COMMENTS
v. 15.0 – 24 Dec. 2023 view/download PDF
Family GOBIIDAE Gobies (Aboma through Ctenogobiops)
Taxonomic note: includes taxa formerly included in the families Kraemeriidae, Microdesmidae and Schindleriidae.
Aboma Jordan & Starks 1895 vernacular name for gobies in Sinaloa, Mexico, type locality of A. etheostoma
Aboma etheostoma Jordan & Starks 1895 referring to its strong reseFmblance to the North American darter genus Etheostoma (Perciformes: Percidae)
Acentrogobius Bleeker 1874 a-, without and kentron, thorn or spine, referring to absence of preopercular spine on A. chlorostigma (=viridipunctatus), compared to presence of that spine on Centrogobius (=Oplopomus); gobius, goby
Acentrogobius andhraensis (Herre 1944) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Andhra, ancient name of area encompassing Vizagapatam, India, type locality
Acentrogobius audax Smith 1959 bold or daring, allusion not explained nor evident [treated by some workers as a junior synonym of A. viganensis and A. madraspatensis]
Acentrogobius brevirostris (Günther 1861) brevis, short; rostris, snout, referring to obtuse snout, as long as orbit
Acentrogobius calamianensis (Herre 1934) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Calamianes, Philippines, type locality [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]
Acentrogobius caninus (Valenciennes 1837) dog, presumably referring to enlarged teeth in outer row of upper jaw and/or to canine teeth on each side of lower jaw
Acentrogobius cenderawasih Allen & Erdmann 2012 named for Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua, Indonesia, type locality
Acentrogobius chusanensis (Herre 1940) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Chusan Island, China, type locality
Acentrogobius dayi Koumans 1941 in honor of Francis Day (1829-1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, who reported this goby as A. brevirostris in 1876 and 1889
Acentrogobius decaryi (Pellegrin 1932) in honor of biologist Raymond Decary (1891-1973), a colonial administrator in Madagascar, who sent several collections of fishes to the Muséum National d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), including type of this one
Acentrogobius gracilis (Bleeker 1875) slender, referring to its more elongate body compared to Arenigobius frenatus, its presumed close relative at the time
Acentrogobius griseus (Day 1876) gray or grayish, but described as “olivaceous, with bands and many well marked deep brown or black spots”
Acentrogobius horai (Fowler 1925) in honor of Sunder Lal Hora (1896-1955), the “accomplished ichthyologist of the Indian Museum” [may belong in a resurrected Amoya Herre 1927]
Acentrogobius janthinopterus (Bleeker 1853) ianthus (with Latin “i” replaced by Roman “j”), purple or violet; pterus, fin, referring to color of fins
Acentrogobius limarius Allen, Erdmann & Hadiaty 2015 of mud, referring to its mud-bottom habitat
Acentrogobius madraspatensis (Day 1868) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Madrasapattinam (Madras Town), precursor to Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India, type locality
Acentrogobius masoni (Day 1873) in honor of Day’s friend, British zoologist James Wood-Mason (1846-1893), Indian Museum (Calcutta)
Acentrogobius mbudyae Nalbant & Mayer 1975 of Mbudya Island, Tanzania, only known area of occurrence
Acentrogobius moloanus (Herre 1927) –anus, belonging to: Molo, Iloilo Province, Panay Island, Philippines, type locality (occurs widely in Western Pacific and Andaman Sea)
Acentrogobius multifasciatus (Herre 1927) multi-, many; fasciatus, banded, referring to 10-14 narrow dark-brown crossbands, which become black lines on belly
Acentrogobius pellidebilis Lee & Kim 1992 pellis, skin; debilis, feeble, “alluding to the feeble skin” (not mentioned elsewhere in description)
Acentrogobius pflaumii (Bleeker 1853) in honor of A.K.J.L.W. Pflaum, Surgeon Major, Royal Dutch East Indies Army, who provided type
Acentrogobius quinquemaculatus Allen 2017 quinque, five; maculatus, spotted, referring to five, large brown markings on middle of sides
Acentrogobius signatus (Peters 1855) marked, presumably referring to any or all of the following: large black-brown spots on body, white-blue spots on cheek and operculum (the former with two blue longitudinal lines), white spots on pectoral fins, numerous vertical spots on tail, large blue-black ocellus on first dorsal fin
Acentrogobius simplex (Sauvage 1880) onefold or single, allusion not explained nor evident
Acentrogobius suluensis (Herre 1927) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sulu Province, Philippines, type locality (occurs in eastern Indonesia east to Philippines, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to New Guinea)
Acentrogobius therezieni Kiener 1963 in honor of friend and colleague Y. Thérézien, hydrobiologist, who collected type
Acentrogobius vanderloosi Allen 2015 in honor of Robert (“Rob”) van der Loos (spelled “Vanderloos” by Allen), owner and operator of the live-aboard dive vessel Chertan (Alotau, Papua New Guinea); his generous assistance was instrumental in the discovery of this goby
Acentrogobius veliensis (Geevarghese & John 1982) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Veli estuary in Trivandrum, southwestern coast of Kerala State, India, type locality
Acentrogobius viganensis (Steindachner 1893) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines, type locality
Acentrogobius violarisi Allen 2015 in honor of Julius Violaris, owner of Nawe Constructions at Alotau, Papua New Guinea, for “allowing uninterrupted access to the survey site that yielded the new species, and for his generosity in continuing to provide an excellent home base for the Chertan, the live-aboard dive vessel that served as the logistic centre for the trip on which the new species was collected”
Acentrogobius virgatulus (Jordan & Snyder 1901) diminutive of virgatus, i.e., finely streaked, referring to five narrow, dark, longitudinal streaks on sides
Acentrogobius viridipunctatus (Valenciennes 1837) viridis, green; punctatus, spotted, referring to “very brilliant metallic green” (translation) spots on body
Afurcagobius Gill 1993 a-, without and furca, fork, referring to lack of forked tongue, the most obvious distinguishing character between this genus and the morphologically similar Glossogobius; gobius, goby
Afurcagobius suppositus (Sauvage 1880) substituted, being a substitute or replacement name for Gobius obscurus Castelnau 1873, preoccupied by G. obscurus Peters 1855
Afurcagobius tamarensis (Johnston 1883) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Tamar River, Tasmania, Australia, type locality
Akko Birdsong & Robins 1995 Greek for specter, referring to “pallid and unusual appearance” of A. dionaea
Akko brevis (Günther 1864) short, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its length (described from one specimen “3 inches long” [7.62 cm]), shorter than its presumed congeners in Amblyopus (Oxudercidae, now divided among Gobioides, Odontamblyopus and Taenioides)
Akko dionaea Birdsong & Robins 1995 Dionaea, genus of the Venus Flytrap, referring to appearance of its open mouth and exposed teeth
Akko rossi Van Tassell & Baldwin 2004 in honor of friend and colleague D. Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, for substantial contributions to our understanding of the diversity of tropical eastern Pacific shorefishes
Aioliops Rennis & Hoese 1987 aiolos, swift, God of the Wind; iops, a small fish, referring to the speed with which these small fishes avoid capture
Aioliops brachypterus Rennis & Hoese 1987 brachy, short; pterus, fin, referring to the relatively short lengths of its dorsal, caudal and pelvic fins
Aioliops megastigma Rennis & Hoese 1987 mega, large; stigma, mark or spot, referring to its large caudal-fin spot
Aioliops novaeguineae Rennis & Hoese 1987 of Papua New Guinea, type locality (also occurs off Indonesia)
Aioliops tetrophthalmus Rennis & Hoese 1987 tetra, four; ophthalmus, eye, referring to four-eyed appearance created by its caudal-fin spot
Amblyeleotris Bleeker 1874 amblys, blunt, referring to “very obtuse and truncated profile” (translation) of A. periophthalmus, which was originally placed in Eleotris
Amblyeleotris arcupinna Mohlmann & Munday 1999 arcus, bow; pinna, fin, referring to arc-shaped mark on first dorsal fin
Amblyeleotris aurora (Polunin & Lubbock 1977) Aurora, Roman goddess of dawn, referring to pattern on caudal fin, “reminiscent of the rising sun”
Amblyeleotris bellicauda Randall 2004 bellus, beautiful; cauda, tail, referring to its strikingly colored caudal fin
Amblyeleotris biguttata Randall 2004 bi-, two; guttata, spotted, referring to pair of prominent black spots on chin
Amblyeleotris bleekeri Chen, Shao & Chen 2006 in honor of Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878), for “significant” contributions to Indo-Pacific fish research, including authorship of this genus
Amblyeleotris callopareia Polunin & Lubbock 1979 callos, beautiful; pareia, cheek, referring to distinctive coloration on side of head, with three more-or-less vertical golden-yellow stripes
Amblyeleotris cephalotaenia (Ni 1989) cephalus, head; taenia, band, referring to two black streaks behind eye
Amblyeleotris delicatulus Smith 1958 diminutive of delicatus, delicate or dainty, described from a “fragile” holotype, “damaged, many scales gone”
Amblyeleotris diagonalis Polunin & Lubbock 1979 diagonal, referring to oblique bands on body
Amblyeleotris downingi Randall 1994 in honor of marine biologist Nigel Downing (b. 1951), formerly of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, who collected the northern Arabian (Persian) Gulf specimens with Randall and provided logistical support during the latter’s visit to Kuwait
Amblyeleotris ellipse Randall 2004 referring to large elliptical mark in caudal fin
Amblyeleotris fasciata (Herre 1953) banded, referring to five broad, transverse bands encircling body, brownish in alcohol, probably purple-red or brown in life
Amblyeleotris fontanesii (Bleeker 1853) in honor of Surgeon-Major H. R. F. Fontanes, Dutch East Indian Army physician, who provided a collection of fishes from Bulucumba, Sulawesi, Indonesia, presumably including type of this one
Amblyeleotris guttata (Fowler 1938) spotted, referring to many variable, mostly large rounded blue-gray spots, more or less ringed with darker brown, on head and body
Amblyeleotris gymnocephala (Bleeker 1853) gymnos, naked or bare; cephalus, head, referring to its scaleless head
Amblyeleotris harrisorum Mohlmann & Randall 2002 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Randall’s friends Hamilton and Nancy Harris (John E. Randall, pers. comm.), who sponsored the authors’ expedition to Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, where this goby is endemic
Amblyeleotris japonica Takagi 1957 Japanese, presumably referring to type locality, Kagoshima Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan (also occurs in Hong Kong)
Amblyeleotris latifasciata Polunin & Lubbock 1979 latus, broad; fasciatus, banded, referring to wider bands on body compared to many related species
Amblyeleotris macronema Polunin & Lubbock 1979 macro-, long; nema, thread, referring to long (third and fourth) spines of first dorsal fin
Amblyeleotris marquesas Mohlmann & Randall 2002 named for the Marquesas Islands, type locality
Amblyeleotris masuii Aonuma & Yoshino 1996 in honor of M. Masui, a collector for Umikawa Coral Fish Shop (Okinawa-jima Island, Japan), who collected type
Amblyeleotris melanocephala Aonuma, Iwata & Yoshino 2000 mela-, black; cephala, head, referring to dark coloration of head
Amblyeleotris memnonia Prokofiev 2016 poetic designation of dark or black color in Ovid, from the name Memnon, mythical king of Ethiopians, referring to uniform dark color of body
Amblyeleotris morishitai Senou & Aonuma 2007 in honor of diver and underwater photographer Osamu Morishita, who discovered this goby
Amblyeleotris neglecta Jaafar & Randall 2009 neglected, referring to the fact that this goby was first collected and photographed 34 years before it was recognized as a new species
Amblyeleotris neumanni Randall & Earle 2006 in honor of Mike Neumann, “fellow diver, underwater photographer and good friend,” who helped collect and photograph this goby
Amblyeleotris novaecaledoniae Goren 1981 of New Caledonia, type locality (also occurs at Papua New Guinea)
Amblyeleotris ogasawarensis Yanagisawa 1978 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ogasawara Islands, Japan, type locality
Amblyeleotris periophthalmus (Bleeker 1853) described as “periophthalmoïdeo” (Periophthalmus-like), i.e., similar to blunt head and/or elevated eyes of mudskipper gobies (Oxudercidae) [often treated as an adjective, periophthalma, but since Bleeker was likely referring to the genus Periophthalmus it should be treated as a noun]
Amblyeleotris randalli Hoese & Steene 1978 in honor of ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), who brought this goby to the authors’ attention
Amblyeleotris rhyax Polunin & Lubbock 1979 Greek for volcano, referring to its “fiery” colors (e.g., numerous red-edged orange spots on head and body; head and anterior body with three narrow reddish bars)
Amblyeleotris rubrimarginata Mohlmann & Randall 2002 ruber, red; marginata, edged, referring to distinctive bright-red margin on both dorsal fins
Amblyeleotris steinitzi (Klausewitz 1974) in honor of the late Heinz Steinitz (1909-1971), marine biologist, herpetologist, and founder of the marine laboratory that bears his name, in Eilat, Israel, on the Gulf of Aqaba, where this goby occurs
Amblyeleotris stenotaeniata Randall 2004 stenos, narrow; taeniatus, banded, referring to narrow oblique dark bars on body
Amblyeleotris sungami (Klausewitz 1969) in honor of ethologist Dietrich B. E. Magnus, who collected type (Sungam is Magnus spelled backwards; why Klausewitz reversed the name is not explained)
Amblyeleotris taipinensis Chen, Shao & Chen 2006 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Taipin Island, South China Sea, type locality
Amblyeleotris triguttata Randall 1994 tri-, three; guttata, spotted, referring to its three most prominent dark spots, one on side of nape and two on first dorsal fin
Amblyeleotris wheeleri (Polunin & Lubbock 1977) in honor of Alwyne C. Wheeler (1929-2005), Curator of Fishes at the British Museum (Natural History), for his help over the years, particularly with the authors’ study of prawn-associated gobies of the Seychelles
Amblyeleotris yanoi Aonuma & Yoshino 1996 in honor of Korechika Yano, diving instructor and underwater photographer (Iriomote Island, Japan), who collected type
Amblygobius Bleeker 1874 amblys, blunt, referring to compressed, convex and blunt head of A. sphynx; gobius, goby
Amblygobius albimaculatus (Rüppell 1830) albus, white; maculatus, spotted, referring to two series of fine, milky white spots at bases of dorsal fins
Amblygobius buanensis Herre 1927 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Buan Island, off eastern coast of Tawitrawi, Philippines, type locality (occurs in western Pacific from Indonesia to Solomon Islands)
Amblygobius bynoensis (Richardson 1844) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bynoe Harbour, Western Australia, type locality
Amblygobius calvatus Allen & Erdmann 2016 bald, referring to lack of scales on entire nape region
Amblygobius cheraphilus Allen & Erdmann 2016 cheras, silt or detritus; philos, fond of, referring to its mud and silt habitat, sometimes near freshwater-stream mouths
Amblygobius decussatus (Bleeker 1855) divided crosswise in the form of an X, referring to four longitudinal bands on body, united by crossbars
Amblygobius esakiae Herre 1939 in honor of entomologist Teiso Esaki (1899-1957), Kyushu Imperial University (Fukuoka, Japan), who collected type
Amblygobius linki Herre 1927 in honor of Capt. Francis Link, longtime resident of Jolo, Philippines, for his “indefatigable labors in advancing our knowledge of the Sulu Archipelago, and its fauna, flora, and people”
Amblygobius nocturnus (Herre 1945) nocturnal, referring to Herre’s observation that this and other “alleged” pelagic gobies of the Pacific live on the bottom and come to the surface only at night
Amblygobius phalaena (Valenciennes 1837) moth, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its moth-like coloration, e.g., dark brown edged with white (see also A. sphynx)
Amblygobius semicinctus (Bennett 1833) semi-, half; cinctus, belt or girdle, referring to six black-margined, vertical blue bands on lower half of body
Amblygobius sewardii (Playfair 1867) in honor of George E. Seward (1826-1917), Surgeon to the Zanzibar Political Agency (type locality is Zanzibar, Tanzania)
Amblygobius sphynx (Valenciennes 1837) etymology not explained, presumably named for its sphynx moth-like coloration or appearance, e.g., gray-brown silver with six large brown vertical stripes (see also A. phalaena)
Amblygobius stethophthalmus (Bleeker 1851) stethos, breast or chest; ophthalmus, eye, allusion not explained nor evident
Amblygobius tekomaji (Smith 1959) named for Tekomaji Island, Mozambique, western Indian Ocean, type locality
Anatirostrum Iljin 1930 anatinus, of ducks; rostrum, snout, referring to its elongate, duck-bill shaped snout (commonly called the Duck-bill Goby)
Anatirostrum profundorum (Berg 1927) of the depths, referring to its occurrence at depths below 100 m in the Southern Caspian Sea, Iran
Ancistrogobius Shibukawa, Yoshino & Allen 2010 agkistros, fish hook, referring to short, ventrally directed, spur-like preopercular spine; gobius, goby
Ancistrogobius dipus Shibukawa, Yoshino & Allen 2010 di-, two; pous, foot, referring to widely separated pelvic fins
Ancistrogobius squamiceps Shibukawa, Yoshino & Allen 2010 squama, scale; ceps, head, referring to presence of scales on head (upper part of operculum) and nape
Ancistrogobius yanoi Shibukawa, Yoshino & Allen 2010 in honor of Korechika Yano, Dive Service YANO (Iriomote Island, Japan), who discovered this goby and photographed it underwater, who provided several specimens and habitat information, and helped confirm that it differed from A. yoshigoui
Ancistrogobius yoshigoui Shibukawa, Yoshino & Allen 2010 in honor of zoologist Hidenori Yoshigou, Chugai Technos Co. Ltd. (Hiroshima, Japan), who provided five paratypes and valuable information about this goby
Antilligobius Van Tassell & Tornabene 2012 from the Dutch Antillen, which refers to the region now known as the Antilles or Caribbean Sea, referring to distribution of A. nikkiae; gobius, goby
Antilligobius nikkiae Van Tassell & Colin 2012 in honor of Nicole Laura Schrier, daughter of Adriaan “Dutch” Schrier, owner of the Sea Aquarium in Curaçao, who collected many of the type specimens
Aphia Risso 1827 latinization of aphya, Greek for a small fish or herring, referring to its size; at 44 mm, Risso believed it was the smallest fish in the Mediterranean
Aphia minuta (Risso 1810) very small, described at 44 mm, “the smallest fish that exists in all our waters [Nice, France, northwestern Mediterranean Sea]” (translation)
Arcygobius Larson & Wright 2003 arkys, a net, referring to how A. baliurus is usually collected as bycatch by trawl nets; gobius, goby
Arcygobius baliurus (Valenciennes 1837) balios, speckled; ouros, tail, presumably referring to white dots on caudal-fin rays
Arenigobius Whitley 1930 etymology not explained, perhaps arena, sand, referring to occurrence of A. bifrenatus in burrows on sandy, silty or muddy bottoms; gobius, goby
Arenigobius bifrenatus (Kner 1865) bi-, two; frenatus, bridled, referring to two oblique dark bands originating on head below eye
Arenigobius frenatus (Günther 1861) bridled, referring to light-edged blackish band from maxillary to lower pectoral-fin base, with another less-distinct band running parallel to upper pectoral-fin base
Arenigobius leftwichi (Ogilby 1910) in honor of oyster merchant Richard W. Leftwich, Jr. (1856-1914), of Maryborough (Queensland, Australia), to whom Ogilby was “indebted for many kindnesses”
Aruma Ginsburg 1933 etymology not explained; word does not appear in any of our standard dictionaries
Aruma histrio (Jordan 1884) harlequin, presumably referring to cross bands on body, as wide as eye
Asterropteryx Rüppell 1830 a-, not; sterrhos, firm or stiff; pteryx, fin, referring to slender and flexible dorsal-fin spines
Asterropteryx atripes Shibukawa & Suzuki 2002 ater, black; pes, foot, referring to its conspicuously black pelvic fins
Asterropteryx bipunctata Allen & Munday 1995 bi-, two; punctatus, spotted, referring to prominent ocellated black spot at base of first three dorsal spines, and a similar spot with orange margin at base of middle caudal-fin rays
Asterropteryx ensifera (Bleeker 1874) ensis, sword; fero, to bear, referring to bony, spine-like projection at corner of preopercle
Asterropteryx ovata Shibukawa & Suzuki 2007 egg-shaped, referring to large ovoid black spot on base of caudal fin
Asterropteryx profunda Allen & Erdmann 2016 deep, referring to its deep-reef habitat in relation to congeners and most reef-dwelling gobies
Asterropteryx semipunctata Rüppell 1830 semi-, partial; punctata, spotted, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to sky-blue spots, which cover entire body except for lower half of head
Asterropteryx senoui Shibukawa & Suzuki 2007 in honor of Hiroshi Senou, Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, who collected some of the paratypes, for his “great” contribution to our knowledge of systematics and distribution of Japanese fishes
Asterropteryx spinosa (Goren 1981) spiny, referring to five bony, spine-like projections on preopercle
Asterropteryx striata Allen & Munday 1995 striped, referring to its distinctive midlateral stripe
Aulopareia Smith 1945 aulon, groove; pareia, cheek, referring to cheek scales of A. janetae, which are arranged in six horizontal rows separated by narrow grooves or furrows
Aulopareia cyanomos (Bleeker 1849) cyano-, blue; omos, shoulder, referring to blue blotch on shoulder
Aulopareia koumansi (Herre 1937) in honor of goby taxonomist Frederik Petrus Koumans (1905-1977), Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), for his work on the gobies of the East Indies
Aulopareia microps (Chu 1963) micro-, small; ops, eye, described as “eye small, 5-6.5 times eye diameter in head length, round in shape, dorsolaterally placed” (translation) [previously in Acentrogobius; provisionally placed here]
Aulopareia ocellata (Day 1873) with eye-like spots, referring to yellow ocellus at top of posterior half of caudal fin
Aulopareia unicolor (Valenciennes 1837) uni-, one, presumably referring to its uniform tawny-brown body coloration
Aulopareia vadosa Larson & Jaafar 2022 Latin for full of shallows, referring to the only habitat (intertidal soft bottoms) from which this goby is known
Austrolethops Whitley 1935 Austro-, an Australian blind goby similar to Lethops (Oxudercidae) [lethos, to forget; ops, eye, referring to poorly developed eyes]
Austrolethops wardi Whitley 1935 in honor of actor, naturalist and marine collector Charles Melbourne Ward (1903-1966), who collected type
Babka Iljin 1927 Russian slang for an old woman or grandmother, and a local name for gobies
Babka gymnotrachelus (Kessler 1857) gymnos, bare or naked; trachelus, neck, referring to absence of scales on midline of nape, in front of preoperculum
Babka macrophthalma (Kessler 1877) macro-, large; ophthalmus, eye, referring to its large eyes, their diameter up to ⅓ in HL in specimens up to 66 mm TL
Barbulifer Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1888 barbula, small barbel; fero, to bear, referring to numerous minute barbels around mouth and chin of B. papillosus (=ceuthoecus)
Barbulifer antennatus Böhlke & Robins 1968 –atus, adjectival suffix: antenna, feeler, referring to longer barbels compared to B. ceuthoecus
Barbulifer ceuthoecus (Jordan & Gilbert 1884) keuthmon, cavity; oikeus, dweller, type specimen taken from the cavity of a sponge
Barbulifer enigmaticus Joyeux, Van Tassell & Macieira 2009 enigmatic, referring to its identity remaining unresolved for many years
Barbulifer mexicanus Hoese & Larson 1985 Mexican, referring to type locality in eastern Pacific of Baja California, México
Barbulifer pantherinus (Pellegrin 1901) like a panther, presumably referring to its color pattern (irregular brown spots on yellowish-white body)
Barbuligobius Lachner & McKinney 1974 barbula, small barbel, referring to numerous barbels on head; gobius, goby
Barbuligobius boehlkei Lachner & McKinney 1974 in honor of James E. Böhlke (1930-1982), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who collected some of the specimens
Bathygobius Bleeker 1878 bathy, deep, allusion not explained nor evident (probably does not refer to water depth since Bleeker proposed genus for B. petrophilus, which he collected by hand from coral rocks); gobius, goby
Bathygobius aeolosoma (Ogilby 1889) Aelos, god of the winds, or aiolos, shifting, changing, variable; soma, body, allusion not explained nor evident
Bathygobius andrei (Sauvage 1880) in honor of “André,” who collected type, probably French horticulturalist Édouard François André (1840-1911), who collected plants in South America, including Ecuador (type locality)
Bathygobius antilliensis Tornabene, Baldwin & Pezold 2010 –ensis, suffix denoting place: islands of the Antilles, which constitute most of the known range of this goby and the region where it is most abundant
Bathygobius brasiliensis Carvalho-Filo & De Araújo 2017 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Brazil, where it is known only from the oceanic islands of Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas
Bathygobius burtoni (O’Shaughnessy 1875) in honor of Capt. Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), English explorer, geographer and diplomat, who collected type
Bathygobius casamancus (Rochebrune 1880) –us, adjectival suffix: from Casamance River, Senegal, type locality (occurs along eastern Atlantic from Mauritania to Angola, including Cape Verde and Gulf of Guinea islands)
Bathygobius coalitus (Bennett 1832) united or grown together, presumably referring to its “subcontinuis” (almost touching) dorsal fins [italics in original]
Bathygobius cocosensis (Bleeker 1854) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cocos Island/Cocos-Keeling Islands, eastern Indian Ocean, type locality (type specimen now lost)
Bathygobius cotticeps (Steindachner 1879) Cottus, genus of sculpins; ceps, head, presumably referring to its wide, sculpin-like head
Bathygobius curacao (Metzelaar 1919) named for Curaçao, Lesser Antilles, the island nation where many of Metzelaar’s specimens were collected
Bathygobius cyclopterus (Valenciennes 1837) cyclo-, circle; pterus, fin, referring to its round ventral fins, similar to Sicydium (Oxudercidae)
Bathygobius fishelsoni Goren 1978 in honor of ecologist and marine biologist Lev Fishelson (1923-2013), Tel-Aviv University, for his “well-known” contributions to the knowledge of the Red Sea, where this goby is endemic to the Gulf of Suez
Bathygobius fuscus (Rüppell 1830) dark, referring to its uniform liver-brown color in alcohol
Bathygobius geminatus Tornabene, Baldwin & Pezold 2010 paired, doubled or repeated, referring to diagnostic pattern of vertically paired spots that are repeated 6-7 times laterally along its body
Bathygobius hongkongensis Lam 1986 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Chung Hum Kok, Hong Kong, type locality
Bathygobius karachiensis Hoda & Goren 1990 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Karachi coast of Pakistan, type locality
Bathygobius krefftii (Steindachner 1866) patronym not identified but probably in honor of Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (1830-1881), Australian zoologist and paleontologist (this goby is Australian) [although misspelled “kreftii” by Steindachner; “krefftii” is in prevailing usage and does not need to revert to original spelling]
Bathygobius lacertus (Poey 1860) lizard, allusion not explained nor evident
Bathygobius laddi (Fowler 1931) in honor of “Dr. H. L. Ladd,” who collected type and other fishes for the Bishop Museum (Honolulu) [although Fowler consistently used the initials “H. L.,” this goby may be named after geologist Harry Stephen Ladd (1899-1982), who went to Fiji (type locality) on a Bishop Museum fellowship in 1925]
Bathygobius lineatus (Jenyns 1841) lined, referring to 10 “rather indistinct” (in spirits) longitudinal dark lines on body
Bathygobius meggitti (Hora & Mukerji 1936) in honor of parasitologist F. J. Meggitt, University College (Rangoon), who provided a collection of fishes from Tavoy District, Myanmar, including type of this one
Bathygobius mystacium Ginsburg 1947 mustachioed, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to scattered dark blotches on cheek and jaws
Bathygobius niger (Smith 1960) black, referring to “almost uniform blackish brown” color in life
Bathygobius panayensis (Jordan & Seale 1907) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Panay Island, Philippines, type locality
Bathygobius petrophilus (Bleeker 1853) petro, stone; philos, fond of, presumably referring to the coral rocks of Onrust Island, Indonesia, where Bleeker caught this goby by hand
Bathygobius ramosus Ginsburg 1947 branched, referring to “profusely” branched rays (usually the upper five) of pectoral fin
Bathygobius smithi Fricke 1999 in honor of ichthyologist-chemist J.L.B. Smith (1897-1968), Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa), who described this goby in 1960 but used a name (Pyosicus niger) now secondarily preoccupied in Bathygobius by Gobius nigri Günther 1861
Bathygobius soporator (Valenciennes 1837) sleeper, referring to its local name in Martinique (type locality), presumed to be related or similar to the sleeper gobies of Eleotris and Dormitator (Eleotridae)
Benthophiloides Beling & Iljin 1927 –oides, having the form of: Benthophilus, to which it is presumed to be closely related
Benthophiloides brauneri Beling & Iljin 1927 in honor of Ukrainian zoologist Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Brauner (1857-1941), who first recorded this species from the Dnieper River in 1898 but misidentified it as Gobiosoma caspium due to their similar color patterns with dark banding
Benthophiloides turcomanus (Iljin 1941) –anus, belonging to: Turkmenistan side of Caspian Sea, syntype locality
Benthophilus Eichwald 1831 benthos, of the deep; philos, loving, presumably referring to occurrence of B. macrocephalus in bays of the Caspian Sea, moving into deeper water (20-25 m) during winter months
Benthophilus abdurahmanovi Ragimov 1978 in honor of Yusif A. Abdurakhmanov (b. 1912), “one of the leading” (translation) ichthyologists of Azerbaijan
Benthophilus baeri Kessler 1877 in memory of Baltic-German Russian biologist Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876), who collected some of the type series, for his “great contributions to the natural-history study of the Caspian Sea” (translation)
Benthophilus casachicus Ragimov 1978 –icus, belonging to: Latinization of Kazakh, i.e., Kazakhstan, off whose coast (Kazakh Bay, middle Caspian Sea) this species was discovered
Benthophilus ctenolepidus Kessler 1877 cteno-, comb; lepidos, scale, presumably referring to bony tubercles or scutes on body, which resemble ctenoid scales
Benthophilus durrelli Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2004 in honor of Gerald (here spelled Jerald) Durrell (1925-1995), the “famous English animal writer”
Benthophilus granulosus Kessler 1877 granulated, referring to minute uniform granules densely covering body and head
Benthophilus grimmi Kessler 1877 in honor of ichthyologist Oscar von Grimm (1845-1921), Chief Inspector of Russian fisheries, who collected type
Benthophilus kessleri Berg 1927 in honor of German-Russian zoologist Karl Fedorovich Kessler (1815-1881); proposed as a variety of B. grimmi, which Kessler described in 1877
Benthophilus leobergius Berg 1949 latinization of Leo Berg, in honor of ichthyologist Lev (also Leo) Semyonovich Berg (1876-1950) [name proposed by Iljin (1949) but made available by Berg, who therefore becomes author of a name honoring himself]
Benthophilus leptocephalus Kessler 1877 leptos, narrow; cephalus, head, its width ⅔ of its length
Benthophilus leptorhynchus Kessler 1877 leptos, narrow; rhynchos, snout, referring to its relatively long or elongate snout
Benthophilus macrocephalus (Pallas 1787) macro-, large; cephalus, head, referring to its large, sculpin-like head
Benthophilus magistri Iljin 1927 teacher, allusion not explained, but here is a guess (per Ronald Fricke, pers. comm.): in honor of Iljin’s teacher, Nikolai Mikhailovich Knipowitsch (1862-1939, often spelled Knipovich in English), Russian oceanographer and zoologist, whom Iljin had honored with the new genus Knipowitschia in the same paper
Benthophilus mahmudbejovi Ragimov 1976 in honor of Azerbajianian ichthyologist A. A. Mahmudbekov, who devoted his life to the study of the Caspian Sea (where this goby occurs)
Benthophilus nudus Berg 1898 bare or naked, proposed as a variety of B. macrocephalus in which sexually mature males lose their scales
Benthophilus persicus Kovačić, Esmaeili, Zarei, Abbasi & Schliewen 2021 Persian, referring to the southern Caspian Sea of Iran, where it is endemic
Benthophilus pinchuki Ragimov 1982 in honor of ichthyologist Vitaly Iustinovich Pinchuk (1931-1992), USSR Academy of Sciences, who collaborated with Ragimov on the description of B. svetovidovi in 1979
Benthophilus ragimovi Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2004 in honor of the late Dadash Ragimov (1932-1992), “well-known” ichthyologist and “expert” in Caspian gobiid fishes
Benthophilus spinosus Kessler 1877 spiny, referring to spiny tubercles on body
Benthophilus stellatus (Sauvage 1874) starry, referring to stellate tubercles on cheek
Benthophilus svetovidovi Pinchuk & Ragimov 1979 in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Anatolii Nikolaevich Svetovidov (1903-1985), for his significant contributions to the study of Caspian fishes
Birdsongichthys Tornabene, Manning, Robertson, Van Tassell & Baldwin 2022 in honor of Ray S. Birdsong (1935-1995), who contributed “substantially” to the knowledge of the systematics of the family Gobiidae, especially taxa from the tropical western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans; ichthys, fish
Birdsongichthys rectus Tornabene, Manning, Robertson, Van Tassell & Baldwin 2022 Latin for straight, referring to the straight, unbranched rays of its pelvic fin
Bollmannia Jordan 1890 –ia, belonging to: Jordan’s late colleague, naturalist Charles Harvey Bollman (1868-1889), “whose untimely death while engaged in the exploration of the rivers of Georgia, took place while this paper was passing through the press” (Bollmann died of dysentery contracted while collecting fish in the swamps of Waycross, Georgia, USA)
Bollmannia boqueronensis Evermann & Marsh 1899 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ensenada del Boqueron, Puerto Rico, type locality
Bollmannia chlamydes Jordan 1890 cloaked, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its “very large” ctenoid scales
Bollmannia communis Ginsburg 1942 common, “evidently a common species” in the Gulf of Mexico between Padre Island, Texas, and the Mississippi Delta
Bollmannia eigenmannorum (Garman 1896) in honor of the “distinguished” ichthyologists Carl H. Eigenmann (1863-1927) and his wife Rosa (1858-1947), “who have added so much to our knowledge of the American Gobiidae” [originally spelled eigenmanni, but since name honors more than one person, emendment is necessary]
Bollmannia gomezi Acero P. 1981 in honor of Acero’s professor and friend, Alfredo Gómez Gaspar, who “stimulated” his interest in ichthyology
Bollmannia litura Ginsburg 1935 erasure, blot or blur, presumably referring to median series of five diffuse, very faint blotches, then believed to be unique to the genus (B. marginalis also has blotches)
Bollmannia macropoma Gilbert 1892 macro-, large; poma, lid, referring to its “conspicuously larger” opercle compared to B. ocellata
Bollmannia marginalis Ginsburg 1939 marginal, differing from all congeners known at the time in having a dorsal spot on margin of first dorsal fin
Bollmannia ocellata Gilbert 1892 having little eyes, referring to black spot on first dorsal fin, “conspicuously ocellated with white”
Bollmannia stigmatura Gilbert 1892 stigma, mark or spot; ouros, tail, referring to roundish dusky spot at base of caudal fin
Bollmannia umbrosa Ginsburg 1939 shady, presumably referring to black blotch on first dorsal fin and/or black marginal band on upper lip
Bryaninops Smith 1959 –ops, appearance, “related” (and presumably similar) to Bryanina (=Sicyopterus)
Bryaninops amplus Larson 1985 large, referring to larger maximum size compared to known congeners at the time
Bryaninops annella Suzuki & Randall 2014 referring to the large sea fan Annella mollis, with which it is commensal
Bryaninops dianneae Larson 1985 in honor of Dianne Bray, Australian Museum, who collected type
Bryaninops discus Suzuki, Bogorodsky & Randall 2012 dish or dish-like, referring to flat pelvic fins of adults
Bryaninops earlei Suzuki & Randall 2014 in honor of John L. Earle, Association for Marine Exploration, who discovered this goby and collected type with second author
Bryaninops erythrops (Jordan & Seale 1906) erythros, red; ops, eye, referring to rosy color around pupil
Bryaninops isis Larson 1985 Isis, host gorgonian for this species-specific goby
Bryaninops loki Larson 1985 named after the legendary Old Norse god Loki, who was a “rather enigmatic trickster,” presumably referring to its cryptic coloration, matching the gorgonian sea fans and whips on which it is most often found
Bryaninops natans Larson 1985 swimming or floating, referring to its hovering behavior, in contrast to the clinging, cryptic habits of other congeners
Bryaninops nexus Larson 1987 tied or bound together, referring to fused anterior and posterior nostrils, leaving an oval area with a raised rim
Bryaninops ridens Smith 1959 laughing or smiling, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to large mouth (illustration that accompanies description does appear to show this goby “smiling”)
Bryaninops spongicolus Suzuki, Bogorodsky & Randall 2012 spongi-, sponge; –cola, dweller or inhabitant, i.e., living commensally on a sponge
Bryaninops tectus Suzuki & Randall 2014 secret, hidden or disguised, referring to its being misidentified as B. loki
Bryaninops tigris Larson 1985 tiger, referring to brown and golden colors in life and its secretive behavior
Bryaninops translucens Suzuki & Randall 2014 named for its translucent coloration in life
Bryaninops yongei (Davis & Cohen 1969) in honor of British marine zoologist Maurice Yonge (1899-1986), the authors’ shipmate on cruise that collected type
Cabillus Smith 1959 etymology not explained; name does not appear in any of our Latin and Greek dictionaries
Cabillus atripelvicus Randall, Sakamoto & Shibukawa 2007 ater, black; pelvicus, pelvic, referring to its “very dark” pelvic fins
Cabillus caudimacula Greenfield & Randall 2004 cauda, tail; macula, spot, referring to prominent black blotch posteriorly on body and caudal-fin base
Cabillus lacertops Smith 1959 lacerta, lizard; ops, appearance, allusion not explained, presumably referring to what Smith perceived as a lizard-like appearance
Cabillus macrophthalmus (Weber 1909) macro-, large; opthalmus, eye, referring to its large eyes, which raise above the head profile and touch each other, their diameter 3.5 times in head length
Cabillus nigromarginatus Kovačić & Bogorodsky 2013 nigro-, black; marginatus, margined, referring to color pattern of predorsal area and dorsal saddles
Cabillus nigrostigmus Kovačić & Bogorodsky 2013 nigro-, black; stigmus, mark or spot, referring to distinctive black mark in lower posterior of first dorsal fin
Cabillus pexus Shibukawa & Aizawa 2013 comb, referring to enlarged ctenii on a pair of scales at base of caudal fin
Cabillus tongarevae (Fowler 1927) of Tongareva (now called Penrhyn Island), northern Cook Islands, South Pacific, type locality
Caffrogobius Smitt 1900 proposed as a subgenus of Gobius, etymology not explained, probably alluding to caffer, an inhabitant of the Eastern Cape of South Africa (historically known as Kaffraria), type locality of type species, C. nudiceps [see also C. caffer, below]
Caffrogobius agulhensis (Barnard 1927) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Agulhas Bank, off East London, South Africa, type locality
Caffrogobius caffer (Günther 1874) an inhabitant of the Eastern Cape of South Africa (historically known as Kaffraria), referring to type locality at Port Elizabeth (today “caffer” is a highly offensive term used by white South Africans to describe black South Africans, equivalent to the “n-word” in the United States)
Caffrogobius dubius (Smith 1959) doubtful or uncertain, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to Smith’s initial placement of it in Coryphopterus, a “doubtful ‘catch-all’ genus”
Caffrogobius gilchristi (Boulenger 1898) in honor of a Scottish-born South African ichthyologist John Dow Fisher Gilchrist (1866-1926), who discovered this goby and the dragonet Callionymus (now Paracallionymus) costatus
Caffrogobius natalensis (Günther 1874) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Port of Natal (now called Durban), South Africa, type locality
Caffrogobius nudiceps (Valenciennes 1837) nudus, naked or bare; ceps, head, referring to scaleless head, most of nape, and base of chest
Caffrogobius saldanha (Barnard 1927) named for Saldanha Bay, South Africa, type locality
Callogobius Bleeker 1874 callo-, beautiful, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to color of type species, C. hasseltii (reddish-green above, orange below, clouded with black, fins yellow) and/or lanceolate caudal fin; gobius, goby
Callogobius albipunctatus Akihito & Ikeda 2021 albus, white; punctatus, spotted, referring to many white small spots on body and fins
Callogobius amikami Goren, Miroz & Baranes 1991 in honor of Amikam Gorovitch (no other information available), who was killed in a diving accident in Eilat, Israel, type locality
Callogobius andamanensis Menon & Chatterjee 1974 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Middle Andaman Island, Andaman Sea, type locality
Callogobius bauchotae Goren 1979 in honor of Marie-Louise Bauchot (b. 1928), ichthyologist, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), who co-sponsored Marshall Island expedition that collected type
Callogobius bifasciatus (Smith 1958) bi-, two; fasciatus, banded, referring to broad orange-brown bar below first dorsal fin, extending onto front of fin, and a second similar bar, more oblique, between second dorsal fin and hind part of anal fin, extending into basal front of dorsal and over hind part of anal
Callogobius bothriorrhynchus (Herzenstein 1896) bothrion, diminutive of bothros, pit or trench; rhynchus, snout, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to visible pores on head
Callogobius centrolepis Weber 1909 centrum, spine and/or midpoint of a circle; lepis, scale, presumably referring to ctenoid scales at tail and posterior half of body, “with a few large spines [ctenii], [the scales] almost circular and with a central point, placed a little off-center, from which the channels [radii] radiate” (translation)
Callogobius clarkai (Goren 1978) in honor of ichthyologist Eugenie Clark (1922-2015), University of Maryland, for her “outstanding” contributions to the knowledge of the fishes of the Red Sea (where this goby occurs) [preferably spelled clarkae since name honors a woman, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]
Callogobius clitellus McKinney & Lachner 1978 pack-saddle, referring to dark saddles and bars on head, trunk and fins
Callogobius crassus McKinney & Lachner 1984 thick, fat or stout, referring to its stout body
Callogobius depressus (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886) referring to “very much depressed” head
Callogobius dori Goren 1980 in honor of Menachem Dor (1901-1998), for his contribution to the knowledge of fishes of the Red Sea (where this goby occurs)
Callogobius dorsomaculatus Akihito & Ikeda 2021 dorsum, back; maculatus, spotted or blotched, referring to dark blotch on first dorsal fin
Callogobius falx Fujiwara, Suzuki & Motomura 2021 Latin for sickle, referring to narrow, black, sickle-like bar on caudal-fin base
Callogobius flavobrunneus (Smith 1958) flavus, yellow; brunneus, brown, referring to olive to yellow-brown color in life, with distally yellow dorsal fins, yellowish pectoral and yellow throat
Callogobius hasseltii (Bleeker 1851) in honor of Dutch physician and biologist Johan Coenraad van Hasselt (1797-1823), who explored the colonial Dutch East Indies with his friend Heinrich Kuhl in 1820; Bleeker described this goby based on their illustration
Callogobius hastatus McKinney & Lachner 1978 like a spear, referring to elongate, spear-shaped caudal fin
Callogobius illotus (Herre 1927) dirty, “papillae on head are dark or blackish, giving the appearance of adhering dirt or trash”
Callogobius irrasus (Smith 1959) unshaved, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “many papillate ridges” on head
Callogobius kuderi (Herre 1943) in honor of Edward M. Kuder, Division Superintendent of Schools in the Philippines, whose “generous cooperation” made possible Herre’s visit to a group of small isles west of Jolo, Sulu Province, type locality
Callogobius maculipinnis (Fowler 1918) macula, spot; pinna, fin, referring to dark-colored fins with whitish bars or spots
Callogobius mannarensis Rangarajan 1970 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gulf of Mannar, southern India, type locality
Callogobius mucosus (Günther 1872) slimy, referring to “thick mucous covering, which envelopes all parts and forms on the snout and sides of the head”
Callogobius nigromarginatus Chen & Shao 2000 nigro-, black; marginatus, margined, referring to blackish stripe at outer margin of anal and caudal fins
Callogobius okinawae (Snyder 1908) of Okinawa Island, Japan, type locality (but occurs in western Pacific from Vietnam to Marshall Islands and Vanuatu, and northeastern Australia to Ryukyu Islands)
Callogobius pilosimentum Delventhal, Mooi, Bogorodsky & Mal 2016 pilosus, hairy; mentum, chin, referring to extra rows of papillae on chin
Callogobius plumatus (Smith 1959) plumed or covered with feathers, allusion not explained nor evident
Callogobius producta (Herre 1927) elongated, referring to “long-drawn-out body, caudal, and pectoral”
Callogobius santa (Herre 1935) latinization of Santo, referring to the island, Espiritu Santo (commonly called Santo), Vanuatu, type locality
Callogobius sclateri (Steindachner 1879) patronym not identified, perhaps in honor of lawyer and zoologist Philip L. Sclater (1829-1913), Secretary of the Zoological Society of London and a pioneer in zoogeography
Callogobius seshaiyai Jacob & Rangarajan 1960 in honor of Rebala Venkata Seshaiya (1898-1973), Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology (Annamalai University, Porto Novo, India), “in appreciation of his devotion to zoology”
Callogobius sheni Chen, Chen & Fang 2006 in honor of Shih (or Shieh)-Chieh Shen, National Taiwan University, for his “great” contribution to ichthyology in Taiwan, where this goby occurs
Callogobius shunkan (Takagi 1957) named for Shunkan Sôzu (1142-1179), a Buddhist sub-bishop and a tragic hero in Japanese historical literature [presumably a noun in apposition without the patronymic “i”]
Callogobius snelliusi Koumans 1953 in honor of the Dutch hydrographic research vessel Snellius, which collected type
Callogobius snyderi (Fowler 1946) in honor of the late John Otterbein Snyder (1867-1943), for his papers on Riu Kiu (Ryukyu, Japan) fishes
Callogobius stellatus McKinney & Lachner 1978 starry, allusion not explained, presumably referring to four, dark narrow stripes radiating from eye
Callogobius swifti Allen, Erdmann & Brooks 2020 in honor of John Swift, for his ”lifelong passion for grassroots conservation in New Guinea as a Board Member of Conservation International and an unflagging patron of the local environmental organization Eco Custodian Advocates in their critical efforts to promote customary marine management across the Milne Bay communities where this new species was discovered”
Callogobius tanegasimae (Snyder 1908) of Tanegashima, Osumi Islands, Japan, type locality [note spelling, without “h”]
Callogobius trifasciatus Menon & Chatterjee 1976 tri-, three; fasciatus, banded, referring to three distinct, darker and broad transverse bands, below first dorsal fin, below hinder part of second dorsal fin, and at caudal peduncle
Callogobius tutuilae (Jordan & Seale 1906) of Pago Pago, Tutuila Island, American Samoa, type locality
Callogobius vanclevei (Herre 1950) in honor of Richard Van Cleve (1906-1984), Acting Director of the University of Washington School of Fisheries, where holotype is housed
Callogobius williamsi Delventhal & Mooi 2023 in honor of ichthyologist Jeffrey T. Williams, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, who collected the holotype and recognized it as a new species
Callogobius winterbottomi Delventhal & Mooi 2013 in honor of Richard Winterbottom (b. 1944), Royal Ontario Museum, who helped collect type; in addition, he has “made substantial contributions to the systematics of gobies and other Indo-Pacific fishes, and to the development of both authors’ respective careers”
Carrigobius Van Tassell, Tornabene & Gilmore 2016 Carrie, referring to Carrie-Bow Cay, Belize, home of the Smithsonian Institution’s field station, where many specimens of C. amblyrhynchus were collected; gobius, goby
Carrigobius amblyrhynchus (Smith & Baldwin 1999) amblys, blunt or obtuse; rhynchus, snout or muzzle, referring to blunt anterior profile of head
Caspiosoma Iljin 1927 Caspio-, referring to occurrence in the Caspian Sea; –soma, abridgement of Gobiosoma, referring to previous placement of C. caspium in that genus
Caspiosoma caspium (Kessler 1877) named for the Caspian Sea, type locality (also occurs in northern Black Sea and Sea of Azov)
Cerdale Jordan & Gilbert 1882 wary, crafty or fox-like, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its quick and agile burrowing behavior, especially when disturbed
Cerdale fasciata Dawson 1974 striped, referring to prominent dark stripes on preserved specimens (“either absent in live holotype or inconspicuous and masked by the striking combination” of a broad chalk-white stripe extending from eye to caudal fin base, margined above and below by golden-yellow which continues over abdomen, pre-dorsum and remainder of head)
Cerdale floridana Longley 1934 –ana, belonging to, Dry Tortugas, Florida, USA, type locality (distributed from southern Florida and the Bahamas, south through the Antilles, and on mainland coasts of Costa Rica and Panama)
Cerdale ionthas Jordan & Gilbert 1882 freckled, referring to back and sides “very finely marked with clusters of fine dots”
Cerdale paludicola Dawson 1974 paludis, marsh or swamp; cola, to inhabit, referring to its mangrove swamp habitat
Cerdale prolata Dawson 1974 extended, referring to high dorsal- and anal-fin ray and vertebral counts compared to congeners
Cerogobius Kovačić, Bogorodsky, Troyer & Tornabene 2019 ceros, horn, referring to horn-like tentacle on head; gobius, goby
Cerogobius petrophilus Kovačić, Bogorodsky, Troyer & Tornabene 2019 petro, stone; philos, fond of, referring to its rocky habitat (rubble-sand patches at base of isolated coral blocks)
Chriolepis Gilbert 1892 chrio-, want or lack; lepid, scale, referring to absence of scales on C. minutillus
Chriolepis atrimelum Bussing 1997 atri-, black; melon, cheek, referring to large black opercular blotch
Chriolepis cuneata Bussing 1990 wedge-shaped, referring to five dark, narrow crossbars on body, usually vertical, typically expanded dorsally, especially on dorsal midline, giving a saddle-like appearance to each
Chriolepis dialepta Bussing 1990 distinguishable, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to several unique pale spots on cheek and opercle, which distinguish it from the similar C. lepidota
Chriolepis fisheri Herre 1942 in honor of Walter K. Fisher (1878-1953), director, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, who collected type
Chriolepis lepidota Findley 1975 scaly, referring to its more extensive squamation compared to congeners in the eastern tropical Pacific known at the time
Chriolepis minutilla Gilbert 1892 minute or very small, type specimen described at 2.54 cm
Chriolepis roosevelti (Ginsburg 1939) in honor of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), President of the United States (1933-1945)
Chriolepis semisquamata (Rutter 1904) semi-, partial; squamata, scaled, referring to scaleless body anteriorly, scaled behind origin of second dorsal fin and tip of depressed pectoral fins
Chriolepis tagus Ginsburg 1953 named for Tagus Cove, Albemarle Island, Galápagos Islands, type locality
Chriolepis zebra Ginsburg 1938 referring to its “striking, sharply marked” banded color pattern, like that of a zebra
Chromogobius de Buen 1930 chroma-, color, presumably referring to two color varieties of C. quadrivittatus; Gobius, proposed as a subgenus of this genus
Chromogobius britoi Van Tassell 2001 in honor of Alberto Brito Hernández (b. 1954), University of Laguna (Tenerife, Canary Islands), for numerous contributions to the study of fishes of the Canary Islands
Chromogobius quadrivittatus (Steindachner 1863) quadri-, four; vittatus, banded, presumably referring to four white transverse bands across back and upper part of body; according to Steindachner’s more detailed redescription in 1868, the first band is narrow and immediately behind eyes, the second (widest) band extends from posterior of head almost to spine of first dorsal fin, the third band falls between the dorsal fins, and the fourth (smallest, blotch-like) band is just behind center of second dorsal
Chromogobius zebratus (Kolombatović 1891) zebra-like, presumably referring to five conspicuous pale saddles across back, like the stripes of a zebra
Clarkichthys Smith 1958 in honor of H. Walton Clark (1870-1941), Curator of Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, who described type species, C. bilineatus, in 1936; ichthys, fish
Clarkichthys bilineatus (Clark 1936) bi-, two; lineatus, lined, referring to long narrow black line along each side of dorsal beginning near tip of snout, and a somewhat broader line extending from very tip of snout across cheek and along middle side to tip of tail
Corcyrogobius Miller 1972 derived from Corcyra Negra, ancient Roman name for Korcˇula, a Croation island in the Adriatic Sea, type locality of C. liechtensteini; gobius, goby
Corcyrogobius liechtensteini (Kolombatović 1891) in honor of Johann Maria Franz Placidus (1840-1929), Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein, for his support of the natural sciences
Corcyrogobius lubbocki Miller 1988 in honor of the late Hugh Roger Lubbock (1951-1981), marine biologist, who collected type, for his work on gobioid systematics [Lubbock died in a car crash in Rio de Janeiro just shy of his 30th birthday]
Corcyrogobius pulcher Kovačić, Wirtz & Schliewen 2020 beautiful, allusion not explained, referring to appearance of females (males not yet collected) in life (Marcelo Kovačić, pers. comm.)
Coryogalops Smith 1958 etymology not explained nor evident, but here is a guess: cory[sto]-, head or cory[tho]-, helmet; ogalo, ogle; ops, eye, referring to “dorsal, virtually contiguous” eyes of C. anomolus
Coryogalops adamsoni (Goren 1985) in honor of Thomas A. Adamson, formerly of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, for his “genuine” interest in Indo-West Pacific fishes and his “valuable” contributions to ichthyology
Coryogalops anomolus Smith 1958 unusual, irregular or different, etymology not explained nor evident
Coryogalops bretti Goren 1991 in honor of Gregg Brett (East London Museum, South Africa), who helped collect type
Coryogalops bulejiensis (Hoda 1983) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Buleji, Karachi coast, Pakistan, type locality
Coryogalops guttatus Kovačić & Bogorodsky 2014 spotted, referring to distinctive orange spot on many longitudinal row scales on lower part of body of living and freshly dead specimens
Coryogalops monospilus Randall 1994 mono-, one; spilos, spot, referring to black spot on first dorsal fin, its most conspicuous color marking
Coryogalops nanus Kovačić & Bogorodsky 2016 small or dwarf, referring to its small size (up to 15.2 mm SL) compared to congeners
Coryogalops ocheticus (Norman 1927) presumably a latinization of ochetos, Greek for aqueduct or conduit, referring to Suez Canal, type locality
Coryogalops pseudomonospilus Kovačić & Bogorodsky 2014 pseudo-, false, i.e., although similar in coloration with C. monospilus, such an appearance is false
Coryogalops sordidus (Smith 1959) dirty, presumably referring to coloration, “brownish, irregularly speckled dark, fins mottled dusky, dark spot on upper part of pectoral base, pelvics dusky”
Coryogalops tessellatus Randall 1994 tessellated, i.e., inlaid with small square stones, referring to checkered color pattern on ventral half of body
Coryogalops william (Smith 1948) etymology not explained; according to Mike Bruton’s 2018 biography of J.L.B. and Margaret Smith, in honor of their son William (b. 1939, now a popular television science and mathematics teacher in South Africa), who collected type at age 12 [presumably a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Coryphopterus Gill 1863 corypho-, top; pterus, fin, referring to “distinct” dorsal fins of C. glaucofraenum: “the first with six spines, all flexible, the third generally longest, the sixth remote; second oblong, generally increasing backwards, and with most of its rays having an anterior simple and a posterior forked branch; the last ray free”
Coryphopterus alloides Böhlke & Robins 1960 of different form, referring to ventral fins entirely separate, without trace of frenum between spines and with a very reduced membrane between innermost rays
Coryphopterus curasub Baldwin & Robertson 2015 named for the manned submersible Curasub (which collected type), owned and operated by Substation Curaçao, for its contributions to increasing our knowledge of the Caribbean deep-reef fish fauna
Coryphopterus dicrus Böhlke & Robins 1960 Greek for cloven, referring to its partially split ventral disc
Coryphopterus eidolon Böhlke & Robins 1960 Greek for apparition, referring to its lack of pigmentation
Coryphopterus glaucofraenum Gill 1863 glaucus, hoary blue; fraenum, bridle, referring to a straight blue line crossing cheek, continuing, after interruption, to operculum
Coryphopterus hyalinus Böhlke & Robins 1962 hyalinos, glass, referring to its transparent nature
Coryphopterus kuna Victor 2007 named for the Kuna indigenous people of the Kuna Yala, region of Atlantic Panama where type was collected, for their cooperation in marine biological research
Coryphopterus lipernes Böhlke & Robins 1962 outcast, referring to its solitary habits, living on and about coral, apparently not gathering in school like C. personatus
Coryphopterus personatus (Jordan & Thompson 1905) masked, referring to dark snout, upper lip and region just below eye; this area extends behind upper and lower posterior quadrants of eye to suggest a mask
Coryphopterus punctipectophorus Springer 1960 punctum, spot; pecto-, pectoral; phorus, carrying, referring to spot on base of pectoral fin
Coryphopterus thrix Böhlke & Robins 1960 Greek for hair, referring to filamentous second spine of dorsal fin
Coryphopterus tortugae (Jordan 1904) of Garden Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida, USA, type locality
Coryphopterus urospilus Ginsburg 1938 ouros, tail; spilos, mark or spot, referring to “sharply marked,” very dark spot on base of caudal fin
Coryphopterus venezuelae Cervigón 1966 of Laguna Grande, Gulf of Cariaco, Venezuela, type locality
Cristatogobius Herre 1927 cristatus, having a comb, referring to high, thin and skinny crest on nape of C. lophius; gobius, goby
Cristatogobius albius Chen 1959 white, referring to its uniformly gray color in formalin, without any markings on the sides
Cristatogobius aurimaculatus Akihito & Meguro 2000 aureus, golden; maculatus, spotted, referring to yellow spots on dorsal and caudal fins
Cristatogobius lophius Herre 1927 crest, referring to high, thin and skinny crest on nape
Cristatogobius nonatoae (Ablan 1940) in honor of Susana G. Nonato, Ablan’s wife, who collected type
Cristatogobius rubripectoralis Akihito, Meguro & Sakamoto 2003 rubrus, red; pectoralis, pectoral, referring to red area on middle to lower part of pectoral fins
Croilia Smith 1955 –ia, belonging to: John Frederick Croil Morgans, research assistant, Zoology Department, University of Cape Town (South Africa), who collected type; he “observed these agile small creatures while diving, and it was only with great difficulty that he caught them, for they live in burrows in the bottom, to which they retire when startled”
Croilia mossambica Smith 1955 –ica, belonging to: southern Mozambique, where it occurs in saline coastal lakes
Cryptocentroides Popta 1922 –oides, having the form of: Cryptocentrus, which it resembles but differs in lower number of lateral-line scales, sometimes having only ctenoid (rather than both ctenoid and cycloid) scales, and a shorter caudal fin
Cryptocentroides arabicus (Gmelin 1789) Arabian, described from Red Sea of Saudi Arabia (no types known)
Cryptocentroides gobioides (Ogilby 1886) named for its “very strong dentition and the obliquity of its mouth, which gives it a strong outward resemblance” to the gobies of Gobioides (Oxudercidae)
Cryptocentroides insignis (Seale 1910) marked or conspicuous, referring to its “very striking and characteristic” color markings (oblique bands of brown alternating with yellowish on posterior half of body and eight large, dark spots along back)
Cryptocentrus Valenciennes 1837 presumably tautonymous with Gobius cryptocentrus; crypto-, hidden; kentron, spine, referring to a concealed point or projection on preopercle
Cryptocentrus albidorsus (Yanagisawa 1978) albus, white; dorsus, back, referring to broad white band running from tip of mouth and snout to caudal peduncle along upper third of body
Cryptocentrus altipinna Hoese 2019 altus, high; pinna, fin, referring to very high first dorsal fin
Cryptocentrus bulbiceps (Whitley 1953) bulbus, bulb; ceps, head, referring to bulging cheeks and chin
Cryptocentrus caeruleomaculatus (Herre 1933) caeruleus, blue; maculatus, spotted, referring to small “pearl blue” spots scattered over body
Cryptocentrus caeruleopunctatus (Rüppell 1830) caeruleus, blue; punctatus, spotted, referring to blue spots on body and anal fin
Cryptocentrus callopterus Smith 1945 callo-, beautiful; pterus, fin, a “strikingly beautiful” goby with jet-black ocellus ringed by white and blue on pale-orange first dorsal fin; orange spots surrounded by pale yellow on second dorsal fin; brown margin and brown longitudinal line near base of anal fin; pastel tints of brown, blue and yellow in lengthwise bands on caudal fin; purplish-black ventral fins; and hyaline pectoral fins
Cryptocentrus cebuanus Herre 1927 –anus, belonging to Cebu Island, Philippines, type locality (occurs in western Pacific and southeastern Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Philippines and Australia)
Cryptocentrus cinctus (Herre 1936) belt or girdle, presumably referring to three blackish crossbands on dusky brown body
Cryptocentrus cryptocentrus (Valenciennes 1837) crypto-, hidden; kentron, spine, referring to a concealed point or projection on preopercle
Cryptocentrus cyanospilotus Allen & Randall 2011 cyano-, blue; spilotus, spotted, referring to blue spots on cheek, operculum, and body of both sexes
Cryptocentrus cyanotaenia (Bleeker 1853) cyano-, blue; taenia, band, referring to numerous short blue oblique lines on head and base of pectoral fin
Cryptocentrus diproctotaenia Bleeker 1876 di-, two; procto-, anus; taenia, band, referring to two yellow or pink longitudinal stripes on anal fin
Cryptocentrus epakros Allen 2015 pointed at the end, referring to diagnostic shape of anal fin, consisting of elongated seventh and eighth fin rays that result in a conspicuous pointed posterior fin profile
Cryptocentrus fasciatus (Playfair 1867) banded, referring to four darker cross bands on brownish-red body
Cryptocentrus flavus Yanagisawa 1978 yellow, referring to yellow body color with yellow or yellowish fins
Cryptocentrus geniornatus Herre 1935 genion, chin; ornatus, decorated, referring to small, circular, pearly white spots sprinkled on sides of head
Cryptocentrus inexplicatus (Herre 1934) inexplicable, referring to the unknown function of its vomerine teeth
Cryptocentrus insignitus (Whitley 1956) marked, referring to conspicuous black ocellus on first dorsal fin
Cryptocentrus leonis Smith 1931 lion, referring to type locality, estuary of Chantabun River at Lem Sing (Lion Point), southeastern Thailand
Cryptocentrus leptocephalus Bleeker 1876 leptos, thin or slim; cephalus, head, referring to much narrower head compared to C. diproctotaenia and C. liolepis, described in the same paper
Cryptocentrus leucostictus (Günther 1872) leukos, white; stictus, spotted, referring to small, round, whitish spots and dots covering lower parts of body
Cryptocentrus liolepis Bleeker 1876 leios, smooth; lepis, scale, presumably referring to cycloid scales on head and sides
Cryptocentrus lutheri Klausewitz 1960 in honor of Wolfgang Luther, Zoologischen Institut der Technischen Hochschule (Darmstadt, Germany), for his studies of the symbiotic relationship between crabs and gobies
Cryptocentrus malindiensis (Smith 1959) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Malindi, Kenya, western Indian Ocean, type locality
Cryptocentrus maudae Fowler 1937 in honor of Maude de Schauensee, daughter of Academy ornithologist Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee and his wife Williamina, to whom the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia) is “again grateful” for the “elaborate gift” of fishes from Thailand, including type of this one
Cryptocentrus melanopus (Bleeker 1860) melanos, black; pous, foot, referring to black tip on pelvic fins
Cryptocentrus multicinctus Allen & Randall 2011 multi-, many; cinctus, belt or zone, referring to diagnostic barred color pattern, most evident in the female
Cryptocentrus nanus Greenfield & Allen 2018 dwarf, referring to small size (17.2-23.4 mm SL) compared to congeners
Cryptocentrus nigrocellatus (Yanagisawa 1978) nigro-, black; ocellatus, having little spots, referring to large black ocellus bordered in white on center of opercle
Cryptocentrus niveatus (Valenciennes 1837) snowy, referring to cheeks, operculum, shoulder, belly, and underside of tail “sown with tight white dots” (translation)
Cryptocentrus pavoninoides (Bleeker 1849) –oides, having the form of: pavo, peacock, allusion not explained, possibly referring to blue-white spots on head, somewhat reminiscent of the blue spots on peacock feathers
Cryptocentrus pretiosus (Rendahl 1924) precious or valuable, allusion not explained, probably referring to “shiny silver pearl spots” (translation) on head, gill membrane, body, and basal part of pectoral fins (the pearl spots reminding Rendahl of precious jewels)
Cryptocentrus sericus Herre 1932 serikos, of the Seres (Chinese people from whom the ancient Greeks obtained silk), referring to fish market in Canton (now Guangzhou, Guangdong Province), type locality
Cryptocentrus shigensis Kuroda 1956 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Shige beach, Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, type locality
Cryptocentrus steinhardti Goren & Stern 2021 in honor of American investor and philanthropist Michael H. Steinhardt (b. 1940), for his “immensely important” contribution to the establishment and construction of the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, Israel
Cryptocentrus strigilliceps (Jordan & Seale 1906) strigilla, full of striga, a row of grain or hay; ceps, head, referring to minute filaments and pores on head, arranged in straight lines and running in various directions
Cryptocentrus tentaculatus Hoese & Larson 2004 tentacled, referring to distinctive tentacle on dorsal surface of eye
Cryptocentrus wehrlei Fowler 1937 in honor of the late Richard W. Wehrle (1852-1937, Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA), jeweler and naturalist, who obtained many collections of fishes for the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia)
Cryptocentrus yatsui Tomiyama 1936 in honor of zoologist Naohide Yatsu (1877-1947), Tokyo Imperial University
Cryptopsilotris Van Tassell, Tornabene & Gilmore 2016 cryptos, hidden, formerly classified (i.e., hidden) under the genus Psilotris
Cryptopsilotris batrachodes (Böhlke 1963) –oides, having the form of: referring to its resemblance to batrachoid fishes
Ctenogobiops Smith 1959 ops, appearance, “[c]losely related” (and presumably similar) to Ctenogobius (Oxudercidae)
Ctenogobiops aurocingulus (Herre 1935) auro-, gold; cingulus, belt ot band, referring to three diagonal rows of short golden bars or spots, extending downward and forward from nape
Ctenogobiops crocineus Smith 1959 orange-yellow (saffron), presumably referring to coloration in life (yellowish in spirits)
Ctenogobiops feroculus Lubbock & Polunin 1977 rather fierce, referring to “intraspecific agonistic encounters observed in the field”
Ctenogobiops formosa Randall, Shao & Chen for Formosa, or Taiwan, where it appears to be endemic
Ctenogobiops maculosus (Fourmanoir 1955) spotted, referring to four longitudinal rows of dark brown spots on body, head and/or four steeply oblique rows of dashes and spots on postorbital head
Ctenogobiops mitodes Randall, Shao & Chen 2007 thread-like, referring to filamentous second dorsal fin of adults
Ctenogobiops pomastictus Lubbock & Polunin 1977 poma, lid; stictus, spotted, referring to 11 spots on upper margin of operculum
Ctenogobiops tangaroai Lubbock & Polunin 1977 of Tangaroa, a powerful Polynesian deity, god of the sea, alluding to American Samoa, type locality
Ctenogobiops tongaensis Randall, Shao & Chen 2003 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Tonga, off the inner harbor dock of the Paradise International Hotel (Neiafu, Vava’u), type locality