COMMENTS
v. 9.0 – 7 Feb. 2024 view/download PDF
Family DACTYLOPTERIDAE Flying Gurnards
2 genera · 7 species
Dactyloptena Jordan & Richardson 1908 daktylos, finger; ptenos, winged, presumably referring to large, wing-like pectoral fins supported by finger-like rays, similar to the fingers of bat wings
Dactyloptena gilberti Snyder 1909 in honor of ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928), Stanford University
Dactyloptena macracantha (Bleeker 1855) macro-, long or large; acantha, spine, presumably referring to single elongate spine anterior to continuous part of spinous dorsal fin
Dactyloptena orientalis (Cuvier 1829) eastern, presumably referring to its occurrence east (Coromandel coast, India, eastern Indian Ocean) of Dactylopterus volitans, its presumed (and only known) congener at the time
Dactyloptena papilio Ogilby 1910 butterfly, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to wing-like pectoral fins that resemble a butterfly’s (when seen from above)
Dactyloptena peterseni (Nyström 1887) in honor of Julius W. Petersen, director of a telegraph company in Nagasaki, Japan, where he collected type
Dactyloptena tiltoni Eschmeyer 1997 in honor of Thomas Tilton (San Francisco, California, USA), for the Tilton family’s support of the research activities of the California Academy of Sciences
Dactylopterus Lacepède 1801 daktylos, finger; pterus, fin, referring to large, wing-like pectoral fins supported by finger-like rays, similar to the fingers of bat wings
Dactylopterus volitans (Linnaeus 1758) flying, referring to its wing-like pectoral fins and/or reported (but never substantiated) ability to leap out of the water (unlikely for a benthic, heavy-bodied fish)
Family PEGASIDAE Seamoths
2 genera · 8 species
Eurypegasus Bleeker 1863 eury, wide, allusion not explained, probably referring to wider body compared to Pegasus
Eurypegasus draconis (Linnaeus 1766) of a draco, dragon, allusion not explained, probably referring to its large, wing-like pectoral fins, like the wings of a dragon, and perhaps also to its body, completely encased in fused dermal plates, like the scales of a dragon
Eurypegasus papilio (Gilbert 1905) butterfly, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to wing-like pectoral fins that resemble a butterfly’s (when seen from above), hence the vernacular name “seamoth”
Pegasus Linnaeus 1758 a winged horse spring from the blood of Medusa in Greek mythology, probably referring to large, wing-like pectoral fins of P. volitans
Pegasus lancifer Kaup 1861 lancea, light spear or lance; fero, to bear, referring to “dagger-shaped beak” (translation)
Pegasus laternarius Cuvier 1829 made of bricks, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to body encased in thick bony plates; Cuvier’s description consists of one sentence: “snout is furnished with six longitudinal rows of serrations” (translation) [often dated to Cuvier 1816, and placed it is own genus, Spinipegasus, by some workers]
Pegasus nanhaiensis Zhang, Wang & Lin 2020 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Nan Hai, Chinese name for South China Sea, only known area of occurrence
Pegasus sinensis Zhang, Zhang, Ma, Liu, Lin & Wang 2022 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), referring to its occurrence in the coastal waters of China
Pegasus tetrabelos Osterhage, Pogonoski, Appleyard & White 2016 tetra-, four; belos, dart or arrow, referring to four backward-pointing spines on terminal tail ring (two on each side)
Pegasus volitans Linnaeus 1758 flying, referring to its wing-like pectoral fins and/or to early reports that it can make short flights through the air (the fish actually uses its “wings” to “walk” along the bottom)
Family CALLIONYMIDAE Dragonets
31 genera/subgenera · 202 species
Anaora Gray 1835 etymology not explained nor evident (name dates from a plate, not a description), perhaps a local name for A. tentaculata on Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia, type locality (spelled as Amora on plate, but this is considered an error)
Anaora tentaculata Gray 1835 tentacled, allusion not explained (name dates from a plate, not a description), probably referring to many short tentacles on sides of body (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus Linnaeus 1758 latinization of the ancient Greek kallionymos, “having a name of beauty” or “having a beautiful name” (kálleos, genitive of kállos, beauty, and –onymos, named), an apparent antiphrastic synonym for another ancient Greek name, uranoscopus (stargazers, Uranscopidae), i.e., a beautiful name for an ugly fish; Linnaeus, believing that stargazers and dragonets were closely related, followed Artedi in adopting both ancient names, selecting Uranoscopus for stargazers and Callionymus for dragonets [both names also have an obscene sexual connotation, a topic explored in the 28 Dec. 2022 “Name of the Week” entry at etyfish.org]
Subgenus Callionymus
Callionymus aagilis Fricke 1999 a-, not; agilis, swift, a slow-moving species (like most of its long-tailed congeners; even when they are spawning, they ascend and then descend very slowly, whereas smaller and short-tailed species just dash down (R. Fricke, pers. comm.) [alphabetically the first species name for a Recent fish; perhaps not-coincidentally, Fricke also described C. zythros (see below), alphabetically the last fish species name]
Callionymus bairdi Jordan 1888 in honor of Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Director of the U.S. National Museum, and U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, to whom Jordan was “indebted for aids of many kinds in connection with [his] studies of American fishes”
Callionymus belcheri Richardson 1844 in honor of Edward Belcher (1799-1877), British naval officer, hydrographer, explorer, and commander of the HMS Sulphur, from which type was collected, and who brought this and other fishes to England
Callionymus caeruleonotatus Gilbert 1905 caeruleo-, blue; notatus, marked, referring to “bright blue spots and lines” on lower head and body of male
Callionymus colini Fricke 1993 in honor of Patrick L. Colin (b. 1946), formerly of the Motupore Island Research Station, Port Moresby, New Guinea (type locality), who collected and donated type and other callionymids and tripterygiids from New Guinea
Callionymus cooperi Regan 1908 in honor of paleontologist Clive Forster Cooper (1880-1947), a member of 1900 expedition to Maldive and Laccadive islands, during which type was collected
Callionymus doryssus (Jordan & Fowler 1903) spear-bearer, referring to “highly elevated” spines of first dorsal fin
Callionymus fasciatus Valenciennes 1837 banded, with 6-7 broad, irregular, blackish or cloudy bands on body
Callionymus filamentosus Valenciennes 1837 with filaments, referring to detached first spine of first dorsal spine of males produced into long filament; two caudal-fin filaments are also present
Callionymus fluviatilis Day 1876 of a river, a fresh- and brackish-water species, described from Hooghly River, Calcutta, India
Callionymus hindsii Richardson 1844 in honor of Richard Brinsley Hinds (1811-1846), British naval surgeon, botanist, malacologist, and member of HMS Sulphur expedition during which type was collected, for his work as “general editor” of the monograph in which the description appeared, serving the “promotion of natural history”
Callionymus izuensis Fricke & Zaiser Brownell 1993– ensis, suffix denoting place: Izu Islands, Japan, type locality
Callionymus leucobranchialis Fowler 1941 leucos, white; branchialis, gills, referring to white gills “strongly contrasted” against light to pale-brown throat, chest and breast
Callionymus luridus Fricke 1981 pale yellow, referring to its ground color
Callionymus lyra Linnaeus 1758 lyre, harp or lute, allusion not explained, probably referring to first dorsal fin of males, however, Linnaeus may have confused it with C. pusillus, wherein the male’s second dorsal fin appears lyre-like (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus maculatus Rafinesque 1810 spotted, referring to double row of brown spots on flanks of females and immature males interspersed with smaller blue spots, and four horizontal rows of conspicuous dark spots and smaller blue spots on adult males
Callionymus martinae Fricke 1981 in honor of Fricke’s cousin Martina Simmat (née Wolf; Braunschweig, Germany), for her “continued interest” in Fricke’s studies (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus megastomus Fricke 1982 mega-, large; stomus, mouth, referring to its “extremely protractile maxillary complex, with a very long processus ascendens” that reaches back to occipital region when snout is closed
Callionymus melanotopterus Bleeker 1850 melano-, black; notos, back; pterus, fin, referring to occelate black blotch on second membrane of distally dark first dorsal fin
Callionymus neptunius (Seale 1910) etymology not explained, presumably named for Neptune, Roman god of the sea
Callionymus octostigmatus Fricke 1981 octo-, eight; stigmatus, marked, referring to eight basal black spots on anal fin, one on each membrane
Callionymus persicus Regan 1905 Persian, referring to Persian Gulf, type locality (occurs in western Indian Ocean from Gulf of Aden and Persian Gulf to Comoros, Seychelles and Maldives)
Callionymus platycephalus Fricke 1983 platy, flat; ceps, head, referring to its “extremely” depressed head
Callionymus pusillus Delaroche 1809 very small, described as a “little fish” (translation) not reaching 7 cm in length (actually, males reach 14 cm)
Callionymus recurvispinnis (Li 1966) recurvus, curved upwards; spinnis, apparently a misspelling of spinis, spine, referring to outer margin of preopercular spine curved outwards, compared to straight or slightly convex spine of C. brunneus (=filamentosus)
Callionymus reticulatus Valenciennes 1837 net-like, presumably referring to net-like coloration on body (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus risso Lesueur 1814 in honor of naturalist Antoine Risso (1777-1845), who published the first of several papers on the Mediterranean fishes of Nice, France (type locality), in 1810 [apparently a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Callionymus russelli Johnson 1976 in honor of the author’s father, Russell F. Johnson
Callionymus scabriceps Fowler 1941 scaber, rough; ceps, head, referring to parietal region of head with “striate rugae, rather coarse and irregular”
Callionymus sphinx Fricke & Heckele 1984 referring to shape of head, which looks like the statue of Sphinx, half human and half lion, built around 3500 BC in Gizeh, Egypt
Callionymus superbus Fricke 1983 proud, splendid or elegant, i.e., a “pretty splendid” fish (R. Fricke, pers. comm., who also tells us that the selection of this particular adjective was inspired by radio reports of the “superb” achievements of British soldiers during the Falkland War; although not particularly interested in anything militaristic, Fricke liked the word and thought it fit this fish)
Callionymus tenuis Fricke 1981 delicate or slender, referring to overall appearance, a “tiny and slender” species per R. Fricke (pers. comm.)
Callionymus tethys Fricke 1993 named after Tethys, ancient Greek “goddess of the sea and mother of all creatures in the world ocean”; faced with the challenge of naming a species externally similar to several long-tailed species of Callionymus, and with appropriate geographic names taken, Fricke opted for a name that had not previously been used for fishes (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus umbrithorax Fowler 1941 umbra, shade or dark place; thorax, breast, referring to dark-brown color of breast of males
Callionymus virgis Jordan & Fowler 1903 under the whip, referring to “exceedingly long” (i.e., whip-like) spines of first dorsal fin (second dorsal fin is figuratively “under the whip”)
Callionymus zythros Fricke 2000 Greek for citrus (lemon tree), referring to yellowish color of head and body in alcohol (R. Fricke, pers. comm.) [alphabetically the last species name for a Recent fish; perhaps not-coincidentally, Fricke also described C. aagilis (see above), alphabetically the first fish species name]
Subgenus Bathycallionymus Nakabo 1982 bathys, deep, i.e., proposed as a new genus closely related to Callionymus whose members occur in deep waters near edge of continental shelf
Callionymus africanus (Kotthaus 1977) African, referring to occurrence in western Indian Ocean off East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania)
Callionymus altipinnis Fricke 1981 altus, high; pinnis, fin, referring to its “unusually high” second dorsal, anal, and first dorsal fins
Callionymus bentuviai Fricke 1981 in honor of ichthyologist Adam Ben-Tuvia (1919-1999), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who collected type and sent it to Fricke for examination
Callionymus bifilum Fricke 2000 bi-, two; filum, filament, referring to two long caudal-fin filaments of the male
Callionymus bleekeri Fricke 1983 in honor of Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878), for “many and valuable” contributions to the knowledge of Indo-West Pacific dragonets
Callionymus carebares Alcock 1890 cara-, head; barys, heavy, referring to its very large, depressed head
Callionymus formosanus Fricke 1981 –anus, belonging to: Formosa (now Taiwan) Strait, type locality
Callionymus futuna Fricke 1998 named for Futuna Island shelf (Wallis and Futuna), western Pacific, type locality
Callionymus guentheri Fricke 1981 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830-1914), who reported this species as C. curvicornis in 1880
Callionymus kaianus Günther 1880 –anus, belonging to: Kai Islands, Indonesia, Banda Sea, type locality
Callionymus kailolae Fricke 2000 in honor of Patricia J. Kailola, The University of the South Pacific (Suva, Fiji), who published a photo showing life colors of this species in 1984, and for her interest in callionymid fish research
Callionymus kanakorum Fricke 2006 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of the Kanak, Melanesian people of New Caledonia, where it is endemic
Callionymus kotthausi Fricke 1981 in honor of German ichthyologist Adolf Kotthaus, who described this species as Diplogrammus indicus in 1977, secondarily preoccupied by Callionymus indicus Linnaeus 1758 when both are in Callionymus; Fricke renamed the species in “accordance with Dr. Kotthaus, who is presently unable to create a new name for the species because of his health”
Callionymus moretonensis Johnson 1971 –ensis, suffix denoting place: seven miles east of Cape Moreton, southeastern Queensland, Australia, type locality
Callionymus ochiaii Fricke 1981 in honor of ichthyologist Akira Ochiai (1923–2017), Kochi University, who first described this species under the name C. kaianus in 1955
Callionymus omanensis Fricke, Jawad & Al-Mamry 2014 –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Salalah City, southern Oman, type locality
Callionymus petersi Fricke 2016 in honor of the Wilhelm C. H. Peters (1815-1883, Berlin), University of Berlin, who described fishes collected by SMS Gazelle in New Ireland in July 1875, and was the first to observe this species (although he misidentified it as C. calauropomus)
Callionymus profundus Fricke & Golani 2013 deep, collected at a depth of 410-480 m
Callionymus regani Nakabo 1979 in honor of ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan (1878-1943), Natural History Museum (London), who reported this species as a female C. kaianus in 1908
Callionymus semeiophor Fricke 1983 semeion, flag or banner; phorus, bearer, referring to first dorsal fin of male, which looks like a color-bearer
Callionymus sokonumeri Kamohara 1936 from its Japanese name, Soko-numeri
Callionymus whiteheadi Fricke 1981 in honor of Peter J. P. Whitehead (1930-1993), British Museum (Natural History), who collected type specimens and allowed Fricke to examine them
Subgenus Callimucenus Whitley 1934 etymology not explained, presumably a combination of Callionymus and the “allied” Repomucenus
Callionymus amboina Suwardji 1965 –ina, belonging to: Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia, only known area of occurrence
Callionymus annulatus Weber 1913 ringed, referring to variously sized ring-like spots, partly touching each other, all over body
Callionymus hainanensis Li 1966 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Yingge Sea, Hainan Island, China, type locality
Callionymus hildae Fricke 1981 in honor of biologist Hildegard Handermann, Zoologisches Institut, Technische Universität Braunschweig (Germany), for her “continued interest” in Fricke’s studies
Callionymus leucopoecilus Fricke & Lee 1993 leucos, white; poecilos, spotted, referring to numerous light spots on dorsal parts of head and body
Callionymus macdonaldi Ogilby 1911 in honor of Capt. Donald MacDonald, former first officer of the F.I.S. Endeavour and then chief pilot at Keppel Bay (Queensland, Australia), to whom Ogilby was “indebted for many favors” [Endeavour was a Federal fisheries survey vessel responsible for collecting the first specimens of many of Australia’s continental shelf fishes in the early 20th century before it was lost at sea, along with everyone on board, in 1914]
Callionymus marleyi Regan 1919 in honor of Natal fisheries officer Harold Walter Bell-Marley (1872-1945), who collected type
Callionymus mortenseni Suwardji 1965 in honor of the late Ole Theodor J. Mortensen (1868-1952), University of Copenhagen, echinoderm biologist who collected type during his 1992 expedition to the Kei Islands, Indonesia
Callionymus olidus Günther 1873 smelly, allusion not explained, probably referring to acid smell of slime on body, which tastes bitter and may be toxic (some Australian callionymids are called “stinkfish”)
Callionymus planus Ochiai 1955 flat, allusion not explained, probably referring to strongly depressed body and/or “broad and flattish” trunk
Callionymus sagitta Pallas 1770 arrow, referring to triangular shape of head, like the head of an arrow
Subgenus Calliurichthys Jordan & Fowler 1903 callos, beauty (but possibly referring to relationship with Callionymus) and oura, tail, referring to “greatly elongate” caudal fin of C. japonicus; ichthys, fish
Callionymus afilum Fricke 2000 a-, without; filum, filament, referring to first dorsal fin of males, which is lacking filaments, unlike the closely related C. japonicus and C. scaber, which possess them
Callionymus corallinus Gilbert 1905 coralline, presumably referring to “many minute round spots of coral-red, covering upper part of snout, interorbital space with upper part of eyeballs, upper half of opercles, and the preopercular spine” [subgeneric placement provisional; placed in Synchiropus or its own genus, Paradiplogrammus, by some workers]
Callionymus decoratus (Gilbert 1905) decorative or adorned, referring to “remarkably beautiful decoration of the throat and branchiostegal membranes” of adult males
Callionymus gardineri Regan 1908 in honor of British zoologist John Stanley Gardiner (1872-1946), who led a 1900 expedition to the Maldive and Laccadive islands, during which type was collected
Callionymus japonicus Houttuyn 1782 Japanese, described from Nagasaki, Japan (occurs in western Pacific from Indonesia and Gulf of Thailand, east to Philippines, north to southern Japan)
Callionymus ogilbyi Fricke 2002 in honor of ichthyologist James Douglas Ogilby (1853-1925), for “important contributions” to the knowledge of Austrialian callionymid fishes (Ogilby provisionally reported this species as C. affinis in 1910)
Callionymus scaber McCulloch 1926 rough, proposed as a subspecies of C. japonicus with a “more rugose” upper surface of head
Callionymus vietnamensis Fricke & Vo 2018 –ensis, suffix denoting place: South China Sea off southern Viêt Nam, type locality
Subgenus Margaretichthys Fricke 2017 Margaret, named for its type species, C. margaretae; ichthys, fish
Callionymus australis Fricke 1983 southern, proposed as a southern hemisphere and Australian subspecies of C. margaretae
Callionymus boucheti Fricke 2017 in honor of ichthyologist-malacologist Philippe Bouchet (b. 1953), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), “appreciating the excellent organisation of numerous expeditions exploring the biodiversity of tropical seas,” including the KAVIENG 2014 Expedition to New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, during which type was collected
Callionymus margaretae Regan 1905 in honor of Margaret Smith, who, with her husband Whitby, have “taken great interest” in the work of Capt. Frederick William Townsend (d. 1948), Commander, Indian Cable-Ship Patrick Stewart, who collected many fishes and molluscs while doing cable work in the Persian Gulf, including type of this species
Callionymus rivatoni Fricke 1993 in honor of Jacques Rivaton (1921-2009), ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer), New Caledonia, who sent specimens of this species and other callionymid and tripterygiid fishes to Fricke for examination
Callionymus sereti Fricke 1998 in honor of ichthyologist Bernard Séret (b. 1949), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), who collected fishes from the Futuna Island shelf (Wallis and Futuna), including type of this one
Subgenus Paradiplogrammus Nakabo 1982 para-, near, proposed as a new genus closely related to Diplogrammus in general physiognomy, especially that of the preopercular spine, but differs in having no dermal fold on lateral ventral side of body
Callionymus enneactis Bleeker 1879 ennea, nine; actis, ray, referring to nine rays in second dorsal fin (correct number is eight; Bleeker counted the last ray, which is branched, as two rays [R. Fricke, pers. comm.])
Callionymus parvus (Nakabo 1984) Latin for little, referring to its small size (maturing at 20 mm SL)
Callionymus stigmatopareius Fricke 1981 stigmatos, spot; pareia, cheek, referring to numerous dark spots (which are possibly little ocelli in life) on cheeks
Subgenus Pseudocalliurichthys Nakabo 1982 pseudo-, false, proposed as a genus closely related and similar to Calliurichthys
Callionymus brevianalis Fricke 1983 brevis, short; analis, anal, referring to short anal fin with very few rays
Callionymus comptus Randall 1999 ornamented or adorned, referring to many colorful markings of the male
Callionymus curvispinis Fricke & Zaiser Brownell 1993 curvus, curved; spinis, spine, referring to up-curved main tip of preopercular spine
Callionymus delicatulus Smith 1963 diminutive of delicatus, delicate or dainty, allusion not explained but the species is very small and delicate (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus flavus Fricke 1983 yellow, referring to yellow coloration on head and body
Callionymus goodladi (Whitley 1944) in honor of James Goodlad (1902-1984), Fisheries Inspector, Albany district, Western Australia, who presented type to the Western Australian Museum
Callionymus grossi Ogilby 1910 in honor of the late Maj. George Gross (d. 1909), friend, colleague, amateur naturalist, schoolmaster, and “one of the leading conchologists of Queensland” (Australia)
Callionymus ikedai (Nakabo, Senou & Aizawa 1998) in honor of Yuji Ikeda (Biological Laboratory, Imperial Palace, Tokyo), who reared the male paratype to maturity in an aquarium
Callionymus madangensis Fricke 2014 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Madang District, Madang Bay, Papua New Guinea, type locality
Callionymus marquesensis Fricke 1989 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Marquesas Islands, where it appears to be endemic
Callionymus pleurostictus Fricke 1982 pleuro-, side; stictus, mark or spot, referring to many ocellate blotches on lower sides of body (and head)
Callionymus simplicicornis Valenciennes 1837 simplex, simple; cornis, horn, referring to straight (vs. curved) preopercular spine with “serrations so small that a magnifying glass is necessary to distinguish them, making it appear simple [i.e., without hook-like processes] to the naked eye” (translation)
Callionymus variegatus Temminck & Schlegel 1845 variegated, i.e., with a combination of colors and markings, referring to light-brown body color “variegated with large, darker brown spots, and most often confluent to form five or six transverse bands” (translation)
Subgenus Repomucenus Whitley 1931 etymology not explained, perhaps repo-, from repium, inclined downwards, referring to backward-pointing spur on posterior half of outer side of preopercular spine of C. calcaratus, and three on inner side pointing inwards and backwards; mucenus, slimy, perhaps referring to how callionymids produce a lot of mucus when caught (R. Fricke, pers. comm.), and/or its acidic smell
Callionymus beniteguri Jordan & Snyder 1900 etymology not explained; according to Jordan & Fowler 1903, Japanese vernacular name of C. (now Synchiropus) altivelis: beni, red (although this species is brown) and teguri, net catch, a “name applied to small fish” (Temminck & Schlegel reported the name as “Benteguri” in 1845)
Callionymus calcaratus Macleay 1881 with spurs, referring to “strong” backward-pointing spur on posterior half of outer side of preopercular spine, and three on inner side pointing inwards and backwards
Callionymus curvicornis Valenciennes 1837 curvus, curved; cornis, horn, referring to its curved preopercular spine (the only congener with a similar, but less curved, spine is C. mascarenus; R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus koreanus (Nakabo, Jeon & Li 1987) Korean, referring to type locality, Sea of the Sa-dong, Ansan-shi, Kyong’gi-do, Korea
Callionymus lunatus Temminck & Schlegel 1845 crescent-shaped, referring to large black spot on posterior rays of anterior dorsal fin
Callionymus mascarenus Fricke 1983 –anus, belonging to: Mauritius, Mascarenes, southwestern Indian Ocean, where it is endemic
Callionymus valenciennei Temminck & Schlegel 1845 in honor of Achille Valenciennes (1794-1865), who reported this species as C. japonicus in 1837
Subgenus Spinicapitichthys Fricke 1980 spini-, spine and caput, head, referring to rather spiny head compared to other callionymids; ichthys, fish
Callionymus alisae Fricke 2016 named for the French research vessel Alis, which was used to collect type and many other “interesting” fishes in the western and central Pacific
Callionymus draconis Nakabo 1977 of a draco, dragon, referring to its dragon-like head
Callionymus io Fricke 1983 named after Io, daughter of the Argivian king Inachoa in ancient Greek mythology; Fricke chose the name for no particular reason except that he was looking for a short name “in order to add a bit of interest” (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus muscatensis Regan 1905 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Muscat, Oman, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, type locality (also occurs in southern Red Sea)
Callionymus obscurus Fricke 1989 obscure, referring to both its dusky coloration and, first collected in 1975, to its “hiding away from science for a long time” (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus oxycephalus Fricke 1980 oxy, sharp or pointed; cephalus, head, referring to both pointed shape of head and sharp spines on the head (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Callionymus spiniceps Regan 1908 spinus, thorn or spine; ceps, head, allusion not explained; although Regan did not mention head spines in the description, this is the most spiny headed species of the genus (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Subgenus Velesionymus Whitley 1934 etymology not explained, perhaps a combination of Callionymus and Veles, a Slavic god of earth, waters and the underworld, sometimes imagined as a dragon
Callionymus acutirostris Fricke 1981 acutus, pointed; rostris, snout, referring to two acute bony spines on snout
Callionymus erythraeus Ninni 1934 –eus, having the quality of: erythros, red, referring to the Red Sea, type locality (also occurs in Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Indian Ocean east to Singapore)
Callionymus huguenini Bleeker 1858 in honor of Otto Frederik Ulrich Jacobus Huguenin (1827-1871), mining engineer in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), who collected type at Dejima, a Dutch trading post in Nagasaki, Japan
Callionymus keeleyi Fowler 1941 in honor of Frank J. Keeley (1868-1949), department of mineralogy, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (where Fowler worked)
Callionymus limiceps Ogilby 1908 lima, file or rasp; ceps, head, allusion not explained, probably referring to numerous small granular rugosities on occipital region
Callionymus macclesfieldensis Fricke 1983 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Macclesfield Bank, South China Sea, only known area of occurrence
Callionymus meridionalis Suwardji 1965 southern, proposed as a southern subspecies (described from Bali Strait, Indonesia) of C. valenciennei (from Japanese waters)
Callionymus ornatipinnis Regan 1905 ornatus, decorated; pinnis, fin, presumably referring to numerous round or oval black spots intermixed with light ones on caudal fin
Callionymus schaapii Bleeker 1852 in honor of Dirk François Schaap (1816-1864), Dutch colonial administrator in Indonesia and resident at Bangka Island, Sumatra, to whose “service to science” (translation) knowledge of this species is due
Callionymus sublaevis McCulloch 1926 sub-, less than or somewhat; laevis, smooth, proposed as a variety of C. limiceps without “granular rugosities” on upper surface of head cranium and supraorbital ridges, this area “almost entirely smooth and covered by skin”
Chalinops Smith 1963 chalinos, bridle; ops, appearance or eye, allusion not explained nor evident; the type species C. floridae (=pauciradiatus) does not have a bridle-like marking through the eye
Chalinops pauciradiatus (Gill 1865) paucus, few; radiatus, rayed, referring to fewer dorsal- and anal-fin rays compared to Callionymus, its presumed genus at the time [placed in Diplogrammus by some workers]
Dactylopus Gill 1859 tautonymous with Callionymus dactylopus Valenciennes 1837
Dactylopus dactylopus (Valenciennes 1837) dactylus, finger; pous, foot, presumably referring to large, wing-like pelvic fins with the first ray separate and extended like a finger
Dactylopus kuiteri (Fricke 1992) in honor of Australian underwater photographer Rudolf “Rudie” Kuiter (b. 1943), who collected type
Diplogrammus Gill 1865 diplo-, twofold; grammus, line, referring to two lateral lines, the lower one represented by a fleshy keel or membranous fold along lower side of body beginning opposite anterior base of anal fin
Subgenus Diplogrammus
Diplogrammus goramensis (Bleeker 1858) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Goram, largest island of Gorong Archipelago, Indonesia, type locality (widely occurs in western Pacific from Viêt Nam, Philippines and eastern Indonesia east to Marshall and Cook Islands, north to southern China, south to Australia, Norfolk Island and New Caledonia)
Diplogrammus xenicus (Jordan & Thompson 1914) strange, foreign or exotic (i.e., different), allusion not explained, probably referring to its very conspicuous coloration and/or to combination of characters that distinguish it from other Japanese callionymids known at the time, i.e., “peculiar form of the maxillary, the fold of skin along the side of the body, the opercular flap, and many-hooked spine of the pre-opercle”
Subgenus Climacogrammus Smith 1963 climacis, ladder; grammus, line, presumably referring to lateral line of D. infulatus, “with many transverse branches,” looking like the rungs of a ladder (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Diplogrammus infulatus Smith 1963 banded, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “many transverse branches” on lateral line or to four “vertical greenish bars fading above” on caudal fin of males
Diplogrammus paucispinis Fricke & Bogorodsky 2014 paucus, few; spinis, spine, referring to low number of spinules on dorsal margin of preopercular spine compared to congeners (except the pygmy species D. pygmaeus)
Diplogrammus pygmaeus Fricke 1981 very small or pygmy, described at up to 29.7 mm SL
Diplogrammus randalli Fricke 1983 in honor of ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for his many papers on Indo-Pacific coral reef fishes; he also collected some of the largest specimens of this species
Subgenus Diplogrammoides Smith 1963 –oides, having the form of: proposed as subgenus of Diplogrammus without a free opercular flap
Diplogrammus gruveli Smith 1963 in honor of biologist Jean Abel Gruvel (1870-1941), who reported this species as D. goramensis in 1937
Draculo Snyder 1911 etymology not explained, presumably a variant or diminutive of draco, dragon, i.e., a small dragonet (type species, D. mirabilis, described at 35 mm)
Draculo celetus (Smith 1963) hidden or covered, allusion not explained, probably referring to its cryptic behavior, buried in sand in tidal pools (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Draculo maugei (Smith 1966) in honor of accountant-turned-ichthyologist André L. Maugé (1922-2008), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), “plainly a skilful collector of rare fishes,” including type of this one
Draculo mirabilis Snyder 1911 wonderful, strange, striking or remarkable, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to single dorsal fin (other callionymids have two)
Draculo pogognathus (Gosline 1959) pogon, beard; gnathus, jaw, referring to papillate fringe on lower jaw
Draculo shango (Davis & Robins 1966) named for Shango, a mythological figure (reputed early king of Oyo, god of thunder and lightning), whose statue decorated the waterfront of Lagos, Nigeria, type locality
Eleutherochir Bleeker 1879 eleutherus, free; cheiros, hand (i.e., pectoral fin), referring to absence of dermal membrane connecting ventral fins with base of pectoral fins
Eleutherochir opercularis (Valenciennes 1837) opercular, presumably referring to its long, pointed operculum
Paracallionymus Barnard 1927 para-, near, similar to Callionymus but with a “unique development of the lateral mucous system” (see P. costatus)
Paracallionymus costatus (Boulenger 1898) ribbed, referring to lateral line, “single, much developed, sending off perpendicular branches above and below, the upper branches, 35 in number extending to the middle line of the back, giving the body a ribbed appearance”
Protogrammus Fricke 1985 protos, original; gramme, line, referring not to lateral-line structure but to ventrolateral fold of skin of P. sousai and to its relationship with Diplogrammus; the “name indicates that this genus possesses a primitive ventrolateral fold of skin”
Protogrammus alboranensis Fricke, Ordines, Farias & García-Ruiz 2016 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Alboran Sea, Spain, southwestern Mediterranean, type locality
Protogrammus antipodus Fricke 2006 named after the antipodes, as it occurs very far (New Caledonia) from its sister species P. sousai, from the northeast Atlantic
Protogrammus sousai (Maul 1972) in honor of Manuel António Pereira Cristiano de Sousa, former Captain of the Port of Funchal (Madeira), to whom Maul and the Museu Municipal do Funchal are “greatly indebted for his untiring interest and help he gave”
Synchiropus Gill 1859 syn-, together; cheiros, hand; opus, foot, referring to membrane connecting pelvic fin to pectoral fin (also present in Callionymus)
Subgenus Synchiropus
Synchiropus lateralis (Richardson 1844) of the side, referring to lateral position of branchial opening behind operculum
Synchiropus lineolatus (Valenciennes 1837) lined, referring to “discontinuous, longitudinal, pearly, and brown-edged lines” on lower half of body
Synchiropus rubrovinctus (Gilbert 1905) rubro-, red; vinctus, banded, referring to four bright-red bars on back extending to middle of sides
Subgenus Acommissura Fricke 2016 a-, without; commissura, commissure, referring to missing lateral line commissure across dorsal side of caudal peduncle
Synchiropus ijimai Jordan & Thompson 1914 in honor of zoologist Isao ljima (also spelled Iijima, 1861-1921), Science College, Imperial University of Tokyo [although named after a man, originally spelled “ijimae” since some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e”; current spelling reflects prevailing usage]
Synchiropus morrisoni Schultz 1960 in honor of Joseph Paul Eldred Morrison (1906-1983), Associate Curator of mollusks, U.S. National Museum, who spent the summers of 1946 and 1947 at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands (type locality), during Operations Crossroads (studying effects of atomic bombs)
Synchiropus novaehiberniensis Fricke 2016 –ensis, suffix denoting place: novae, new; Hibernia, Latin name of Ireland, referring to New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, only known area of occurrence
Synchiropus sechellensis Regan 1908 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Seychelles, western Indian Ocean, type locality (occurs in Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific from Gulf of Aden and Somalia to Maldives and Seychelles, Chesterfield Islands to New Caledonia, and in the Mediterranean as a Lessepsian immigrant)
Synchiropus sycorax Tea & Gill 2016 named after the red-robed and caped Sycorax warriors from the BBC sci-fi series Dr. Who, “in showing similarities in both coloration and grandiloquence of their garb”
Synchiropus tudorjonesi Allen & Erdmann 2012 in honor of Paul Tudor Jones (b. 1954), for his “dedication and selfless service” as chairman (2006-2009) of the United States National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF); “Under his strong leadership … the NFWF has grown into a highly respected conservation institution and expanded its programs from a national focus to a global one, including protection of the Bird’s Head Seascape reefs, which this beautiful dragonet species calls home. Through these efforts, Mr. Tudor Jones has forever left his mark on the noble pursuit of nature preservation.”
Subgenus Anaoroides Fricke 1981 –oides, having the form of: having a preopercular spine as in the genus Anaora
Synchiropus zamboangana Seale 1910 named for Zamboanga, Mindanao Island, Philippines, type locality (but type destroyed in WW2)
Subgenus Eocallionymus Nakabo 1982 eo-, early; Callionymus, type genus of family, proposed as a genus presumed to be “one of the earliest” dragonets because of its “most primitive osteological characters” [treated as a full genus by some authors]
Synchiropus papilio (Günther 1864) butterfly, allusion not explained, probably referring to the large and colorful dorsal and anal fins (R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Subgenus Foetorepus Whitley 1931 etymology not explained, probably foetus, foul or fetid, referring to acid smell of slime on body, which tastes bitter and may be toxic (in Australia, the type species, S. calauropomus, is called “stinkfish”); repus, from repium, inclined downwards, possibly referring to recurved hooks on upper surface of preopercular spine and/or to similarity with Repomucenus (proposed in same paper) [treated as a full genus by some workers]
Synchiropus altivelis (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) altus, high; velum, sail, referring to elevated second dorsal fin
Synchiropus australis (Nakabo & McKay 1989) southern, referring to marine waters off eastern Australia, where it is endemic
Synchiropus calauropomus (Richardson 1844) kalaurops, shepherd’s staff or crook; pomus, lid or covering (i.e., operculum), referring to long preopercular spine with only “two teeth at the summit, the interior one being recurved, so that the whole spine has a resemblance to a shepherd’s crook”
Synchiropus delandi Fowler 1943 in honor of the late Judson de Land (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), physician, to whom Fowler was “indebted for American fishes”
Synchiropus grandoculis Fricke 2000 grandis, large; oculus, eye, referring to its “unusually large” eyes
Synchiropus grinnelli Fowler 1941 in honor of the late Joseph Grinnell (1877-1939), Director, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California (Berkeley, California, USA)
Synchiropus hawaiiensis Fricke 2000 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hawaiian Islands, where it appears to be endemic
Synchiropus kamoharai (Nakabo 1983) in honor of ichthyologist Toshiji Kamohara (1901-1972), Kochi University, who first found and recorded this species
Synchiropus kanmuensis (Nakabo, Yamamoto & Chen 1983) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kanmu Seamount, Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, northern central Pacific, type locality
Synchiropus kinmeiensis (Nakabo, Yamamoto & Chen 1983) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kinmei [correctly spelled Kimmei] Seamount, Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, northern central Pacific, type locality
Synchiropus masudai (Nakabo 1987) in honor of ichthyologist Hajime Masuda (1921-2005), University of Tokyo, who collected type
Synchiropus monacanthus Smith 1935 mono-, one; acanthus, spine, presumed to be related to S. lineolatus but differing in having only one denticle on preopercular spine
Synchiropus novaecaledoniae Fricke 1993 novae, new, of New Caledonia, western Pacific, type locality
Synchiropus orstom Fricke 2000 named after ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer, now named I.R.D., Institut de Recherche pour le Développement), for its “great effort” in exploring marine biodiversity of New Caledonian marine biodiversity, including the discovery of callionymids
Synchiropus paxtoni Fricke 2000 in honor of ichthyologist John R. Paxton (b. 1938), Australian Museum (Sydney), who collected the holotype and one paratype on board the research vessel Soela
Synchiropus richeri Fricke 2000 in honor of carcinologist Bertrand Richer de Forges (b. 1948), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Nouméa, New Caledonia), for his efforts in collecting the type material of this species and many other New Caledonian callionymids
Synchiropus signipinnis Fricke 2000 signum, banner; pinnis, fin, referring to high first-dorsal fin of male
Subgenus Minysynchiropus Nakabo 1982 miny, small, i.e., a “very small” Synchiropus, referring to mature size of S. laddi (with conspicuous secondary sexual characters at ~20 mm SL) [treated as a full genus by some workers]
Synchiropus claudiae Fricke 1990 in honor of Fricke’s sister Claudia Grünhagen (née Fricke), for her “continued interest in and support of [his] studies on callionymid fishes”
Synchiropus kiyoae Fricke & Zaiser 1983 in honor of Kiyoe Tanaka, widow of Tatsuo Tanaka (a wealthy merchant at Miyake-jima, Japan, type locality), who “generously donated land, facilities, and her personal time for the establishment and maintenance” of the Tatsuo Tanaka Memorial Biological Station at Miyake-jima
Synchiropus laddi Schultz 1960 in honor of geologist Harry Stephen Ladd (1899-1982), U.S. Geological Survey, who was at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands (type locality), during Operations Crossroads (1946 and again in 1947), studying effects of atomic bombs
Synchiropus minutulus Fricke 1981 very small or pygmy, reaching 14.3 mm SL
Synchiropus postulus Smith 1963 etymology not explained, perhaps diminutive of the adjective postus, standing or erected, referring to elevated first dorsal fin of males (Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga, pers. comm.)
Synchiropus randalli Clark & Fricke 1985 in honor of ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for his considerable contributions to the knowledge of the fishes of Easter Island (where this species appears to be endemic); he also helped collect type
Synchiropus rosulentus Randall 1999 full of roses, referring to series of pink rose-like blotches along the sides
Synchiropus springeri Fricke 1983 in honor of ichthyologist Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), U.S. National Museum, who collected type specimens during his Fiji Islands Expedition (1982) and loaned them and many other specimens to Fricke for examination
Subgenus Neosynchiropus Nalbant 1979 neo-, new, proposed as a new genus resembling Synchiropus
Synchiropus bartelsi Fricke 1981 in honor of biologist Harald Bartels (Braunschweig, Germany), Fricke’s friend since gymnasium (high school, 1976), for his “continued interest” in Fricke’s studies (Bartels passed away ca. 2004, R. Fricke, pers. comm.)
Synchiropus circularis Fricke 1984 named for circular white blotches on sides of body
Synchiropus marmoratus (Peters 1855) marbled, referring to olive-brown body and top of head marbled with many darker spots and markings
Synchiropus moyeri Zaiser & Fricke 1985 in honor of marine biologist Jack T. Moyer (1929-2004), director of the Tatsuo Tanaka Memorial Biological Station at Miyake-jima, Japan, for his “noteworthy contributions to the knowledge of the fishes of Miyake-jima, and in deep appreciation of the encouragement and logistic support he has provided to both of the authors” [biographical footnote: Moyer committed suicide; in 2014, The American School in Japan, where Moyer had taught, admitted that as many as 32 girls had been sexually abused by Moyer, starting as early as 1964, abuse that had been covered up by faculty and administration]
Synchiropus ocellatus (Pallas 1770) with eye-like spots, referring to 3-5 ocelli on first dorsal fin of males
Synchiropus stellatus Smith 1963 starry, presumably referring to “dark sepia stellate blotches” on body of living specimens
Subgenus Orbonymus Whitley 1947 etymology not explained, perhaps orbus, bereft of parents (i.e., an orphan) and –nymus, short for Callionymus (original genus of S. rameus), referring to how this subgenus (proposed as a full genus and treated as such by some workers) with its one species is a figurative orphan compared to the specious Callionymus and other Australian dragonets
Synchiropus rameus (McCulloch 1926) belonging to branches, presumably referring to fourth (and last) dorsal spine, its bifid rays divided to the base, with “each branch” bifurcate, and/or “two branches” of the last anal-fin ray, also bifurcate
Subgenus Pterosynchiropus Nakabo 1982 ptero-, wing or fin, proposed as a genus similar to Neosynchiropus but with a broad pectoral fin with many rays; species belonging to this (sub)genus “seem to swim among corals above the bottom,” a “peculiar manner of swimming which is unique among callionymid fishes” [treated as a full genus by some workers]
Synchiropus occidentalis Fricke 1983 western, proposed as a subspecies of C. picturatus occurring in Western Australia, west of the nominate form
Synchiropus picturatus (Peters 1877) painted, referring to its vivid coloration, especially the numerous ocelli on the body with three rings: an inner rose-red, a middle black and an outer blue
Synchiropus splendidus (Herre 1927) glittering or brilliant, a “gorgeously and brilliantly colored” fish in life; indeed, it has been called the most colorful fish in the world
Subgenus Yerutius Whitley 1931 etymology not explained nor evident [treated as a junior synonym of Foetorepus by some workers]
Synchiropus agassizii (Goode & Bean 1888) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Alexander Agassiz (1835-1910), Curator, Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard), who authored monograph in which name (proposed by a figure without a diagnosis or description) first appeared
Synchiropus apricus (McCulloch 1926) exposed to the sun (i.e., faded), presumably referring to coloration, described as almost colorless in formalin and rose-pink in life
Synchiropus atrilabiatus (Garman 1899) atri-, black; labiatus, large-lipped, referring to “deep black” upper lips
Synchiropus dagmarae Fricke 1985 in honor of Dagmar Hansen (Mönchengladbach, Germany, now in Stuttgart), a friend dating to Fricke’s time at King’s College London in 1983 (pers. comm.), to whom he was “indebted for encouragement in various ways”
Synchiropus flavistrigatus Fricke, Ordines & Ramírez-Amaro 2022 flavus, yellow; strigatus, striped, referring to yellow bars on second dorsal fin
Synchiropus garthi (Seale 1940) in honor of zoologist John S. Garth (1909-1993), who accompanied Capt. C. Allan Hancock aboard the yacht Velero III on four expeditions (1931-1935) to the Galapagos Islands and coasts of Central and South America, during which type was collected
Synchiropus goodenbeani (Nakabo & Hartel 1999) in honor of the “ichthyological team” of George Brown Goode (1851-1896) and Tarleton H. Bean (1846-1916), both of the U.S. National Museum, who described the first species of Foetorepus (original genus) and “greatly expanded” our knowledge of what they called “oceanic ichthyology” (spelling is a euphonic to reflect pronunciation of “Goode n’ Bean”)
Synchiropus phaeton (Günther 1861) radiant or shining, from Phaeton (or Phaethon, the “shining one”) in Greek mythology, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to color, described as “Reddish, variegated with green”
Synchiropus phasis (Günther 1880) etymology not explained, perhaps Latin spelling of Greek phausis, shining bright, referring to reddish-white color
Synchiropus talarae Hildebrand & Barton 1949 of Talara, Peru, type locality
Synchiropus valdiviae (Trunov 1981) of Valdivia Bank, Walvis Ridge area, eastern South Atlantic, 210-235 m, type locality
Tonlesapia Motomura & Mukai 2006 –ia, belonging to: Lake Tonle Sap, Cambodia, where T. tsukawakii is endemic
Tonlesapia amnica Ng & Rainboth 2011 pertaining to a river, referring to its habitat in the Mekong River delta of southern Viêt Nam
Tonlesapia tsukawakii Motomura & Mukai 2006 in honor of marine geologist Shinji Tsukawaki, Kanazawa University, for his “kind and invaluable” assistance (e.g., arranging accommodations) during the authors’ ichthyological surveys in Cambodia
Family DRACONETTIDAE Sloped Dragonets
2 genera · 14 species
Centrodraco Regan 1913 kentron, thorn or spine; draco, short for Draconetta, differing from that genus in having “stout and pungent” dorsal spines
Centrodraco abstractum Fricke 2002 abstract, referring to body coloration, reminiscent of some works of abstract art
Centrodraco acanthopoma (Regan 1904) akantha, thorn; poma, lid or covering, referring to strong spine on reduced operculum
Centrodraco atrifilum Fricke 2010 ater, black; filum, thread, referring to black filament on second spine of first dorsal fin
Centrodraco fidelis Fricke 2015 loyal, referring to southern Loyalty Ridge, New Caledonia, type locality
Centrodraco gegonipa (Parin 1982) combination of the first two letters of both first and last names of Russian ichthyologist Georgy Golovan (GeGo) and Ukrainian ichthyologist Nikolay Pakhorukov (NiPa), who collected type specimens [often incorrectly spelled gegonipus]
Centrodraco insolitus (McKay 1971) uncommon, i.e., out of the ordinary or unusual; McKay erroneously placed it in Percophidae (Pempheriformes), from which it differs by being scaleless
Centrodraco lineatus Fricke 1992 lined, referring to parallel lines on sides of body
Centrodraco nakaboi Fricke 1992 in honor of Tetsuji Nakabo (b. 1949), Kyoto University (Japan), who reported this species as C. acanthopoma in 1982
Centrodraco oregonus (Briggs & Berry 1959) commemorating the “important work” of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service exploratory fishing vessel Oregon in “contributing to the knowledge of Western Atlantic ichthyology” (type was collected at Oregon station 2080 off the coast of Brazil)
Centrodraco ornatus (Fourmanoir & Rivaton 1979) adorned or decorated, referring to irregular yellow-green bands on lilac-pink back
Centrodraco pseudoxenicus (Kamohara 1952) pseudo-, false, i.e., although this species is “very near” Draconetta xenica (its presumed congener at the time) in appearance, such a resemblance is false
Centrodraco rubellus Fricke, Chave & Suzumoto 1992 reddish, referring to overall red to brownish-pink coloration in life (disappears in alcohol)
Centrodraco striatus (Parin 1982) striped, referring to ~11 vertical dark streaks or stripes on body
Draconetta Jordan & Fowler 1903 a “quasi-Latin form of the English name Dragonet”
Draconetta xenica Jordan & Fowler 1903 strange, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its differences compared to Japanese dragonets of the family Callionymidae (e.g., no lateral line)
Family MULLIDAE Goatfishes
6 genera · 104 species
Mulloidichthys Whitley 1929 replacement name for Mulloides Bleeker 1849, preoccupied by Mulloides Richardson 1843 (=Arripis, Arripidae, Scombriformes), originally –oides, having the form of: Mullus, original genus of type species, M. flavolineatus, but differing in dentition; ichthys, fish
Mulloidichthys ayliffe Uiblein 2011 in honor of Neville Ayliffe, former dive operator at Sodwana, South Africa (type locality), who has assisted the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity in acquiring important fish collections over many years; he collected type specimens using a speargun [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Mulloidichthys dentatus (Gill 1862) toothed, referring to “rather strong” teeth, uniserial in upper jaw and biserial in front lower, by which it “differs widely” from Upeneus flavovittatus (=M. martinicus)
Mulloidichthys flavicaudus Fernandez-Silva & Randall 2016 flavus, yellow; caudus, tail, proposed as a subspecies of M. flavolineatus with a yellow rather than whitish-gray caudal fin
Mulloidichthys flavolineatus (Lacepède 1801) flavus, yellow; lineatus, lined, referring to straight yellow mid-lateral body stripe
Mulloidichthys martinicus (Cuvier 1829) –icus, belonging to: Martinique Island, West Indies, type locality (but widely occurs in both sides of the tropical Atlantic)
Mulloidichthys mimicus Randall & Guézé 1980 imitative, named for its resemblance to the snapper Lutjanus kasmira (Lutjaniformes: Lutjanidae), with which it was seen schooling
Mulloidichthys pfluegeri (Steindachner 1900) patronym not identified, possibly German physiologist Eduard Friedrich Wilhem Pflüger (1829-1910)
Mulloidichthys vanicolensis (Valenciennes 1831) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Vanikoro Island (wrongly spelled Vanicolo), Santa Cruz Islands, southwestern Pacific, type locality (but widely occurs in Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific)
Mullus Linnaeus 1758 ancient name for mullet, dating to at least Aristotle, referring to the “red mullets” or “surmullets,” M. barbatus and M. surmulentus
Mullus argentinae Hubbs & Marini 1933 of Argentina, where type locality (Port of Quequén) is situated (occurs in southwestern Atlantic from southern Brazil to Argentina)
Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert 1882 gilded, proposed as a subspecies of M. barbatus with a yellow instead of a black band on dorsal fin
Mullus barbatus Linnaeus 1758 bearded, referring to pair of long chin barbels (similar to the chin hair of a goat, hence the common name “goatfish”)
Mullus phillipsi (Fowler 1918) in honor of Richard J. Phillips (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), who collected many local fishes for Fowler, including type of this one
Mullus ponticus Essipov 1927 –icus, belonging to: Pontos, ancient Greek name for the Black Sea, where it is endemic
Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus 1758 latinization of the French surmulet (Middle French sormulet), from sor, reddish brown (referring to its color) and mulet, mullet
Parupeneus Bleeker 1863 para-, near, i.e., close to Upeneus but differing in dentition
Parupeneus angulatus Randall & Heemstra 2009 angled, referring to “obtusely angular posterior edge of the maxilla”
Parupeneus barberinoides (Bleeker 1852) –oides, having the form of: similar to P. barberinus but differing in color, two fewer rays in pectoral fin, and shorter chin barbels
Parupeneus barberinus (Lacepède 1801) etymology not explained; a manuscript name of unknown provenance coined by Commerçon, perhaps derived from barbus, beard, referring to long chin barbels
Parupeneus biaculeatus (Richardson 1846) bi-, two; aculeatus, spined, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “conspicuous” opercular spines, the upper one short and blunt, the lower one long and acute
Parupeneus chrysonemus (Jordan & Evermann 1903) chrysos, gold; nema, thread, referring to golden barbels of living specimens
Parupeneus chrysopleuron (Temminck & Schlegel 1843) chrysos, gold; pleuron, side, referring to golden-yellow stripe on sides along lateral line
Parupeneus ciliatus (Lacepède 1802) ciliate, referring to posterior half of scales “finely striate and ciliate” (translation)
Parupeneus crassilabris (Valenciennes 1831) crassus, wide; labrum, lip, referring to its “very thick” (translation) lips
Parupeneus cyclostomus (Lacepède 1801) cyclos, round or circular; stoma, mouth, referring to open mouth forming a “very large portion of a circle”
Parupeneus diagonalis Randall 2004 diagonal, referring to oblique dark stripe on body, its most conspicuous color feature
Parupeneus forsskali (Fourmanoir & Guézé 1976) in honor of Swedish explorer and naturalist Peter Forsskål, also known as Petrus Forskål (1732-1763), who described this species as Mullus auriflamma in 1775, a name later suppressed by the ICZN because it was based on a specimen (now believed to be distinct) of P. barberinus; since the name was officially suppressed, it cannot be resurrected
Parupeneus fraserorum Randall & King 2009 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Michael D. Fraser (b. 1955) and his wife Valda J. Fraser (b. 1957), divers and underwater photographers; he collected type and she provided the authors with a photograph, their first awareness of the species
Parupeneus heptacantha (Lacepède 1802) hepta-, seven; acantha, spine, referring to seven spiny rays in first dorsal fin, compared to 6 or 10 in three species Lacepède placed in the same subgenus [often incorrectly spelled heptacanthus]
Parupeneus inayatae Uiblein & Fahmi 2018 in honor of Inayat Al Hakim, marine biodiversity scientist at the Research Centre for Oceanography, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta, Indonesia, for her support of fish taxonomy and invaluable logistic assistance when hosting the senior author at LIPI during research visits
Parupeneus indicus (Shaw 1803) Indian, described from Visgapatam (now spelled Vishakhapatnam), India (but widely occurs throughout Indo-West Pacific)
Parupeneus insularis Randall & Myers 2002 of islands, referring to its occurrence only on oceanic islands of the Pacific, whereas the closely related P. crassilabris and P. trifasciatus also occur in continental waters
Parupeneus jansenii (Bleeker 1856) in honor of Albert Jacques Frédéric Jansen (d. 1861), an administrator in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and resident of Sulawesi, who provided type
Parupeneus louise Randall 2004 in honor of Louise Wrobel, Service des Ressources Marines (Papete, Tahiti, French Polynesia, type locality), who realized holotype (caught on hook and line) was unusual and sent it to Randall for examination [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Parupeneus macronemus (Lacepède 1801) macro-, long; nema, thread, referring to long chin barbels, 1.1-1.25 in HL
Parupeneus margaritatus Randall & Guézé 1984 adorned with pearls, referring to pearl-like (white to light blue) spots along sides of body
Parupeneus minys Randall & Heemstra 2009 small, referring to very small adult size compared to congeners, up to 106.5 mm SL
Parupeneus moffitti Randall & Myers 1993 in honor of Robert B. Moffitt, Honolulu Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Services, who collected and photographed the first specimens
Parupeneus multifasciatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1825) multi-, many; fasciatus, banded, referring to five black or blackish bars on body (usually just 2-3 bars, as some are faint or absent)
Parupeneus nansen Randall & Heemstra 2009 named for the research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, from which type specimens were collected, and to honor the “famous” Norwegian explorer and scientist (1861-1930) for whom the vessel was named; during the cruise, the scientific staff referred to this fish as the “Nansen Goatfish”
Parupeneus orientalis (Fowler 1933) eastern, referring to Easter Island, where it is endemic (“eastern” and Easter Sunday, for which the island is named, are both derived from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning “dawn”)
Parupeneus pleurostigma (Bennett 1831) pleuron, side; stigma, mark or spot, referring to black spot, as large or larger than eye, centered on lateral line below rear base of first dorsal fin
Parupeneus porphyreus (Jenkins 1903) purplish; although this color is not mentioned in the description, the fish is indeed a purplish red
Parupeneus posteli Fourmanoir & Guézé 1967 patronym not identified, probably in honor of Emile Postel, ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer), who studied the fishes of Réunion Island (type locality) and collaborated with the authors on a paper on serranid fishes in 1963
Parupeneus procerigena Kim & Amaoka 2001 procerus, tall or elongate; genys, cheek, referring to deeper cheek compared to the similar P. chrysopleuron and P. heptacantha
Parupeneus rubescens (Lacepède 1801) reddish, referring to color of body and tail
Parupeneus seychellensis (Smith & Smith 1963) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Seychelles, western Indian Ocean, where it is endemic
Parupeneus sinai Uiblein 2021 named after the Sinai Peninsula, which borders the northern Red Sea including the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba, where holotype is assumed to have been collected by Robert-Philippe Dollfus (1887-1976), French zoologist, ichthyologist and parasitologist, during his research mission in that area from December 1927 to March 1929
Parupeneus spilurus (Bleeker 1854) spilos, spot; oura, tail, referring to black spot, as large as or larger than eye, on sides of caudal peduncle
Parupeneus trifasciatus (Lacepède 1801) tri-, three; fasciatus, banded, described from an illustration showing three black bars (usually seen with two black to blackish bars, but a third bar is sometimes present on caudal peduncle above lateral line)
Parupeneus williamsi Shibuya & Motomura 2020 in honor of Jeffrey T. Williams, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, for his “great” contributions to ichthyology, and who “kindly” made available all examples of this species
Pseudupeneus Bleeker 1862 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may resemble Upeneus, they differ in dentition
Pseudupeneus grandisquamis (Gill 1863) grandis, large; squamis, scale, allusion not explained, probably referring to larger scales compared to presumed congeners in Upeneus, 28-30 on lateral line
Pseudupeneus maculatus (Bloch 1793) spotted, referring to three large dark blotches on sides
Pseudupeneus prayensis (Cuvier 1829) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Port Praya, Cape Verde Islands, eastern Atlantic, type locality (occurs in western Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic from Morocco south to Angola, and offshore islands including São Tomé and Principe)
Upeneichthys Bleeker 1853 Upeneus, similar to that genus but differing in having no teeth on palatines (per Bleeker 1856); ichthys, fish [often but incorrectly dated to Bleeker 1855]
Upeneichthys lineatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) lined, proposed as a variety or subspecies of Mullus surmuletus with blue lines on the head (also has lines of blue dots along the sides, but this is not mentioned)
Upeneichthys porosus (Cuvier 1829) pored, referring to a “quantity of very small pores” (translation) on front of snout, suborbital, and around the eyes
Upeneichthys stotti Hutchins 1990 in honor of Chris Stott, who, while an honorary field assistant for the Western Australian Museum, was involved in the collection of two paratypes
Upeneichthys vlamingii (Cuvier 1829) in honor of Admiral Cornelis de Vlamingh (ca. 1678-1735), Dutch explorer and naval officer, who collected and illustrated many fishes for the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris); description of this goatfish was based in part on one of his illustrations (actually a copy made by another illustrator)
Upeneus Cuvier 1829 misspelling or incorrectly latinized form of hypene, Greek noun for moustache (or by extension beard), probably referring to long chin barbels (Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga, pers. comm.)
Upeneus asymmetricus Lachner 1954 asymmetrical, i.e., not equal, referring to “unusually reduced” number of oblique brown bars on upper lobe of caudal fin (3) compared to lower lobe (6-7)
Upeneus australiae Kim & Nakaya 2002 of Australia, referring to its discovery in Australian waters (also occurs off New Caledonia)
Upeneus caudofasciatus Uiblein & Gledhill 2019 caudo-, caudal; fasciatus, banded, referring to conspicuous oblique bars that cross both caudal-fin lobes entirely
Upeneus davidaromi Golani 2001 in honor of marine biologist David Darom (b. 1943), “who has published many photographs and books on natural history and on Red Sea fauna and flora”; he also provided photo of type specimen
Upeneus dimipavlov Uiblein & Motomura 2021 in honor of ichthyologist Dimitri Alexandrovich “Dimi” Pavlov, Lomonosov University (Moscow, Russia), for collecting, photographing and donating mullid specimens from Vietnam (including this one, from hookah divers) for taxonomic research [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Upeneus doriae (Günther 1869) in honor of zoologist Giacoma Doria (1840-1913), president of the Italian Geographic Society, who collected fishes in Persia (now Iran) and sent them to the British Museum (Natural History), including type of this one [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]
Upeneus elongatus Uiblein & Motomura 2021 elongate, referring to its elongate, “very shallow” body and head
Upeneus farnis Uiblein & Peristiwady 2017 in honor of Farnis Boneka, Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Sam Ratulangi University (Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia), for his efforts in support of fish taxonomy and the authors’ research [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Upeneus filifer (Ogilby 1910) filum, thread; fero, to bear, referring to long, filamentous spine of first dorsal fin [authorship sometimes but incorrectly attributed to Whitley 1941]
Upeneus floros Uiblein & Gouws 2020 in honor of marine biologist Camilla Floros, South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Oceanographic Research Institute (Durban, South Africa), who organized the collection of holotype and two paratypes and provided photographs of the types as well as of specimens encountered at type locality (Sodwana Bay, South Africa) [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Upeneus francisi Randall & Guézé 1992 in honor of fisheries scientist and marine ecologist Malcolm P. Francis (b. 1954), for his research on the fishes of New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, and the Kermadec Islands; he also collected type
Upeneus gubal Uiblein 2019 named for type locality, situated close to Gubal Island and in the Strait of Gubal at southern entrance to Gulf of Suez, northern Red Sea
Upeneus guttatus (Day 1868) spotted, referring to a row of red spots both above and below silvery lateral stripe
Upeneus heemstra Uiblein & Gouws 2014 in honor of “esteemed” ichthyologist Phillip C. Heemstra (1941-2019), who collected and photographed holotype, and his wife Elaine Heemstra, who provided drawings and assistance throughout the authors’ study [presumably a noun in apposition without the plural eponymic “-orum”]
Upeneus heterospinus Uiblein & Pavlov 2019 hetero-, different; spinus, spine, referring to variable number of 7-8 dorsal-fin spines (occurring in a balanced ratio across populations), in contrast to most other goatfish species and all other Indo-Pacific congeners, which have either 7 or 8 dorsal-fin spines
Upeneus indicus Uiblein & Heemstra 2010 Indian, referring to Cochin, western India, type locality
Upeneus itoui Yamashita, Golani & Motomura 2011 in honor of Masahide Itou (sometimes spelled Ito), Kasasa Fishery Cooperative Society (Kagoshima, Japan) who collected almost all Kagoshima specimens of this species and “kindly” made them available to the authors
Upeneus japonicus (Houttuyn 1782) Japanese, originally described from Japan (type specimen now lost; occurs in western Pacific from Malaysia east to Philippines, north to South Korea and Peter the Great Bay of Russia)
Upeneus lombok Uiblein & White 2015 named for Lombok, Indonesia, eastern Indian Ocean, type locality (also occurs off New Ireland, Papua New Guinea)
Upeneus luzonius Jordan & Seale 1907 –ius, belonging to: Luzon Island, Philippines, type locality
Upeneus madras Uiblein & Maclaine 2022 named for Madras (now called Chennai), southeast India, type locality
Upeneus margarethae Uiblein & Heemstra 2010 in honor of the late Margaretha Uiblein (née Feichtinger), mother of the senior author
Upeneus mascareinsis Fourmanoir & Guézé 1967 –ensis, suffix denoting place: western Mascarenes, southwestern Indian Ocean, where type locality (Réunion) is situated (also occurs off east Africa, Madagascar and western Indonesia)
Upeneus moluccensis (Bleeker 1855) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Molucca Islands, Indonesia, where type locality (Ambon Island) is situated (widely occurs in Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific and as a Lessepsian immigrant to the Mediterranean)
Upeneus mouthami Randall & Kulbicki 2006 in honor of scientific diver Gerard Mou Tham, a colleague of the junior author, who assisted in the collection of many of the goatfishes studied by the authors and provided color photographs
Upeneus niebuhri Guézé 1976 in honor of Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815), German traveler, cartographer and mathematician, who, with Peter Forsskål, collected botanical and zoological specimens in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula (1761-1767); Forsskål died from malaria during the expedition, so Niebuhr edited and published his descriptions, including that of the similar U. vittatus, the first goatfish to be described
Upeneus nigromarginatus Bos 2014 nigro-, black; marginatus, edged or bordered, referring to black margins along both dorsal fins and dorsal lobe of caudal fin
Upeneus oligospilus Lachner 1954 oligo-, few; spilos, mark or spot, referring to “faint, scattered, dusky spots” on sides of body, especially when compared to the prominent, numerous spots of U. tragula
Upeneus parvus Poey 1852 small (for a goatfish), reaching just 20 cm
Upeneus pori Ben-Tuvia & Golani 1989 in honor of hydrobiologist and biogeographer Francis Dov Por (1927-2014), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for his contribution to the field of Lessepsian migration of organisms (which this goatfish is)
Upeneus quadrilineatus Cheng & Wang 1963 quadri-, four; lineatus, lined, referring to four (or more) narrow, orange-yellow longitudinal stripes on living specimens
Upeneus randalli Uiblein & Heemstra 2011 in honor of “esteemed” ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), who collected six of the seven paratypes, transferred holotype to the Bishop Museum collection and photographed fresh holotype used in the description
Upeneus saiab Uiblein & Lisher 2013 in honor of the “importance and invaluable contributions of the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) as the primary scientific collection for taxonomic and systematic studies of the fish fauna of the Western Indian Ocean”
Upeneus seychellensis Uiblein & Heemstra 2011 –ensis, suffix denoting place: known only from a single trawling station close to the southeastern edge of the Seychelles Bank (western Indian Ocean)
Upeneus spottocaudalis Uiblein & Gledhill 2017 spotto-, presumably a latinization of the Anglo-Saxon spot; caudalis, of the tail, referring to conspicuous rounded or triangular dark spots or blotches on lower caudal-fin lobe in both fresh and preserved specimens
Upeneus stenopsis Uiblein & McGrouther 2012 stenos, narrow; opsis, appearance, referring to rather narrow (both in depth and width) caudal peduncle
Upeneus suahelicus Uiblein & Heemstra 2010 –icus, belonging to: sawahil, Arabic word for coast, referring to its occurrence off the East African coast; a large part of this area speaks Swahili, which has the same derivation
Upeneus subvittatus (Temminck & Schlegel 1843) sub-, less than or somewhat; vittatus, striped, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to lighter, less prominent yellow stripes compared to U. vittatus
Upeneus sulphureus Cuvier 1829 referring to “beautiful” (translation) sulphur-yellow color of sides, belly, and anal and ventral fins
Upeneus sundaicus (Bleeker 1855) –icus, belonging to: Sunda, large islands of western Indonesia, where Ambon Island (type locality) is situated (widely occurs in Indo-West Pacific from Mauritius and Persian Gulf east to Papua New Guinea, north to northern Viêt Nam and Philippines, south to northern Australia)
Upeneus supravittatus Uiblein & Heemstra 2010 supra-, above, vittatus, striped (but in this case referring to the vittatus species group) referring to high gill-raker count and long pectoral-fin length, which in combination place this species “above” all others in the vittatus group
Upeneus taeniopterus Cuvier 1829 taenio-, band; pterus, fin, presumably referring to oblique bars or bands on caudal fin, 9-14 on adults, 7-9 on subadults
Upeneus torres Uiblein & Gledhill 2014 named for Torres Strait, north of Dalrymple Island, Queensland, Australia, type locality (also occurs off Vanuatu); the strait is named after Spanish maritime explorer Luis Váez de Torres (ca. 1565-ca. 1607), who recorded the first navigation of the strait that separates Australia from the island of New Guinea
Upeneus tragula Richardson 1846 spear or javelin, referring to “Sea arrow” (allusion not evident), its vernacular name as reported by naturalist John Reeves (1774-1856), who presented a specimen to the British Museum
Upeneus vanuatu Uiblein & Causse 2013 named for Vanuatu, South Pacific, only known area of occurrence
Upeneus vittatus (Forsskål 1775) striped, referring to yellow mid-lateral body stripes
Upeneus willwhite Uiblein & Motomura 2021 in honor of ichthyologist William T. White, Australian National Fish Collection (Hobart, Australia), for collecting and photographing mullid specimens from Indonesia (including this one, from a fish market) and making them available for taxonomic research [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Upeneus xanthogrammus Gilbert 1892 xanthos, yellow; grammus, line, referring to broad yellow streak on sides