddle marks of adults, which are confined to dorsal half of body
Glossanodon struhsakeri Cohen 1970 in honor of Paul Struhsaker (1935-2018), University of Hawaii, who collected type during his investigations on the biology of Hawaiian demersal fish and shrimp populations
Subgenus Prosoarchus Cohen 1958 proso, forward; archus, anus, referring to forwardly positioned anus of G. pygmaeus
Glossanodon pygmaeus Cohen 1958 dwarf, referring to its small size (up to 86.6 mm SL)
Family OPISTHOPROCTIDAE Barreleyes or Spookfishes
10 genera · 23 species
Bathylychnops Cohen 1958 bathys, deep, referring to bathypelagic habitat; lychnos, lamp and ops, eye, referring to photophore and two other patches of “luminous tissue” projecting from a black sac on eyes
Bathylychnops brachyrhynchus (Parr 1937) brachys, short; rhynchus, snout, referring to “broad and short” snout
Bathylychnops chilensis Parin, Belyanina & Evseenko 2009 –ensis, suffix denoting place: near the coast of Chile in the southeastern Pacific, type locality
Bathylychnops exilis Cohen 1958 slender, referring to its elongate, laterally compressed body
Dolichopteroides Parin, Belyanina & Evseenko 2009 –oides, having the form of: referring to previous placement of D. binocularis in Dolichopteryx
Dolichopteroides binocularis (Beebe 1932) binocular, referring to its “telescope” eyes, which “rest in a great depression on the head, the upper part being covered with perfectly transparent tissue”
Dolichopteryx Brauer 1901 dolicho-, long; pteryx, fins, referring to very long pectoral and ventral fins
Dolichopteryx anascopa Brauer 1901 ana-, up; scopa, watcher, referring to its tubular eyes, which protrude upwards and forwards
Dolichopteryx andriashevi Parin, Belyanina & Evseenko 2009 in memory of the recently deceased “outstanding” Russian ichthyologist Anatolii Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009), who made a “large” contribution to the study of fishes of the world’s oceans
Dolichopteryx longipes (Vaillant 1888) longus, long; pes, foot, referring to long ventral fins
Dolichopteryx nigripes Prokofiev 2020 niger, black; pes, foot, referring to black pigmentation of ventral fins
Dolichopteryx parini Kobyliansky & Fedorov 2001 in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences
Dolichopteryx pseudolongipes Fukui, Kitagawa & Parin 2008 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this species may superficially resemble D. longipes, such an appearance is false
Dolichopteryx rostrata Fukui & Kitagawa 2006 beaked, referring to its elongate snout
Dolichopteryx trunovi Parin 2005 in honor of ichthyologist Ivan Andreevich Trunov (1936-2005), Atlantic Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, who reported this species, based on insufficient material, as D. anascopa in 1997
Dolichopteryx vityazi Parin, Belyanina & Evseenko 2009 in honor of the “famous motor ship” R/V Vityaz (also spelled Vitiaz), from which the first author caught type on the ship’s 26th cruise 50 years ago
Duolentops Prokofiev 2020 duo, two; lens, lentil; ops, eye, referring to lenticular subscleral thickening under lens of eye
Duolentops minuscula (Fukui & Kitagawa 2006) rather small, referring to body size compared to congeners in Dolichopteryx (original genus)
Ioichthys Parin 2004 io-, named for the Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated IO), where Parin worked; ichthys, fish
Ioichthys kashkini Parin 2004 in honor of Nikita Ivanovich Kashkin, who took part in many expeditions on vessels of the Acoustics Institute of Oceanography in the 1960s through 1980s, significantly contributing to the ecological study of mesopelagic species, and who collected type of this species
Macropinna Chapman 1939 macro-, long or large; pinna, fin, referring to large pectoral fins, with fine and long rays that reach middle of anal fin
Macropinna microstoma Chapman 1939 micro-, small; stoma, mouth, referring to its “extremely small gape, not reaching more than a third of the way to the eye”
Monacoa Whitley 1943 etymology not explained but almost certainly referring to the Principality of Monaco, where the research expedition that collected M. grimaldii had originated
Monacoa grimaldii (Zugmayer 1911) in honor of Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi (1848-1922), Albert I, Prince of Monaco, who founded his principality’s Institut Océanographique, which published this fish’s description
Monacoa griseus Poulsen, Sado, Hahn, Byrkjedal, Moku & Miya 2016 gray, referring to uniform grayish anterior part of sole (reflecting organ), lacking distinct patterns of pigmentation
Monacoa niger Poulsen, Sado, Hahn, Byrkjedal, Moku & Miya 2016 black, referring to black streak of pigmentation on sole (reflecting organ)
Opisthoproctus Vaillant 1888 opistho-, behind; proctus, anus, referring to posterior placement of anal fin, directly under caudal fin
Opisthoproctus soleatus Vaillant 1888 –atus, provided with: solea, sole (i.e., sole reflecting organ), referring to elongate, forward-projecting flattening on underside of abdomen that may act as a reflector for light organ inside body near anus
Rhynchohyalus Barnard 1925 rhynchos, snout; hyalinus, transparent, referring to long, rounded and transparent snout (replacement for Hyalorhynchus Gilchrist & von Bonde 1924, preoccupied by Hyalorhynchus Ogilby 1910 in fishes)
Rhynchohyalus natalensis (Gilchrist & von Bonde 1924) –ensis, suffix denoting place: type locality erroneously given as Natal, South Africa (correct type locality is off Table Bay, South Africa)
Rhynchohyalus parbevs Prokofiev & Kukuev 2020 a combination of the first letters (par+b+evs) of the last names of three Russian ichthyologists who collaborated on a 2009 revision of “long-body” barreleyes: Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Tat’yana Nikolaevna Belyanina and Sergei Afanas’evich Evseenko (1949-2020)
Winteria Brauer 1901 –ia, belonging to: Fritz Winter (1878-1917), scientific illustrator on the Valdivia Expedition (1888-1899) to subantarctic seas, who illustrated this species and many others
Winteria telescopa Brauer 1901 far seeing, referring to its massive, egg-shaped, forwardly directed eyes
Family MICROSTOMATIDAE Pencilsmelts
3 genera · 22 species
Microstoma Cuvier 1816 tautonymous with Gasteropelecus microstoma; micro-, small; stoma, mouth, referring to small, oval mouth
Microstoma australis Gon & Stewart 2014 southern, referring to distribution in southwestern Pacific Ocean off New Zealand and Australia
Microstoma microstoma (Risso 1810) micro-, small; stoma, mouth, referring to small, oval mouth
Nansenia Jordan & Evermann 1896 –ia, belonging to: “our friend” Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), author of a study of the development of hagfishes, and “since noted as an intrepid arctic explorer” (and later Nobel Peace Prize laureate)
Nansenia ahlstromi Kawaguchi & Butler 1984 in honor of the late Elbert H. Ahlstrom (1910-1979), Southwest Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, for contributions to the knowledge of pelagic fishes
Nansenia antarctica Kawaguchi & Butler 1984 –ica, belonging to: southern part of subantarctic region between antarctic and subtropical convergences of the Pacific, where it occurs
Nansenia ardesiaca Jordan & Thompson 1914 slate-colored, presumably referring to its “brilliant silvery” coloration with scales of a “bright, silvery appearance”
Nansenia atlantica Blache & Rossignol 1962 referring to its distribution in the Eastern Atlantic
Nansenia boreacrassicauda Poulsen 2015 boreas, subarctic or northern, referring to distribution of type materials; crassus, fat or stout, and cauda, tail, referring to stubby caudal peduncle
Nansenia candida Cohen 1958 shining white, referring to its bright, silvery appearance
Nansenia crassa Lavenberg 1965 thick, fat or stout, referring to its “bulky, stout appearance”
Nansenia groenlandica (Reinhardt 1840) –ica, belong to: Greenland, type locality (but occurs in cold seas worldwide)
Nansenia iberica Matallanas 1985 –ica, belonging to: the Iberian Peninsula of Spain, type locality
Nansenia indica Kobyliansky 1992 Indian, referring to Indian Ocean near coast of Mozambique, type locality
Nansenia longicauda Kawaguchi & Butler 1984 longus, long; cauda, tail, referring to long and slender caudal peduncle
Nansenia macrolepis (Gilchrist 1922) macro-, large; lepis, scale, referring to “large, thin and deciduous” scales
Nansenia megalopa Kawaguchi & Butler 1984 mega-, large; ops, eye, referring to its “extraordinarily large” eye
Nansenia oblita (Facciolà 1887) forgotten, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how previous ichthyologists had overlooked this species, presuming its differences were due to “simple individual variation” among Microstoma argenteum (=M. microstoma) in the Mediterranean
Nansenia obscura Kobyliansky & Usachev 1992 dark, referring to dark body color of deep-black scale pockets
Nansenia pelagica Kawaguchi & Butler 1984 referring to its “pelagic life”
Nansenia schmitti (Fowler 1934) in honor of carcinologist Waldo L. Schmitt (1887-1977), Curator of the Division of Marine Invertebrates, U.S. National Museum
Nansenia tenera Kawaguchi & Butler 1984 Latin for soft, referring to the “consistency” of its body
Nansenia tenuicauda Kawaguchi & Butler 1984 tenuis, slender; cauda, tail, referring to its slender caudal peduncle
Xenophthalmichthys Regan 1925 xeno-, different and ophthalmus, eye, related to Microstoma but distinguished by its telescopic eyes; ichthys, fish
Xenophthalmichthys danae Regan 1925 in honor of the Danish fishery research vessel Dana, from which type was collected
Family BATHYLAGIDAE Deepsea Smelts
8 genera · 25 species
Bathylagichthys Kobyliansky 1986 Bathylagus, referring to external similarity to that genus (also genus in which B. greyae and B. longipinnis had previously been placed); ichthys, fish
Bathylagichthys australis Kobyliansky 1990 southern, referring to its occurrence in the Southern Hemisphere
Bathylagichthys greyae (Cohen 1958) in honor of Marion Grey (1911-1964), Chicago Natural History Museum, for her contributions to the study of deep-sea fishes
Bathylagichthys kobylianskyi Gon & Stewart 2014 in honor of Stanislav Kobyliansky, P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (Moscow), for his contribution to the systematics of the family Bathylagidae
Bathylagichthys longipinnis (Kobyliansky 1985) longus, long; pinnis, fin, referring to longer pectoral fins (extending beyond dorsal-fin origin) compared to B. greyae (not extending beyond dorsal-fin origin)
Bathylagichthys parini Kobyliansky 1990 in honor of Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences, for his contributions to ichthyology
Bathylagichthys problematicus (Lloris & Rucabado 1985) named for the “difficulties that were encountered when studying the specimens” (these difficulties included unstable nomenclature, uncertain higher-level classification, scarce literature, unavailable type specimens of related taxa, and a year-long editor-driven delay in getting description to press; Domingo Lloris, pers. comm.)
Bathylagoides Whitley 1951 –oides, having the form of: proposed subgenus of Bathylagus, distinguished by a deeper body and fewer anal-fin rays
Bathylagoides argyrogaster (Norman 1930) argyros, silver; gaster, belly, described as “Brownish above, silvery below”
Bathylagoides nigrigenys (Parr 1931) nigra-, black; genys, cheek, referring to jet-black peritoneum and inner lining of mouth and gill cavity, conspicuously visible through gill cover, “which therefore appears to be of a highly lustrous black hue”
Bathylagoides wesethi (Bolin 1938) in honor of Lars Weseth (1895-1982), captain of the Albacore, from which type was collected, for “helpfulness and cooperation which he unfailingly extends to scientists working on board his vessel”
Bathylagus Günther 1878 bathys, deep, referring to deep-sea habitat; lagos, hare, allusion not explained, possibly referring to large rabbit-like eyes
Bathylagus andriashevi Kobyliansky 1986 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009), for his “great” (translation) contribution to the study of fishes from the Southern Ocean
Bathylagus antarcticus Günther 1878 –icus, belonging to: Antarctic Ocean, type locality
Bathylagus atlanticus Günther 1878 –icus, belonging to: South Atlantic, type locality
Bathylagus euryops Goode & Bean 1896 eurys, broad or wide; ops, eye, referring to diameter of eye ½ length of head
Bathylagus longiceps Parr 1931 longus, long; ceps, head, referring to “great length” of head compared to congeners known at the time
Bathylagus niger Kobyliansky 2006 black, referring to general dark coloration of body
Bathylagus pacificus Gilbert 1890 referring to its distribution in the Pacific Ocean
Bathylagus tenuis Kobyliansky 1986 thin or narrow, referring to its “strongly elongated” body (translation)
Dolicholagus Kobyliansky 1986 dolichos, long, referring to elongated body form of D. longirostris; lagus, hare, apparently used here as a suffix for the family, from the type genus Bathylagus
Dolicholagus longirostris (Maul 1948) longus, long; rostris, snout, referring to “much longer” snout compared to its presumed closest congener at the time, Bathylagus microcephalus (=Melanolagus bericoides)
Leuroglossus Gilbert 1890 leuros, smooth; glossus, tongue, referring to toothless tongue compared to toothed tongue of Argentina (Argentinidae), its presumed relative at the time
Leuroglossus callorhini (Lucas 1899) of Callorhinus ursinus, Northern Fur Seal, which “extensively” feeds on this species, from whose stomach type material was collected; “Owing to the tenderness and small size of this fish, it is so quickly acted on by the gastric juice that nothing but bones remained of the many hundred specimens that were seen and while evidently common, it can be described only from the skeleton”
Leuroglossus schmidti Rass 1955 in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Petr Yulievich Schmidt (1872-1949), “famous researcher of the far Eastern seas” (translation), who first noted how this species differed from L. stilbius in a posthumous publication (1950)
Leuroglossus stilbius Gilbert 1890 shining, presumably referring to “right silvery” body, abdomen and sides of head
Leuroglossus urotranus Bussing 1965 oura, tail; tranos, clear, referring to unpigmented caudal-fin rays
Lipolagus Kobyliansky 1986 lipos, fat, referring to increased lipid content in body of L. ochotensis; lagus, hare, apparently used here as a suffix for the family, from the type genus Bathylagus
Lipolagus ochotensis (Schmidt 1938) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Okhotsk Sea, Kamchatka, Russia, type locality (also occurs in Western North Pacific and Bering Sea)
Melanolagus Kobyliansky 1986 melanos, black, referring to black pigmentation of M. bericoides; lagus, hare, apparently used here as a suffix for the family, from the type genus Bathylagus
Melanolagus bericoides (Borodin 1929) –oides, having the form of: combining characters of both “bericoid” (presumably Berycidae) and scopelid (Myctophidae) fishes, with large head, small mouth and short cleft of the former, and general form, scale shape and fins of the latter
Pseudobathylagus Kobyliansky 1986 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may externally resemble Bathylagus, such an appearance is false
Pseudobathylagus milleri (Jordan & Gilbert 1898) in honor of Walter Miller (1864-1949), linguist, classics scholar and archaeologist, Stanford University, for his “intelligent interest” in zoological nomenclature (Miller reviewed and verified name etymologies in Jordan and Evermann’s Fishes of North and Middle America [1896-1900])