COMMENTS
v. 4.0 – 16 Nov. 2022 view/download PDF
Family AMARSIPIDAE Amarsipa
Amarsipus Haedrich 1969 a-, without; marsupium, sac or pouch, referring to “remarkable” absence of pharyngeal sacs
Amarsipus carlsbergi Haedrich 1969 in honor of the “Danish house of Carlsberg, patron of oceanic ichthyology for over half a century and brewer of a very fine beer” (Carlsberg Foundation sponsored expedition during which type was collected)
Family CENTROLOPHIDAE Medusafishes
8 genera · 30 species
Centrolophus Lacepède 1802 kentron, thorn or spine; lophus, crest, referring to prickly ridge-like crest hidden under skin above neck of C. nigra (actually serrulate head bones)
Centrolophus niger (Gmelin 1789) black, presumably alluding to “blackfish,” its common name in Cornwall, England, as reported in Borlase (1758), probably named for its dark brown to black color in life
Hyperoglyphe Günther 1859 hypero-, above; glyphe, groove, referring to deep longitudinal groove in roof of mouth of H. porosa (=antarctica)
Hyperoglyphe antarctica (Carmichael 1819) southern, referring to its type locality, Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic
Hyperoglyphe bythites (Ginsburg 1954) an animal of the depths, from bythos, deep, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its occurrence at 402 m
Hyperoglyphe japonica (Döderlein 1884) Japanese, described from Tokyo, Japan (occurs in western and central North Pacific, including southern Japan, Taiwan, and Hawaiian Islands)
Hyperoglyphe macrophthalma (Miranda Ribeiro 1915) macro-, large; ophthalma, eyed, referring to its large eyes, 3½ times in HL
Hyperoglyphe perciformis (Mitchill 1818) perci-, perch; formis, form or shape, allusion not explained; perhaps Mitchill considered it as a perch-like dolphinfish based on his placement of it in the dolphinfish genus Coryphaena and the proposed common name “Perch Coryphaena”
Hyperoglyphe pringlei (Smith 1949) in honor of South African zoologist John Adams Pringle (1910-2002), Director, Port Elizabeth Museum, who, per Smith (1953), “has from the start spared no effort to assist, and has repeatedly secured rare and valuable fishes”
Icichthys Jordan & Gilbert 1880 ictico-, yielding or pliable, referring to its flexible skeleton; ichthys, fish, presumed to be related to Icosteus (Icosteidae), which also has a flexible skeleton
Icichthys lockingtoni Jordan & Gilbert 1880 in honor of William Neale Lockington (1840-1902), Curator, Crustacea, Radiates and Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, who described the similar Icosteus aenigmaticus (Icosteidae) in 1880, for his “important work in Californian ichthyology”
Psenopsis Gill 1862 opsis, appearance, presumably referring to similarity to Psenes (Nomeidae)
Psenopsis anomala (Temminck & Schlegel 1844) odd or irregular, allusion not explained; described from an illustration, perhaps referring to its characters intermediate between two genera now placed in Carangidae, Trachinotus (original genus) and Apolectes (=Parastromateus), or to its skin, “divided into a large number of irregular compartments” (translation), possibly referring to skeletal outlines visible through the skin on its slender body
Psenopsis cyanea (Alcock 1890) dark blue, referring to “uniform bluish black” color in life, with an “uneven silvery sheen”
Psenopsis humerosa Munro 1958 of the shoulder, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to large dark blotch above origin of lateral line
Psenopsis intermedia Piotrovsky 1987 intermediate in characters between P. obscura and P. cyanea
Psenopsis obscura Haedrich 1967 dark, referring to color in alcohol, “dark brownish-blue to brown on the back,” with a “prominent dark blotch” on the shoulder, “dark” head and eyes, “dark” lining of gill cavity, and “dark” peritoneum
Psenopsis shojimai Ochiai & Mori 1965 in honor of Yoichi Shojima, Seikai Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory, who was the first to collect and document this species in Japanese waters in 1953
Pseudoicichthys Parin & Permitin 1969 pseudo-, false, referring to its affinity (and previous identification as) Icichthys
Pseudoicichthys australis (Haedrich 1966) southern, proposed as a Southern Hemisphere counterpart of the northern Pacific Icichthys lockingtoni, its presumed congener at the time
Schedophilus Cocco 1839 schedia, raft; philos, fond of, presumably referring to how juveniles of this otherwise mesopelagic species are commonly seen drifting along floating objects and medusae near the surface, where they are easily scooped up by a net
Schedophilus haedrichi Chirichigno F. 1973 in honor of oceanographer Richard Lee Haedrich (1938-2017), a specialist in centrolophid fishes, who sent two specimens to the author for identification
Schedophilus huttoni (Waite 1910) in honor of Capt. Frederick Wollaston Hutton (1836-1905), Army officer and naturalist, whose 1904 paper on New Zealand centrolophids is cited by Waite
Schedophilus maculatus Günther 1860 spotted, referring to four spots at base of dorsal fin, three at base of anal, and two at base of caudal
Schedophilus medusophagus (Cocco 1839) medusa, mobile sexually reproducing life phase of some groups of sea jellies; phagus, to eat, referring to how juveniles feed on tentacles and gonads of medusae floating near the surface
Schedophilus ovalis (Cuvier 1833) oval, presumably referring to body shape
Schedophilus pemarco (Poll 1959) named for PEMARCO, Pêcheries maritimes du Congo à Matadi, directed by Poll’s friend Charles Van Goethem, who collected type
Schedophilus velaini (Sauvage 1879) in honor of geographer and geologist Charles Vélain (1845-1925), member of 1874 expedition to Saint Paul Island, southern Indian Ocean, during which type was collected
Seriolella Guichenot 1848 diminutive of the superficially similar Seriola (Carangiformes: Carangidae), which Guichenot likely regarded as being a confamilial
Seriolella brama (Günther 1860) bream, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to superficial resemblance to Brama (Bramidae), its presumed confamilial at the time, and/or to its occasional common name “Sea Bream”
Seriolella caerulea Guichenot 1848 blue, referring to dark-blue color of upper body (silver on sides)
Seriolella labyrinthica (McAllister & Randall 1975) labyrinthine, referring to maze-like complex of its cephalic lateral-line sensory system
Seriolella porosa Guichenot 1848 full of holes or pores, referring to its subdermal canal system, communicating to the surface through small pores (which Guichenot saw with a magnifying lens but was probably unaware of their function)
Seriolella punctata (Forster 1801) spotted, referring to irregular series if small dark spots on sides of juveniles
Seriolella violacea Guichenot 1848 violet-colored, referring to a “beautiful violet” (translation) color on upper body (silver-brown below)
Tubbia Whitley 1943 –ia, belonging to: John Allan Tubb (1913-1985), CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), Fisheries Division (Melbourne, Australia), who collected type
Tubbia stewarti Last, Daley & Duhamel 2013 in honor of Andy Stewart (b. 1958), Department of Fishes, National Museum of New Zealand, “whose efforts in building a substantial collection of stromateoid fishes from the region has contributed so significantly to our understanding of the life histories and composition of this poorly known group of fishes in the Southern Hemisphere”
Tubbia tasmanica Whitley 1943 –ica, belonging to: Tasmania, Australia, type locality (also occurs off New Zealand)
Family NOMEIDAE Medusafishes
3 genera · 18 species
Cubiceps Lowe 1843 cubus, cube; ceps, head, referring to square head profile (“capite cubico”) of C. gracilis
Cubiceps baxteri McCulloch 1923 in honor of R. E. Baxter, an amateur naturalist on Lord Howe Island, Australia; he sent “many rarities” from the island to the Australian Museum, including type of this species, which he found stranded on a beach after a gale
Cubiceps caeruleus Regan 1914 blue; Regan described its color with one word: “Bluish”
Cubiceps capensis (Smith 1845) –ensis, suffix denoting place: north of Cape Town, South Africa, where type was found on the beach after a heavy gale of wind (occurs circumglobally in tropical through temperate seas, including the Hawaiian Ridge)
Cubiceps gracilis (Lowe 1843) slender, presumably referring to elongate body (maximum depth 25-30% of SL)
Cubiceps kotlyari Agafonova 1988 in honor of Alexander Kotlyar (b. 1950), P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, who collected type
Cubiceps macrolepis Agafonova 1988 macro-, large; lepis, scale, referring to its larger scales compared to C. baxteri
Cubiceps nanus Agafonova 1988 dwarf, referring to comparatively small size of adults (81-121 mm SL)
Cubiceps paradoxus Butler 1979 strange or contrary to expectation, referring to “absence of teeth on the tongue and vomer, a character which previously was used in part to distinguish Cubiceps from Psenes”
Cubiceps pauciradiatus Günther 1872 paucus, few; radiatus, rayed, allusion not explained, probably referring to fewer soft dorsal-fin rays (15-17) and/or fewer soft anal-fin rays (14-16) compared to C. capensis (20-23 and 20-21) and/or C. gracilis (21-22 and 20-21)
Cubiceps squamicepoides Deng, Xiong & Zhan 1983 –oides, having the form of: most similar to C. squamiceps (=whiteleggii) but differing in having fewer teeth
Cubiceps whiteleggii (Waite 1894) in honor of Waite’s colleague, naturalist Thomas Whitelegge (1850-1927), who “obtained” several specimens that had washed on to the beach (and were still alive)
Nomeus Cuvier 1816 Greek for herdsmen, translation of the Dutch vernacular Harder (herder or shepherd), possibly referring to its superficial similarity to the Pilot Fish (Naucrates ductor, Carangiformes: Carangidae), and/or to its occurrence within the stinging tentacles of Physalia, the Portuguese man o’ war
Nomeus gronovii (Gmelin 1789) in honor of Dutch naturalist Laurens Theodorus Gronovius (also known as Gronow, 1730-1777), who described but did not propose a Linnaean (binominal) name for this species in 1763
Psenes Valenciennes 1833 Greek for osprey (Pandion), allusion not explained nor evident
Psenes arafurensis Günther 1889 –ensis, suffix denoting place; Arafura Sea, western Pacific, type locality (occurs circumglobally in tropical and subtropical seas)
Psenes cyanophrys Valenciennes 1833 cyano-, blue; ophrys, eyebrow, referring to bluish streak above each eye on some specimens
Psenes hillii Ogilby 1915 in honor of Charles William Hill, Lightkeeper at Cowan Cowan, Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, who provided type
Psenes maculatus Lütken 1880 spotted, referring to diffuse spots forming seven broad cross bands on back and tail, extending to the fins
Psenes pellucidus Lütken 1880 clear or transparent, a nearly colorless and semitransparent fish
Psenes sio Haedrich 1970 named for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), for “considerable contributions to marine ichthyology” (type specimens were collected during a 1960 Scripps-conducted cruise)
Family ARIOMMATIDAE Ariommas
1 genus · 8 species
Ariomma Jordan & Snyder 1904 etymology not explained, probably ari-, a strengthening prefix; omma, eye, referring to eyes of A. luridum, “extremely large, with thin transparent, adipose lids”
Ariomma bondi Fowler 1930 in honor of ornithologist James Bond (1900-1989), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who “secured a collection of upwards of 130 specimens of fishes representing eighty species” from Grenada, including type of this one (historical footnote: Bond’s name was appropriated by writer Ian Fleming for his fictional spy, 007 James Bond)
Ariomma brevimanus (Klunzinger 1884) brevis, short; manus, hand, referring to “much shorter” (translation) pectoral fin compared to Cubiceps capensis (Nomeidae), its presumed congener at the time [often incorrectly spelled brevimanum]
Ariomma dollfusi (Chabanaud 1930) in honor of Robert-Philippe Dollfus (1887-1976), ichthyologist and parasitologist, who collected type
Ariomma indica (Day 1871) Indian, described from Madras, India (occurs in Indo-West Pacific from South Africa, East Africa, Madagascar and Persian Gulf east to Philippines, north to southern Japan, south to northern Australia) [often incorrectly spelled indicum]
Ariomma lurida Jordan & Snyder 1904 pale yellow, the “general shade being a lurid brown” [often incorrectly spelled luridum]
Ariomma melana (Ginsburg 1954) black, referring to its coloration, described as “Brownish dusky or nearly black, all over, or nearly so” [often incorrectly spelled melanum]
Ariomma parini Piotrovsky 1987 in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences, in “sincere gratitude” (translation) for his assistance in the author’s work
Ariomma regulus (Poey 1868) diminutive of rex or regis, king, allusion not explained, perhaps derived from a local Cuban name
Family TETRAGONURIDAE Squaretails
Tetragonurus Risso 1810 tetra-, four; gonia, angle; oura, tail, referring to long and thick caudal peduncle, square in cross section (hence the common name Squaretails)
Tetragonurus atlanticus Lowe 1839 –icus, belonging to: described from the eastern Atlantic off Madeira, perhaps named to distinguish it from T. cuvieri, described from the Mediterranean (circumglobal in tropical through temperate seas, including Hawaiian Islands)
Tetragonurus cuvieri Risso 1810 in honor of French naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
Tetragonurus pacificus Abe 1953 icus, belonging to: Pacific Ocean, described from a specimen collected from the stomach of a Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) west of Solomon Islands in the western Pacific
Family STROMATEIDAE Butterfishes
3 genera · 21 species
Pampus Bonaparte 1834 pampus, derived from pompano, vernacular name among 19th-century Spanish and Portuguese colonials generally used for any compressed, silvery fish
Pampus argenteus (Euphrasen 1788) silvery, referring to silver-to-white body color
Pampus candidus (Cuvier 1829) shining white, referring to silver-gray or white body color, with a bluish tint towards the back
Pampus chinensis (Euphrasen 1788) –ensis, suffix denoting place: described from mouth of the Pearl River, Guangdong Province, China (occurs in Indo-West Pacific from Persian Gulf east to eastern Indonesia, north to southern Japan)
Pampus cinereus (Bloch 1795) ash-colored, referring to gray body compared to white or silvery body of P. argenteus
Pampus griseus (Cuvier 1833) Latin for gray, referring to its gray (actually silvery) body color
Pampus liuorum Liu & Li 2013 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of the family of Rui-Yu Liu, former director of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his “outstanding” contributions to the studies of marine biodiversity in China
Pampus minor Liu & Li 1998 smaller or lesser, referring to small size (<150 mm SL) compared to Chinese congeners (>300 mm SL)
Pampus nozawae (Ishikawa 1904) in honor of zoologist Shunjiro (sometimes spelled Sunziro) Nozawa, Director, Fisheries Bureau (Hokkaido, Japan)
Pampus punctatissimus (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) very spotted, referring to small round or oblong spot, a little darker than background color, in center of each scale
Peprilus Cuvier 1829 etymology not explained, possibly derived from the Greek peprilos, an ancient name for an unknown kind of fish from Thrace that Cuvier applied to butterfishes
Peprilus burti Fowler 1944 in honor of herpetologist Charles E. Burt (1904-1963), from whom Fowler received many American fishes, including paratypes of this one
Peprilus crenulatus Cuvier 1829 cut or clipped, referring to grooves or crenulations in its dorsal- and anal-fin spines
Peprilus medius (Peters 1869) middle, allusion not explained, perhaps intermediate in one or more characters compared to known congeners at the time
Peprilus ovatus Horn 1970 oval, referring to its short, deep body
Peprilus paru (Linnaeus 1758) Jamaican name for this species as reported in Sloane’s 1725 Voyage to Jamaica
Peprilus simillimus (Ayres 1860) similar, referring to resemblance to its Atlantic counterpart, P. triacanthus
Peprilus snyderi Gilbert & Starks 1904 in honor of ichthyologist John Otterbein Snyder (1867-1943), “our friend and associate, … who has helped us materially in the preparation of this report”
Peprilus triacanthus (Peck 1804) tri-, three; acanthus, spine, referring to first dorsal-fin spine, first anal-fin spine, and spine on ventral surface of pelvic bone
Peprilus xanthurus (Quoy & Gaimard 1825) xanthus, yellow; oura, tail, referring to dirty yellowish caudal fin in life (hyaline in alcohol)
Stromateus Linnaeus 1758 name applied by ancient Greeks of Egypt to an unknown fish probably from the Red Sea, derived from a word for a patchwork rug or blanket, possibly referring to the fish’s flat body and patchwork colors; Rondelet (1554) later applied the name to S. fiatola
Stromateus brasiliensis Fowler 1906 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, type locality (occurs in Atlantic from Brazil to Argentina)
Stromateus fiatola Linnaeus 1758 old name for this species among Italian fishermen of the Mediterranean Sea
Stromateus stellatus Cuvier 1829 starred or starry, presumably referring to black or blue spots on upper body
Family ARRIPIDAE Australasian Salmons
Arripis Jenyns 1840 a-, without; rhipis, fan, referring to scales of A. georgianus, which have, “instead of the usual fan of diverging striae on their basal portions, a triangular space filled up by a number of extremely fine, closely-approximating striae, parallel to each other, and also parallel to the basal margin, which is cut quite square and entire”
Arripis georgiana (Valenciennes 1831) –ianus, belonging to: King George Sound, Western Australia, co-type locality [often misspelled georgianus]
Arripis trutta (Forster 1801) trout, presumably referring to “Salmon-peel” (young salmon), its name among British sailors (today the species is known as “Australian Salmon” and “Bay Trout”)
Arripis truttacea (Cuvier 1829) trout-like, so similar to Arripis trutta that it could be the same species (they differ in gill-raker counts) [often misspelled truttaceus]
Arripis xylabion Paulin 1993 Greek for “fire-tongs,” referring to large forked caudal fin that distinguishes it from congeners
Family BRAMIDAE Pomfrets
7 genera · 20 species
Brama Bloch & Schneider 1801 derived from abramis, presumably based on the “lesser sea-bream” of Pennant’s British Zoology (1769) or other British accounts in which bramids are referring to as “bream” (not tautonymous with Bonaterre’s Sparus brama since type species is Sparus raii Bloch 1791, now considered a junior synonym of B. brama)
Brama australis Valenciennes 1838 southern, referring to its occurrence in the Southern Hemisphere (described off the coast of Valparaiso, Chile)
Brama brama (Bonnaterre 1788) derived from abramis, bream, based on the “lesser sea-bream” of Pennant’s British Zoology (1769)
Brama caribbea Mead 1972 named for its distribution in or near the Caribbean Sea (western Atlantic)
Brama dussumieri Cuvier 1831 in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who collected type from stomach of an albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga (see also B. orcini, below)
Brama japonica Hilgendorf 1878 Japanese, referring to Sea of Japan, type locality (occurs in North Pacific from Japan and Aleutian Islands, south to Hawaiian Ridge)
Brama myersi Mead 1972 in honor of George S. Myers (1905-1985), Mead’s ichthyology professor at Stanford University
Brama orcini Cuvier 1831 etymology not explained, probably of Orcynus, a junior synonym of Thunnus, referring to how Dussumier collected type from the stomach of an albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga (see also B. dussumieri, above)
Brama pauciradiata Moteki, Fujita & Last 1995 pauci-, few; radiatus, rayed, referring to having relatively few dorsal- and anal-fin rays compared to congeners
Eumegistus Jordan & Jordan 1922 eu-, well or very; megistos, big or powerful, allusion not explained, probably referring to type specimen of E. illustris, found at a market in Honolulu, Hawai‘i; “It was about two feet in length, weighing nearly nine pounds. … On account of its great bulk the senior author was unable to take the fish as a whole,” instead retaining just the head, tail and fins
Eumegistus brevorti (Poey 1860) in honor of the “esteemed” (translation) ichthyologist James Carson Brevoort (1818-1887, consistently misspelled with one “o” by Poey) [Brevoort was a businessman and philanthropist who supported various literary and scientific societies and institutions and was himself a fine amateur naturalist; his zoological library was then reputed to be the finest in America]
Eumegistus illustris Jordan & Jordan 1922 bright, presumably referring to its “lustrous brownish black” color
Pteraclis Gronow 1772 pteron, fin; kleistos, shut or closed, “name indicating the double rows of scales that embrace the bases of the two vertical fins” (translation) of P. pinnata (=veliferum)
Pteraclis aesticola (Jordan & Snyder 1901) aestas, summer; –cola, dweller or inhabitant, referring to type locality in Kuro Shiwo or Japanese Warm Current off the coast of Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Pteraclis carolinum Valenciennes 1833 Carolinian, described from off the coast of South Carolina (USA) [often misspelled carolinus]
Pteraclis veliferum (Pallas 1770) velum, sail; fero, to bear, referring to large, sail-like dorsal and anal fins [often misspelled veliferum]
Pterycombus Fries 1837 pterus, fin; kombus, girded or tucked, referring to how dorsal and anal fins are wholly depressible into grooves formed by large scales along the bases of the fins
Pterycombus brama Fries 1837 derived from abramis, bream, but in this case probably alluding to its relationship with the confamilial Brama (in addition, Fries mentions that both genera have caudal fins densely covered by thin scales that form parallel rows)
Pterycombus petersii (Hilgendorf 1878) patronym not identified but probably in honor of Wilhelm Peters (1815-1883), German herpetologist and explorer
Taractes Lowe 1843 one who causes confusion, referring to the “difficulty experienced in settling its relations of affinity, which are indeed so obscure and complicated, that but for the subsequent discovery of Brama [now Taractichthys] longipinnis, with its similarly, though contrariwise, hooked scales, its true position, next to Brama, with analogies to many other families (e. g. Zenidae [=Zeidae], Caproidae, Scombridae), must have remained in abeyance”
Taractes asper Lowe 1843 rough, presumably referring to its large, firm and deeply emarginated scales, with a horizontal median ridge or spine
Taractes rubescens (Jordan & Evermann 1887) reddening, referring to salmon-red color in life
Taractichthys Mead & Maul 1958 proposed as a subgenus of Taractes with a deeper body; ichthys, fish
Taractichthys longipinnis (Lowe 1843) longus, long; pinnis, fin, referring to long and falcate dorsal and anal fins
Taractichthys steindachneri (Döderlein 1883) in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), who collaborated with Döderlein in studying the fishes of Japan (including this one)
Xenobrama Yatsu & Nakamura 1989 xenos, strange or foreign (i.e., different), referring to its stout gill takers and numerous scales, different from congeners; Brama, type genus of family and genus in which it was provisionally placed before a detailed morphological study
Xenobrama microlepis Yatsu & Nakamura 1989 micro-, small; lepis, scale, referring to smaller, more numerous scales compared to other bramid species
Family CARISTIIDAE Manefishes
4 genera · 18 species
Caristius Gill & Smith 1905 etymology not explained, probably kara, head and istius, sail, referring to “high and elongated dorsal fin with the anterior rays crowded forward over the head and eyes”; Stevenson & Kenaley (2013) report that it is presumably named after Carystus, a demi-god of Greek mythology, a fanciful interpretation
Caristius barsukovi Kukuev, Parin & Trunov 2013 in honor of the “well known” (translation) Russian ichthyologist and zoogeographer Vladimir Viktorovich Barsukov (1922-1989), member of 1957 Soviet expedition on the diesel electric ship Ob, from which type was collected
Caristius digitus Stevenson & Kenaley 2013 finger, referring to finger-like papillae on dorsal surface of hyoid
Caristius fasciatus (Borodin 1930) banded, referring to three black vertical bands on sides
Caristius litvinovi Kukuev, Parin & Trunov 2013 in honor of the “well known” (translation) Russian ichthyologist Fedor Fedorovich Litvinov (1954-2011), for his contributions to the study of oceanic fishes
Caristius macropus (Bellotti 1903) macro-, long or large; pous, foot, referring to elongate ventral fins, compared to short or rudimentary ventral fins of presumed congeners in Pteraclis (original genus)
Caristius meridionalis Stevenson & Kenaley 2013 southern, referring to austral distribution in Australia and New Zealand (South Pacific) and Argentina (South Atlantic)
Caristius walvisensis Kukuev, Parin & Trunov 2013 –ensis, suffix denoting place: south of the Walvis Seamount, southern Atlantic Ocean, type locality
Neocaristius Stevenson & Kenaley 2011 neo-, new, i.e., a new caristiid genus
Neocaristius heemstrai (Trunov, Kukuev & Parin 2006) in honor of Phillip C. Heemstra (1941-2019), J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology (Grahamstown, South Africa), for contributions to the studies of marine fishes, and who was the first draw attention to this species (in 1986)
Paracaristius Trunov, Kukuev & Parin 2006 para-, near, i.e., closely related to Caristius
Paracaristius aquilus Stevenson & Kenaley 2011 dark-colored, referring to black peritoneum
Paracaristius maderensis (Maul 1949) –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Madeira in the eastern Atlantic, type locality (also occurs in the Pacific)
Paracaristius nemorosus Stevenson & Kenaley 2011 forested or wooded, referring to “various series of mutifid papillae in the mouth and branchial chamber”
Paracaristius nudarcus Stevenson & Kenaley 2011 nudus, bare or naked; arcus, arch, referring to absence of finger-like papillae on dorsal surface of hyoid arch
Platyberyx Zugmayer 1911 platy, flat, referring to laterally compressed body; Beryx, classified in Berycidae (Beryciformes) at time of description
Platyberyx andriashevi (Kukuev, Parin & Trunov 2012) in honor of Russian ichthyologist Anatoli Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009), for his “tremendous” (translation) studies of high-latitude and deep-sea fishes
Platyberyx mauli Kukuev, Parin & Trunov 2012 in honor of ichthyologist-taxidermist Günther Edmund Maul (1909-1997), Museu Municipal do Funchal (Portugal), who conducted a comprehensive analysis of deep-sea fishes of the Atlantic Ocean, including manefishes from Madeira
Platyberyx opalescens Zugmayer 1911 opalescent, referring to bright opal reflections on brownish body
Platyberyx paucus Stevenson & Kenaley 2013 few, referring to its “unusually low meristics,” i.e., fewer vertebrae, dorsal-fin rays, and anal-fin rays compared to congeners
Platyberyx pietschi Stevenson & Kenaley 2013 in honor of Theodore W. Pietsch (b. 1945), University of Washington (Seattle, USA), for his “extensive body of work on deepwater fishes and for the critical role he has played in furthering the careers of many young ichthyologists, present authors included”
Platyberyx rhyton Stevenson & Kenaley 2013 Greek word for a wide-mouthed container for fluids, referring to its relatively large mouth
Family CHIASMODONTIDAE Swallowers
4 genera · 38 species/subspecies
Chiasmodon Johnson 1864 chiasmos, arranged diagonally or crosswise; odon, tooth, referring to “teeth that cross each other from opposite sides of the mouth in the upper jaw” of C. niger
Chiasmodon asper Melo 2009 rough, referring to rough skin due to presence of minute prickles in juveniles and adults
Chiasmodon braueri Weber 1913 in honor of zoologist August Brauer (1863-1917), Berlin Zoological Museum, who reported this species as C. niger in 1906 [treated as a synonym of C. niger by some workers]
Chiasmodon harteli Melo 2009 in honor of Karsten E. Hartel (b. 1944), curator of the fish collection at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, for his “lifetime contribution to ichthyology, in particular to the comprehension of deep-sea fish fauna”
Chiasmodon lavenbergi Prokofiev 2008 in honor of Robert J. Lavenberg, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, a “well-known investigator of deepwater ichthyofauna and the author of an interesting work [unpublished 1974 Ph.D. dissertation] on swallowerfishes” (translation)
Chiasmodon microcephalus Norman 1929 micro-, small; cephalus, head, referring to smaller (i.e., shorter) head compared to C. niger
Chiasmodon niger Johnson 1864 black, referring to body color
Chiasmodon pluriradiatus Parr 1933 pluris, more; radiatus, rayed, proposed as a subspecies of C. niger having 15 instead of only 12-13 pectoral-fin rays [treated as a synonym of C. niger by some workers]
Chiasmodon subniger Garman 1899 sub-, less than or somewhat, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to light-brown body color compared to the black C. niger and/or to close “similarity in outlines” between the two species
Dysalotus MacGilchrist 1905 Greek for “hard to catch,” allusion not explained, perhaps referring to holotype of D. alcocki, trawled at 1289 m
Dysalotus alcocki MacGilchrist 1905 in honor of physician-naturalist Alfred William Alcock (1859-1933), Superintendent of the Indian Museum (West Bengal, India), for the “guidance and help he has invariably given” MacGilchrist
Dysalotus oligoscolus Johnson & Cohen 1974 oligos, few; scolos, thorn, referring to single rows of emergent prickles above and below lateral line, compared to double rows on D. alcocki
Dysalotus pouliulii Melo 2017 in honor of Põuliuli, who, according to Hawaiian legend, generated with his wife Põwehiwehi several species of fishes, other marine animals (e.g., crabs, seals, sea slugs, octopus, porpoise, walrus, whales), and forests on land; the word uliuli is also applied to the dark color of the deep ocean (where this species occurs bathypelagically next to the Hawaiian Ridge) compared to the lighter shade of shallower waters closer to shore
Kali Lloyd 1909 etymology not explained, presumably named after Kali, a Hindu goddess, perhaps referring to Indian occurrence of K. indica
Kali colubrina Melo 2008 snake-like, referring to numerous recurved teeth in upper and lower jaws, resembling snakes of the family Colubridae [K. caribbaea Prokofiev 2008, named for its type locality in the Caribbean Sea, is treated here as a junior synonym]
Kali falx Melo 2008 sickle, referring to well-developed sickle-shaped anteriormost tooth, a diagnostic characteristic for the species
Kali indica Lloyd 1909 Indian, presumably referring to type locality in Bay of Bengal, eastern Indian Ocean (occurs circumglobally in temperate and subarctic seas)
Kali kerberti kerberti (Weber 1913) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Weber’s good friend Coenraad Kerbert (1849-1927), Dutch biologist and Director of the Artis zoological garden in Amsterdam
Kali kerberti normani (Parr 1931) in honor of J. R. (John Roxborough) Norman (1898-1944), British Museum (Natural History), who described K. macrodon in 1929
Kali macrodon (Norman 1929) macro-, long or large; odon, teeth, referring to teeth “stronger and more curved” than in Dysalotus alcocki, its presumed congener at the time
Kali macrura (Parr 1933) macro-, long; oura, tail, referring to longer caudal peduncle compared to K. kerberti normani
Kali parri Johnson & Cohen 1974 in honor of marine biologist Albert Eide Parr (1900-1991), who “independently distinguished Kali and Dysalotus as genera distinct from each other”
Pseudoscopelus Lütken 1892 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may resemble Scopelus (=Myctophum, Myctophiformes, but in this case referring to species now assigned to the beryciform genera Scopelogadus and Melamphaes), such an appearance is false
Pseudoscopelus albeolus Prokofiev & Kukuev 2008 whitish, referring to characteristic body coloration
Pseudoscopelus altipinnis Parr 1933 altus, high; pinnis, fin, referring to longer dorsal- and anal-fin rays compared to P. stellatus
Pseudoscopelus aphos Prokofiev & Kukuev 2005 a-, without; phos, light, referring to absence of photophores
Pseudoscopelus astronesthidens Prokofiev & Kukuev 2006 dens, teeth, referring to shape of marginal premaxillary teeth, resembling dentition in the stomiiform genus Astronesthes
Pseudoscopelus australis Prokofiev & Kukuev 2006 southern, referring to distribution in Southern Hemisphere
Pseudoscopelus bothrorrhinos Melo, Walker & Klepadlo 2007 bothros, trench or pit; rhinos, nose or snout, referring to concave tip of snout
Pseudoscopelus cephalus Fowler 1934 head, referring to larger head compared to P. microps (=altipinnis)
Pseudoscopelus cordilluminatus Melo 2010 cordis, heart; illuminatus, full of light, referring to heart-shaped saf (anal-fin photophores)
Pseudoscopelus lavenbergi Melo, Walker & Klepadlo 2007 in honor of Robert J. Lavenberg, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, for his contributions to our knowledge of the genus Pseudoscopelus
Pseudoscopelus obtusifrons (Fowler 1934) obtusus, obtuse; frons, front, referring “short, obtuse” muzzle
Pseudoscopelus odontoglossum Melo 2010 odontos, tooth; glossum, tongue, referring to well-developed teeth on basihyal and first ceratobranchial bones of the tongue
Pseudoscopelus parini Prokofiev & Kukuev 2006 in honor of the “famous” (translation) ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences, who was the first to discover the existence of this species (in 1977)
Pseudoscopelus paxtoni Melo 2010 in honor of John R. Paxton (b. 1938), Australian Museum (Sydney), for his contributions to the knowledge of deep-sea fishes, and for the support given to the development of Melo’s revision of the genus
Pseudoscopelus sagamianus sagamianus Tanaka 1908 –anus, belonging to: Sagami Bay, Pacific coast of Japan, type locality
Pseudoscopelus sagamianus oceanicus Prokofiev 2011 oceanic, referring to its more widespread distribution in oceans (Atlantic and Indian) compared to the nominate form (Pacific) (Artém Prokofiev, pers. comm.)
Pseudoscopelus scriptus Lütken 1892 written, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to distinct lines of mucus pores on each jaw, in front of ventral fins and across connecting the ventrals, and from vent passing around anal fin on both sides of body
Pseudoscopelus scutatus Krefft 1971 shielded, referring to nine pairs of epidermal bone plates or bony scutes along base of first dorsal fin
Pseudoscopelus stellatus Beebe 1932 starry, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to lines of small green chromatophores along ventral surface from isthmus to caudal fin, on mid-mandible, lower part of preopercle, and base of pectoral fin [treated as a synonym of P. scriptus by some workers]
Pseudoscopelus vityazi Prokofiev & Kukuev 2008 in memory of the “famous” Soviet research vessel Vityaz (also spelled Vitiaz), from which type and several other known specimens were collected [treated as a synonym of P. parini by some workers]
Family POMATOMIDAE Bluefish
Pomatomus Lacepède 1802 poma, cover; tomus, cut, referring to serrated preopercle
Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus 1766) one who leaps, presumably referring to how it skips out of the water in frenzied pursuit of prey or when fighting at the end of a line