COMMENTS
v. 17.0 – 22 Oct. 2022 view/download PDF
Family OXUDERCIDAE Mudskipper Gobies (Paedogobius through Zappa)
Taxonomic note: includes taxa previously placed in the gobiid subfamilies Amblyopinae, Gobionellinae and Sicydiinae.
Paedogobius Iwata, Hosoya & Larson 2001 paedo-, referring to its larval-like (paedomorphic) body; gobius, goby
Paedogobius kimurai Iwata, Hosoya & Larson 2001 in honor of Motofumi Kimura, Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries Experiment Station, who discovered this goby in Japan
Pandaka Herre 1927 a kind of dwarf in several Filipino languages, referring to their small size
Pandaka bipunctata Chen, Wu, Zhong & Zhao 2008 bi-, two; punctata, spotted, referring to two black spots on pectoral-fin base
Pandaka lidwilli (McCulloch 1917) in honor of Mark C. Lidwill (1878-1969), anesthesiologist, cardiologist, co-inventor of the pacemaker, and a pioneering rod-and-reel saltwater angler, who observed this minute (15.25 mm) goby “while in the quest of somewhat larger game” and brought it to McCulloch’s attention
Pandaka pusilla Herre 1927 very little, described at an average length of 14.6 mm
Pandaka pygmaea Herre 1927 dwarf, averaging 2.5 or 3 mm, “unquestionably the smallest fish yet described”
Pandaka rouxi (Weber 1911) in honor of Swiss herpetologist Jean Roux (1876-1939), a member of the expedition that collected type
Pandaka silvana (Barnard 1943) pertaining to woodlands, alluding to its two collectors (C. W. Thorne and H. G. Wood) and the “appearance of sylvan light and shade on the body”
Pandaka trimaculata Akihito & Meguro 1975 tri-, three; maculata, spotted, referring to three spots on ventral side between anal fin and spiny part of caudal fin
Papuligobius Chen & Kottelat 2003 papula, postule, referring to white spots on cheeks of both species; gobius, goby
Papuligobius ocellatus (Fowler 1937) having little eyes, referring to small, black, white-bordered ocellus at pectoral-fin origin
Papuligobius uniporus Chen & Kottelat 2003 uni-, one; porus, pore, referring to “unusual” fusion of pores p and θ into a large pore p
Paragobiopsis Koumans 1941 para-, near, referring to similarity to and/or close relationship with Gobiopsis
Paragobiopsis orbicularis Visweswara Rao 1971 circular or disc-shaped, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “anteriorly cylindrical” body and/or its “rounded” tongue (compared to bilobate tongue of P. ostreicola)
Paragobiopsis ostreicola (Chaudhuri 1916) ostrea, oyster; –cola, dweller or inhabitant, referring to its breeding over oyster beds
Parapocryptes Bleeker 1874 para-, near, referring to similarity with and/or close affinity to Apocryptes
Parapocryptes rictuosus (Valenciennes 1837) open-mouthed, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its wide gape
Parapocryptes serperaster (Richardson 1846) serpo-, snake; –aster, diminutive suffix with derogatory implication, i.e., an inferior snake, alluding to its Chinese name, Pih-shay (“White snake”), and/or to its slithering or creeping movement across mudflats (although Richardson did not mention this behavior)
Parasicydium Risch 1980 para-, near, described as a “Sicydium-like genus”
Parasicydium bandama Risch 1980 named for the Bandama River, Ivory Coast, type locality
Paratrypauchen Murdy 2008 para-, near, a member of the “Trypauchen” group but differing in having a scaleless abdomen, no serrated frontal crest, and a slightly emarginate interradial membrane on pelvic fins
Paratrypauchen microcephalus (Bleeker 1860) micro-, small, cephalus, head, referring to small, slightly compressed head, 8½ times in TL
Parawaous Watson 1993 para-, near, referring to its very close relationship with Awaous
Parawaous megacephalus (Fowler 1905) mega-, large; cephalus, head, referring to large, depressed head, 3½ times in TL
Periophthalmodon Bleeker 1874 odon, tooth, presumably referring to prominent teeth of P. schlosseri; Periophthalmus, referring to superficial similarity to and/or close affinity with that genus
Periophthalmodon freycineti (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) in honor of French navigator Louis de Freycinet (1779-1841), who led expedition during which type was collected
Periophthalmodon schlosseri (Pallas 1770) in honor of Dutch physician-naturalist Johann Albert Schlosser (1733-1769), “celebrated man” and Pallas’ “very close friend” (translations), who received this goby from Indonesia and sent them to Pallas [note: the first specific epithet in ichthyological literature to honor a person using the patronymic “i”]
Periophthalmodon septemradiatus (Hamilton 1822) septem-, seven; radiatus, rayed, referring to seven short rays in first dorsal fin
Periophthalmus Bloch & Schneider 1801 peri, around; ophthalmon, eye, i.e., the periophthalmum, a thin skin (common in birds) that draws over eyes to protect them without shutting the eyelids, referring to mudskippers’ lower eyelid fold (some references say name refers to mudskippers’ wide visual field, but this is incorrect; Bloch & Schneider use just five words to diagnose the genus, “Pinnae pectorales manuformes, oculi palpebrati” [pectoral fins like hands, eyes with eyelids], and did not mention their vision)
Periophthalmus argentilineatus Valenciennes 1837 argentum, silver; lineatus, lined, referring to 20 silver vertical lines on sides
Periophthalmus barbarus (Linnaeus 1766) foreign, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to unusual nature of this mudskipper compared to other gobies
Periophthalmus chrysospilos Bleeker 1853 chrysos, gold; spilos, spot, referring to small, gold-orange spots irregularly scattered across entire body
Periophthalmus darwini Larson & Takita 2004 in honor of naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), for whom type locality, Darwin Harbor (Northern Territory, Australia), was named
Periophthalmus gracilis Eggert 1935 slender, presumably referring to a slightly slenderer body compared to congeners known at the time
Periophthalmus kallopterus Bleeker 1854 kallos, beauty; pterus, fin, referring to colorful bands and margins on both dorsal fins
Periophthalmus kalolo Lesson 1831 native name for this mudskipper in Waigeo, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, type locality
Periophthalmus magnuspinnatus Lee, Choi & Ryu 1995 magnus, large; pinnatus, finned, referring to enlarged shape of first dorsal fin
Periophthalmus malaccensis Eggert 1935 –ensis, suffix denoting place: presumably Malacca Strait near Singapore, type locality
Periophthalmus minutus Eggert 1935 small, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its size (based on one specimen, 4.0-4.5 cm TL, the smallest mudskipper Eggert studied) and/or its very small scales
Periophthalmus modestus Cantor 1842 moderate, modest or unassuming, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to lack of striking coloration compared to congeners known at the time
Periophthalmus novaeguineaensis Eggert 1935 –ensis, suffix denoting place: New Guinea (the Indonesian side), type locality (also occurs in northern Australia)
Periophthalmus novemradiatus (Hamilton 1822) novem, nine; radiatus, rayed, referring to nine spiny rays in first dorsal fin
Periophthalmus pusing Jaafar, Polgar & Zamroni 2016 from Ikan Pusing, local name among coastal Indonesians; Pusing means giddy, referring to headaches and giddiness the locals suffer when they eat this mudskipper; Ikan means fish
Periophthalmus spilotus Murdy & Takita 1999 spotted, referring to small, brilliant whitish-blue spots on head and body
Periophthalmus takita Jaafar & Larson 2008 in honor of colleague Toru Takita, Nagasaki University, for contributions to the knowledge of mudskipper ecology [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Periophthalmus variabilis Eggert 1935 variable, referring to strong variability in markings and shape of first dorsal fin
Periophthalmus walailakae Darumas & Tantichodok 2002 in honor of Walailak University (Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand), where both authors work, on the occasion of its 10th anniversary
Periophthalmus waltoni Koumans 1941 in honor of military surgeon and naturalist Herbert James Walton (1869-1938), who collected type
Periophthalmus weberi Eggert 1935 in honor of ichthyologist Max Weber (1852-1937), who reported this mudskipper as Periophthalmus (now Periophthalmodon) schlosseri in 1913
Polyspondylogobius Kimura & Wu 1994 poly, many and spondylos, vertebrae, referring to its “uniquely numerous” (52-55) vertebrae for a goby; gobius, goby
Polyspondylogobius sinensis Kimura & Wu 1994 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), where it is endemic
Pomatoschistus Gill 1863 pomatos, lid or covering (i.e., gill cover); schistos, split or divided, presumably referring to “extension of branchial aperture above, (a character hitherto unnoticed)” of P. minutus
Pomatoschistus adriaticus Miller 1973 –ica, belonging to: Adriatic Sea of Croatia, type locality
Pomatoschistus anatoliae Engin & Innal 2017 of Anatolia, geographic and historical term denoting westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising most of the Republic of Turkey, type locality
Pomatoschistus bathi Miller 1982 in honor of German ichthyologist Hans Walter Bath (1924-2015), who collected type, for his “valuable” work on the systematics of Mediterranean gobies
Pomatoschistus flavescens (Fabricius 1779) golden yellow, referring to body color (which can range from reddish to greenish brown)
Pomatoschistus knerii (Steindachner 1861) patronym not identified but certainly in honor of Steindachner’s Vienna colleague, ichthyologist Rudolf Kner (1810-1869)
Pomatoschistus lozanoi (de Buen 1923) in honor of zoologist Luis Lozano Rey (1878-1958), University of Madrid, for his “hard work” contributing to the knowledge of the freshwater fishes of Spain, where this goby occurs (also occurs from North Sea and British Isles to Portugal)
Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Risso 1810) marbled, referring to a marbling of orange spots and black dots covering its diaphanous body
Pomatoschistus microps (Krøyer 1838) micro-, small; ops, eye, described as having small eyes, about five times in length of head (but eyes seem much bigger to us)
Pomatoschistus minutus (Pallas 1770) small; Pallas named this goby based on a description given by Gronow (1763), who said it was “scarcely” (translation) 1½ inches (3.81 cm) long
Pomatoschistus nanus Engin & Sayhan 2017 dwarf (or pygmaean, according to the authors), at 14·63 mm SL, the smallest marine fish in the Mediterranean
Pomatoschistus norvegicus (Collett 1902) Norwegian, referring to type locality off Breviksfjord, Norway
Pomatoschistus pictus (Malm 1865) painted, presumably referring to its dorsal fins, with rows of dark brown-black spots interspersed with bands of iridescent blue and pink
Pomatoschistus quagga (Heckel 1839) etymology not explained, possibly referring to seven dark, vertical bars, similar to those of the zebra, Equus quagga
Pomatoschistus tortonesei Miller 1969 in honor of Enrico Tortonése (1911-1987), Museum of Natural History, Genoa, Italy, a “leading authority” on Mediterranean fishes
Pseudaphya Iljin 1930 pseudo, false, i.e., although this genus may superficially resemble Aphia (with its one species previously assigned to that genus, sometimes spelled Aphya), such an appearance is false
Pseudaphya ferreri (de Buen & Fage 1908) in honor of pharmacist and amateur ichthyologist Jaume Ferrer Aledo (1854-1956), who studied the fishes of the Balearic Islands and sent specimens to the authors, including type of this goby
Pseudapocryptes Bleeker 1874 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may superficially resemble Apocryptes, such an appearance is false
Pseudapocryptes borneensis (Bleeker 1855) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Borneo, type locality
Pseudapocryptes elongatus (Cuvier 1816) elongate, referring to its elongated form and pointed caudal fin
Pseudogobiopsis Koumans 1935 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may superficially resemble Gobiopsis (Gobiidaae), such an appearance is false
Pseudogobiopsis festiva Larson 2009 cheerful, delightful or humorous, referring to the elongate “smiling” jaws of mature males [originally spelled “festivus”; emended to agree with feminine gender of genus]
Pseudogobiopsis lumbantobing Larson, Hadiaty & Hubert 2017 in honor of ichthyologist Daniel Lumbantobing, Florida Museum of Natural History, who collected the first specimens and showed them to Larson in 2012, solving the mystery of an orange-spotted goby in the European aquarium trade that aquarists had asked Larson to identify [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Pseudogobiopsis oligactis (Bleeker 1875) oligo-, few; aktis, ray, referring to 6-7 second dorsal- and anal-fin rays, presumably fewer than presumed congeners in Gobiopsis (Gobiidae) known at the time
Pseudogobiopsis paludosa (Herre 1940) swamp dweller, presumably referring to its habitat (which Herre did not describe)
Pseudogobiopsis rubrimaculosa Allen & Larson 2020 ruber, red; maculosa, spotted, referring to reddish markings on fins and body [originally spelled “rubrimaculosus”; emended to agree with feminine gender of genus]
Pseudogobiopsis tigrellus (Nichols 1951) little tiger, a “very small, delicate” goby with tiger-like black vertical bands crossing body and caudal fin
Pseudogobius Popta 1922 pseudo-, false, i.e., not a true Gobius, in which P. javanicus (=poicilosoma) had been classified
Pseudogobius aquilonius Larson & Hammer 2021 north or northerly, referring to its distribution around the north coast of Australia
Pseudogobius avicennia (Herre 1940) Avicennia, a genus of mangrove, referring to its mangrove swamp habitat
Pseudogobius cinctus Larson & Hammer 2021 belt or girdle, referring to distinctive vertical dark bars or bands on body
Pseudogobius eos Larson & Hammer 2021 Greek for dawn or east, endemic to eastern Australia
Pseudogobius fulvicaudus Huang, Shao & Chen 2014 fulvus, brownish yellow (but often used to mean yellow in general); caudus, caudal fin, referring to brilliant yellow mark on caudal-fin base in adult males
Pseudogobius hoesei Larson & Hammer 2021 in honor of Douglass F. Hoese (b. 1942), Australian Museum (Sydney), “goby-friend and colleague,” for his years of collection and photography of many poorly known gobies, and “because he took a wonderful photo of the holotype”
Pseudogobius jeffi Larson & Hammer 2021 in honor of the senior author’s husband Jeff, “who has inadvertently learned much about gobioid fishes over 50-something years, so it is high time that he had a Queensland goby named for him”
Pseudogobius masago (Tomiyama 1936) from its Japanese name, masago-haze (haze=goby)
Pseudogobius minima (Hora 1923) least, the smallest of Chilka Lake’s (Orissa, India) gobies, not exceeding 20 mm SL
Pseudogobius olorum (Sauvage 1880) belonging to a swan, referring to Swan River, Western Australia, type locality
Pseudogobius poicilosoma (Bleeker 1849) poicilus, mottled or varicolored; soma, body, referring to irregular dark-brown spots on greenish body
Pseudogobius rhizophora Larson & Hammer 2021 named for its preference for mangrove habitats, especially Rhizophora stylosa, the mangrove species found over a wide range of conditions in northern Australia
Pseudogobius taijiangensis Chen, Huang & Huang 2014 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Taijiang National Park, Taiwan, where it is mainly distributed in brackish water habitats and mangroves (also occurs in southern China)
Pseudogobius verticalis Larson & Hammer 2021 Latin for overhead or straight up and down, referring to distinctive vertical line through middle of first dorsal fin
Pseudotrypauchen Hardenberg 1931 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus “very much” resembles Trypauchen, such an appearance is false
Pseudotrypauchen multiradiatus Hardenberg 1931 multi-, many; radiatus, rayed, referring to numerous rays (40) of pectoral fin
Pterogobius Gill 1863 ptero-, fin, referring to long second dorsal and anal fins of P. virgo; gobius, goby
Pterogobius elapoides (Günther 1872) –oides, having the form of: Elaps, the coral snake, referring to seven narrow dark-brown rings edged with red
Pterogobius virgo (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) maiden or virgin, allusion not explained; according to Jordan & Snyder (1901), “in allusion to [its] gay coloration”
Pterogobius zacalles Jordan & Snyder beautiful, presumably referring to color pattern, with four dark, broad, vertical bands across body and one at base of tail
Pterogobius zonoleucus Jordan & Snyder 1901 zonis, zone; leucus, white, presumably referring to eight “narrow, indistinct, light, vertical bands” across body
Quietula Jordan & Evermann 1895 diminutive of quies, quiet, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to size of Q. y-cauda (33-40 mm)
Quietula guaymasiae (Jenkins & Evermann 1889) of Guaymas, Sonora, western Mexico, type locality
Quietula y-cauda (Jenkins & Evermann 1889) cauda, tail, referring to y-like mark on caudal fin
Redigobius Herre 1927 redigo, reduced in number, referring to reduced number of dorsal-fin spines of R. sternbergi (=dispar); gobius, goby
Redigobius balteatus (Herre 1935) belted or girdled, referring to single black band extending down body from tip of first dorsal fin
Redigobius bikolanus (Herre 1927) –anus, belonging to: Bicol region of the Philippines, where type locality is situated (widely occurs in the Indo-West Pacific from Indonesia east to Philippines and Vanuatu, north to southern Japan, south to northern Australia and New Caledonia)
Redigobius chrysosoma (Bleeker 1875) chryso-, gold; soma, body, referring to pink-gold body in alcohol (pale gray in life)
Redigobius dewaali (Weber 1897) in honor of B. H. de Waal, General Consul of the Netherlands in Capetown, South Africa (near type locality)
Redigobius dispar (Peters 1868) dissimilar, presumably referring to its “very peculiar” body, which “at first glance resembles [the cardinalfish] Apogon” (translations)
Redigobius lekutu Larson for the Lekutu river system of Fiji, type locality
Redigobius leveri (Fowler 1943) in honor of British entomologist Robert A. Lever (1905-1969), who collected two specimens and sent them to Fowler for identification
Redigobius macrostoma (Günther 1861) macro-, large; stoma, mouth, referring to large mouth, reaching well beyond eye in large males
Redigobius nanus Larson 2010 dwarf, referring to its small size (up to 27 mm SL) compared to congeners
Redigobius oyensi (de Beaufort 1913) in honor of paleontologist Ferdinand August Hendrik in de Marez Oyens (1883-1941), who collected one of the three specimens (but not the type) that de Beaufort examined
Redigobius penango (Popta 1922) named for Penango, a village in Tenggara, Sulawesi, Indonesia, type locality
Redigobius samberanoensis (Bleeker 1867) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Samberano River, Madagascar, type locality
Redigobius tambujon (Bleeker 1854) from Ikan Tambujon, Sundanese name for this goby in Java, Indonesia, type locality (Ikan=fish)
Redigobius vergeri (Bleeker 1867) in honor of Jules Verger, who helped Dutch naturalists Douwe Casparus van Dam (1827-1898) and François Pollen (1842-1888) as they explored Madagascar and collected holotype
Reptiliceps Prokofiev 2007 reptili-, reptile; ceps, head, referring to greatly depressed head with swollen cheeks, similar to that of reptiles
Reptiliceps scarlatoi Prokofiev 2007 in honor of the “eminent” malacologist Orest Alexandrovich Scarlato (1920-1994), who collected type in 1957
Rhinogobius Gill 1859 rhinos, snout, presumably referring to “elongated form of the head”; gobius, goby
Rhinogobius albimaculatus Chen, Kottelat & Miller 1999 albus, white; maculatus, spotted, referring to diagnostic white spots on cheek of adult males
Rhinogobius aonumai aonumai Suzuki, Oseko, Yamasaki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2022 in honor of Yoshimasa Aonuma, a “pioneer” in the taxonomic study of Rhinogobius in the Ryukyu Islands; in his 1992 master’s thesis, he was the first to suggest that the number of vertebrae of this species was higher than those from other islands of the Ryukyu Islands
Rhinogobius aonumai ishigakiensis Suzuki, Oseko, Yamasaki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2022 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ishigaki-jima Island, Yaeyama Group of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, type locality
Rhinogobius aporus (Zhong & Wu 1998) a-, without; porus, pore, referring to absence of sensory canal pores on head, which congeners possess to some degree
Rhinogobius bedfordi (Regan 1908) in honor of Herbrand Arthur Russell (1858-1940), the 11th Duke of Bedford, who served as President of the Zoological Society of London, and sponsored zoological exploration to Korea, during which holotype was collected
Rhinogobius biwaensis Takahashi & Okasaki 2017 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Biwa, Japan, where it is endemic
Rhinogobius boa Chen & Kottelat 2005 Latin for measles, derived from barius (bovine) because Romans used cow-dung to cure measles, referring to red spots on cheeks and branchiostegal membrane
Rhinogobius brunneus (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) brown, referring to its dark-brown dominant coloration
Rhinogobius bucculentus (Herre 1927) full cheeks, described as “bulging” [placed in Tukugobius by some workers, which is treated here as a junior synonym of Rhinogobius]
Rhinogobius candidianus (Regan 1908) –anus, belonging to: Lake Candidius, Taiwan, type locality
Rhinogobius carpenteri Seale 1910 in honor of American naturalist William Dorr Carpenter (1879-1958), who helped collect type (and other Filipino fishes for Seale) [placed in Tukugobius by some workers, which is treated here as a junior synonym of Rhinogobius]
Rhinogobius changjiangensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Changhwajiang River, Hainan Island, China, type locality
Rhinogobius changtinensis Huang & Chen 2007 –ensis, Chang-Ting County, Fujian Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius cheni (Nichols 1931) in honor of tiger hunter Ch’en Ti-Ti, widely known under the name “Da-Da,” who collected type under the direction of Clifford H. Pope (see R. cliffordpopei)
Rhinogobius chiengmaiensis Fowler 1934 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Chieng Mai, northern Thailand, type locality
Rhinogobius cliffordpopei (Nichols 1925) in honor of herpetologist Clifford H. Pope (1899-1974), the “thoroughness of whose field work in China has brought to light many species of fishes previously overlooked”
Rhinogobius coccinella Endruweit 2018 named after a genus of ladybugs, referring to large dark spots on cheek and operculum in males, reminiscent of elytron coloration of some ladybug species
Rhinogobius davidi (Sauvage & Dabry de Thiersant 1874) in honor of Armand David (1826-1900), Lazarist missionary Catholic priest and biologist, who collected many specimens in China, including type of this one
Rhinogobius delicatus Chen & Shao 1996 delicate, referring to the many “delicate” dark spots on cheeks of both sexes
Rhinogobius duospilus (Herre 1935) duo, two; spilos, mark or spot, referring to two prominent spots on pectoral-fin base
Rhinogobius estrellae Maeda, Kunishima & Palla 2021 of Estrella Falls in Barangay Estrella Village, Narra, Palawan Islands, the Philippines, type locality
Rhinogobius filamentosus (Wu 1939) named for its filamentous fourth and fifth spines on first dorsal fin
Rhinogobius flumineus (Mizuno 1960) of a stream, referring to its occurrence in the mountain streams of southwestern Japan, including the Ryukyu Islands
Rhinogobius fluviatilis Tanaka 1925 of a river, referring to its freshwater habitat
Rhinogobius formosanus Oshima 1919 –anus, belonging to: Formosa (Taiwan), where it is endemic
Rhinogobius fukushimai Mori 1934 in honor of Tsunekichi Fukushima, one of Mori’s “military guards” for “most faithful services” rendered during his expedition to Jehol (now called Chengde), Hebei Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius genanematus Zhong & Tzeng 1998 genys, cheek; nematos, thread (i.e., something very thin, like a thread), referring to 1-5 thin stripes on cheek
Rhinogobius gigas Aonuma & Chen 1996 giant, referring to larger size (>10 mm SL) of adult males compared to congeners in Taiwan
Rhinogobius henchuenensis Chen & Shao 1996 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hengchuen Peninsula, southern Taiwan, type locality
Rhinogobius henchuenensis Chen & Shao 1996 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hengchuen Peninsula, southern Taiwan, type locality
Rhinogobius henryi (Herre 1938) in honor of James McClure Henry (1880-1958), Presbyterian missionary in China and Provost of Lingnan University, for his “continued interest in, and warm support of” Herre’s studies of Chinese fishes
Rhinogobius honghensis Chen, Yang & Chen 1999 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Honghe River basin, Yunnan Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius imfasciocaudatus Nguyen & Vo 2005 im-, not; fascio-, band; caudatus, tailed, referring to absence of vertical dark lines or rows of dark spots on caudal fin
Rhinogobius immaculatus Li, Li & Chen 2018 im-, not; maculatus, spotted, referring to absence of black blotch on anterior part of dorsal fin of adult males, unlike congeners, in which this blotch is present
Rhinogobius kurodai (Tanaka 1908) in honor of ornithologist-ichthyologist Nagamichi Kuroda (1889-1978), who discovered this goby
Rhinogobius lanyuensis Chen, Miller & Fang 1998 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lanyu (Orchid Island), Taiwan, where it is endemic
Rhinogobius leavelli (Herre 1935) in honor of missionary physician George Leavell (1882-1957), Baptist Hospital, Wuchow, Kwangsi Province, China, near type locality
Rhinogobius lentiginis (Wu & Zheng 1985) freckled, referring to numerous black spots on head
Rhinogobius lianchengensis Wang & Chen 2022 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Liancheng County, Fujian Province, China, where type locality (Shen-Shiu-Tang) is situated
Rhinogobius lindbergi Berg 1933 in honor of Georgii Ustinovich Lindberg (1894-1976), Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; proposed as a subspecies of R. similis, Lindberg had re-identified the specimens at his museum as the nominate form
Rhinogobius lineatus Chen, Kottelat & Miller 1999 lined, referring to 6-7 longitudinal brown lines on body, a diagnostic feature
Rhinogobius lingtongyanensis Chen, Wang, Chen & Shao 2022 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lingtongyan Mountain, near where type locality (Shar village, Darshi township, Shaoan County, Janchou City, Fujian Province, China) is situated
Rhinogobius linshuiensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Linshui River, Hainan Island, China, type locality
Rhinogobius liui Chen & Wu 2008 in honor of C. K. Liu, who described this goby in 1940 but used a preoccupied name (szechuanensis) when placed in Rhinogobius
Rhinogobius longyanensis Chen, Cheng & Shao 2008 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Long-Yan City, Fujian Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius lungwoensis Huang & Chen 2007 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lung-Wo County, Guangdong Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius maculafasciatus Chen & Shao 1996 macula, spot; fasciatus, banded, referring to spots and bands on sides of body of both sexes
Rhinogobius maculagenys Wu, Deng, Wang & Liu 2018 macula, spot; genys, cheek, referring to diagnostic feature of round orange spots on cheek
Rhinogobius maculicervix Chen & Kottelat 2000 macula, blotch; cervix, nape, referring to large, conspicuous blackish-brown mark on posterior nape of female
Rhinogobius maxillivirgatus Xia, Wu & Li 2018 maxilla, upper jaw; virgatus, striped, referring to two distinctive stripes behind upper jaw of both sexes
Rhinogobius mekongianus (Pellegrin & Fang 1940) –anus, belonging to: Mekong River basin, Laos, type locality (also occurs in Phraya River basin)
Rhinogobius milleri Chen & Kottelat 2003 in honor of goby taxonomist Peter J. Miller, University of Bristol, for his “very kind support to the studies and researches” of the first author
Rhinogobius mizunoi Suzuki, Shibukawa & Aizawa 2017 in honor of Nobuhiko Mizuno, former professor of Ehime University (Japan), for his “great” contribution to our knowledge of the ecology of freshwater fishes in Japan, particularly gobies of Rhinogobius
Rhinogobius multimaculatus (Wu & Zheng 1985) multi-, many; maculatus, spotted, referring to numerous small black spots at the base of each scale on head and body
Rhinogobius nammaensis Chen & Kottelat 2003 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Nam Ma basin, northeastern Laos, only known area of occurrence
Rhinogobius nandujiangensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Nandujiang River, Hainan Island, China
Rhinogobius nanophyllum Endruweit 2018 nanos, minute; phyllon, leaf, referring to enlarged second dorsal and anal fins in males, which are fully stretched during courtship, somewhat resembling a small leaf floating over substratum
Rhinogobius nantaiensis Aonuma & Chen 1996 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Nan-tai, Chinese for southern Taiwan, where it is endemic
Rhinogobius ngutinhoceps Endruweit 2018 Ngu Tinh, a mythical creature in Viêt Nam with the head of a fish; ceps, head, referring to this Vietnamese goby’s large gape
Rhinogobius niger Huang, Chen & Shao 2016 black, referring to dusky to blackish head and body in adult males
Rhinogobius ogasawaraensis Suzuki, Chen & Senou 2012 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ogasawara Group, Bonin Islands, Japan, type locality
Rhinogobius parvus (Luo 1989) small, presumably referring to its size, described at 28-32 mm SL
Rhinogobius philippinus (Herre 1927) Filipino, referring to Irid River, Luzon Island, Philippines, where it appears to be endemic [placed in Tukugobius by some workers, which is treated here as a junior synonym of Rhinogobius]
Rhinogobius phuongae Endruweit 2018 in honor of Thi Dieu Phuong Nguyen (b. 1975), Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1 (Bac Ninh, Viêt Nam), for her enthusiastic interest in Vietnamese fishes
Rhinogobius ponkouensis Huang & Chen 2007 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Pon-Kou County, Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius reticulatus Li, Zhong & Wu 2007 net-like or netted, referring to mesh pattern of intertwined stripes on gill covers of males
Rhinogobius rubrolineatus Chen & Miller 2008 rubrus, red; lineatus, lined, referring to bright red lines on snout and anterior region of cheek
Rhinogobius rubromaculatus Lee & Chang 1996 rubro-, red; maculatus, spotted, referring to red spots scattered over body
Rhinogobius sagittus Chen & Miller 2008 arrow, referring to deep-brown arrow-like shape on anterior region of cheek of males
Rhinogobius sangenloensis Chen & Miller 2014 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sangenlo Township, Wang-Ning County, Hainan Island, China, type locality
Rhinogobius shennongensis (Yang & Xie 1983) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mount Shennong, Hubei Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius similis Gill 1859 like or resembling, referring to its “great superficial resemblance” to Acanthogobius flavimanus
Rhinogobius sowerbyi Ginsburg 1917 in honor of British naturalist and explorer in China, Arthur de Carle Sowerby (1885-1954), who collected type
Rhinogobius sulcatus Chen & Kottelat 2005 scarred, presumably referring to three (rarely four) oblique brownish-black bands and 1-2 stripes on cheek and opercle, respectively
Rhinogobius szechuanensis (Tchang 1939) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Szechuan (now Sichuan) Province (Yangtze River basin), China, type locality
Rhinogobius taenigena Chen, Kottelat & Miller 1999 taenia, band; gena, cheek, referring to diagnostic horizontal band on cheek
Rhinogobius tandikan Maeda, Kunishima & Palla 2021 local name of the Palawan peacock-pheasant Polyplectron napoleonis, a symbol of Puerto Princesa City (Palawan Islands, the Philippines), type locality, and, with blue markings on the body, similar to the bird’s plumage
Rhinogobius telma Suzuki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2019 standing water or marsh, referring to its typical habitat
Rhinogobius tyoni Suzuki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2019 in honor of the late Darsu Tyon (Sanyo Techno Marine, Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan), who discovered this goby and “kindly informed” the authors for their study
Rhinogobius variolatus Chen & Kottelat 2005 –atus, provided with: variola, “spotted disease” or smallpox, referring to spots on cheek and opercle
Rhinogobius vermiculatus Chen & Kottelat 2001 vermiculated, referring to vermiculate lines against brown background on opercle of males
Rhinogobius virgigena Chen & Kottelat 2005 virga, colored band on cloth; gena, cheek, referring to long, conspicuous brownish black stripe on cheek, extending forward to upper lip
Rhinogobius wangchuangensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Wangchuang River, Hainan Island, China, type locality
Rhinogobius wangi Chen & Fang 2006 in honor of postgraduate student J. W. Wang, for his valuable assistance in the field trip of Fujian and Guangdong provinces (China) in September 2002, during which type was collected
Rhinogobius wuyanlingensis Yang, Wu & Chen 2008 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Wuyanling National Natural Conservation Area, Zhejiang Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius wuyiensis Li & Zhong 2007 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Wuyi River, Zhejiang Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius xianshuiensis Chen, Wu & Shao 1999 –ensis, suffix denoting place: tributary of Xianshui Brook, Xianyou County, Fujian Province, China, type locality
Rhinogobius yaoshanensis (Luo 1989) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Da Yao Shan (a mountain), Jinxiu, Guangxi, China, type locality
Rhinogobius yaima Suzuki, Oseko, Kimura & Shibukawa 2020 named for Yaeyama Group, Ryuku Islands, Japan, where type locality (Iriomote-jima Island) is situated
Rhinogobius yangminshanensis Chen, Wang & Shao 2022 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Yangminshan National Park, where type locality (Tanshuei River basin, northern Taiwan) is situated
Rhinogobius yonezawai Suzuki, Oseko, Kimura & Shibukawa 2020 in honor of Toshihiko Yonezawa, Foundation of Kagoshima Environmental Research and Service, who “offered much information and specimens” for the authors to study
Rhinogobius zhoui Li & Zhong 2009 in honor of Zhou Hang (Shenzen, Guandong Province, China), who supplied type and photographs of it
Sagamia Jordan & Snyder 1901 –ia, belonging to: Sagami Bay, Japan, type locality of S. russula (=geneionema)
Sagamia geneionema (Hilgendorf 1879) geneion, cheek; nema, thread, presumably referring to 24 slender barbels on lower jaw and anterior part of throat
Scartelaos Swainson 1839 etymology not explained, probably skarthmos, leap or skip; laos, rock or crag; Swainson did not describe its behavior and habitat, but name most likely refers to how it “skips” over tidal mud flats and over rocks between rock pools
Scartelaos cantoris (Day 1871) –is, genitive singular of: patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Danish naturalist Theodor Edvard Cantor (1809-1860), who explored of the fauna of the Andaman Islands, where this goby is endemic
Scartelaos gigas Chu & Wu 1963 large, at 17.2 cm SL the largest species of the genus (and reflecting its Chinese vernacular, translated as “Big Green Mudskipper”)
Scartelaos histophorus (Valenciennes 1837) histion, sail; phorus, bearer, referring to height of first dorsal fin “on a narrow base, resembling a mast” (translation)
Scartelaos tenuis (Day 1876) thin, referring to its slender body, its height 10 times in TL
Schismatogobius de Beaufort 1912 schismatos, split, divided or separate, allusion not explained nor evident, but here are two guesses: referring to cracks and crevices in the mountain-stream habitat of the type species (S. bruynisi), or referring to how that species’ scaleless body separates it from other gobies of the Indo-Australian Archipelago; gobius, goby
Schismatogobius alleni Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 in honor of friend and colleague Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), for his extensive and enthusiastic work on the freshwater fish fauna of Papua New Guinea
Schismatogobius ampluvinculus Chen, Shao & Fang 1995 amplus, wide; vinculum, band, referring to alternating blackish and whitish (somewhat yellowish) wide bands on body from head to base of caudal fin
Schismatogobius arscuttoli Keith, Lord & Hubert 2017 in honor of the Ars-Cuttoli Foundation, which funded the authors’ research in Indonesia
Schismatogobius baitabag Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for Baitabag village, northern Papua New Guinea, type locality, “as thanks to the Baitabag village men and many small children who cheerfully helped [Larson] collect the holotype and many other interesting fishes”
Schismatogobius bruynisi de Beaufort 1912 in honor of Lt. J. L. Bruynis, commanding officer of the military post at Honitetu, western Ceram, Indonesia (type locality), who helped de Beaufort “in every possible way” (e.g., providing quarters)
Schismatogobius bussoni Keith, Hubert, Limmon & Darhuddin 2017 in honor of Frédéric Busson, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), “for all his work to improve our knowledge on Indonesian freshwater fishes”
Schismatogobius deraniyagalai Kottelat & Pethiyagoda 1989 in honor of the late Paul E. P. Deraniyagala (1900-1976), zoologist and paleontologist, for his “outstanding activity” in Sri Lanka natural history
Schismatogobius essi Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for the non-governmental organization ESSI (Ecological Solution, Solomon Islands), which seeks to improve taxonomic and ecological knowledge of species and ecosystems throughout the Solomon Islands through collaboration with local tribes or communities
Schismatogobius fuligimentus Chen, Séret, Pöllabauer & Shao 2001 fuligo, soot; mentus, chin, referring to entire side of head with deep-black pigmentation in females
Schismatogobius hoesei Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 in honor of Douglass F. Hoese (b. 1942), Australian Museum (Sydney), “eminent gobyologist and good friend,” who first collected this goby in Australia and recognized its significance
Schismatogobius insignis (Herre 1927) distinguished, referring to its “handsome coloration”
Schismatogobius limmoni Keith & Hubert 2021 in honor of Gino Limmon, Director of Maritime and Marine Science Center of Excellence, Pattimura University (Indonesia), for “all his work to improve our knowledge on Indonesian fishes and its application for the conservation of the Indonesian aquatic fauna”
Schismatogobius marmoratus (Peters 1868) marbled or mottled, referring to dark mottlings on brown body
Schismatogobius mondo Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for Mondo village, Solomons Islands, type locality, in honor of the Mondo villagers who helped collect the species and warmly welcomed the authors
Schismatogobius ninja Maeda, Saeki & Satoh 2017 reminiscent of the Japanese ninja, masters of camouflage, referring to its very cryptic coloration against the gravel substrates of its habitat
Schismatogobius risdawatiae Keith, Darhuddin, Sukmono & Hubert 2017 in honor of Renny Risdawati (b. 1967), Padang University, who helped the authors collect freshwater fishes in Padang, Sumatra
Schismatogobius sapoliensis Keith, Darhuddin, Limmon & Hubert 2018 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sapoli, Halmahera, Indonesia, type locality
Schismatogobius saurii Keith, Lord, Hadiaty & Hubert 2017 in honor of Sopian Sauri, LIPI (Indonesian Institute of Sciences), who helped the authors collect freshwater fishes all around Indonesia
Schismatogobius tiola Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for Tiola, the protecting spirit of war canoes in the Solomon Islands and their prow figurehead; according to legend, Tiola came from Kolombangara, type locality
Schismatogobius tuimanua Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 derived from Tuimanu’a, king of all the kings in the Samoan myth of creation, in honor of the people of Samoa, where this goby occurs
Schismatogobius vanuatuensis Keith, Marquet & Watson 2004 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Vanuatu, South Pacific, where it is endemic
Schismatogobius vitiensis Jenkins & Boseto 2005 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Vity (Fijian language for Fiji), where it is endemic
Sicydium Valenciennes 1837 diminutive of sicyus, cupping glass or suction cup, referring to fused ventral fins forming a cup-shaped disc
Sicydium adelum Bussing 1996 adelos, Greek for unseen, unknown or obscure, referring to its similar appearance to the syntopic S. altum
Sicydium altum Meek 1907 high, allusion not explained, probably referring to the high-altitude rain-forest rivers in which it occurs; type specimen was collected at 600 m but species is known to reach 1,180 m
Sicydium brevifile Ogilvie-Grant 1884 brevis, short; filum, thread, presumably referring to “small median papilla above the maxillary suture”
Sicydium buscki Evermann & Clark 1906 in honor of Danish-American entomologist August Busck (1870-1944), who collected type
Sicydium bustamantei Greeff 1884 in honor of Brazilian slave trader Gabriel de Bustamenté, who collected type, and the “hospitable and intelligent” (translation) owner of the farm situated on São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea, type locality [Greeff recognized that Gobius (now Awaous) bustamanei Greeff 1882 consisted of two species; he retained larger specimens as G. bustamanei and smaller specimens were given this name]
Sicydium cocoense (Heller & Snodgrass 1903) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cocos Island, eastern Pacific, where it appears to be endemic
Sicydium condotense Regan 1914 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Condoto, southwestern Colombia, type locality
Sicydium crenilabrum Harrison 1993 crenatus, crenate; labrum, lip, referring to distinct crenulations in upper lip
Sicydium fayae Brock 1942 in honor of Fay, the middle name of Brock’s wife
Sicydium gilberti Watson 2000 in honor of ichthyologist Carter R. Gilbert (b. 1930), Florida State Museum of Natural History, who for more than three decades has contributed much to our knowledge of fishes in the northwestern hemisphere, and assisted many, including Watson
Sicydium gymnogaster Ogilvie-Grant 1884 gymnos, naked; gaster, belly, referring to scaleless belly
Sicydium hildebrandi Eigenmann 1918 in honor of Samuel F. Hildebrand (1883-1949), for his work with the freshwater fishes of Panama, and his discovery of several new gobies in Panama (although this goby occurs only in Colombia and Ecuador)
Sicydium montanum Hubbs 1920 of mountains, collected from a mountain brook at Macuto, Caracas, Venezuela
Sicydium multipunctatum Regan 1906 multi-, many; punctatum, spotted, referring to small dark spots covering head and numerous small dark spots on dorsal fins and base of pectoral fin
Sicydium plumieri (Bloch 1786) in honor of Charles Plumier (1646-1704), Franciscan monk and naturalist, who discovered this goby at Martinique, and on whose drawing and manuscript Bloch’s description is based
Sicydium punctatum Perugia 1896 spotted, referring to numerous small black spots on head and/or brown spot at center of each scale
Sicydium rosenbergii (Boulenger 1899) in honor of William Frederik Henry Rosenberg (1868-1957), entomologist, ornithologist and natural-history dealer, who provided type to the British Museum (Natural History)
Sicydium salvini Ogilvie-Grant 1884 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of English herpetologist-ornithologist Osbert Salvin (1835-1898), best known for co-authoring Biologia Centrali-Americana (1879-1915), a 52-volume work on the natural history of Central America, where this goby occurs
Sicyopterus Gill 1860 sicyus, cupping glass or suction cup; pterus, fin, referring to fused ventral fins forming a cup-shaped disc
Sicyopterus aiensis Keith, Watson & Marquet 2004 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ai River, Efate, Vanuatu, type locality
Sicyopterus calliochromus Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 callios, the most beautiful; chroma, color, referring to its “astonishing” color pattern (entire body of both males and females gold, with two ventral black bands from pectoral base to upper hypural, a black mask on front of head below the eyes, and a black spot on ventral part of head)
Sicyopterus cynocephalus (Valenciennes 1837) cyno-, dog; cephalus, head, a manuscript name coined by Quoy & Gaimard, probably referring to straight row of conical teeth on lower jaw
Sicyopterus elomionearum Lord, Keith, Causse & Amick 2020 –arum, commemorative suffix, plural: combination of Eloïse and Hermione, in honor of the first author’s daughters, “for letting her leave on inventory missions for lengthy periods and also wishes to salute their great interest in their mother’s work”
Sicyopterus erythropterus Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 erythros, red; pterus, fin, referring to usually bright-red anal fin
Sicyopterus eudentatus Parenti & Maciolek 1993 eu-, well; dentatus, toothed, referring to high number (120) of tricuspid teeth on each premaxilla
Sicyopterus fasciatus (Day 1874) banded, referring to six or so dark, vertical bands on body
Sicyopterus franouxi (Pellegrin 1935) in honor of Roger Franoux (d. 1947), friend and collaborator of René Catala (1901-1988), coffee planter and amateur (at the time) biologist in Madagascar; together they collected type
Sicyopterus garra Hora 1925 named for its “characteristic facies resembling very much” that of the cyprinid genus Garra
Sicyopterus griseus (Day 1877) gray or grayish, but described as “brownish, with eight or nine rings of a darker tint surrounding the body” and “dark” fins
Sicyopterus japonicus (Tanaka 1909) Japanese, referring to type locality in Wakayama, Japan (also occurs in Taiwan)
Sicyopterus lagocephalus (Pallas 1770) lagos, hare; cephalus, head, referring to short, snout and hemispherical upper jaw, resembling nose of a rabbit
Sicyopterus lengguru Keith, Lord & Hadiaty 2012 named for the “Lengguru” expedition, which permitted its discovery (Lengguru is also the stream system in Papua Province, Indonesia, where it occurs)
Sicyopterus lividus Parenti & Maciolek 1993 black and blue, referring to blue background coloration and black saddle bars in life
Sicyopterus longifilis de Beaufort 1912 longus, long; filum, thread, referring to filamentous second, third and fourth rays of first dorsal fin [S. brevis, also described by de Beaufort, represents the female of S. longifilis]
Sicyopterus macrostetholepis (Bleeker 1853) macro-, large; stethos, breast or chest; lepis, scale, referring to larger thoracic scales compared to S. lagocephalus
Sicyopterus marquesensis Fowler 1932 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Marquesas Islands, where it is endemic
Sicyopterus microcephalus (Bleeker 1855) micro-, small; cephalus, head, referring to its “short and narrow” (translation) head
Sicyopterus micrurus (Bleeker 1854) micro-, small; oura, tail, referring to shorter tail compared to S. macrostetholepis
Sicyopterus ocellaris Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 having an eye-like spot, referring to distinct small black spot on first dorsal fin
Sicyopterus parvei (Bleeker 1853) in honor of H.A. Steijn Parvé, civil servant in Dutch colonial government in western Java, Indonesia, who collected several species for Bleeker in the town of Garut and discovered this goby
Sicyopterus pugnans (Ogilvie-Grant 1884) fighting, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to pugnacious appearance of bicuspid teeth on upper jaw and/or its “saw-like” edge
Sicyopterus punctissimus Sparks & Nelson 2004 very spotted, referring to numerous small spots on sides and second dorsal fin
Sicyopterus rapa Parenti & Maciolek 1996 named for Rapa Island, French Polynesia, where it is endemic
Sicyopterus sarasini Weber & de Beaufort 1915 in honor of Swiss naturalist Fritz Sarasin (1859-1942), who, with Swiss herpetologist Jean Roux (1876-1939), collected type and later published its description
Sicyopterus squamosissimus Keith, Lord, Busson, Sauri, Hubert & Hadiaty 2015 very scaly, referring to high numbers of scales compared to congeners having two lateral clefts on crenulated upper lip, a second dorsal fin count of I-10, and filamentous second and third rays of first dorsal fin
Sicyopterus stimpsoni (Gill 1860) in honor of marine biologist William Stimpson (1832-1872), who collected type
Sicyopterus stiphodonoides Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 –oides, having the form of: the related genus Stiphodon, referring to the similar color pattern of females
Sicyopus Gill 1863 sicyus, cupping glass or suction cup; pous, foot, referring to fused ventral fins forming a cup-shaped disc
Sicyopus auxilimentus Watson & Kottelat 1994 auxilium, help; –mentum, suffix denoting tool, referring to presumed auxiliary reproductive organs at base of urogenital papilla on males
Sicyopus beremeensis Keith, Amick, Toko & Lord 2019 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bereme village, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, thanking the local community for its “warm welcome” during the authors’ field work
Sicyopus discordipinnis Watson 1995 discordis, different; pinnis, fin, referring to different number of spines in first dorsal fin of males (5-6) and females (5)
Sicyopus jonklaasi (Axelrod 1972) in honor of Rodney Jonklaas (1925-1989), Sri Lankan diver, underwater photographer and zoo administrator, who co-discovered this goby with Axelrod in the “rushing mountain streams of Ceylon [Sri Lanka]” [Sicyopus jonklaasi Klausewitz & Henrich 1986 apparently is both a synonym and a homonym]
Sicyopus lord Keith, Marquet & Taillebois 2011 in honor of the authors’ friend Clara A. Lord, aquatic biologist, Research Unit BOREA, for her “extensive and enthusiastic work on Sicydiinae” [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Sicyopus multisquamatus de Beaufort 1912 multi-, many; squamatus, scaled, referring to greater number of lateral-line scales and scale rows between origin of second dorsal fin and origin of anal fin compared to congeners known at the time
Sicyopus rubicundus Keith, Hadiaty, Busson & Hubert 2014 reddish or ruddy, referring to bright red throat and belly in males
Sicyopus zosterophorus (Bleeker 1856) zosteros, belt or girdle; phoros, to have or bear, referring to black bars on sides of males, which look like a belt
Siphonogobius Shibukawa & Iwata 1998 siphonos, tube, referring to tube-like infraorbital canal extending below eyes; gobius, goby
Siphonogobius nue Shibukawa & Iwata 1998 nue (pronounced “nu-e”), Japanese word for an imaginary chimera-like animal, referring to its specialized characters (e.g., well-developed infraorbital canal, continuous oculoscapular canal, many free rays on pectoral fin, thickened and highly branched pelvic-fin rays, anterior nostril with a minute skin flap)
Smilosicyopus Watson 1999 smila, Latin word for carving knife, chisel or engraving tool, referring to large canine tooth on both jaws, proposed as a subgenus of Sicyopus
Smilosicyopus bitaeniatus (Maugé, Marquet & Laboute 1992) bi-, two; taeniatus, banded, referring to two longitudinal bands on body
Smilosicyopus chloe (Watson, Keith & Marquet 2001) named for the Chloé Expéditions I and II to New Caledonia, during which most of the type specimens were collected
Smilosicyopus fehlmanni (Parenti & Maciolek 1993) in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Herman Adair Fehlmann (1917-2005), who collected and described this goby in his unpublished Ph.D. dissertation in 1960
Smilosicyopus leprurus (Sakai & Nakamura 1979) lepros, scaly; oura, tail, referring to presence of scales only on caudal peduncle
Smilosicyopus nigriradiatus (Parenti & Maciolek 1993) nigris, black; radiatus, rayed, referring to blackened fin rays in both sexes
Smilosicyopus pentecost (Keith, Lord & Taillebois 2010) named for Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, type locality (also occurs in New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa)
Smilosicyopus sasali (Keith & Marquet 2005) in honor of ecologist and scientific diver Pierre Sasal, University of Perpignan, for his “extensive collection effort” in the fresh waters of Futuna, where this goby is endemic
Sovvityazius Prokofiev 2015 Sov, Soviet; –ius, belonging to: Vityaz, in honor of the Soviet research vessel from which type specimens were collected in 1973
Sovvityazius acer Prokofiev 2015 sharp, i.e., sharp-sighted, referring to its better-developed eyes compared to relatives then placed in the subfamily Amblyopinae
Speleogobius Zander & Jelinek 1976 speleum, cave, referring to grotto habitat of S. trigloides; gobius, goby
Speleogobius llorisi Kovačić, Ordines & Schliewen 2016 in honor of ichthyologist Domenec Lloris, Institut de Ciències del Mar (Barcelona), for his “outstanding” contribution to the knowledge of fish species
Speleogobius trigloides Zander & Jelinek 1976 –oides, having the form of: referring to its chiseled profile, like that of a gurnard (Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae: Trigla)
Stenogobius Bleeker 1874 steno, narrow, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to compressed body of S. gymnopomus; Gobius, goby, referring to previous placement of S. gymnopomus in that genus and/or reflecting Bleeker’s classification of this taxon in a phalanx he called Gobiini
Subgenus Stenogobius
Stenogobius gymnopomus (Bleeker 1853) gymno, bare or naked; poma, lid or covering, referring to scaleless operculum
Stenogobius ingeri Watson 1991 in honor of Robert F. Inger (1920-2019), Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago), who collected type
Stenogobius kenyae Smith 1959 of Kenya, where type locality (Sabaki River) is situated
Stenogobius lachneri Allen 1991 according to Watson (1994), in honor of Ernest A. Lachner (1916-1996), curator of fishes at the U.S. National Museum, for his many contributions to gobioid systematics and his “continuous support and encouragement” to Watson (Watson coined the name, which Allen made available in 1991, crediting “Watson 1990” as the author; however, Watson’s description was not published until 1994, making Allen the author)
Stenogobius laterisquamatus (Weber 1907) lateralis, of the side; squamatus, scaled, presumably referring to the “conspicuous scaling of the cheeks” (translation)
Stenogobius macropterus (Duncker 1912) macro-, long; pterus, fin, presumably referring to elongate, filamentous spines on first dorsal fin and/or long and pointed caudal fin
Stenogobius mekongensis Watson 1991 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mekong River Delta, Viêt Nam, where it appears to be endemic
Stenogobius ophthalmoporus (Bleeker 1853) ophthalmos, eye; porus, pore, referring to large pore behind eye at beginning of depression between eye and shoulder
Stenogobius psilosinionus Watson 1991 psilos, naked or bare; inion, nape, referring to predominately scaleless predorsal midline
Subgenus Insularigobius Watson 1991 insula, island, referring to the fact that all known species are known only from island habitats, whether of continental or volcanic origin; gobius, goby
Stenogobius alleni Watson 1991 in honor of Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), for his contributions to the freshwater ichthyology of Papua New Guinea
Stenogobius beauforti (Weber 1907) in honor of Weber’s colleague Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort (1879-1968), University of Amsterdam, a participant in the Dutch North New Guinea Expedition (1903), during which type was collected
Stenogobius blokzeyli (Bleeker 1860) in honor of its discoverer, A. H. G. Blokzeyl, first Dutch governor of Bali (type locality), who collected fishes and reptiles and sent them to the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands)
Stenogobius caudimaculosus Watson 1991 cauda, tail; maculosus, spotted, referring to spot (or spots) on caudal peduncle
Stenogobius fehlmanni Watson 1991 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Herman Adair Fehlmann (1917-2005), Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, for his contributions to ichthyology, as well as collecting most of the type material
Stenogobius genivittatus (Valenciennes 1837) genys, cheek; vittatus, banded, referring to broad brown band descending obliquely from eye and cheek to lower edge of preopercle
Stenogobius hawaiiensis Watson 1991 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hawaiian Islands, where it is endemic
Stenogobius hoesei Watson 1991 in honor of ichthyologist Douglass F. Hoese (b. 1942), Australian Museum (Sydney), for contributions to gobioid systematics and his encouragement throughout the course of Watson’s review of the genus
Stenogobius keletaona Keith & Marquet 2006 named for keletoana, the “customary authority” of the Kingdom of Sigave on Futuna Island, type locality (also occurs on Wallis Island)
Stenogobius kyphosus Watson 1991 hump-backed, referring to its high back compared to congeners
Stenogobius marinus Watson 1991 marine, referring to its apparent habitat preference (brackish and near-marine waters in intertidal streams and estuaries)
Stenogobius marqueti Watson 1991 in honor of aquatic biologist Gérard Marquet, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), for his “extensive” collection efforts in the fresh waters of French Polynesia and the discovering of four new species of Stenogobius (but not this one)
Stenogobius polyzona (Bleeker 1867) poly, many; zona, band, referring to its “many blackish, slender and well-marked vertical bands, even after the scales have been removed” (translation)
Stenogobius randalli Watson 1991 in honor of John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for his many contributions to Indo-Pacific ichthyology
Stenogobius squamosus Watson 1991 scaled, the Stenogobius with the most scales examined from the Marquesas Islands
Stenogobius watsoni Allen 2004 in honor of gobiid specialist Ronald Watson, for “significant” contributions to our taxonomic knowledge of Stenogobius
Stenogobius yateiensis Keith, Watson & Marquet 2002 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Yaté, New Caledonia, type locality
Stenogobius zurstrasseni (Popta 1911) in honor of zoologist Otto Karl Ladislaus zur Strassen (1869-1961), Director of the Natural History Museum of Senckenberg (Frankfurt, Germany)
Stigmatogobius Bleeker 1874 stigmatus, marked, presumably referring to lateral black dots of S. pleurostigma; Gobius, referring to previous placement of S. pleurostigma in that genus and/or reflecting Bleeker’s classification of this taxon in a phalanx he called Gobiini
Stigmatogobius borneensis (Bleeker 1850) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Borneo, type locality (also occurs in Singapore)
Stigmatogobius elegans Larson 2005 elegant, referring to its “slim and elegant” appearance
Stigmatogobius pleurostigma (Bleeker 1849) pleuro-, side; stigma, mark, referring to longitudinal series of 8 or 10 black dots on sides
Stigmatogobius sadanundio (Hamilton 1822) latinization of Sadanundi from Sadanundi bele, its local name near Calcutta, India (per Hamilton’s notes as published by Hora in 1934)
Stigmatogobius sella (Steindachner 1881) saddle, referring to brownish saddle-like marking from anterior base of first dorsal fin to middle of side
Stigmatogobius signifer Larson 2005 signum, mark; fero, to bear, referring to distinctive caudal spot and dark body band
Stiphodon Weber 1895 stiphos, crowd; odon, tooth, referring to closely packed teeth in upper lip of S. semoni
Stiphodon alcedo Maeda, Mukai & Tachihara 2012 kingfisher, referring to metallic turquoise on head and body and orange around belly of nuptial males, similar to plumage of the kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
Stiphodon annieae Keith & Hadiaty 2015 in honor of the first author’s wife Annie, for her patience and unfailing support during field trips in the Pacific islands
Stiphodon astilbos Ryan 1986 a-, not; stilbos, bright or shining, referring to nondescript coloration of the male
Stiphodon atropurpureus (Herre 1927) atro-, black; purpureus, purple, presumably referring to coloration of nuptial males
Stiphodon aureofuscus Keith, Busson, Sauri, Hubert & Hadiaty 2015 aureus, golden; fuscus, black, referring to “mostly black, sometimes slightly golden” coloration of males
Stiphodon caeruleus Parenti & Maciolek 1993 deep or clear blue, referring to bright cobalt blue color dorsally and laterally of males in life
Stiphodon carisa Watson 2008 Latin for an artful woman, referring to unique patterns and color on females
Stiphodon discotorquatus Watson 1995 discus, disk; torquatus, adorned with a necklace, referring to medial dusky ring on pelvic disk in males
Stiphodon elegans (Steindachner 1879) elegant, allusion not explained, presumably referring to beautiful coloration of males
Stiphodon hydoreibatus Watson 1999 hydor, water; oreibates, mountain climber, referring to its ability to ascend waterfalls
Stiphodon imperiorientis Watson & Chen 1998 imperator, emporer; orientis, the rising sun, honoring Emperor Akihito of Japan, where this goby is endemic
Stiphodon julieni Keith, Watson & Marquet 2002 in honor of Julien Keith and Julien Marquet, presumably relatives of the authors, for their extensive collection efforts in freshwaters throughout French Polynesia and in particular in Austral Islands [since two people are honored, spelling should be julienorum]
Stiphodon kalfatak Keith, Marquet & Watson 2007 in honor of Donna Kalfatak, Environment Unit of Vanuatu, for her extensive collection efforts to find Stiphodon in fresh waters throughout Vanuatu [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Stiphodon larson Watson 1996 in honor of Helen Larson, Curator of Fishes, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Darwin, Australia), for her contributions to gobioid systematics, her “good advice and always willing assistance” to Watson [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Stiphodon maculidorsalis Maeda & Tan 2013 maculosus, spotted; dorsalis, dorsal, referring to black spots scattering dorsally on head and trunk of both sexes
Stiphodon martenstyni Watson 1998 in memory of “dedicated naturalist” Cedric Martenstyn (1946-1996), “one of the many unfortunate victims of Sri Lanka’s civil war,” whose “interest will be greatly missed” (Martenstyn, a lieutenant commander in the Sri Lankan navy, disappeared when the helicopter he was flying in crashed, possibly shot down by rebels, over the Indian Ocean]
Stiphodon mele Keith, Marquet & Pouilly 2009 named for Mele waterfall, Efate, Vanuatu, type locality (also occurs in New Caledonia and Fiji)
Stiphodon multisquamus Wu & Ni 1986 multi-, many; squamus, scale, proposed as a subspecies of S. elegans, referring to higher scale count in lateral series
Stiphodon niraikanaiensis Maeda 2013 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Niraikanai, an Okinawan mythical place “somewhere beyond the ocean” from which all life originates and to which the spirits of dead humans return; “possibly, the main habitat of [this] new species is somewhere over the ocean and the type specimens were brought to Okinawa from there”
Stiphodon oatea Keith, Feunteun & Vigneux 2010 named for Oatea, a mythical religious figure in central Polynesia, who created the Marquesas Islands, where this goby appears to be endemic
Stiphodon ornatus Meinken 1974 decorated, referring to beautiful body coloration of males
Stiphodon palawanensis Maeda & Palla 2015 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Palawan, Philippines, type locality
Stiphodon pelewensis Herre 1936 –ensis, suffix denoting place: collected “on the reef at Gorror [Koror], one of the Pelew [Palau] Islands” (although this goby is not a reef inhabitant)
Stiphodon percnopterygionus Watson & Chen 1998 perknos, dark colored; pterygion, diminutive for fin or wing, referring to first dorsal fin, which is blackish in males of both (orange and transitional) color phases
Stiphodon pulchellus (Herre 1927) diminutive of pulchra, beautiful, a “beautiful little” fish
Stiphodon rubromaculatus Keith & Marquet 2007 rubro-, red; maculatus, spotted (authors say “stained”), referring to bright red on side of head and body in males
Stiphodon rutilaureus Watson 1996 rutilus, red; aureus, golden, referring to body coloration of males and common name (Red and Gold Goby) used in the Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of New Guinea (1991)
Stiphodon sapphirinus Watson, Keith & Marquet 2005 like a sapphire, referring to bright-blue coloration and jewel-like appearance of males, especially when viewed in sunlight
Stiphodon semoni Weber 1895 in honor of German zoologist and evolutionary biologist Richard Semon (1859-1918), who collected type
Stiphodon surrufus Watson & Kottelat 1995 reddish, referring to body coloration of males
Stiphodon tuivi Watson 1995 Polynesian vernacular for Stiphodon or freshwater goby
Stiphodon zebrinus Watson, Allen & Kottelat 1998 zebra-like, referring to its bar pattern, especially pronounced in males
Suruga Jordan & Snyder 1901 named for Suruga Bay, Japan, where S. fundicola is especially abundant (Japanese: suru, stork; ga, good, i.e., the bay of the good stork)
Suruga fundicola Jordan & Snyder 1901 fundus, bottom; colo, inhabit, collected from the sandy bottom at a depth of 73-146 m
Taenioides Lacepède 1800 –oides, having the form of: taenia, ribbon, referring to ribbon- or banner-like shape of T. hermannii (=anguillaris)
Taenioides anguillaris (Linnaeus 1758) eel-like, with the body of a “slippery eel” (translation)
Taenioides buchanani (Day 1873) in honor of Francis Hamilton-Buchanan (1762-1829), Scottish physician and naturalist, who published an influential account of Indo-Gangetic fishes in 1822 (Day noted that this goby resembles Odontamblyopus rubicundus, described by Hamilton-Buchanan)
Taenioides caniscapulus Roxas & Ablan 1938 canis, dog; capulus, head, its profile from chin to lower jaw described as “bulldoglike”
Taenioides cirratus (Blyth 1860) curly or fringed, referring to seven “flat and pointed cirrhi” near symphysis of lower jaw
Taenioides eruptionis (Bleeker 1849) erupt, collected in Indonesia on 19 May 1848, during the eruption of the stratovolcano Klut (now known as Kelud), with ashes raining down upon the river, killing most of its fish
Taenioides esquivel Smith 1947 etymology not explained, possibly a member of Smith’s staff or a Portuguese East Africa authority who assisted Smith during the June-July 1946 expedition that collected type (Smith named several new species in the same paper in honor of these individuals, but “Esquivel” is not included in his acknowledgment) [presumably a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Taenioides gracilis (Valenciennes 1837) thin or slender, its height nearly 20 times in its total length
Taenioides kentalleni Murdy & Randall 2002 in honor of marine biologist Kent Allen (b. 1952) Aramco (Saudi Arabian Oil Company), who collected and photographed type (and only known specimen) while conducting environmental surveys along the nearshore and intertidal systems of the western Arabian (Persian) Gulf
Taenioides mordax (De Vis 1883) biting, referring to “strong” canine teeth, protruding on the edge of the jaws
Taenioides nigrimarginatus Hora 1924 nigri-, black; marginatus, bordered, referring to black margins on vertical fins
Taenioides purpurascens (De Vis 1884) purplish or purple-tinged, referring to “deep purple red” color in life
Taenioides snyderi Jordan & Hubbs 1925 in honor of ichthyologist John Otterbein Snyder (1867-1943), who (along with Jordan) identified this goby as T. (now Odontamblyopus) lacepedii in 1901
Tamanka Herre 1927 Tausug (regional language of the Philippines) name for small gobies of Gnatholepis and Rhinogobius
Tamanka siitensis Herre 1927 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Siit, northern coast of Jolo Island, Philippines, type locality
Tasmanogobius Scott 1935 Tasmania, type locality of T. lordi; gobius, goby
Tasmanogobius gloveri Hoese 1991 in honor of John Glover (1935-1992), Curator of Fishes, South Australian Museum, who made material available for study
Tasmanogobius lasti Hoese 1991 in honor of ichthyologist Peter R. Last, CSIRO Division of Fisheries, who supplied much of the Tasmanian material of this species
Tasmanogobius lordi Scott 1935 in honor of the late Clive Errol Lord (1889-1933), former Secretary and then Director of the Tasmanian Museum, the “most notable worker in systematic ichthyology” since Robert M. Johnston (1843-1918)
Tridentiger Gill 1859 tri-, three; dens, teeth; –iger, to bear, referring to tricuspid outer teeth on upper and lower jaws
Tridentiger barbatus (Günther 1861) bearded, referring to two series of small barbels across cheek, another along mandibula and preopercular margin
Tridentiger bifasciatus Steindachner 1881 bi-, two; fasciatus, striped, referring to dorsal and lateral stripes on many specimens
Tridentiger brevispinis Katsuyama, Arai & Nakamura 1972 brevis, short; spinis, spine, proposed as a subspecies of T. obscurus distinguished by its shorter dorsal-fin spines
Tridentiger kuroiwae Jordan & Tanaka 1927 in honor of botanist Hisashi Kuroiwa, Imperial University of Tokyo, who provided a collection of fishes from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, including this species [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]
Tridentiger nudicervicus Tomiyama 1934 nudus, naked or bare; cervicus, neck, referring to naked head and nape, i.e., no scales in front of first dorsal fin
Tridentiger obscurus (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) dark or dusky, referring to dark-brown coloration, dotted with blackish brown, in life
Tridentiger radiatus Cui, Pan, Yang & Wang 2013 rayed or radiate, referring to radiate arrangement of three dusky bands on infraorbital
Tridentiger trigonocephalus (Gill 1859) trigonos, triangular; cephalus, head, referring to shape of its oblong head
Trypauchen Valenciennes 1837 trypa, hole; auchen, neck, referring to oval-shaped opening (actually a pouch-like structure) on dorsal edge of operculum (its function not known)
Trypauchen pelaeos Murdy 2006 Greek for mud-dweller, referring to its typical habitat
Trypauchen vagina (Bloch & Schneider 1801) sheath or scabbard, referring to oval-shaped opening (actually a pouch-like structure) on dorsal edge of operculum (its function not known)
Trypauchenichthys Bleeker 1860 Trypauchen, referring to similarity to and close affinity with that genus; ichthys, fish
Trypauchenichthys larsonae Murdy 2008 in honor of Helen Larson, Curator of Fishes, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Darwin, Australia), who has “devoted much of her time and energy” to the study of gobioid fishes and who has helped Murdy on many occasions in his gobioid studies
Trypauchenichthys sumatrensis Hardenberg 1931 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sumatra, Indonesia, type locality (also occurs in Malaysia and India)
Trypauchenichthys typus Bleeker 1860 serving as type of genus
Trypauchenopsis Volz 1903 –opsis, appearance, referring to similar eel-like shape with Trypauchen
Trypauchenopsis intermedia Volz 1903 intermediate, allusion not explained, probably referring to its being intermediate in form between other eel-shaped goby genera, Amblyopus (=Taenioides), Trypauchen and Trypauchenichthys
Typhlogobius Steindachner 1879 typhlos, blind, referring to blind adults (juveniles have rudimentary eyes); gobius, goby
Typhlogobius californiensis Steindachner 1879 –ensis, suffix denoting place: San Diego, California, type locality
Wuhanlinigobius Huang, Zeehan & Chen 2014 in honor of Chinese ichthyologist Wu Han-lin, for his “great” contribution to ichthyological research in China, especially for gobioid fishes; gobius, goby
Wuhanlinigobius malayensis Huang, Zeehan & Chen 2014 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Malay Peninsula region (Malaysia and Singapore), where it occurs
Wuhanlinigobius polylepis (Wu & Ni 1985) poly, many; lepis, scale, presumably referring to its having more lateral-line scales compared to Mugilogobius obliquifasciatus (=Hemigobius hoevenii), its presumed congener at the time and described in the same paper
Zappa Murdy 1989 in honor of musician and composer Frank Zappa (1940-1993), for his “articulate and sagacious defense of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution”
Zappa confluentus (Roberts 1978) confluent, referring to distal ends of fin rays of first dorsal, second dorsal, caudal, and anal fins joined by a single continuous fin membrane