Revised 16 April 2024
PDF version (with illustrations and additional information)
Old World Anchovies
Subfamily COILIINAE Bleeker 1872
Coilia Gray 1830 etymology not explained, perhaps a local Indian name, or perhaps from koilía (Gr. κοιλία), belly or abdomen, referring to serrated abdomen of Engraulis hamiltonii (=C. ramcarati)
Coilia borneensis Bleeker 1852 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bandjarmasin (also spelled Bandjermasin and Banjarmasin), Borneo, Indonesia, type locality
Coilia coomansi Hardenberg 1934 in honor of Louis Coomans de Ruiter (1898–1972), Dutch ornithologist, entomologist and botanist, who collected holotype
Coilia dussumieri Valenciennes 1848 in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792–1883), French voyager and merchant, who observed and presumably collected this fish in Bombay
Coilia grayii Richardson 1845 in honor of British zoologist John Edward Gray (1800–1875), an “ardent and successful cultivator of every branch of zoology, whose friendly offices [Richardson] often had occasion to acknowledge,” and who made the genus name Coilia available in 1830
Coilia lindmani Bleeker 1857 in honor of Lazurus Lindman (1814–1877), military health officer in the Dutch East Indies, who collected holotype
Coilia macrognathos Bleeker 1852 macro-, from makrós (Gr. μaκρóς), long or large; gnáthos (Gr. γνάθος), jaw, referring to long, sword-shaped maxillary, extending beyond root of pectoral fins
Coilia mystus (Linnaeus 1758) Latinization of mýstax (Gr. μύσταξ), upper lip or moustache, probably referring to prolonged maxilla (reaching to or near base of first pectoral-fin ray), which can be said to resemble the whiskers of a cat
Coilia mystus jiulongjiangensis Liu 1995 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Jiulongjiang River, Fujian Province, China, type locality
Coilia nasus Temminck & Schlegel 1846 Latin for nose, probably referring to its projecting snout
Coilia neglecta Whitehead 1968 Latin for overlooked, referring to its previous misidentification as C. dussumieri due to its light organs being hidden during formalin fixation and preservation
Coilia ramcarati (Hamilton 1822) apparent Latinization of ramcarata, presumably a local name for this fish along the Ganges River
Coilia rebentischii Bleeker 1858 in honor of Johann Heinrich Andreaus Bernhard Sonnemann Rebentisch, military health officer in the Dutch East Indies, who collected holotype
Coilia reynaldi Valenciennes 1848 patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Auguste Adolphe Marc Reynaud (1804–1872), French naval surgeon and naturalist aboard the corvette La Chevrette, which was in Rangoon when holotype was collected (note variant spelling)
Lycothrissa Günther 1868 lyco-, from lýkos (Gr. λύκος), wolf, referring to its “very conspicuous” caniniform teeth; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes
Lycothrissa crocodilus (Bleeker 1850) Latin for crocodile, referring to its enlarged, caniniform teeth
Papuengraulis Munro 1964 Papu[a], referring to Papua New Guinea, type locality of P. micropinna; engraulís, ancient Greek name (ἐγγραυλίς) of the European Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus, often used a standard suffix for anchovies
Papuengraulis micropinna Munro 1964 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; pinna (L.), fin, referring to its minute dorsal fin (2 spines, 3–4 soft rays)
Setipinna Swainson 1839 seta or saeta (L.), hair or bristle; pinna (L.), fin, referring to first pectoral-fin ray of Setipinna megalura (=phasa), which extends into a long filament
Setipinna breviceps (Cantor 1849) brevis (L.), short; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to its “strikingly short” head
Setipinna brevifilis (Valenciennes 1848) brevis (L.), short; filis (scientific Neo-Latin), thread-like or filiform, referring to its short pectoral-fin filaments, shorter than those of S. tenuifilis
Setipinna gilberti Jordan & Starks 1905 in honor of American ichthyologist and Jordan’s Stanford University colleague Charles H. Gilbert (1859–1928)
Setipinna melanochir (Bleeker 1849) melanos, genitive (non-sensically used here) of mélas (Gr., μέλας), black; chir, from cheír or cheirós (Gr. χείρ, genitive χειρός), hand, homologous to the pectoral fin, referring to often dusky or jet-black pectoral fins
Setipinna paxtoni Wongratana 1987 in honor of Australian ichthyologist John R. Paxton (1938–2023), Australian Museum (Sydney), who encouraged Wongratana to broaden his knowledge of Australian clupeoid fishes
Setipinna phasa (Hamilton 1822) Bengali vernacular for anchovy or other herring-like fishes; Hamilton “appropriated” it for this species, “having no other to which it could be more conveniently applied”
Setipinna taty (Valenciennes 1848) referring to its market name in Puducherry, India, Taty pooroowa
Setipinna tenuifilis (Valenciennes 1848) tenuis (L.), slender; filis (scientific Neo-Latin), thread-like or filiform, referring to its long pectoral-fin filaments, longer than those of S. brevifilis
Setipinna wheeleri Wongratana 1983 in honor of Alwyne C. Wheeler (1929–2005), Curator of Fishes, British Museum (Natural History), “whose kind help during my time there was much appreciated”
Thryssa Cuvier 1829 from thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes [some taxonomists regard Thryssa as a variant spelling of Thrissa Cuvier 1816 (type species Clupea mystus, now in Coilia), preoccupied by Thrissa Rafinesque 1815, and therefore use the next available name, Thrissina Jordan & Seale 1925; Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes regards the two spellings as independent and retains Thryssa for the sake of stability]
Thryssa adelae (Rutter 1897) in honor of American Baptist missionary Adele M. Field (1839–1916), who sent a “considerable collection” of fishes from the port of Swatow, China, including the type of this one, to the University of Indiana in 1885
Thryssa aurora (Hata, Lavoué, Chungthanawong & Motomura 2023) Latin for dawn, referring to its bright-yellow and orangish colors, reminiscent of sunrise
Thryssa baelama (Fabricius 1775) from its Arabic vernacular, Láaf vel Baelama [authorship often given as (Forsskål 1775)]
Thryssa belvedere (Hata, Quan, Ha & Motomura 2020) bellus (L.). fine; videre (L.), to see, i.e., a fine view, referring to type locality, Ha Long Bay, northern Vietnam, famous for its view of numerous variously shaped and sized limestone islets
Thryssa brevicauda Roberts 1978 brevis (L.), short; cauda (L.), tail, referring to its shorter, deeper caudal peduncle compared with T. rastrosa and T. scratchleyi
Thryssa chefuensis (Günther 1874) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chefoo (now Yantai), Shandong Province, China, type locality
Thryssa cultella (Hata & Motomura 2019) diminutive of culter (L.), knife, i.e., a small knife, dagger or (per the authors) a cutlass, referring to its long maxilla, reminiscent of such
Thryssa cuvierii (Swainson 1839) in honor of French zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), who proposed the genus Thryssa in 1829, and whose works are frequently cited by Swainson
Thryssa dayi Wongratana 1983 in honor of Francis Day (1829–1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, “the greatest of all ichthyologists to study Indian fishes, among whose collection were two of the types … as well as a young specimen”
Thryssa dussumieri (Valenciennes 1848) in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792–1883), French voyager and merchant, who “reported” (translation) on this fish and presumably collected holotype
Thryssa encrasicholoides (Bleeker 1852) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: allusion not explained, presumably referring to affinity with or resemblance to Engraulis encrasicolus (although the two anchovies possess distinctly different shapes)
Thryssa evermanni (Jordan & Seale 1906) in honor of American ichthyologist Barton Warren Evermann (1853–1932), who assisted the authors in various ways, including proofreading the manuscript and “seeing these pages through the press”
Thryssa gautamiensis Babu Rao 1971 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Gautami branch of Godavari Estuary (Andhra Pradesh, India), type locality
Thryssa kammalensis (Bleeker 1849) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: near Kammal (Java, Indonesia), type locality
Thryssa kammalensoides Wongratana 1983 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: referring to its resemblance to T. kammalensis
Thryssa katana (Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2022) Japanese word for a curve-bladed sword, “reminiscent” of its long maxilla
Thryssa malabarica (Bloch 1795) –ica (L.), belonging to: Malabar (i.e., southern India), referring to type locality in Tranquebar (now Tharangambadi), Tamil Nadu, India
Thryssa marasriae Wongratana 1987) in honor of Wongratana’s wife Marasri Ladpli, for her “patient sharing of my study of fishes, her encouragement, and her tolerance of my trips away from home”
Thryssa mystax (Bloch & Schneider 1801) mýstax (Gr. μύσταξ), upper lip or moustache, referring to it long maxilla, reaching to or almost to base of first pectoral-fin ray
Thryssa nasuta (Castelnau 1878) Latin for large-nosed, referring to obtuse snout projecting “considerably” beyond lower jaw
Thryssa polybranchialis Wongratana 1983 polý- (Gr. πολύ-), many; branchialis, scientific Neo-Latin from bránchia (Gr. βράγχια), gills, referring to its high gill raker count, which separates it from superficially similar T. malabarica and T. hamiltoni
Thryssa polynemoides (Günther 1868) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: polý– (Gr. πολύ), many, and nḗma (Gr. νῆμα), thread, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its gill rakers, “fine and closely set, the longest as long as the eye”
Thryssa porava Bleeker 1849 from Peddah Poorawah (“Great Purava”), local vernacular for anchovies or other herring-like fishes as reported by Russell’s Descriptions and figures of two hundred fishes; collected at Vizagapatam on the coast of Coromandel (1803) [not to be confused with T. purava]
Thryssa purava (Hamilton 1822) from Peddah Poorawah (“Great Purava”), local vernacular for anchovies or other herring-like fishes as reported by Russell’s Descriptions and figures of two hundred fishes; collected at Vizagapatam on the coast of Coromandel (1803) [not to be confused with T. porava]
Thryssa rastrosa Roberts 1978 –osa, Latin suffix connoting fullness or abundance: rastrum (L.), rake, referring to “exceptionally numerous gill rakers, which apparently increase in number as long as growth continues”
Thryssa samam (Montrouzier 1857) from Samam inan, local name for this anchovy in Papua New Guinea; according to Montrouzier, inan means mother, allusion unclear [name sometimes incorrectly given as samaniman and authorship sometimes attributed to Montrouzier & Thiollière, including the name of the person who edited and annotated Montrouzier’s manuscript and may warrant credit]
Thryssa scratchleyi (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886) “in memory of the late Sir Peter Scratchley [1835–1885], first High Commissioner of New Guinea, whose death [from malaria] at this critical period in the affairs of the young colony is greatly to be deplored”
Thryssa serena (Hata & Motomura 2019) Latin for serene, referring to the “serenity of the Arabian Sea,” where it occurs
Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet 1782) seta or saeta (L.), hair or bristle; rostris Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, probably referring to excessively long maxillary (originating from near the snout) that extends beyond base of pectoral fins, sometimes to base of anal fin
Thryssa spinidens (Jordan & Seale 1925) spini-, from spina (L.), thorn or spine; dens (L.), tooth, referring to its sharp canine teeth
Thyrssa splendida (Hata 2022) Latin for distinguished, noble or illustrious, referring to its “elegantly extended maxilla”
Thryssa stenosoma Wongratana 1983 sténos (Gr. στένος), narrow; sṓma (Gr. σῶμα), body, referring to its slenderer body compared with S. purava
Thryssa supra (Hata, Psomadakis, Osmany & Motomura 2021) supra– (L.), above, over or beyond, referring to higher counts of scales, fin rays, and gill rakers compared with related species
Thryssa tuberculosa (Lacepède 1803) Neo-Latin for full of swellings or bumps, described as having a tubercle at the end of its snout
Thryssa valenciennesi (Bleeker 1866) in memory of French zoologist Achille Valenciennes (1794–1865), successor of Cuvier’s Histoire naturelle des poisons, but did not live to finish this “great” work, which he had begun in 1828 with his “famous master” (translations)
Thryssa vitrirostris (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) vitrum (L.), glass; rostris (scientific Neo-Latin), snouted; authors propose “Glass-nose” as vernacular but allusion is not evident from their description nor from other accounts
Thryssa whiteheadi Wongratana 1983 in honor of Peter J. P. Whitehead (1930–1993), British Museum (Natural History), whose 1965 review of Red Sea clupeoids “was a major step in understanding the species of this region”
Anchovies
Subfamily ENGRAULINAE Gill 1861
Amazonsprattus Roberts 1984 Amazon, referring to its distribution in the Amazon basin of Brazil; sprattus, Latinization of sprattes (late Middle English), a herring or herring-like fish
Amazonsprattus scintilla Roberts 1984 Latin for spark, “hence the smallest trace or particle,” referring to its being the smallest known clupeomorph fish (up to 19.5 mm SL)
Anchoa Jordan & Evermann 1927 Spanish for anchovy (most species occur in Latin America)
Subgenus Anchoa
Anchoa analis (Miller 1945) Latin for anal, referring to very long base (28–34 rays) of anal fin
Anchoa argentivittata (Regan 1904) argentea (L.), silvery; vittata (L.), banded, referring to “well-defined silvery band [along sides] as broad as the eye”
Anchoa belizensis (Thomerson & Greenfield 1975) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Belize, type locality
Anchoa cayorum (Fowler 1906) –orum (L.), belonging to (plural): cayo, Spanish for small island (“key” in English), described from Hailer’s Rock, Florida Keys, USA
Anchoa chamensis Hildebrand 1943 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chame Point, Panama, type locality
Anchoa choerostoma (Goode 1874) hog-mouthed, from choí̄ros (Gr. χοῖρος), young pig or porker, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), referring to its “enormous” mouth and local Bermudian name “hog-mouth fry”
Anchoa colonensis Hildebrand 1943 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Colón, Panama, type locality
Anchoa compressa (Girard 1858) Latin for squeezed or pressed together, referring to its strongly compressed body
Anchoa cubana (Poey 1868) –ana (L.), belonging to: Cuba, type locality
Anchoa curta (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) Latin for short, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its “short and high” head
Anchoa delicatissima (Girard 1854) Latin for most delicate, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its easily shed (deciduous) scales (described as having a “few scales left scattered all over the body”)
Anchoa eigenmannia (Meek & Hildebrand 1923) –ia (L.), belonging to: in honor of Carl H. Eigenmann (1863–1927) and/or his wife Rosa Smith Eigenmann (1858–1947), both prominent ichthyologists who described many New World fishes
Anchoa exigua (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) Latin for small, short, poor or scanty (i.e., thin), presumably referring to its “much slenderer body” compared with A. curtus
Anchoa helleri (Hubbs 1921) in honor of American zoologist Edmund Heller (1875–1939), who collected holotype
Anchoa hepsetus (Linnaeus 1758) Latinization of hepsētós (Gr. ἑψητός), a Greek “kitchen term” for the “small fry of fishes and other things” that were “put in the frying pan” or boiled for bouillabaisse; Linnaeus may have used hepsetus as a general term for small edible fish (e.g., anchovy), and/or as a reference to the superficially similar atherinid Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus 1758, also used as an ingredient for fish stew or soup
Anchoa ischana (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) from ischnós (Gr. ἰσχνός), slender, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its “long and slender” head
Anchoa januaria (Steindachner 1879) –ia (Gr.), belonging to: January, described from the harbor of Rio de Janeiro (“River of January”), Brazil
Anchoa lamprotaenia Hildebrand 1943 lamprós (Gr. λαμπρός), bright; taenia (L.), from tainía (Gr. ταινία), band or ribbon, referring to bright silvery band on middle of side
Anchoa lucida (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) Latin for clear or bright, probably referring to its translucent body
Anchoa marinii Hildebrand 1943 in honor of Argentine ichthyologist Tomás L. Marini (1902–1984), who proposed a name for this species in 1935 but did not provide any distinguishing features
Anchoa mitchilli (Valenciennes 1848) in honor of Samuel Latham Mitchill (1764–1831), naturalist, physician and U.S. Senator, who studied the fishes of New York (type locality)
Anchoa mitchilli diaphana Hildebrand 1943 Latinization of diaphanḗs (Gr. διαφανής), translucent or transparent, allusion not explained but probably referring to its nearly see-through coloration
Anchoa mundeola (Gilbert & Pierson 1898) somewhat shining (per the authors), from mundus (L.), neat or clean, referring to uniform light-olive body with silvery reflections
Anchoa mundeoloides (Breder 1928) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: resembling A. mundeola
Anchoa panamensis (Steindachner 1876) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Panama, type locality
Anchoa parva (Meek & Hildebrand 1923) Latin for little, possibly referring to its small size (described at 35–55 mm SL)
Anchoa pectoralis Hildebrand 1943 Latin for pectoral, referring to its many-rayed pectoral fin
Anchoa scofieldi (Jordan & Culver 1895) in honor of Jordan’s student (and later fisheries biologist) Norman Bishop Scofield (1869–1958), member of the Hopkins Expedition that collected holotype in Sinaloa
Anchoa spinifer (Valenciennes 1848) spina (L.), thorn or spine; –fer, from fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to subopercle projecting beyond opercle, forming a small triangular prominence
Anchoa starksi (Gilbert & Pierson 1898) in honor of Gilbert’s student (and later authority in fish osteology) Edwin Chapin Starks (1867–1932), a member of the Hopkins Expedition that collected holotype in Panama
Anchoa tricolor (Spix & Agassiz 1829) tri– (L.), three, described has having three colors: blue back, golden sides and abdomen, and reddish-yellow fins
Anchoa trinitatis (Fowler 1915) Latin for “of the trinity,” referring to Trinidad, where type locality (Port of Spain) is situated
Anchoa walkeri Baldwin & Chang 1970 in honor of American fisheries biologist Boyd W. Walker (1917–2001), University of California, Los Angeles (USA), who collected holotype and encouraged the writing of its description
Anchoa (subgenus Anchovietta) Nelson 1986 diminutive of Anchovia or anchovy, presumably connoting its subgeneric status
Anchoa filifera (Fowler 1915) filum (L.), thread or filament; –fer, from fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to pectoral fin with greatly elongated uppermost ray
Anchoa filifera longipinnis (Beebe & Tee Van 1928) longus (L.), long; pinnis, scientific Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, referring to its long pectoral fins, with filamentous tips, reaching half-way between base of ventral fins and origin of anal fin
Anchoa lyolepis (Evermann & Marsh 1900) lýō (Gr. λύω), to loosen; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, allusion not explained, probably referring to its deciduous scales
Anchoa lyolepis continentalis Cervigón 1969 Latin for continental, referring to its distribution among the continental-shelf islands of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico
Anchoa nasus (Kner & Steindachner 1867) Latin for nose, referring to it long snout overhanging the lower jaw
Anchoa nasus naso (Gilbert & Pierson 1898) Latin for long-nosed, referring to long, compressed, bluntly rounded snout, its length exceeding size of eye
Anchovia Jordan & Evermann 1895 from the Spanish anchova, a name long applied to European anchovies
Anchovia clupeoides (Swainson 1839) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: referring to its resemblance to the clupeid Clupea sprattus (=Sprattus sprattus)
Anchovia macrolepidota (Kner 1863) large-scaled, from makrós (Gr. μaκρóς), long or large, and lepidōtós (Gr. λεπιδωτός), scaly, referring to its large scales (“squamae magnae”)
Anchovia surinamensis (Bleeker 1865) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Suriname, type locality
Anchoviella Fowler 1911 diminutive of Anchovia, referring to the small size of most species
Anchoviella alleni (Myers 1940) in honor of zoologist William Ray Allen (1885–1955), Indiana University, who collected holotype
Anchoviella balboae (Jordan & Seale 1926) of Balboa, Canal Zone (Pacific entrance), Panama (type locality)
Anchoviella blackburni Hildebrand 1943 in honor of Paul P. Blackburn (1883–1970), commanding officer of the U.S.S. Niagara, who made an extensive collection of fishes in the Gulf of Venezuela, including holotype of this one
Anchoviella brevirostris (Günther 1868) brevis (L.), short; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, which “projects but slightly beyond the lower jaw” in contrast with other anchovies whose snouts project much farther
Anchoviella carrikeri Fowler 1940 in honor of Melbourne Armstrong Carriker, Jr. (1879–1965), ornithological collector and explorer in the Neotropics, who helped collect holotype
Anchoviella cayennensis (Puyo 1946) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Cayenne River at Macouria, French Guiana, type locality
Anchoviella elongata (Meek & Hildebrand 1923) Latin for prolonged, referring to its “very elongate” body
Anchoviella guianensis (Eigenmann 1912) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Guyana, where type locality (Bartica rocks) is situated
Anchoviella hernanni Loeb, Varella & Menezes 2018 in honor of Peruvian ichthyologist Hernán Ortega, National University of San Marcos (Lima), for his “contribution to knowledge about the diversity of fishes of Peru and his support for many researchers, either by making material available or by guiding students” (he also collected holotype) [the reason for the second “n” in the spelling is not explained]
Anchoviella jamesi (Jordan & Seale 1926) in honor of American psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910, brother of novelist Henry James); in 1865, James took a break from his medical training and joined Louis Agassiz on a scientific expedition up the Amazon River in Brazil, where he collected holotype
Anchoviella juruasanga Loeb 2012 from the Tupí (Brazil) juru, mouth, and asanga, short, referring to its short maxilla, a diagnostic character of the genus
Anchoviella lepidentostole (Fowler 1911) lepidos (Gr.), scale; entós (Gr. ἐντός), inside or within; stolḗ (Gr. στολή), an ecclesiastical vestment usually made of a band of silk and worn over the shoulders during liturgical functions, referring to median lateral row of scales within silvery lateral band
Anchoviella manamensis Cervigón 1982 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Caño Mánamo, near Tucupita, Venezuela, type locality
Anchoviella perezi Cervigón 1987 in honor of Luis Pérez, fisheries lecturer and licentiate (in Venezuela, one who has completed five years of academic study), who provided the type material
Anchoviella perfasciata (Poey 1860) per– (L.), very, continuous or throughout; fasciata (L.), banded, referring to broad band of “unpolished silver” (translation) along sides
Anchoviella vaillanti (Steindachner 1908) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of French zoologist Léon Vaillant (1834–1914), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris)
Cetengraulis Günther 1868 cetus, from kḗtos (Gr. κῆτος), whale, referring to resemblance of long gill rakers to whalebone; engraulís, ancient Greek name (ἐγγραυλίς) of the European Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and standard suffix for the family
Cetengraulis edentulus (Cuvier 1829) Latin for toothless (not true of young specimens)
Cetengraulis mysticetus (Günther 1867) named after the Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus, referring to the resemblance of its long gill rakers to whalebone
Encrasicholina Fowler 1938 diminutive of enkrasícholos, Greek (ἐγκρασίχολος) for a small fish (dating to Aristotle), historically applied to anchovies
Encrasicholina auster Hata & Motomura 2017 Latin for the south wind, presumably referring to its southern distribution, known only from Fiji in the southwestern Pacific
Encrasicholina gloria Hata & Motomura 2016 Latin for glory, referring to brilliant silver stripe along body
Encrasicholina heteroloba (Rüppell 1837) héteros (Gr. ἕτερος), another or different, lobus (L.), lobe, presumably referring to two “membranous lobes” (translation, actually scales) on each side of caudal fin
Encrasicholina integra Hata & Motomura 2021 Latin for untouched, referring to its “having been at no time recognized or referred to in any way, despite the genus Encrasicholina being known for a long time” (holotype collected in 1929)
Encrasicholina intermedia Hata & Motomura 2016 inter (L.), between; media (L.), middle, referring to the intermediate number of gill rakers between those of E. punctifer and E. gloria
Encrasicholina macrocephala Hata & Motomura 2015 big-headed, from makrós (Gr. μaκρóς), long or large, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to its “relatively” large head
Encrasicholina oligobranchus (Wongratana 1983) oligos (Gr. ὀλίγος), few or scanty; branchus, from bránchia (Gr. βράγχια), gills, referring to low gill-raker count compared with its presumed congeners in Stolephorus
Encrasicholina pseudoheteroloba (Hardenberg 1933) pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this species very much resembles E. heteroloba, such an appearance is false
Encrasicholina punctifer Fowler 1938 punctum (L.) spot; fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to blackish dots on opercle and/or basal blackish dots on tail
Encrasicholina purpurea (Fowler 1900) Latin for purple, referring to its scales “shot with delicate purple”
Encrasicholina sigma Hata & Motomura 2020 named for the uppercase Greek letter sigma (Σ), used in modern mathematics as a symbol for “sum total,” referring to the sum total of gill raker numbers (upper and lower series, 37–42) on first gill arch, the “major diagnostic feature” of this species
Engraulis Cuvier 1816 ancient Greek name (ἐγγραυλίς) of the European Anchovy E. encrasicolus
Engraulis albidus Borsa, Collet & Durand 2004 Latin for whitish, referring to “white anchovy” vernacular used by Golfe-du-Lion fishermen in the northwest Mediterranean
Engraulis anchoita Hubbs & Marini 1935 vernacular for this anchovy in Argentina (type locality)
Engraulis australis (White 1790) Latin for southern, referring to type locality between Broken Bay and Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Engraulis capensis Gilchrist 1913 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: described from off the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus 1758) from enkrasícholos, Greek (ἐγκρασίχολος) for a small fish (dating to Aristotle), historically applied to anchovies
Engraulis eurystole (Swain & Meek 1884) eurýs (Gr. εὐρύς), wide or broad; stolḗ (Gr. στολή), an ecclesiastical vestment usually made of a band of silk and worn over the shoulders during liturgical functions, referring to the fish’s silvery lateral band
Engraulis japonicus Temminck & Schlegel 1846 –icus (L.), belonging to: Japan, presumed type locality (no types known)
Engraulis mordax Girard 1854 Latin for biting, possibly referring to large mouth, characteristic of genus
Engraulis mordax nanus Girard 1858 Latin for a dwarf, possibly referring to “short and slender” body and “less elongated” form compared with E. m. mordax
Engraulis ringens Jenyns 1842 Latin for gaping, presumably referring to its large mouth, characteristic of genus
Jurengraulis Whitehead 1988 Jur-, referring to only species in genus, J. juruensis; engraulís, ancient Greek name (ἐγγραυλίς) of the European Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and standard suffix for the family
Jurengraulis juruensis (Boulenger 1898) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Rio Juruá, Brazil, type locality
Lycengraulis Günther 1868 lyco-, from lýkos (Gr. λύκος), wolf, referring to large caniniform teeth of L. grossidens; engraulís, ancient Greek name (ἐγγραυλίς) of the European Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and standard suffix for the family
Lycengraulis batesii (Günther 1868) patronym not identified but likely in honor of English naturalist Henry Walter Bates (1829–1892), who explored the Amazon with Alfred Russel Wallace in 1848 and collected many specimens (mostly insects)
Lycengraulis figueiredoi Loeb & Alcântara 2013 in honor of Brazilian ichthyologist José Lima de Figueiredo (b. 1943), Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, who has “contributed significantly” to the study of fish systematics in Brazil
Lycengraulis grossidens (Spix & Agassiz 1829) grossus (L.), big, coarse or thick; dens (L.), tooth, referring to large caniniform teeth on lower jaw
Lycengraulis limnichthys Schultz 1949 limno-, from límnē (Gr. λίμνη), marsh, lake or pool, referring to its occurrence in Lago de Maracaibo, Venezuela; ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish
Lycengraulis poeyi (Kner 1863) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Cuban ichthyologist Felipe Poey (1799–1891)
Pterengraulis Günther 1868 pteron (Gr.), fin, referring to insertion of dorsal fin a little behind front of very long anal fin, which distinguishes the genus from Stolephorus; engraulís, ancient Greek name (ἐγγραυλίς) of the European Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and standard suffix for the family
Pterengraulis atherinoides (Linnaeus 1766) -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: silversides (Atherinidae: Atherina), referring to its broad silvery stripe
Stolephorus Lacepède 1803 stolḗ (Gr. στολή), an ecclesiastical vestment usually made of a band of silk and worn over the shoulders during liturgical functions; phoreus, from phoreús (Gr. φορεύς), bearer or carrier, referring to silvery lateral band of S. commersonnii
Stolephorus acinaces Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2020 Latin for saber, referring to its long maxilla “being reminiscent of such”
Stolephorus advenus Wongratana 1987 masculine noun derived from advena (L.), stranger, referring to a number of “peculiar taxonomic feature[s] that make it uniquely different from other congeneric species”
Stolephorus andhraensis Babu Rao 1966 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Andhra Pradesh, India, type locality
Stolephorus apiensis (Jordan & Seale 1906) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa, type locality
Stolephorus babarani Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2020 in honor of Ricardo P. Babaran, University of the Philippines Visayas, for “great contributions to surveys by the authors and other collaborators at Iloilo [Panay Island, Philippines] during 2013-2017,” when this species was collected; these surveys resulted in the 2017 field guide, Commercial and Bycatch Market Fishes of Panay Island, Republic of the Philippines
Stolephorus baganensis Delsman 1931 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bagansiapiapi, Sumatra, Indonesia, type locality
Stolephorus balinensis (Bleeker 1849) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bali, Indonesia, where type locality (Boleling, now spelled Buleleng) is situated
Stolephorus bataviensis Hardenberg 1933 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Batavia (now Jakarta), Indonesia, type locality
Stolephorus baweanensis Hardenberg 1933 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bawean Island, Java Sea, Indonesia, type locality
Stolephorus belaerius Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2021 bellus (L.), fine; aerius, from aέrios (Gr. ἀέριος), of the air or aerial, i.e., a “fine wind,” referring to its occurrence in shallow (less than ~36 m) bays, lagoons, and harbors along the Kenyan coast during the northeast monsoon and subsequent rainy season
Stolephorus bengalensis (Dutt & Babu Rao 1959) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bay of Bengal, east coast of India, type locality
Stolephorus brachycephalus Wongratana 1983 short-headed, from brachýs (Gr. βραχύς), short, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, presumably referring to its shorter maxilla compared with S. commersonnii
Stolephorus carpentariae (De Vis 1882) of the Gulf of Carpentaria drainage (Queensland, Australian), where type locality (Norman River) is situated
Stolephorus celsior Hata & Motomura 2021 Latin for higher, referring to its higher gill raker counts compared with similar species
Stolephorus chinensis (Günther 1880) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: China, based on Chinese specimens previously identified as Engraulis japonicus
Stolephorus commersonnii Lacepède 1803 in honor of French naturalist Philibert Commerçon (also spelled Commerson, 1727–1773), whose notes and illustration provided the descriptive material for Lacepède [sometimes spelled with one “n” but Lacepède’s spelling is apparently intentional (he used it four other times in fishes) and is retained]
Stolephorus concursus Hata & Motomura 2021 Latin for running together (i.e., a crowd), referring to its schooling behavior
Stolephorus continentalis Hata & Motomura 2018 Latin for continental, referring to its distribution along the Eurasian continent
Stolephorus diabolus Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2022 Latin for demon, referring to hard spine (a single spine-like scute) just anterior to dorsal-fin origin
Stolephorus dubiosus Wongratana 1983 Latin for doubtful or uncertain, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its previous identification as S. baganensis
Stolephorus eclipsis Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2022 ékleipsis (Gr. ἔκλειψις), eclipse, “reminiscent” of the concave posterior border of its pre-opercle
Stolephorus eldorado Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2022 named for El Dorado, mythical city of gold, referring to its bright-yellow coloration
Stolephorus grandis Hata & Motomura 2021 Latin for large, referring to its larger body compared with the similar S. mercurius, S. multibranchus and S. rex
Stolephorus hindustanensis Hata & Motomura 2022 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Hindustan, Persian name for India, referring to its occurrence off the northwestern coast of that country
Stolephorus holodon (Boulenger 1900) hólos (Gr. ὅλος), whole or entire; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to minute teeth on both jaws
Stolephorus horizon Hata & Motomura 2023 “in reference to the horizontal white line along the lateral body surface in the new species”
Stolephorus indicus (van Hasselt 1823) Latinized from indikós (Gr. ἰνδικός), Indian, referring to Vishakhapatnam, India, eastern Indian Ocean, type locality
Stolephorus insignus Hata & Motomura 2018 Latin for emblem, referring to two pairs of distinct patches on head
Stolephorus leopardus Hata & Motomura 2021 Latin for leopard, referring to numerous black spots on head
Stolephorus mercurius Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2021 Latin name of Mercury, Roman god of financial gain and commerce and guardian deity of merchants, referring to its commercial importance in Southeast Asian fisheries
Stolephorus meteorum Hata, Lavoué, Bogorodsky, Alpermann & Motomura 2023 Latin for meteor (authors say shooting star), referring to silver longitudinal line on lateral surface of body
Stolephorus multibranchus Wongratana 1987 multi– (L.), many; branchus, from branchos, from bránchia (Gr. βράγχια), gills, referring to its high gill-raker count (29–27 + 32–35)
Stolephorus nelsoni Wongratana 1987 in honor of Gareth J. Nelson (b. 1937), American Museum of Natural History, for his “knowledge and classic works on the comparative anatomy and cladistic relationships among clupeoid fishes,” and for providing specimens of this species and suggesting that it might be undescribed
Stolephorus oceanicus Hardenberg 1933 Latin neologism meaning oceanic, proposed as a subspecies of S. insularis (=tri), referring to “first sample from the south-coast of Java,” compared with the putative nominate form, which “seems to occur near islands at some distance from the coast”
Stolephorus pacificus Baldwin 1984 Latin for peaceable or peaceful, i.e, the “peaceful sea,” referring to its distribution in the Western Central Pacific (Guam and Kosrae)
Stolephorus rex Jordan & Seale 1926 Latin for king, presumably referring to its being the largest species in Jordan & Seale’s review of the genus
Stolephorus ronquilloi Wongratana 1983 in honor of Filipino marine biologist Inocencio Aricayos Ronquillo (1918–?), who collected type and whose studies of Stolephorus “broke the ground” for Wongratana
Stolephorus scitulus (Fowler 1911) Latin for neat or trim (Fowler said “slender”), presumably referring to its “elongate, slender, well compressed” body
Stolephorus shantungensis (Li 1978) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Shantung (also spelled Shandong) Province, China, type locality
Stolephorus tamilensis Gangan, Pavan-Kumar, Jahageerdar & Jaiswar 2020 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Tamil, India, where type locality (Thoothukudi fish landing centre) is situated
Stolephorus teguhi Kimura, Hori & Shibukawa 2009 in honor of Teguh Peristiwady, Senior Scientist of Technical Implementation Unit for Natural Biota Conservation, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, for giving the authors the opportunity to collect specimens
Stolephorus tri (Bleeker 1852) from Indonesian vernacular for anchovies, ikan tri (ikan = fish)
Stolephorus waitei Jordan & Seale 1926 in honor of Australian zoologist and museum director Edgar R. Waite (1866–1928)
Stolephorus zephyrus Hata, Lavoué & Motomura 2021 Greek god of the west wind, referring to its western distribution relative to that of S. mercurius and S. rex, with which it had previously been confused
Stolephorus zollingeri (Bleeker 1849) in honor of Swiss “naturalist explorer” (and botanist) Heinrich Zollinger (1818–1859), who gave his collection of Macassar (Indonesia) fishes, including the type of this one, to Bleeker