COMMENTS
v. 23.0 – 8 Oct. 2023 view/download PDF
Family CLARIIDAE Airbreathing Catfishes
21 genera/subgenera · 120 species/subspecies
Bathyclarias Jackson 1959 bathys, deep, referring to species flock endemic to Lake Malawi (or Nyasa), “where they occupy a variety of habitats down to the limits of dissolved oxygen”; Clarias, type genus of family
Bathyclarias atribranchus (Greenwood 1961) atri-, black; branchus, gill, referring to dark grayish-black gill filaments
Bathyclarias euryodon Jackson 1959 eury, broad; odon, tooth, referring to very wide vomerine tooth-band, more than twice relative width of endemic congeners
Bathyclarias filicibarbis Jackson 1959 filicis, fern; barbis, barbel, referring to cone-shaped nasal barbels, with frilled bifid top (somewhat resembling the leaves of a fern)
Bathyclarias foveolatus (Jackson 1955) full of pits, referring to numerous flat-bottomed, circular pits or depressions on skin
Bathyclarias longibarbis (Worthington 1933) longus, long; barbis, barbel, referring to its “extremely long barbels”
Bathyclarias nyasensis (Worthington 1933) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Nyassa (also known as Lake Malawi), southeastern Africa, where it is endemic
Bathyclarias rotundifrons Jackson 1959 rotundus, rounded; frons, face or forehead, referring to “round and chubby” head with “smooth curving contours”
Bathyclarias worthingtoni Jackson 1959 in honor of Edward Barton Worthington (1905-2001), pioneer explorer of African lakes and their fisheries, “whose taxonomic studies on the non-cichlid fishes of the Central African region have proved to be such a valuable foundation on which to base future work”
Channallabes Günther 1873 Channa, genus of Asian snakeheads (Anabantiformes: Channidae), many of which, like species in this genus, lack pelvic fins (Günther also named the osmeriform genus Neochanna [Galaxiidae], which also lacks pelvic fins); allabes, ancient Greek name for Clarias anguillaris, now used as a suffix for eel-shaped clariid catfishes
Channallabes alvarezi (Roman 1971) in honor of Mario Álvarez (relationship to author not specified), in “gratitude and friendship” (translation)
Channallabes apus (Günther 1873) a-, without; pous, foot, referring to “useless” paired fins: pectoral fins “reduced to a minute rudiment” and ventral fins absent
Channallabes longicaudatus (Pappenheim 1911) longus, long; caudatus, tailed, referring to longer tail compared to presumed congener at the time, Clariallabes melas
Channallabes ogooensis Devaere, Adriaens & Verraes 2007 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ogowe River system, Gabon, where it appears to be endemic
Channallabes sanghaensis Devaere, Adriaens & Verraes 2007 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sangha freshwater region of Africa, where it occurs
Channallabes teugelsi Devaere, Adriaens & Verraes 2007 in honor of the late Guy Teugels (1954-2003), curator of fishes at the Musée Royale de l’Afrique Centrale, “as a tribute to his career and his efforts on African catfish taxonomy, especially Clariidae”
Clariallabes Boulenger 1900 combination of Clarias and Gymnallabes, described as intermediate in form between these two genera
Clariallabes attemsi (Holly 1927) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Carl August Graf Attems-Petzenstein (1868-1952), invertebrate zoologist and Holly’s colleague at the Natural History Museum in Vienna
Clariallabes brevibarbis Pellegrin 1913 brevis, short; barbis, barbel, referring to “generally shorter” barbels (translation) compared to C. melas
Clariallabes centralis (Poll & Lambert 1958) central, probably referring to occurrence in the Central Congo River system
Clariallabes heterocephalus Poll 1967 heteros, different; cephalus, head, presumably referring to more elongated head compared to its presumed closest congener, C. variabilis
Clariallabes laticeps (Steindachner 1911) latus, wide; ceps, head, referring to wider head compared to C. longicauda
Clariallabes longicauda (Boulenger 1902) longus, long; cauda, tail, presumably referring to length of tail, described as 2/3 length of head
Clariallabes manyangae (Boulenger 1919) of Manyanga, Lower Congo River, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it is endemic
Clariallabes melas (Boulenger 1887) black, referring to uniform black-brown coloration (dorsally)
Clariallabes mutsindoziensis Taverne & De Vos 1998 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mutsindozi River, Lake Tanganyika basin, Burundi, type locality
Clariallabes petricola Greenwood 1956 petra, rock; –cola, living among, referring to presumed habitat consisting of large stones and coarse pebbles, and coarse shingles overlying sandy clay
Clariallabes pietschmanni (Güntert 1938) in honor of ichthyologist Viktor Pietschmann (1881-1956), for his interest in Güntert’s work and his services to the fish collection of the Natural History Museum in Vienna
Clariallabes platyprosopos Jubb 1965 platy, broad or flat; prosopos, face, presumably referring to distinctive “broad flat head”
Clariallabes simeonsi Poll 1941 in honor of H. M. Simeons (no other information available), who collected type and/or provided the collection of fishes that contained type to the Musée royal d’Histoire naturelle de Bruxelles
Clariallabes teugelsi Ferraris 2007 in honor of Guy Teugels (1954-2003), late curator of fishes at the Musée Royale de l’Afrique Centrale and authority on Clarias taxonomy; replacement name for Clarias (Allabenchelys) dumerili longibarbis David & Poll 1937, preoccupied by C. longibarbis Worthington 1933
Clariallabes uelensis (Poll 1941) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Uélé River, Congo River basin, Democratic Republic of Congo, type locality
Clariallabes variabilis Pellegrin 1926 variable, allusion not explained, possibly referring to variable number (0, 1 or 2) of ventral fins (not fin rays) on specimens Pellegrin examined
Clarias Scopoli 1777 meaning uncertain; according to Valenciennes (1840), a corruption of callarias, cod, dating back to Belon (1553), who called C. anguillaris “Claria nilotica” (i.e., cod of the Nile) [note: many modern references state name may be derived from the Greek chlaros (note that Scopoli’s spelling was Chlarias), meaning lively, referring to the extreme hardiness of clariids and/or their ability to live for a long time out of water (and, in some cases, actually move across land)]
Subgenus Clarias
Clarias anfractus Ng 1999 twisted or crooked, referring to irregular outline of pectoral spine
Clarias anguillaris (Linnaeus 1758) eel-like, referring to elongate body
Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus 1758) frog, probably referring to frog-like ability to leave the water and move across land
Clarias batu Lim & Ng 1999 Malay word for rock, referring to rock- and boulder-strewn torrent streams in which it inhabits
Clarias brachysoma Günther 1864 brachys, short; soma, body, perhaps referring to length (12.7-15.2 cm), somewhat small for a Clarias
Clarias cataractus (Fowler 1939) waterfall, where type was collected in Trang, Thailand
Clarias dayi Hora 1936 in honor of Francis Day (1829-1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, who provisionally identified type specimen as C. dussumieri or C. melanoderma (=meladerma) in 1877
Clarias dussumieri Valenciennes 1840 in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who observed this catfish in India, noting how it can “live long out of water, and crawl great distances” (translation)
Clarias fuscus (Lacepède 1803) dark or dusky, referring to its brown, unspotted color
Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) –inus, belonging to: Gariep (meaning “Great Water”) River (now known as Orange River), the longest river in South Africa, type locality (but widespread in Africa and Asia Minor and introduced elsewhere)
Clarias gracilentus Ng, Hong & Tu 2011 slender, referring to its slender body compared to C. nieuhofii
Clarias insolitus Ng 2003 strange, referring to combination of hypertrophied sensory canal pores and a knife-shaped anterior fontanel, not seen in other Southeast Asian Clarias
Clarias intermedius Teugels, Sudarto & Pouyaud 2001 referring to intermediate external morphology between C. macrocephalus and C. meladerma
Clarias kapuasensis Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud 2003 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kapuas River basin, Borneo, Indonesia, where it is endemic
Clarias leiacanthus Bleeker 1851 leios, smooth; acanthus, thorn, referring to smooth pectoral spine
Clarias macrocephalus Günther 1864 macro-, long; cephalus, head, referring to long head, ¼ of TL
Clarias magur (Hamilton 1822) magur and maghur, Assamese and Bengali names, respectively, for this catfish (and for C. batrachus) along the Ganges River in India
Clarias meladerma Bleeker 1846 melas, black; derma, skin, referring to blackish-dark body coloration, sometimes variegated with irregular, deeply black spots
Clarias microspilus Ng & Hadiaty 2011 micro-, small; spilos, spot, referring to very small white spots arranged in a longitudinal and several transverse series on body
Clarias microstomus Ng 2001 micro-, small; stomus, mouth, referring to its narrow snout
Clarias nebulosus Deraniyagala 1958 cloudy, described as “blotched or clouded with dark olive brown upon a greenish yellow background” [species inquirienda, provisionally included here]
Clarias nieuhofii Valenciennes 1840 in honor of Johan Nieuhof (1618-1672), Dutch East India Company, who described and illustrated this species in 1682 (but later examination of Nieuhof’s illustration reveals it is a different species)
Clarias nigricans Ng 2003 blackish, referring to relatively dark color
Clarias olivaceus Fowler 1904 referring to “blackish-olive” vertical fins and upper body
Clarias planiceps Ng 1999 planus, flat; ceps, head, referring to its flattened head
Clarias pseudoleiacanthus Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud 2003 pseudo-, false, i.e., although morphologically similar to C. leiacanthus, such an appearance is false
Clarias pseudonieuhofii Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud 2004 pseudo-, false, i.e., although similar to, and previously reported as, C. nieuhofii, such an appearance is false
Clarias rennyae Low, Ng & Tan 2022 in honor of the late Renny Kurnia Hadiaty (1960–2019), Indonesian Institute of Sciences, a “dear friend and colleague who passed away too soon, and a “leading expert” on the taxonomy of Indonesian freshwater fishes
Clarias serniosus Ng & Kottelat 2014 scabby, referring to color pattern of small, irregular dark patches
Clarias sulcatus Ng 2004 furrow, referring to narrow frontal fontanel
Subgenus Anguilloclarias Teugels 1982 anguilla, eel, referring to anguilliform body typical of the subgenus, i.e., an anguilliform Clarias
Clarias alluaudi Boulenger 1906 in honor of entomologist and explorer Charles A. Alluaud (1861-1949), who collected some of the type series
Clarias cavernicola Trewavas 1936 cavern, cave; –icola, dweller or inhabitant, referring to occurrence in Dragon’s Breath Cave, Otjozondjupa, Namibia
Clarias ebriensis Pellegrin 1920 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ebri lagoon, Ivory Coast, type locality (also occurs in Nigeria)
Clarias nigromarmoratus Poll 1967 nigro-, black; marmoratus, marbled, referring to dense and black marbled color pattern on entire body except belly
Clarias pachynema Boulenger 1903 pachys, thick; nema, thread, presumably referring to longer barbels compared to C. laeviceps
Clarias salae Hubrecht 1881 in honor of Dutch sportsman and collector Carolus Franciscus Sala (1839-1881), who helped Swiss zoologist Johann Büttikofer (1850-1927) collect type
Clarias submarginatus Peters 1882 sub-, under; marginatus, bordered, referring to dark band under light outer band on unpaired fins
Clarias theodorae Weber 1897 matronym not explained and remained a mystery until 1979, when Peter B. N. Jackson uncovered that the name honors Theodora Jacoba Sleeswijk (née van Bosse, 1874-1953), the niece of Weber’s wife, who accompanied him on his visit to South Africa
Clarias werneri Boulenger 1906 in honor of Dr. F. Werner, probably Austrian herpetologist Franz Werner (1867-1939), who collected type
Subgenus Brevicephaloides Teugels 1982 –oides, having the form of: brevis, short, cephalus, head, referring to relatively short head (20-25% of SL)
Clarias camerunensis Lönnberg 1895 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cameroon, type locality (but occurs throughout western and west-central Africa)
Clarias dhonti (Boulenger 1920) in honor of G. Dhont-De Bie, Belgian East African Expeditionary Force, who collected type
Clarias dialonensis Daget 1962 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Fouta Dialon (also spelled Djallon), highland region in Lower Guinea, type locality (also occurs in Sierra Leone)
Clarias dumerilii Steindachner 1866 patronym not identified but probably in honor of August Duméril (1812-1870), herpetologist and ichthyologist, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)
Clarias engelseni (Johnsen 1926) in honor of tropical-disease researcher Harald Engelsen (1883-1954), Merchant Services Division of the Norwegian Red Cross, who collected type
Clarias hilli Fowler 1936 in honor of Gordon Hill, volunteer assistant in the Department of Fishes and Reptiles, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
Clarias laeviceps Gill 1862 laevis, snooth; ceps, head, referring to its smooth surface
Clarias liocephalus Boulenger 1898 leios, smooth; cephalus, head, referring to smooth head, covered with soft skin
Clarias longior Boulenger 1907 longer, allusion not explained, presumably referring to relatively long, anguilliform body
Subgenus Clarioides Teugels 1982 –oides, having the form of: Clarias, i.e., a second subgenus of Clarias; name proposed by David (1937), but since he did not designate type name dates to Teugels, who designated type in 1982
Clarias agboyiensis Sydenham 1980 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Agboyi Creek, tributary of Ogun River, Lagos State, Nigeria Ghana, type locality (also occurs in Ghana)
Clarias albopunctatus Nichols & La Monte 1953 albus, white; punctatus, spotted, referring to “numerous scattered, rounded, pale specks”
Clarias angolensis angolensis Steindachner 1866 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Angola, where Steindachner bought type specimen from a Portuguese merchant for “a not inconsiderable sum of money”
Clarias angolensis macronema Fowler 1949 macro-, long or large; nema, thread, referring to its longer barbels compared with Congo specimens of the nominate subspecies
Clarias buettikoferi Steindachner 1894 in honor of Swiss zoologist Johann Büttikofer (1850-1927), who collected type
Clarias buthupogon Sauvage 1879 buthu, meaning unknown; pogon, beard [in 1901, Boulenger changed the spelling to bythipogon without explanation; that spelling could translate to bythos, deep; pogon, beard, perhaps referring to long (deep?) barbels (maxillary reaches beyond anal-fin origin)]
Clarias gabonensis Günther 1867 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gabon, where type locality (Ogowe River) is situated (but occurs throughout western, central and southern Africa)
Clarias macromystax Günther 1864 macro-, long; mystax, moustache, referring to long barbels, “those of the nostrils are as long as the head, and those of the maxillaries extend to the twelfth dorsal ray”
Clarias monsembulai Bernt & Stiassny 2022 in honor of Raoul Monsembula Iyaba (University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo), for collecting the type series, and for his “substantial” contributions to central African ichthyology
Subgenus Dinotopteroides Fowler 1930 –oides, having the form of: Dinotopterus, from which it differs in having fewer gill rakers
Clarias lamottei Daget & Planquette 1967 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of French biologist Maxime Lamotte (1920-2007), who co-founded the biological research station in the Ivory Coast, where this taxon (probably a natural hybrid between C. gariepinus and Heterobranchus isopterus) is apparently endemic
Clarias ngamensis Castelnau 1861 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Ngami, Botswana, type locality (but widespread in southern Africa)
Subgenus Platycephaloides Teugels 1982 –oides, having the form of: platy, wide; cephalus, head, referring to broad and flat head
Clarias jaensis Boulenger 1909 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ja River at Bitye, Congo system, southern Cameroon, type locality (also occurs in Nigeria and Gabon)
Clarias maclareni Trewavas 1962 in memory Peter Ian Rupert MacLaren (ca. 1919-1956), who used his position as Fisheries Development Officer of Nigeria to collect fishes for the British Museum, including type of this catfish (from Cameroon) in 1948 (he died from wounds inflicted by a crocodile in what is now Zambia)
Clarias platycephalus Boulenger 1902 platys, broad; cephalus, head, referring to long and broad head with a wide interorbital space
Clarias stappersii Boulenger 1915 in honor of physician-biologist Louis Stappers (1883-1916), head of the Belgian colony in the Congo, who led an expedition to central Africa in 1911-1913 and collected type
Dinotopterus Boulenger 1906 di-, two; notos, back; pterus, fin, referring to dorsal fin divided into rayed and adipose portions
Dinotopterus cunningtoni Boulenger 1906 in honor of William Alfred Cunnington (1877-1958), British zoologist and anthropologist, who led Tanganyika expedition that collected type
Dolichallabes Poll 1942 dolichos, Greek for long, referring to extreme anguilliform body, the most eel-like clariid catfish; allabes, ancient Greek name for Clarias anguillaris, now used as a suffix for eel-shaped clariid catfishes
Dolichallabes microphthalmus Poll 1942 micro-, small; opthalmus, eye, referring to its small eyes
Encheloclarias Myers 1937 enchelys, ancient Greek for eel, i.e., an eel-like Clarias, referring to shape of E. tapeinopterus
Encheloclarias baculum Ng & Lim 1993 Latin for rod, referring to its shape
Encheloclarias curtisoma Ng & Lim 1993 curtus, short; soma, body, referring to relatively short appearance when compared to the more elongate E. tapeinopterus
Encheloclarias kelioides Ng & Lim 1993 –oides, having the form of: Ikan Keli (Ikan=fish), Malay name for species in the genus Clarias, which it superficially resembles
Encheloclarias medialis Ng 2012 middle, referring to possession of characters intermediate between those of E. curtisoma and E. kelioides
Encheloclarias tapeinopterus (Bleeker 1853) tapeinos, lowly; ptera, fin, referring to adipose fin, lower (but longer) than dorsal fin
Encheloclarias velatus Ng & Tan 2000 concealed, referring to its being the first species of Encheloclarias found on Sumatra after 150 years of ichthyological exploration, and to its secretive nature
Gymnallabes Günther 1867 gymnos, bare or naked, allusion not explained (some online references incorrectly state that gymnos means hidden and refers to its secretive habits, a behavior that may not have been known to Günther when he examined his preserved specimen); allabes, ancient Greek name for Clarias anguillaris, now used as a suffix for eel-shaped clariid catfishes
Gymnallabes nops Roberts & Stewart 1976 blind, referring to its eyelessness
Gymnallabes typus Günther 1867 serving as type of genus
Heterobranchus Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1809 heteros, different; branchus, gill, referring to its dendritic gill apparatus, which was quite distinctive among fishes at the time
Heterobranchus bidorsalis Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1809 bi-, two; dorsalis, of the back, referring long dorsal fin divided into rayed and adipose portions
Heterobranchus boulengeri Pellegrin 1922 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist George A. Boulenger (1858-1937), British Museum (Natural History), who described many fishes from Central Africa and the Congo River system
Heterobranchus isopterus Bleeker 1863 iso-, equal; pterus, fin, referring to approximate equal length of dorsal and adipose fins (compared to different lengths among congeners)
Heterobranchus longifilis Valenciennes 1840 longus, long; filis, thread, referring to long barbels, longer than the similar Clarias hasselquistii (=C. anguillaris)
Horaglanis Menon 1950 in honor of ichthyologist Sunder Lal Hora (1896-1955), Director, Zoological Survey of India, “under whose inspiring guidance and kind help” Menon’s study was completed; glanis, sheatfish (Silurus glanis), now used as a general term for catfish
Horaglanis abdulkalami Subhash Babu 2012 in honor of the former president of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (b. 1931), “who ignited young minds towards the real world of Science and Technology”
Horaglanis alikunhii Subhash Babu & Nayar 2004 in honor of “distinguished” aquaculturist Kolliyil Hameed Alikunhi (1918-2010), for his contributions to fishery science in general and Indian fisheries in particular
Horaglanis krishnai Menon 1950 in honor of Mr. N. Krishna Pillay, who collected type after draining a well
Horaglanis populi Raghavan, Sundar, Arjun, Ralf Britz & Dahanukar 2023 of populus, Latin for people, honoring the “invaluable contributions made by interested members of the public in the southern Indian state of Kerala, helping to document the biodiversity of subterranean and groundwater systems, including the discovery” of this catfish
Platyallabes Poll 1977 platy, flat, referring to dorsoventrally flattened head and body; allabes, ancient Greek name for Clarias anguillaris, now used as a suffix for eel-shaped clariid catfishes
Platyallabes tihoni (Poll 1944) in honor of Mr. L. Tihon, director, Laboratory of Industry and Commerce (Leopoldville, Belgian Congo), who supplied photograph of specimen (discovered at a fish market) from which species was described
Platyclarias Poll 1977 platy, flat, referring to very flat head and anterior part of body, i.e., a flat Clarias
Platyclarias machadoi Poll 1977 in honor of António de Barros Machado (1912-2002), Portuguese-born zoologist of the Musée de Dundo (Angola), who collected type (he relocated from Portugal to Angola because he was unable to find work on account of his anti-Salazar politics)
Pseudotanganikallabes Wright 2017 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus superficially resembles Tanganikallabes, such an appearance is false
Pseudotanganikallabes prognatha Wright 2017 pro-, anterior; gnathus, jaw, referring to distinctive protrusion of lower jaw
Tanganikallabes Poll 1943 Tanganika, referring to Lake Tanganyika, where T. mortiauxi (and all subsequently described congeners) is endemic; allabes, ancient Greek name for Clarias anguillaris, now used as a suffix for eel-shaped clariid catfishes
Tanganikallabes alboperca Wright & Bailey 2012 albus, white; operca, operculum, referring to distinctive depigmented posterior margin of operculum
Tanganikallabes mortiauxi Poll 1943 in honor of T. Mortiaux, a health worker in Albertville (now Kalemie), western shore of Lake Tanganyika, who collected type
Tanganikallabes stewarti Wright & Bailey 2012 in honor of American ichthyologist Donald J. Stewart (b. 1946), who collected type and much of the type series of T. alboperca
Uegitglanis Gianferrari 1923 Uegit, referring to Uegit, El Uegit, Somalia, where type locality (an underground pool) is situated; glanis, sheatfish (Silurus glanis), now used as a general term for catfish
Uegitglanis zammaranoi Gianferrari 1923 in honor of Vittorio Tedesco Zammarano (1890-1959), Italian Army officer, zoologist, cartographer, geographer and hunter, who collected type
Xenoclarias Greenwood 1958 xenos, strange or foreign (i.e., different), referring to how it differs from Clarias “in only one major anatomical character” (greatly reduced suprabranchial organs and cavity)
Xenoclarias eupogon (Norman 1928) eu-, well or very; pogon, beard, referring to much longer nasal and maxillary barbels compared to the similar Clarias alluaudi, its presumed congener at the time
Xenoclarias holobranchus Greenwood 1958 holo-, entire; branchus, gill, referring to how entire adult branchial region is dedicated to aquatic respiration, unlike those in Clarias, which contain both aquatic and aerial respiratory areas
Family HETEROPNEUSTIDAE Airsac Catfishes
Heteropneustes Müller hetero-, different; pneustikos, of breathing, referring to long air sac that serves as lungs extending from gill chamber
Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch 1794) digging or dug up, allusion not explained; according to Shaw (General Zoology, 1904), it is “sometimes dug out of the mud at the bottom, in the manner of [the cobitid loach] Cobitis fossilis”
Heteropneustes fuscus Plamoottil 2021 Latin for dark, referring to its black-colored body and fins
Heteropneustes kemratensis (Fowler 1937) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kemrat, Thailand, type locality
Heteropneustes longipectoralis Rema Devi & Raghunathan 1999 longus, long; pectoralis, pectoral, referring to long and pointed pectoral fins compared to short and rounded pectoral fins of H. fossilis
Heteropneustes nani Hossain, Sarker, Sharifuzzaman & Chowdhury 2013in honor of the “eminent” fisheries and aquaculture scientist Nani Gopal Das, for his “continuous contribution” to the authors’ research
Family ANCHARIIDAE Malagasy Catfishes
2 genera · 6 species
Ancharius Steindachner 1880 anchi-, near, referring to similarity to Arius (Ariidae)
Ancharius fuscus Steindachner 1880 dusky, referring to “dirty dark” (translation) color on top and sides (light violet on the bottom)
Ancharius griseus Ng & Sparks 2005 gray, referring to its coloration
Gogo Ng & Sparks 2005 Malagasy word (pronounced goo-goo) most commonly used to refer to members of this family
Gogo arcuatus Ng & Sparks 2005 bent like a bow, referring to concave shape of dorsoposterior margin of dorsal fin
Gogo atratus Ng, Sparks & Loiselle 2008 clothed in black, referring to dark coloration in preservative
Gogo brevibarbis (Boulenger 1911) brevis, short; barbis, barbel, referring to shorter maxillary barbels compared to Ancharius fuscus, its presumed congener at the time
Gogo ornatus Ng & Sparks 2005 “in splendid dress,” referring to highly mottled pigmentation pattern consisting of light and dark patches
Family ARIIDAE Sea Catfishes
43 genera/subgenera · 159 species
Subfamily GALEICHTHYINAE
Galeichthys Valenciennes 1840 galeus, weasel; ichthys, fish: Valenciennes explained that catfishes get their name from their cat-like whiskers (or barbels) and therefore named this genus after weasels, which have whiskers, too
Galeichthys ater Castelnau 1861 black, referring to green-black (“vert noir”) upper body coloration (compared to the bronze-green coloration of G. feliceps)
Galeichthys feliceps Valenciennes 1840 felis, cat; ceps, head, i.e., cathead, a variation on the term “catfish,” referring to cat-like whiskers (barbels) that give catfishes their name
Galeichthys peruvianus Lütken 1874 Peruvian, referring to type locality at Callao, Peru (but occurs along Pacific coast of northern South America from Ecuador to Peru)
Galeichthys trowi Kulongowski 2010 in honor of the late Eugene Trow, Jr., a student studying the biology and ecology of Galeichthys in South Africa, who recognized the probable distinctiveness of this species, and of his late father, Eugene Trow, Sr., who collected much of the type series [preferably spelled troworum since name honors more than one person, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]
Subfamily ARIINAE
Aceroichthys Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 in honor of Colombian ichthyologist Arturo Acero P. (b. 1954), for his “valuable” contributions to ariid taxonomy; ichthys, fish
Aceroichthys dioctes (Kailola 2000) hunter or pursuer, referring to its “apparent hunting ability, diet and dentition”
Ariopsis Gill 1861 –opsis, like, presumably referring to previous placement of A. milberti (=A. felis) in Arius
Ariopsis assimilis (Günther 1864) similar, “closely allied” to Hexanematichthys hymenorrhinos (=Sciades herzbergii) and A. seemanni
Ariopsis canteri Acero P., Betancur-R. & Marceniuk 2017 in honor of Diego Canter Ríos (1984-2007), a “young and talented” Colombian ichthyologist who died in a car accident near Santa Marta along with three other biologists; species delimitation in Ariopsis was part of Diego’s B.Sc. thesis in Marine Biology, which he could not complete due to his untimely death
Ariopsis felis (Linnaeus 1766) cat (i.e., catfish), manuscript name coined by Scottish physician-naturalist Alexander Garden (1730-1791), Charleston, South Carolina (USA), who sent fish skins to Linnaeus
Ariopsis gilberti (Jordan & Williams 1895) in honor of ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles H. Gilbert (1859-1928), in whose laboratory the present paper was written, and who provided “much valuable aid in many ways”; in addition, Gilbert had previously collected this catfish, reported as A. assimilis
Ariopsis guatemalensis (Günther 1864) –ensis, suffix connoting place: Guatemala, where type specimen was purchased (occurs along Pacific coast of North and Central America from Mexico to Honduras)
Ariopsis jimenezi Marceniuk, Acero P., Cooke & Betancur-R. 2017 in honor of Máximo Jiménez Acosta, zooarchaeology technician at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama), who drew attention to the possible existence of a new species based on the examination of osteological characters in specimens formerly reported as A. seemanni
Ariopsis seemanni (Günther 1864) in honor of German botanist Berthold Carl Seemann (1825-1871), who collected type
Ariopsis simonsi (Starks 1906) in honor of the late Perry Oveitt Simons (1869-1901), American natural history collector in South America, who collected type (his guide murdered him while crossing the Andes of Argentina, presumably for his money and gear)
Arius Valenciennes 1840 tautonymous with Pimelodus arius, latinization of Ari, from Ari gogora, local Bengali name for this catfish in India (Valenciennes said he “borrowed” [translation] the name from Hamilton) [note: many sources state that Arius is derived from a Greek word meaning warrior, presumably referring to their strong dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines, but this interpretation is incorrect]
Arius acutirostris Day 1877 acutus, pointed; rostris, snout, referring to “fleshy and elongated” snout, “extending some distance beyond the mouth”
Arius africanus Günther 1867 African, described as an African “variety” of the Asian A. falcarius (=A. arius)
Arius arenarius (Müller & Troschel 1849) sandy, probably referring to “strongly granular” head and “highly granular” occipital process (translations)
Arius arius (Hamilton 1822) latinization of Ari, from Ari gogora, local Bengali name for this catfish in India [note: many sources state that Arius is derived from a Greek word meaning warrior, presumably referring to their strong dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines, but this interpretation is incorrect]
Arius brunellii Zolezzi 1939 patronym not identified, probably in honor of Italian zoologist Gustavo Brunelli (1881-1960), who led expedition that collected type
Arius burmanicus Day 1870 Burmese, referring to type locality at Salween, Burma (now Myanmar; also occurs in India and Bangladesh)
Arius dispar Herre 1926 dissimilar; Herre could “find no similar fish in the literature, the teeth and gill rakers separating it at once from anything described by Bleeker, Günther, Day, Vaillant, Sauvage, or Weber and Beaufort”
Arius gagora (Hamilton 1822) local Bengali name for this catfish in India
Arius jatius (Hamilton 1822) latinization of Jat from Jat gagora, local Bengali name for this catfish in India [a noun in apposition, often incorrectly spelled jatia]
Arius jella Day 1877 from Deddi jellah, its local name at Vizagapatam on the Coromandel Coast of India, as reported by Russell (1803)
Arius macronotacanthus Bleeker 1846 macro-, large; notos, back; acanthus, spine, referring to thick dorsal spine
Arius maculatus (Thunberg 1792) spotted, referring to large black spot on adipose fin
Arius malabaricus Day 1877 –icus, belonging to: Malabar (i.e., southern India), presumably referring to type locality in the Canara region of southwest India
Arius manillensis Valenciennes 1840 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Manila, Philippines, type locality
Arius microcephalus Bleeker 1855 micro-, small; cephalus, head, contained 4-41/5 times in SL, smaller than A. arius and A. pidada (=maculatus [in part] and oetik [in part])
Arius subrostratus Valenciennes 1840 sub-, less than; rostratus, beaked, referring to its less-elongate snout compared to A. rostratus (species inquirienda), described in the same publication
Arius utik Bleeker 1846 from Ikan (=fish) Manong utik, local Jakartan (Batavian) name for this catfish [also spelled oetik by Bleeker later in 1846, which is frequently used in modern literature, but utik was clearly Bleeker’s intent and appears to have priority by a few months]
Arius venosus Valenciennes 1840 veiny, referring to vein-like latero-sensory canals
Batrachocephalus Bleeker 1846 batrachus, frog; cephalus, head, referring to frog-like head of B. ageneiosus (=mino)
Batrachocephalus mino (Hamilton 1822) presumably a local name for this catfish along upper Ganges estuaries in India
Betancurichthys Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 in honor of Colombian ichthyologist Ricardo Betancur-R., for his “dedication to the knowledge of the taxonomy, evolution, and biogeography of marine catfishes”; ichthys, fish
Betancurichthys festinus (Ng & Sparks 2003) to move rapidly, referring to its habitat, a swift-flowing river
Betancurichthys madagascariensis (Vaillant 1894) –ensis, suffix denoting place: western Madagascar, where it is endemic
Betancurichthys uncinatus (Ng & Sparks 2003) hooked, referring to its curved snout
Bleekeriella Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 –ella, Latin diminutive connoting endearment: in honor of Dutch army surgeon and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819–1878), who contributed “greatly” to our understanding of the taxonomy of ariids from the Indo-Malaysian archipelago
Bleekeriella leptaspis (Bleeker 1862) leptos, thin; aspis, shield, allusion unclear, perhaps referring to triangular occipital process, longer rather than broad at its base
Brustiarius Herre 1935 brustia, a brush, referring to slender, comb-like gill-rakers, originally proposed as a subgenus of Arius
Brustiarius nox (Herre 1935) night, referring to black color above and on sides in alcohol, and all-black fins except the ventrals
Brustiarius solidus (Herre 1935) entire, referring to entire palate “covered by a solid plate of finely granulose teeth”
Brustiarius utarus (Kailola 1990) latinization of utara, meaning “north” in Bahasa Indonesia (official language of Indonesia), referring to its distribution (northern New Guinea) compared with the similar Bleekeriella leptaspis (southern New Guinea and northern Australia)
Carlarius Marceniuk & Menezes 2007 Carl, in honor of Carl Ferraris, Jr. (b. 1950), Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences, for his contribution to the knowledge of catfishes and continuous support and encouragement throughout the development of the authors’ work on ariid systematics; Arius, type genus of family
Carlarius gigas (Boulenger 1911) large, referring to “the large skeletons which were regarded by Günther as the adults” of A. latiscutatus, but which actually belong to this species
Carlarius heudelotii (Valenciennes 1840) in honor of the late French botanist Jean-Pierre Heudelot (1802-1837), who collected and/or supplied type
Carlarius latiscutatus (Günther 1864) latis, broad; scutatus, shielded, referring to occipital process broader than long
Carlarius parkii (Günther 1864) patronym not identified (possibly spelled Parke), nor can identity be inferred based on available information
Cathorops Jordan & Gilbert 1883 kathorao, to look down; ops, eye, referring to low eye placement
Subgenus Cathorops
Cathorops agassizii (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1888) in honor of zoologist-geologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), who led expedition that collected type
Cathorops aguadulce (Meek 1904) Spanish for fresh water, where it occurs (may also occur in brackish water)
Cathorops arenatus (Valenciennes 1840) sanded, presumably referring to “yellowish gray fins dusted with fine black dust” (translation)
Cathorops belizensis Marceniuk & Betancur-R. 2008 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Belize City, Belize, type locality
Cathorops festae (Boulenger 1898) in honor of Italian naturalist Enrico Festa (1868-1939), who collected type
Cathorops fuerthii (Steindachner 1876) in honor of Ignatius Fürth, Austrian consul at Panama (type locality), who collected and/or provided type
Cathorops higuchii Marceniuk & Betancur-R. 2008 in honor of Horácio Higuchi, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (Belém, Brazil), for his contribution to the taxonomy, systematics and morphology of South American ariids
Cathorops hypophthalmus (Steindachner 1876) hypo-, below; ophthalmus, eyes, referring to low placement of eyes, their middle below level of angle of mouth
Cathorops kailolae Marceniuk & Betancur-R. 2008 in honor of Patricia J. Kailola, The University of the South Pacific (Suva, Fiji), for her “enormous” contribution to ariid systematics
Cathorops liropus (Bristol 1897) liro-, pale; pous, foot, referring to dusky olive pelvic fins, lighter at base, vs. black pelvic fins on the “allied” C. melanopus
Cathorops manglarensis Marceniuk 2007 –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Cape Manglares, Pacific coast of Colombia, type locality; also refers to habitat (Spanish for mangroves)
Cathorops mapale Betancur-R. & Acero P. 2005 derived from chivo mapalé, vernacular for this species among artisanal fishers in most Colombian localities; also the name of a Colombian rhythm of African origin typical of the fishery community of the Colombian Caribbean
Cathorops melanopus (Günther 1864) melan, black; pous, foot, referring to deep black upper (inner) surface of pelvic fins
Cathorops multiradiatus (Günther 1864) multi-, many; radiatus, rayed, referring to long anal fin, with up to 27 rays
Cathorops nuchalis (Günther 1864) nuchal, presumably referring to elevated occipital process
Cathorops raredonae Marceniuk, Betancur-R. & Acero P. 2009 in honor of Sandra J. Raredon (b. 1954), Division of Fishes, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., for her valuable assistance in many curatorial duties
Cathorops spixii (Agassiz 1829) in honor of German biologist Johann Baptist von Spix (1781-1826), who explored Brazil and named this catfish Pimelodus albidus, which Agassiz believed was preoccupied by P. albidus (=Ameiurus catus) Lesueur 1819
Cathorops steindachneri (Gilbert & Starks 1904) in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), who noted in 1876 that Panama specimens allied to C. melanopus did not agree with Günther’s description of that species
Cathorops taylori (Hildebrand 1925) in honor of Frederic W. Taylor (1876-1944), botanist, agronomist and director general of agriculture for the Government of El Salvador, under whose “immediate direction” this catfish was collected
Cathorops tuyra (Meek & Hildebrand 1923) named for the Río Tuyra, mouth of Río Yape, Darien, Panama, type locality (but occurs in Pacific drainage rivers and estuaries south to Peru)
Cathorops wayuu Betancur-R., Acero P. & Marceniuk 2012 named after the Wayuu native American ethnic community from La Guajira peninsula (type locality) in northern Colombia and Venezuela
Subgenus Precathorops Betancur-R. & Acero P. 2007 pre-, primitive, referring to the basal position of C. dasycephalus
Cathorops dasycephalus (Günther 1864)dasys, rough; cephalus, head, referring to “coarsely granulated” crown of head
Cephalocassis Bleeker 1857 cephalus, head; cassis, helmet, presumably referring to occipital process, which Bleeker called a “head shield” (translation) in a later publication
Cephalocassis melanochir (Bleeker 1852) melanos, black; cheiros, hand, referring to blackish stripe in pectoral and pelvic fins (dorsal and caudal fins, too)
Chinchaysuyoa Marceniuk, Marchena, Oliveira & Betancur-R. 2019 name of the Inca Empire territory that comprised Ecuador (where C. labiata occurs) and Peru (where C. ortegai occurs)
Chinchaysuyoa labiatua (Boulenger 1898) lipped, referring to its “very thick lips” (translation)
Chinchaysuyoa ortegai Marceniuk, Marchena, Oliveira & Betancur-R. 2019 in honor of Hernán Ortega Torres Teofilo, “the most important ichthyologist working in Peru”
Cinetodus Ogilby 1898 kinetos, moveable; odus, tooth, referring to patch of palatine teeth “implanted upon a moveable cushion”
Cinetodus froggatti (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886) in honor of Austrian entomologist Walter Wilson Froggatt (1858-1937), “on whom the whole burden of collecting the zoological specimens obtained during the late expedition of the Bonito [which explored New Guinea] seems to have fallen”
Cochlefelis Whitley 1941 cochlear, spoon; felis, cat, i.e., “spooncat,” referring to spatulate snout of C. spatula
Cochlefelis danielsi (Regan 1908) in honor of Maj. William Cooke Daniels (1871-1918), partner in a department store (Daniels and Fishers in Denver, Colorado, USA), who financed and led expedition that collected type and presented it to the British Museum (his military title dates from his service as a volunteer officer in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, 1898)
Cochlefelis insidiator (Kailola 2000) ambusher or lurker, referring to dorsally placed eyes and depressed body form (which suggest that it lies half-hidden in sediment) and strong teeth and jaws (which suggest that it is a predator)
Cochlefelis spatula (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886) referring to spatulate snout (upper jaw much longer than lower jaw)
Cryptarius Kailola 2004 kryptos, hidden or secret, i.e., a cryptic Arius, referring to its unique combination of characters having been ignored for a such a long time
Cryptarius daugueti (Chevey 1932) in honor of Paul Dauguet (1883-?), merchant seaman and commander of le Lanessan, from which type was collected
Cryptarius truncatus (Valenciennes 1840) referring to truncate (or spoon-shaped) snout
Doiichthys Weber 1913 doie, doubt or uncertainty, referring to its uncertain familial relationships at the time (Weber proposed its own family, Doiichthyidae); ichthys, fish
Doiichthys novaeguineae Weber 1913 of New Guinea, type locality (occurs both in Papua Province, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea)
Genidens Castelnau 1855 tautonymous with Pimelodus genidens (but unnecessarily renamed G. cuvieri): genys, cheek or jaw; dens, teeth, referring to moveable teeth on the palate
Genidens barbus (Lacepède 1803) latinization of barbue, vernacular among French sailors, probably referring to its six barbels (unusual for a marine fish)
Genidens genidens (Cuvier 1829) genys, cheek or jaw; dens, teeth, referring to moveable teeth on the palate
Genidens machadoi (Miranda Ribeiro 1918) patronym not identified, probably in honor of Rev. Francisco Machado da Silva, who collected for and/or donated specimens to the Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Genidens planifrons (Higuchi, Reis & Araújo 1982) planus, smooth; frons, forehead, referring to flat dorsal profile of head
Hemiarius Bleeker 1862 hemi-, partial, referring to similarity and/or close relationship to Arius
Nemapteryx bleekeri (Popta 1900)in honor of Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878), who collected type and forwarded it to the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands)
Hemiarius hardenbergi (Kailola 2000) in honor of Dutch biologist Johann Dietrich Frans Hardenberg (1902-1980), Laboratorium voor het Onderzoek der Zee (Batavia), who recognized this as a new species in 1931 and provided an unpublished museum name for it, for his “insightful” contributions to Indo-Australian ichthyology
Hemiarius harmandi Sauvage 1880i n honor of François-Jules Harmand (1845-1921), physician, explorer and diplomat, who collected type
Hemiarius manillensis (Valenciennes 1840) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Manila, Philippines, type locality
Hemiarius stormii (Bleeker 1858) in honor of F .J. P. Storm van‘s Gravesande (1812-1875), Dutch government commissioner of Djambi (also spelled Jambi), Sumatra, who provided type
Hemiarius sumatranus (Anonymous [Bennett] 1830) –anus, belonging to: Sumatra, Indonesia, type locality (also occurs in India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka)
Hemiarius verrucosus (Ng 2003) warty, referring to numerous small bumps on pectoral spines and dorsal surface of neurocranium
Hemipimelodus Bleeker 1857 hemi-, half, referring to previous placement of H. borneensis in Pimelodus (then a catch-all genus for many catfishes)
Hemipimelodus borneensis (Bleeker 1851) –ensis, suffix denoting place: western Borneo, Indonesia, type locality (also occurs in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Viêt Nam)
Hexanematichthys Bleeker 1858 hexa-, six and nema-, thread, referring to its six fleshy barbels of H. sondaicus (=sagor); ichthys, fish
Hexanematichthys sagor (Hamilton 1822) local Bengali name for this catfish in India
Jayaramichthys Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 in honor of Indian ichthyologist Kottore Chidambaram Jayaram (1926–2011), who contributed “greatly” to our understanding of the taxonomy, evolution and biogeography of ariids from the Indian subcontinent; ichthys, fish
Jayaramichthys leptonotacanthus (Bleeker 1849) leptos, thin; notos, back; acanthus, spine, referring to its slender dorsal spine
Ketengus Bleeker 1846 latinization of Keteng, Madurese name for this catfish in eastern Java, Indonesia
Ketengus typus Bleeker 1846 serving as type of genus
Kyataphisa Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 Bengali word meaning catfish
Kyataphisa nenga (Hamilton 1822) from Nenga gagora, local Bengali name for this catfish in India
Megalosciades Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 mega, big, referring to “disproportionally” large head compared with those observed in Sciades and close relatives
Megalosciades augustus (Roberts 1978) venerable, allusion not explained; according to Dr. Roberts (pers. comm.), “I named that species so long ago, I don’t really recall for sure why I named it augustus but I think because it appeared to be handsome, distinguished, and serene” (originally described as having a “graceful form, and vivid blue coloration in life”)
Nedystoma Ogilby 1898 nedys, womb; stoma, mouth, presumably referring to mouthbrooding behavior of males, in which they carry eggs in their mouth until they hatch (a behavior found in many ariids)
Nedystoma dayi (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886) in honor of Francis Day (1829-1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, “whose magnificent work on the fishes of India is indispensable to every student of Indo-Pacific ichthyology”
Nemapteryx Ogilby 1908 nema, thread; pteryx, fin, referring to long, filamentous first dorsal-fin ray of N. stirlingi (=armiger)
Nemapteryx armiger (De Vis 1884) bearing arms, presumably referring to long dorsal spine (longer than head) and perhaps also to its pectoral spines
Nemapteryx caelata (Valenciennes 1840) embossed or inlaid, referring to strong granulations on occipital process, which give it a carved or chiseled appearance
Neoarius Castelnau 1878 neo-, new, i.e., a new genus of Arius
Neoarius berneyi (Whitley 1941) in honor of ornithologist Frederick L. Berney (1865-1949), who “made a valuable collection of fishes in Central Queensland nearly thirty years ago”
Neoarius graeffei (Kner & Steindachner 1867) in honor of Swiss entomologist Eduard Heinrich Gräffe (1833-1916), who, while employed by Johann Cesar VI. Godeffroy, a wealthy shipping magnate, curated a natural history collection that introduced several new species from the South Pacific to science, including this catfish
Neoarius hainesi (Kailola 2000) in honor of fisheries scientist Alan K. Haines, whose 1972-1976 surveys of river systems in Papua New Guinea and his “faithful recording” of ariid biology and ecology made a “significant” contribution to our knowledge of these fishes in the Australian and New Guinea region
Neoarius midgleyi (Kailola & Pierce 1988) in honor of Stephen Hamar Midgley (1918-2014), amateur ichthyologist and limnologist, and his wife Mary, for bringing this catfish to the attention of the senior author, and for their “enthusiastic and dedicated study” of the fresh waters of northern Australia [preferably spelled midgleyorum since name honors more than one person, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]
Neoarius paucus (Kailola 2000) few, referring to fewer gill rakers and smaller eye compared with N. midgleyorum
Neoarius pectoralis (Kailola 2000) shoulder, referring to strong serrae along inner pectoral-fin spine
Neoarius phrygiatus (Valenciennes 1840) embroidered, referring to latero-sensory canals, “which form a sort of embroidery pleasant to the eye” (translation)
Neoarius rugispinis (Valenciennes 1840) ruga, rough; spina, spine, referring to granular sides of dorsal and pectoral spines
Netuma Bleeker 1858 tautonymous with Bagrus netuma Valenciennes 1840 (=N. thalassina), derived from netouma kéléti, local name for this catfish in Pondicherry, India
Netuma bilineata (Valenciennes 1840) bi-, two; lineata, lined, allusion explained but unclear: “The epithet we give it refers to a kind of faintly marked curvilinear track produced on the skin of its sides at places where the ribs end” (translation), perhaps referring to visibly sloping line of the rib ends (Patricia J. Kailola, pers. comm.), which, when combined with lateral line, creates the appearance of two lines on sides of body
Netuma patriciae Takahashi, Kimura & Motomura 2019 in honor of Patricia J. Kailola, The University of the South Pacific (Suva, Fiji), for her research on ariid catfishes
Netuma thalassina (Rüppell 1837) of the sea, a marine and brackish-water catfish described from the Red Sea
Notarius Gill 1863 etymology not explained, perhaps notus, back, referring to large occipital process of type species, N. grandicassis, formerly placed in Arius
Notarius armbrusteri Betancur-R. & Acero P. 2006 in honor of Jonathan W. Armbruster (b. 1969), curator of the Auburn University Museum (Alabama, USA), for his important contributions to the taxonomy of neotropical catfishes
Notarius biffi Betancur-R. & Acero P. 2004 in honor Eldredge (Biff) Bermingham, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, for his important contribution to the knowledge of neotropical fish biogeography
Notarius bonillai (Miles 1945) in honor of veterinarian Heliodoro Bonilla Guzmán (1908-?), Director of the Department of the Ministry (Colombia) that deals with fishes
Notarius cookei (Acero P. & Betancur-R. 2002) in honor of archaeologist Richard Cooke (b. 1946), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, for his contribution to the knowledge of eastern Pacific ariids (he also provided the type series)
Notarius grandicassis (Valenciennes 1840) grandis, large; cassis, helmet, presumably referring to very large bony plate (occipital process) in front of dorsal fin
Notarius insculptus (Jordan & Gilbert 1883) sculptured, probably referring to its highly developed, sculptured (grooved and granulated) epioccipital bones
Notarius kessleri (Steindachner 1876) patronym not identified, possibly in honor of German-Russian zoologist Karl Fedorovich Kessler (1815-1881)
Notarius lentiginosus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1888) freckled (“the sides freckled”)
Notarius luniscutis (Valenciennes 1840) luna, moon; scutum, shield, referring to lunate bony plate (occipital process) in front of dorsal fin
Notarius neogranatensis (Acero P. & Betancur-R. 2002) –ensis, suffix denoting place: New Granada, oldest name given to Colombia (where it appears to be endemic) by Spanish conquerors
Notarius osculus (Jordan & Gilbert 1883) diminutive of os, mouth, referring to small mouth (but with thick lips)
Notarius parmocassis (Valenciennes 1840) parme, a small shield; cassis, helmet, referring to bony plate (occipital process) in front of dorsal fin, “very slightly streamlined in the middle” (translation)
Notarius planiceps (Steindachner 1876) planus, flat; ceps, head, referring to forehead, “perfectly flat across, wide, covered with thick skin” (translation)
Notarius quadriscutis (Valenciennes 1840) quadus, square; scutum, shield, referring to square shape of bony plate (occipital process) in front of dorsal fin
Notarius troschelii (Gill 1863) in honor of zoologist Franz Hermann Troschel (1810-1882), who, with Johann Müller, described Sciades (in which this species was originally placed)
Occidentarius Betancur-R. & Acero P. 2007 occidens, west, referring to distribution of O. platypogon in the Eastern Pacific, the western-most region occupied by ariids
Occidentarius platypogon (Günther 1864) platy, flat, pogon, beard, presumably referring to basally “compressed” maxillary barbels
Osteogeneiosus Bleeker 1846 osteo-, bone; geneias, chin, referring to stiff and bony maxillary barbels
Osteogeneiosus militaris (Linnaeus 1758) soldier or warlike, perhaps referring to bony (and hence sharp) maxillary barbels, which “arm” it like a solider
Pachyula Ogilby 1898 pachys, thick; oulon, gums, referring to thick lips, the upper lip “terminating in a broad free lobe”
Pachyula conorhynchus (Weber 1913) conus, cone; rhynchus, snout, referring to bluntly conical snout
Pachyula crassilabris (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886) crassus, wide; labrum, lip, referring to “very thick” lips
Papuarius Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 Papua, a common element of the names of the six Indonesian provinces as well as the independent country that together compose the island group called New Guinea, where P. latirostris occurs; Arius, type genus of family
Papuarius latirostris (Macleay 1883) latus, wide; rostris, snout, referring to “broadly rounded” snout
Paracinetodus Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 para-, near, “highlighting its morphological similarity with the genus Cinetodus”
Paracinetodus carinatus (Weber 1913) keeled, referring to “sharply keeled” (translation) occipital process in young specimens, its posterior end broadly truncated
Paragenidens Marceniuk, Ingenito, Lima, Gasparini & Oliveira 2019 para-, near; Genidens, the sister group of this genus, alluding to their close relationship
Paragenidens grandoculis (Steindachner 1877) grand, large; oculis, eye, referring to large eye, the forehead equal to 1⅔ of eye length
Pararius Whitley 1940 para-, near, presumably referring to resemblance of P. proximus to Arius australis (=Neoarius graeffei)
Pararius mastersi (Ogilby 1898) in honor of George Masters (1837-1912), Curator of the Macleay Museum, Sydney University, to whom Ogilby was “indebted for much valuable information on the fine collection under his charge, and whose general knowledge of the Australian fauna is possibly exceeded by none”
Pararius proximus (Ogilby 1898) near, referring to its “outward resemblance” to Arius australis (=Neoarius graeffei)
Plicofollis Kailola 2004 plico, fold; follis, bellows or windbag, referring to creased or scalloped swim bladder characteristic of genus
Plicofollis argyropleuron (Valenciennes 1840) arguros, silver; pleuron, side, referring to silver belly and sides
Plicofollis crossocheilos (Bleeker 1846) crosso-, fringe or tassel; cheilos, lip, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to maxillary barbels reaching humeral bone or gill covers
Plicofollis dussumieri (Valenciennes 1840) in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who reported on this fish from off the Malabar coast of India
Plicofollis layardi (Günther 1866) in honor of Edgar Leopold Layard (1824-1900), Ceylon Civil Service, who presented type to the British Museum (Natural History)
Plicofollis magatensis (Herre 1926) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Magat River, Luzon Island, Philippines, type locality
Plicofollis nella (Valenciennes 1840) derived from nalla-jella, local name for this catfish in Vizagapatam, India
Plicofollis platystomus (Day 1877) platys, wide; stomus, mouth, width of gape of mouth 4/7 length of head
Plicofollis polystaphylodon (Bleeker 1846) poly, many; staphylo-, bunched or clustered; odon, tooth, referring to palatine teeth arranged in four patches: a small ovate patch on each side of the vomer, and an elongate patch along each palatine bone
Plicofollis tenuispinis (Day 1877) tenuis, slender; spinis, spine, referring to “very weak and thin” dorsal-fin spine
Plicofollis tonggol (Bleeker 1846) from Ikan (=fish) Manjong tonggol, local Jakartan (Batavian) name for this catfish and similar species [see also Thunnus tonggol, Scombriformes: Scombridae]
Potamarius Hubbs & Miller 1960 potamos, river, referring to occurrence in fresh water, i.e., a riverine genus of Arius [note: authors erroneously believe that Arius is derived from a Greek word meaning warrior]
Potamarius izabalensis Hubbs & Miller 1960 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lago de Izabal, Guatemala, type locality
Potamarius nelsoni (Evermann & Goldsborough 1902) in honor of naturalist-ethnologist Edward William Nelson (1855-1934), Division of Biological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, who helped collect type (and noted that it is the best freshwater food fish in México)
Potamarius usumacintae Betancur-R. & Willink 2007 of the Río Usumacinta basin, Guatemala and México, where it is endemic
Potamosilurus Marceniuk & Menezes 2007 potamos, river, referring to all species occurring in fresh water; silurus, from the Greek silouros, catfish
Potamosilurus coatesi (Kailola 1990) in honor of David C. Coates, formerly of the Department of Fisheries & Marine Resources, Papua New Guinea, who collected most of type series and provided information on its biology
Potamosilurus macrorhynchus (Weber 1913) macro-, long or large; rhynchus, referring to conical snout, which forms a prominent cone
Potamosilurus taylori (Roberts 1978) in honor of William Ralph Taylor (1919-2004), Smithsonian ichthyologist and student of Ariidae [also known as P. robertsi (Kailola 1990), an unneeded replacement name now that P. taylori is no longer preoccupied by Arius (now Cathorops) taylori Hildebrand 1925]
Potamosilurus velutinus (Weber 1907) velvety, referring to its “velvet-like” (translation) premaxillary teeth
Pseudosciades Marceniuk, Oliveira & Ferraris 2023 pseudo-, false, referring to its “convergent morphology” with the Neotropical Sciades
Pseudosciades sona (Hamilton 1822) presumably a local Bengali name for this catfish in India
Sciades Müller & Troschel 1849 sciado-, canopy or umbrella, probably referring to occipital process, described as a “distinct bony helmet” (translation)
Sciades couma (Valenciennes 1840) from couma-couma, local name for this catfish in French Guiana, onomatopoeic for the sound it makes when pulled from the water
Sciades dowii (Gill 1863) in honor of John Melmoth Dow (1827-1892), Panama Railroad Company, ship captain and amateur naturalist, who presented type to the Smithsonian Institution
Sciades herzbergii (Bloch 1794) patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Count Ewald Friedrich von Herzberg (also spelled Hertzberg, 1725-1795), a Prussian statesman who was one of Bloch’s sponsors
Sciades parkeri (Traill 1832) in honor of Traill’s friend Charles Stewart Parker (1800-1868), British merchant who “favoured” the author with a drawing of the catfish and its skin
Sciades passany (Valenciennes 1840) local vernacular for this species at Cayenne, French Guiana (type locality, but occurs throughout coastal South America from Guyana to the mouth of the Amazon)
Sciades proops (Valenciennes 1840) pro-, before; ops, eye, referring to eye nearer to snout than to preopercle, compared to Bagrus mesops (=S. herzbergii), on which eye is midway between snout and preopercle
Subfamily BAGREINAE
Bagre Cloquet 1816 tautonymous with Silurus bagre; according to Marcgrave (1648), a Portuguese word for catfish used in Brazil, presumably first applied to B. bagre
Bagre bagre (Linnaeus 1766) according to Marcgrave (1648), a Portuguese word for catfish used in Brazil, presumably first applied to this species
Bagre filamentosus Swainson 1839 referring to “dorsal and pectoral fins with the spines serrated, and surmounted by cartilaginous and articulated filaments”
Bagre marinus (Mitchill 1815) of the sea, the “Salt-water Catfish” of New York State (USA)
Bagre panamensis (Gill 1863) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Panama, presumably referring to type locality although that country is not specifically mentioned (occurs along Pacific coast of Central America and northern South America)
Bagre pinnimaculatus (Steindachner 1876) pinnis, fin; maculatus, spotted, referring to oval blackish spot on anal, ventral and caudal fins