COMMENTS
v. 6.0 – 12 Jan. 2024 view/download PDF
Family SCIAENIDAE Drums or Croakers
72 genera/subgenera · 299 species
Aplodinotus Rafinesque 1819 etymology not explained, perhaps (h)aplous, single, and notos, back, referring to confluent spinous and soft dorsal fins
Aplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque 1819 Latin for grunting, referring to drum-like sounds that resonate from swim bladder of mature males (hence the common names Drum and Croaker)
Argyrosomus De la Pylaie 1835 argyros, silver; soma, body, presumably referring to pearly-silver coloration of A. procerus (=regius)
Argyrosomus amoyensis (Bleeker 1863) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Amoy, China, type locality (occurs in Indo-West Pacific from Persian Gulf east to China)
Argyrosomus beccus Sasaki 1994 beak or bill, referring to its beak-like snout
Argyrosomus coronus Griffiths & Heemstra 1995 named for Corona Griffiths, wife of senior author, for her “contributions to the illustrations of this paper and her help with field work” [a noun in apposition, apparently (but unnecessarily) latinized as coronus, perhaps to agree with masculine gender of genus]
Argyrosomus heinii (Steindachner 1902) in honor of William Hein (1861-1903), Austrian ethnographer, Vienna Natural History Museum, who, with his wife, collected type
Argyrosomus hololepidotus (Lacepède 1801) holo-, entire; lepidotus, scaled, allusion not explained, perhaps reflecting Lacepède’s comment that scales on head and opercle are similar to those on the back
Argyrosomus inodorus Griffiths & Heemstra 1995 in-, without; odorus, smelly, first suspected of being a different species because it lacked the strong brassy/metallic smell typical of A. japonicus found in South African waters
Argyrosomus japonicus (Temminck & Schlegel 1843) Japanese, described from near Nagasaki, Japan (widely occurs in Indo-West Pacific from East Africa and Persian Gulf to Philippines, southern Japan, Western Australia and Tasmania)
Argyrosomus regius (Asso y del Rio 1801) royal, allusion not explained, perhaps a latinization of Reix, its Catalan name according to Asso y del Rio
Argyrosomus thorpei Smith 1977 in honor of Anthony R. Thorpe, lawyer and Records Officer of the South African Angling Union, who caught type, recognized it as a new species, and sent it to Smith along with color negatives that she used in the description
Aspericorvina Fowler 1934 asper, rough, referring to “finely spinescent scales” on top of head and predorsal and belly; corvina, Spanish name for sciaenids and early generic name, Corvina Cuvier 1829, in the family (preoccupied by Corvina Hahn 1822 in birds), derived from corvus, crow, perhaps alluding to croaking noise that resonates from swim bladder of mature males
Aspericorvina jubata (Bleeker 1855) jubate, i.e., fringed with long pendent hairs like a mane, referring to prominent bunches of setiform teeth on scales of neck and crown, giving those scales a “brush-like appearance” (translation)
Atractoscion Gill 1862 atracto-, spindle, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to more cylindrical body shape compared to the typical sciaenid; scion, modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, which Gill selected over “sciaena” because it sounded better (see Cynoscion, below)
Atractoscion aequidens (Cuvier 1830) aequus, same or equal; dens, teeth, referring to nearly even-sized teeth, presumably due to absence of enlarged canines
Atractoscion atelodus (Günther 1867) ateleos, imperfect, unfilled or exempt; odon, tooth, presumably referring to absence of canine teeth
Atractoscion macrolepis Song, Kim & Kim 2017 macro-, large; lepis, scale, referring to larger (and therefore fewer) scales compared to A. aequidens
Atractoscion microlepis Song, Kim & Kang 2017 micro-, large; lepis, scale, referring to smaller (and therefore more numerous) scales compared to A. aequidens
Atractoscion nobilis (Ayres 1860) well-known or excellent, “one of the finest of all that are brought to the markets in San Francisco,” with an “excellent flavor [that] brings always a high price”
Atrobucca Chu, Lo & Wu 1963 atro-, black; bucca, mouth, referring to black mouth and pharyngeal cavity of A. nibe
Atrobucca adusta Sasaki & Kailola 1988 scorched or sunburned, referring to its dark-brown coloration
Atrobucca alcocki Talwar 1980 in honor of physician-naturalist Alfred William Alcock (1859-1933), “author of a most commendable review of the deepwater fishes of our region” (Arabian Sea, type locality, and Bay of Bengal)
Atrobucca antonbruun Sasaki 1995 named for the research vessel Anton Bruun (named for the Danish marine biologist, 1901-1961), for its contributions to the biology of Indian Ocean fishes, and from which type was collected in 1963
Atrobucca bengalensis Sasaki 1995 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bay of Bengal, Sri Lanka, type locality
Atrobucca brevis Sasaki & Kailola 1988 short, referring to short pectoral fin, shorter than that of A. adusta, A. geniae, A. marleyi, and A. nibe
Atrobucca geniae Ben-Tuvia & Trewavas 1987 in honor of Eugenie (“Genie”) Clark (1922-2015), University of Maryland, a “prominent ichthyologist and underwater observer who has made many contributions to our knowledge of Red Sea fish[es]”
Atrobucca kyushini Sasaki & Kailola 1988 in honor of fisheries biologist Kenichiro Kyushin, Hokkaido University, who first drew this fish to the authors’ attention
Atrobucca marleyi (Norman 1922) in honor of Natal fisheries officer Harold Walter Bell-Marley (1872-1945), who collected type
Atrobucca nibe (Jordan & Thompson 1911) Japanese name for large croakers and the isinglass (used to bind bamboo sticks together) made from their swim bladders
Atrobucca trewavasae Talwar & Sathiarajan 1975 in honor of Ethelwynn Trewavas (1900-1993), British Museum (Natural History), for “excellent revisionary work on this family of fishes”
Austronibea Trewavas 1977 austro-, southern, referring to distribution off Queensland, Australia, and southern New Guinea; Nibea, a similar genus (A. oedogenys “shows its nibeine purtenance by the shape of the swimbladder and its cephalic appendage and by the pattern of the saggita”)
Austronibea oedogenys Trewavas 1977 oidaleos, swollen; genys, cheek, referring to orbital bone “much inflated by the lateral line canal”
Bahaba Herre 1935 Samal (or Sama, language spoken in Sulu region of Mindanao, or the Southern Philippines) name for sciaenids
Bahaba chaptis (Hamilton 1822) from bola chaptis, presumably vernacular name of this species in West Bengal, India, type locality
Bahaba polykladiskos (Bleeker 1852) poly, many; kladiskos, diminutive of klados, branch, referring to numerous fine, fan-shaped branches on sensory scles of lateral line
Bahaba taipingensis (Herre 1932) –ensis, suffix denoting place: market at Taiping, Kwangtung, China, type locality
Bairdiella Gill 1861 –ella, diminutive connoting endearment: patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), Director, U.S. National Museum (where Gill worked)
Bairdiella armata Gill 1863 armed, presumably referring to “very strong” second spine of anal fin
Bairdiella chrysoura (Lacepède 1802) chrysos, gold; oura, tailed, referring to yellow caudal fin
Bairdiella ensifera (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) ensis, sword; fero, to bear, referring to “very long and strong” second spine on anal-fin
Bairdiella goeldi Marceniuk, Molina, Caires, Rotundo, Wosiacki & Oliveira 2019 in honor of the Goeldi Museum (Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi) in Belém, Pará (Brazil), which supported the first author’s taxonomic research on the marine and estuarine fishes of Brazil, and collection expeditions to the northern and northeastern coasts of Brazil
Bairdiella icistia (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) ictico-, yielding or pliable; [h]istia, sail, “readily distinguished” (per Jordan & Evermann 1898) from congeners known at the time “by the weakness of its dorsal spines”
Bairdiella ronchus (Cuvier 1830) rhonchus, Greek for snoring, referring to drum-like sounds that resonate from swim bladder of mature males, as reflected in its two vernacular names in Venezuela (type locality), ronco and roncador
Bairdiella veraecrucis Jordan & Dickerson 1908 –is, genitive singular of: Veracruz, México, type locality
Boesemania Trewavas 1977 –ia, belonging to: patronym not identified but clearly in honor of ichthyologist Marinus Boeseman (1916-2006), Leiden University
Boesemania microlepis (Bleeker 1858) micro-, small; lepis, scale, proposed without a description; in a follow-up publication Bleeker said it has small scales
Callaus Jordan 1889 latinization of Callão, Peru, where most specimens of C. deliciosa at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology were collected
Callaus deliciosa (Tschudi 1846) tasty: “This fish is often brought to the Lima [Peru] market and is highly valued by the natives for its pleasant meat.”
Cheilotrema Tschudi 1846 cheilos, lip; trema, pore, referring to conspicuous pores on upper lip of C. fasciatum
Cheilotrema fasciatum Tschudi 1846 banded, referring to indistinct, broad dark bar in middle of body of adults
Cheilotrema saturnum (Girard 1858) dusky or saturnine, presumably referring to purplish-brown color of upper body in alcohol, with the fins assuming the “dark hue of the body”
Chrysochir Trewavas & Yazdani 1966 chrysos, gold; cheiros, hand, referring to broad golden-yellow pectoral fin of C. aurea
Chrysochir aurea (Richardson 1846) golden, referring to golden-yellow pectoral fin and/or to Latin transliteration of its Chinese names, “Gold scale hwo” and “Golden-scaled han,” perhaps referring to golden sheen in life (Richardson described body color as “generally dark with much brown”)
Cilus Delfin 1900 from cilonis, one with a long and narrow head, referring to long, compressed head of C. montti (=gilberti), the dorsal profile nearly straight over head and snout
Cilus gilberti (Abbott 1899) in honor of “friend and instructor” Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928), to whom Abbott’s “interest in ichthyology is wholly due”
Collichthys Günther 1860 etymology not explained, probably kolla, glue, referring to how C. lucidus was used in China for the production of isinglass (used in making glue); ichthys, fish
Collichthys lucidus (Richardson 1844) clear, bright or shining, probably referring to the “bright, silvery surface of the scales” (per Richardson 1845)
Collichthys niveatus Jordan & Starks 1906 snowy, presumably referring to rows of “creamy white spots,” one to a scale, on ventral surface
Corvula Jordan & Eigenmann 1889 diminutive of corvus, crow, and of Corvina, Spanish name for croakers and early generic name, Corvina Cuvier 1829, in the family (preoccupied by Corvina Hahn 1822 in birds), perhaps alluding to crow-like croaking noise that resonates from swim bladder of mature males
Corvula batabana (Poey 1860) –ana, belonging to: Batabano, south coast of Cuba, type locality
Corvula macrops (Steindachner 1875) macro-, large; ops, eye, referring to very large eye, 3½ times in head
Corvula sanctaeluciae Jordan 1890 of Saint Lucia, West Indies, eastern Caribbean Sea, type locality
Ctenosciaena Fowler & Bean 1923 cteno-, ctenoid, proposed as a subgenus of Sciaena with “apparently” ctenoid scales of S. dubia (=gracilicirrhus), most of which had fallen off (Sciaena has cycloid scales)
Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus (Metzelaar 1919) gracilis, slender; cirrhus, curl or tendril, referring to “slender and pointed” barbel (italics in original)
Ctenosciaena peruviana Chirichigno F. 1969 Peruvian, described from off the coast of Peru
Cynoscion Gill 1861 cyno-, dog, referring to symphyseal canine teeth in the upper jaw, lacking in Sciaena; scion, modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, which Gill selected over “sciaena” because the “name of Cynosciæna would not be euphonious”
Cynoscion acoupa (Lacepède 1801) presumably local Portuguese name for this species in French Guyana (type locality)
Cynoscion albus (Günther 1864) white, presumably referring to “Immaculate, silver” body color (with a greenish back)
Cynoscion analis (Jenyns 1842) anal, referring to longer anal fin compared to any American (i.e., New World) congener described by Cuvier (1830)
Cynoscion arenarius Ginsburg 1930 sandy or of sand, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its common names, Sand Squeteague and Sand Trout, and/or its occurrence over sandy bottoms of coastal waters
Cynoscion guatucupa (Cuvier 1830) Portuguese name for this species as reported in Marcgrave’s Historiae naturalis brasiliae (1648) [Otolithis striatus Cuvier 1829 is a senior synonym but C. guatucupa is in prevailing usage]
Cynoscion jamaicensis (Vaillant & Bocourt 1883) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Jamaica, type locality
Cynoscion leiarchus (Cuvier 1830) leios, smooth; archos, anus, referring to small (and apparently smooth) anal-fin spine; according to Jordan & Evermann (1898), this was due to the dried skin of the type specimen being covered by varnish
Cynoscion microlepidotus (Cuvier 1830) micro-, small; lepidotus, scaled, referring to smaller scales compared to C. leiarchus (described in same publication)
Cynoscion nannus Castro-Aguirre & Arvizu-Martínez 1976 dwarf, referring to small size, described at 137 mm SL
Cynoscion nebulosus (Cuvier 1830) cloudy, referring to “round and cloudy spots sown on the back” (translation)
Cynoscion nortoni Béarez 2001 in honor of archaeologist Presley Norton (1932-1993), founder of the Research Centre of Salango, who permitted and encouraged Béarez’s research in Ecuador
Cynoscion nothus (Holbrook 1848) nothos, bastard, presumably referring to “Bastard Trout,” its local name in South Carolina (USA) at the time
Cynoscion othonopterus Jordan & Gilbert 1882 othono-, veil; pterus, fin, referring to small scales covering second dorsal fin (per Jordan & Evermann 1898)
Cynoscion parvipinnis Ayres 1861 parvus, small; pinnis, fin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to short pectoral fins, not reaching tips of ventrals
Cynoscion phoxocephalus Jordan & Gilbert 1882 phoxos, tapering; cephalus, head, referring to head “pointed in profile, tapering with much regularity toward the tip of the projecting lower jaw”
Cynoscion praedatorius (Jordan & Gilbert 1889) rapacious or predatory, allusion not explained but probably referring to its large mouth and/or local name among Panamanian fishermen, Boccone (derived from the Spanish boca, meaning mouth)
Cynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider 1801) royal, alluding to Kingfish, one of its vernacular names in New York (USA), type locality (a name now associated with Menticirrhus)
Cynoscion reticulatus (Günther 1864) net-like or netted, presumably referring to “irregular network of brown undulated streaks” on back and sides
Cynoscion similis Randall & Cervigón 1968 like or resembling, described as “very similar” to C. jamaicensis; according to the authors, fishermen are usually not able to distinguish the adults of both species
Cynoscion squamipinnis (Günther 1867) squamus, scale; pinnis, fin, referring (per Günther 1868) to membrane of first dorsal and anal fins covered with small, transparent scales, which form a “thickish” cover on the base of these fins
Cynoscion steindachneri (Jordan 1889) in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), “who has contributed more than any one else to our knowledge of the fishes of South America”
Cynoscion stolzmanni (Steindachner 1879) in honor of Polish ornithologist Jean Stolzmann (1854-1928, also spelled Jan Sztolcman), who collected type
Cynoscion virescens (Cuvier 1830) viridis, green; –escens, becoming, i.e., greenish, referring to olive-colored back
Cynoscion xanthulus Jordan & Gilbert 1882 xanthos, yellow; oulon, the gums, referring to inside of mouth bright yellow in life
Daysciaena Talwar 1971 Day, in honor of “celebrated ichthyologist” Francis Day (1829-1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, whose 1876 Fishes of India is cited by Talwar; Sciaena, type genus of family
Daysciaena albida (Cuvier 1830) white, presumably referring to whitish coloration, described as grayish on back and white on belly
Dendrophysa Trewavas 1964 dendro-, tree or branch; physa, bladder, referring to series of hollow “arborescent” appendages along each side of gas bladder
Dendrophysa russelii (Cuvier 1829) in honor of surgeon-herpetologist Patrick Russell (1726-1805), who illustrated and described (but did not name) this species in 1803 (Cuvier consistently misspelled Russell’s name by omitting an “l”)
Elattarchus Jordan & Evermann 1896 ellaton, smaller or reduced; archus, anal, referring to very small second spine on anal fin
Elattarchus archidium (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) diminutive of archus, anal, referring to very small second spine on anal fin
Eques Bloch 1793 knight, named for its German vernacular Amerikanische Ritter (American Knight), comparing oblique bands on body of E. americanus (=lanceolatus) to a sash or ribband worn by a Ritter or Knight (a noble title in German-speaking areas until 1919, not the mounted soldier in armor), draped across chest from one shoulder to the opposing hip [Equetus Rafinesque 1815 is an unnecessary replacement name since Eques Linnaeus 1758 is an invalid name in Lepidoptera; continued usage of Equetus would require a ruling by the ICZN]
Eques lanceolatus (Linnaeus 1758) lance-like, referring to body shape, deepest below first dorsal spine, rapidly tapering to narrow caudal peduncle
Eques punctatus Bloch & Schneider 1801 spotted, referring to white spots on back and second dorsal, anal and caudal fins
Genyonemus Gill 1861 genys, cheek; nemus, thread, presumably referring to inconspicuous small chin barbels present on most specimens
Genyonemus lineatus (Ayres 1855) lined, referring to numerous faint, wavy, umber lines along scale rows, “giving a very pleasing appearance to the fish”
Isopisthus Gill 1862 isos, equal; opisthen, behind, referring to soft (second) dorsal and anal fins of I. parvipinnis subequal in length
Isopisthus altipinnis (Steindachner 1866) altus, high; pinnis, fin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to long pectoral fins, reaching beyond tips of depressed pelvic fins [previously known as I. remifer Jordan & Gilbert 1882]
Isopisthus parvipinnis (Cuvier 1830) parvus, small; pinnis, fin, referring to small first dorsal fin, described as having seven “very weak and short” spines, and/or short second dorsal fin, shorter than its presumed congeners in Ancylodon (=Macrodon)
Johnius Bloch 1793 –ius, pertaining to: Christoph Samuel John (1747-1813), a German missionary in the Danish colony of Tranquebar (now called Tharangambadi) in India, who collected natural history specimens for Bloch, presumably including types of J. carutta and Pennahia anea
Subgenus Johnius
Johnius amblycephalus (Bleeker 1855) amblys, blunt; cephalus, head, referring to shorter, blunter head compared to J. dussumieri
Johnius australis (Günther 1880) southern or Australian, presumably referring to its type locality, Mary River, near Tiaro, Queensland, Australia
Johnius belangerii (Cuvier 1830) in honor of botanist and explorer Charles Paulus Bélanger (1805-1881), who collected type [originally misspelled belengerii; corrected spelling appears to be in prevailing usage]
Johnius cantori Bleeker 1874 in honor of Danish naturalist Theodor Edvard Cantor (1809-1860), who identified this species as J. maculatus (now Nibea maculata) in 1849
Johnius carouna (Cuvier 1830) apparently latinization of caroun, etymology not explained, perhaps local name in Malabar, India, type locality
Johnius carutta Bloch 1793 from Karutta Kattolei, Malayalam name for this fish in India
Johnius coitor (Hamilton 1822) from bola coitor, presumably vernacular name of this species along the Ganges estuaries of India, type locality
Johnius elongatus Lal Mohan 1976 elongate, referring to its rather slender body
Johnius fuscolineatus (von Bonde 1923) fuscus, dark or dusky; lineatus, lined, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to brownish-yellow scales along lateral line (but conspicuous color mark is a dark-brown band that reaches over nape down to base of pectoral fin)
Johnius gangeticus Talwar 1991 –icus, belonging to: Ganges River at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, type locality
Johnius grypotus (Richardson 1846) presumably derived from grypos, Greek for curved or hook-nosed, referring to “snout that curves downward from the nostrils”
Johnius heterolepis Bleeker 1873 hetero-, different; lepis, scale, referring to cycloid scales on cheek and ctenoid scales on opercle and body
Johnius hypostoma (Bleeker 1854) hypo-, below; stoma, mouth, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to small, inferior mouth situated underneath and behind bluntly rounded snout
Johnius laevis Sasaki & Kailola 1991 smooth, referring to poorly developed or absent ctenii on body scales, giving it a “smooth touch”
Johnius latifrons Sasaki 1992 latus, wide; frons, forehead, referring to wide interorbital space
Johnius macropterus (Bleeker 1853) macro-, long; pterus, fin, referring to rays of spinous first dorsal fin, which Bleeker described as long (perhaps as compared to presumed congeners in Corvina)
Johnius macrorhynus (Lal Mohan 1976) macro-, large; rhinos, snout, referring to its swollen protruding snout, characteristic of the species
Johnius majan Iwatsuki, Jawad & Al-Mamry 2012 ancient Sumerian name (ca. 4,000 BC) for Oman, where this species is endemic to the Indian Ocean
Johnius mannarensis Lal Mohan 1971 –ensis, Gulf of Mannar trawling grounds off Pambam, India, type locality (also occurs off Sri Lanka)
Johnius sasakii Hanafi, Chen, Seah, Chang, Liu & Chao 2022 in honor of ichthyologist Kunio Sasaki, Kochi University (Japan), for his “significant” contributions to the taxonomy of Sciaenidae and Johnius
Johnius taiwanensis Chao, Chang, Chen, Guo, Lin, Liou, Shen & Liu 2019 -ensis, suffix denoting place: collected from southwest Taiwan and commonly found along both sides of Taiwan Strait
Johnius trachycephalus (Bleeker 1851) trachys, rough; cephalus, head, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to spinous teeth on preopercle (in actuality, head is smooth, covered with cycloid scales)
Johnius trewavasae Sasaki 1992 in honor of Ethelwynn Trewavas (1900-1993), British Museum (Natural History), for her many contributions to the knowledge of sciaenid systematics
Johnius weberi Hardenberg 1936 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of ichthyologist Max Weber (1852-1937), whose Fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago, authored with Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort, is acknowledged by Hardenberg
Subgenus Johnieops Lal Mohan 1972 ops, appearance, proposed as a new genus similar to Johnius but distinguished, in part, by noticeably enlarged inner row teeth on lower jaw
Johnius borneensis (Bleeker 1851) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bandjarmasin, Borneo, Indonesia, type locality (occurs in Indo-West Pacific from Persian Gulf east to Philippines and New Guinea, north to northern Viêt Nam and southern China)
Johnius distinctus (Tanaka 1916) distinct or distinctive, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to conspicuous white streak along lateral line (not mentioned by Tanaka)
Johnius dorsalis (Peters 1855) dorsal, presumably referring to black color on upper part of dorsal fin
Johnius dussumieri (Cuvier 1830) in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, whose account of this species is the basis of Cuvier’s description
Johnius novaeguineae (Nichols 1950) of New Guinea, where type locality (Merauke River) is situated (also occurs off Australia)
Johnius pacificus Hardenberg 1941 –icus, belonging to: the Pacific Ocean, presumably referring to mouth of Mamberamo River, northern New Guinea (type locality), where the river meets the Pacific
Johnius philippinus Sasaki 1999 Filipino, known only from Davao Gulf, Mindanao Island, Philippines
Johnius plagiostoma (Bleeker 1849) plagio, oblique; stoma, mouth, referring to strongly oblique gape of mouth
Johnius sina (Cuvier 1830) latinization of sin, from sin-katelé, its local name in Puducherry (or Pondicherry), India, type locality
Kathala Lal Mohan 1969 etymology not explained, probably a local name in India for K. axillaris and/or other sciaenid fishes, first reported in Russell’s Descriptions and Figures of Two Hundred Fishes: Collected at Vizagapatam on the Coast of Coromandel (1801)
Kathala axillaris (Cuvier 1830) axillary, referring to blackish blotch just above base of pectoral fin
Larimichthys Jordan & Starks 1905 Larimus, close to that genus but differing in having cycloid scales, unequal teeth, weak anal spines, and more cavernous head; ichthys, fish
Larimichthys crocea (Richardson 1846) saffron, referring to “saffron-yellow” pectoral fins, lower body, sides of head, and ventral-fin spine
Larimichthys pamoides (Munro 1964) –oides, having the form of: Pama pama, high number of rays (36) in soft dorsal fin “suggests convergence towards” that species
Larimichthys polyactis (Bleeker 1877) poly, many; actis, ray, referring to more numerous fin rays compared to Pseudosciaena amblyceps (=L. crocea)
Larimus Cuvier 1830 a name used by Oppian for some fish, “sans signification précise,” which Cuvier applied to this genus
Larimus acclivis Jordan & Bristol 1898 steeply ascending, referring to direction of scale rows above lateral line
Larimus argenteus (Gill 1863)silvery, referring to its color, described as “silvery, hoary above”
Larimus breviceps Cuvier 1830 brevis, short; ceps, head, but apparently referring to flat and extremely short snout compared to most other sciaenids known at the time
Larimus effulgens Gilbert 1898 shining, referring to bright silvery color
Larimus fasciatus Holbrook 1855 banded, referring to dark vertical bars on sides
Larimus gulosus Hildebrand 1946 greedy or gluttonous, referring to its “quite large” mouth
Larimus pacificus Jordan & Bollman 1890 –icus, belonging to: Pacific Ocean, described as Pacific equivalents of L. breviceps and L. fasciatus from the western Atlantic
Leiostomus Lacepède 1802 leios, smooth; stomus, mouth, referring to lack of teeth on lower jaw of adults (upper jaw with minute teeth)
Leiostomus xanthurus Lacepède 1802 xanthus, yellow; oura, tailed, referring to yellow caudal fin, a misnomer since fin is actually dusky or olivaceous (description based on notes provided by naturalist Louis-Augustin Bosc d’Antic, who may have confused this species with Bairdiella chrysoura)
Lonchurus Bloch 1793 lonchos, spear; oura, tailed, referring lanceolate caudal fin of L. lanceolatus
Lonchurus elegans (Boeseman 1948) elegant, named “on account of its elegant shape”
Lonchurus lanceolatus (Bloch 1788) lanceolate, referring to shape of caudal fin
Macrodon Schinz 1822 macro-, large; odon, tooth, referring to pair of very large, recurved teeth in front of upper jaw of M. ancylodon
Macrodon ancylodon (Bloch & Schneider 1801) ankylos, bent, hooked or crooked; odon, tooth, referring to pair of very large, recurved teeth in front of upper jaw
Macrodon atricauda (Günther 1880) atri-, black; cauda, tail, referring to dusky or distal lobes on yellow-to-gray caudal fin
Macrodon mordax (Gilbert & Starks 1904) biting, referring to large, pointed teeth, with large canines at front, those on upper jaw strongly curved with arrow-headed tips
Macrospinosa Lal Mohan 1969 macro-, long; spinosa, spine, presumably referring to “stout, strong” second spine of anal fin
Macrospinosa cuja (Hamilton 1822) from bola cuja, presumably vernacular name of this species along the Ganges estuaries of India, type locality
Megalonibea Chu, Lo & Wu 1963 megalo-, large, allusion not explained, probably referring to large size, described at 1.43 m SL; Nibea, from nibe, Japanese name for large croakers and for the isinglass (used to bind bamboo sticks together) made from their swim bladders
Megalonibea fusca Chu, Lo & Wu 1963 dusky, presumably referring to color, described as silvery gray and orange-brown
Menticirrhus Gill 1861 mentum, chin; cirrhus, barbel, referring to single stoutish barbel on lower jaw
Menticirrhus americanus (Linnaeus 1758) American, initially known from a figure and a short account by naturalist Mark Catesby (1743) of a specimen from the Carolinas of America
Menticirrhus cuiaranensis Marceniuk, Caires, Rotundo, Cerqueira, Siccha-Ramirez, Wosiacki & Oliveira 2020 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cuiaraná, an artisinal fishing village at Salinópolis, Pará, Brazil, type locality
Menticirrhus elongatus (Günther 1864) elongate, referring to slender, elongate body (more so than in most of all presumed congeners in Umbrina)
Menticirrhus gracilis (Cuvier 1830) slender, referring to more slender body compared to Umbrina coroides, its presumed congener at the time (and described in the same publication)
Menticirrhus littoralis (Holbrook 1847) of the seashore, referring to its occurrence in shoal water over hard and sandy bottoms during the summer along the coast of South Carolina (USA)
Menticirrhus martinicensis (Cuvier 1830) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Martinique Island, West Indies, type locality (occurs in western Atlantic from the Caribbean region to Argentina)
Menticirrhus nasus (Günther 1868) nose, referring to snout “much produced beyond the mouth”
Menticirrhus ophicephalus (Jenyns 1840) ophis, snake; cephalus, headed, referring to “peculiar character” of head, “not unlike that of some serpents” (Jenyns did not mention what this character might be)
Menticirrhus paitensis Hildebrand 1946 –ensis, suffix denoting place: south shore of Paita Bay, Peru, type locality
Menticirrhus panamensis (Steindachner 1876) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Panama, type locality (occurs in Gulf of California and eastern Pacific from Baja California Sur to central Chile)
Menticirrhus saxatilis (Bloch & Schneider 1801) among rocks, presumably referring to “Rock-Fish,” reportedly a local name for this species in New York (USA), type locality
Menticirrhus undulatus (Girard 1854) wavy, referring to “oblique and undulated series of small greyish spots” on sides below lateral line
Micropogonias Bonaparte 1831 micro-, small; pogonias, bearded, replacement name for Micropogon Cuvier 1830 (preoccupied by Micropogon Boie 1826 in birds), referring to 3-5 pairs of small barbels or “whiskers” on chin of M. lineatus (=undulatus)
Micropogonias altipinnis (Günther 1864) altus, high; pinnis, fin, referring to long third and fourth dorsal-fin spines, their length 3/5 that of the head
Micropogonias cevegei (Cervigón 1982) in honor of C.V.G. (pronounced Ce Ve Ge), Corporación Venezolana de Guyana (a decentralized state-owned conglomerate involved in gold mining and aluminum production), for funding and publishing the book in which description appeared
Micropogonias ectenes (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) stretched, presumably referring to slenderer, more elongate body compared to M. undulatus
Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest 1823) in honor of Marcellin Fournier (no other information available), who collected in Cuba and supplied type [note that Desmarest dropped the “o” from Fournier’s name, perhaps in error, or perhaps an attempt to latinize the spelling; since “furnieri” is in prevailing usage, that spelling is retained]
Micropogonias megalops (Gilbert 1890) mega-, large; ops, eye, referring to “very large” eye, “a trifle less than snout”
Micropogonias undulatus (Linnaeus 1766) wavy, referring to dark wavy streaks on sides
Miichthys Lin 1938 mii, from mi-iuy, Chinese name for this fish; ichthys, fish
Miichthys miiuy (Basilewsky 1855) from mi-iuy, Chinese name for this fish
Miracorvina Trewavas 1962 mirus, wonderful, “The wonder is inspired by the remarkable air-bladder,” with each appendage divided into three tubules (but not unique to this genus); corvina, Spanish name for croakers and early generic name, Corvina Cuvier 1829, in the family (preoccupied by Corvina Hahn 1822 in birds), derived from corvus, crow, perhaps alluding to croaking noise that resonates from swim bladder of mature males
Miracorvina angolensis (Norman 1935) –ensis, suffix denoting place: off St. Paul de Loanda, Angola, type locality
Nebris Cuvier 1830 Greek for skin of the fawn, allusion not explained; Cuvier described N. microps as silver in life, uniform gray-brown in alcohol
Nebris microps Cuvier 1830 micro-, small; ops, eye, referring to small eye, “barely a tenth of the length of the head” (translation)
Nebris occidentalis Vaillant 1897 western, referring to distribution in the eastern Pacific (described from Panama), west of the western Atlantic N. microps (described from Suriname)
Nibea Jordan & Thompson 1911 from nibe, Japanese name for large croakers and for the isinglass (used to bind bamboo sticks together) made from their swim bladders
Nibea acuta (Tang 1937) sharp or pointed, referring to its pointed head
Nibea albiflora (Richardson 1846) albus, white; flora, flower, Latin transliteration of Chinese name Pih fa (White Flower), allusion not explained nor evident
Nibea chui Trewavas 1971 in honor of Yuan-Ting Chu (1896-1986), director, Shanghai Fisheries Institute, who, with two collaborators, published a “penetrating account” of western Pacific sciaenids in 1963
Nibea coibor (Hamilton 1822) from bola coibor, presumably vernacular name of this species along the Ganges estuaries of India, where it appears to be endemic
Nibea leptolepis (Ogilby 1918) leptos, thin; lepis, scale, referring to “small, thin, and delicate, feebly ctenoid” scales
Nibea maculata (Bloch & Schneider 1801) spotted, referring to five dark blotches extending from back to lower sides (with a sixth at top of caudal peduncle)
Nibea microgenys Sasaki 1992 micro-, small; genys, jaw, referring to its small, inferior mouth [placed in Austronibea by some workers]
Nibea mitsukurii (Jordan & Snyder 1900) in honor of zoologist Kakichi Mitsukuri (1857-1909), Imperial University of Tokyo, who provided specimens of Japanese fishes to the authors (but not of this one)
Nibea semifasciata Chu, Lo & Wu 1963 semi-, half; fasciatus, banded, referring to numerous dark streaks on upper body from behind head to about base of spinous dorsal fin
Nibea soldado (Lacepède 1802) Spanish for soldier, named for Soldadoe, a vernacular name, provenance unknown (Lacepède erroneously believed this fish occurred at Cayenne, French Guiana, but it actually occurs in the Indo-West Pacific)
Nibea squamosa Sasaki 1992 scaly, referring to higher number of lateral line scales compared to N. microgenys
Odontoscion Gill 1862 odontos, teeth, referring to large canine or canine-like teeth, 6-7 on each side, on both jaws of O. dentex; scion, modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, which Gill selected over “sciaena” because it sounded better (see Cynoscion, above)
Odontoscion dentex (Cuvier 1830) toothed, referring to large canine or canine-like teeth, 6-7 on each side, on both jaws
Odontoscion eurymesops (Heller & Snodgrass 1903) eury, wide; meso-, middle; ops, eye, allusion not explained, possibly referring to smaller eye relative to head length than that of Corvula macrops (31 mm), its presumed congener at the time
Odontoscion xanthops Gilbert 1898 xanthos, yellow; ops, eye, referring to “bright yellow” iris
Otolithes Oken 1817 based on “Les Otolithes” of Cuvier (1816); according to Cuvier (1830), named for pêche-pierre (peach stone), a local name used by French-Portuguese colonists in Pondicherry, India, referring to the fish’s large otoliths
Otolithes arabicus Lin, Qurban, Shen & Chao 2019 Arabian, referring to Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman region, only known areas of occurrence
Otolithes cuvieri Trewavas 1974 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of French naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), who reported this species as O. ruber in 1830, and who provisionally named the genus “Les Otolithes” in 1816
Otolithes ruber (Bloch & Schneider 1801) red, described and illustrated as having a red body but fish is actually silvery
Otolithoides Fowler 1933 –oides, having the form of: Otolithus, original genus of O. biauritus
Otolithoides biauritus (Cantor 1849) bi-, two; auritus, eared, referring to opercular region with two skinny lobes, the lower of which, described as a “second, earlike appendage,” envelopes the two bony points of the opercle
Otolithoides pama (Hamilton 1822) from bola pama, presumably vernacular name of this species in Ganges estuaries of Calcutta, India, type locality
Pachypops Gill 1861 pachys, thick; ops, eye, allusion not explained, presumably referring to “large, longitudinally elliptical” eyes and/or “much swollen” suborbital region of P. trifilis
Pachypops fourcroi (Lacepède 1802) in honor of French chemist-entomologist Antoine François, Comte de Fourcroy (also spelled Fourcroi, 1755-1809), who, “not satisfied with making very great progress in chemistry, … has rendered many services to natural history, and to which we are very glad to give a public testimony of our high esteem and old friendship” (translation) [presumably a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Pachypops pigmaeus Casatti 2002 dwarf, referring to small size (up to 56 mm SL) relative to other sciaenids
Pachypops trifilis (Müller & Troschel 1849) tri-, three; filum, thread, referring to three barbels on underside of lower jaw
Pachyurus Agassiz 1831 pachys, thick; oura, tail, referring to caudal fin of P. squamipennis densely covered with scales
Pachyurus adspersus Steindachner 1879 besprinkled, referring to numerous brown flecks on dorsal fin and top 2/3 of body
Pachyurus bonariensis Steindachner 1879 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Buenos Aires, Argentina, where type locality (Río de la Plata) is situated (also occurs in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay)
Pachyurus calhamazon Casatti 2001 named for the Calhamazon Project, a 1992-1997 Brazilian-U.S. collaborative ichthyological inventory of the principal river channels of the Brazilian Amazon, during which type was collected; derived from the Portuguese calha (=channel) plus Amazon (pronounced cal-yah-mazon)
Pachyurus francisci (Cuvier 1830) of the rio São Francisco, Brazil, type locality (also endemic to rio São Francisco basin)
Pachyurus gabrielensis Casatti 2001 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cachoeira São Gabriel, rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil, type locality (also occurs in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela)
Pachyurus junki Soares & Casatti 2000 in honor of Amazon-floodplain ecologist Wolfgang Junk (b. 1942), Coordinator of the Freshwater Biology and Inland Fisheries course at the National Institute for Research in the Amazon in 1978
Pachyurus paucirastrus Aguilera 1983 paucus, few; rastrus, comb or rake, having the smallest number of gill rakers among congeners
Pachyurus schomburgkii Günther 1860 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of explorer Robert Hermann Schomburgk (1804-1865), who presented South American fishes to the British Museum, including a number of sciaenids (but not this one)
Pachyurus squamipennis Agassiz 1831 squamis, scale; pennis, fin, referring to second dorsal and caudal fins densely covered with scales
Pachyurus stewarti Casatti & Chao 2002 in honor of Donald Stewart (b. 1946), formerly of the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, USA), for his contributions to neotropical fishes (he also collected type in 1983)
Panna Lal Mohan 1969 etymology not explained, presumably a local name for P. microdon in India (and perhaps etymologically related to Pama, see above)
Panna heterolepis Trewavas 1977 hetero-, different; lepis, scale, referring to lateral-line scales twice as big as those above
Panna microdon (Bleeker 1849) micro-, small; odon, tooth, presumably referring to small canine teeth of upper jaw (“maxillis aequalibus, superiore caninis parvis”)
Panna perarmata (Chabanaud 1926) per, very; armatus, armed with a weapon, referring to “enormous development and extraordinary shape” (translation), in adults, of bony rays of anal, pelvic and dorsal fins
Paralonchurus Bocourt 1869 para-, near, referring to similarity with Lonchurus (both genera lack pseudobranchiae)
Paralonchurus brasiliensis (Steindachner 1875) –ensis, suffix denoting place: described from Para and Santos, Brazil (occurs in western Atlantic from Honduras to Brazil)
Paralonchurus dumerilii (Bocourt 1869) patronym not identified but probably in honor of August Duméril (1812-1870), herpetologist-ichthyologist, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)
Paralonchurus goodei Gilbert 1898 in honor of ichthyologist George Brown Goode (1851-1896), Director, U.S. National Museum
Paralonchurus peruanus (Steindachner 1875) Peruvian, described from Paita and Callao, Peru (occurs in eastern Pacific from Panama to northern Chile)
Paralonchurus petersii Bocourt 1869 in honor of Wilhelm C. H. Peters (1815-1883), naturalist, explorer and curator, Berlin Zoological Museum, who sent Bocourt type of Lonchurus barbatus (=lanceolatus) for comparison
Paralonchurus rathbuni (Jordan & Bollman 1890) in honor of Richard Rathbun (1852-1918), Chief of the Division of Scientific Inquiry, U.S. Fish Commission
Paranebris Chao, Béarez & Robertson 2001 para-, near, closely related to Nebris
Paranebris bauchotae Chao, Béarez & Robertson 2001 in honor of Marie-Louise Bauchot (b. 1928), ichthyologist and assistant manager, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), “for her contribution in caring for the very important fish collections at [her museum], and for her enthusiasm and hospitality to many students of fishes”
Paranibea Trewavas 1977 para-, near, previously included in Nibea by Trewavas in 1971
Paranibea semiluctuosa (Cuvier 1830) semi-, half; luctuosa, mourning, presumably referring to narrow dark stripes along scales covering entire body (except for narrow strip on belly)
Pareques Gill 1876 para-, near, allusion not explained, presumably referring to similarity to and/or close relationship with Eques (now known as Equetes)
Pareques acuminatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) tapering to a point, referring to shape of first dorsal fin
Pareques fuscovittatus (Kendall & Radcliffe 1912) fuscus, dark; vittatus, banded, referring to seven narrow, longitudinal dark-brown stripes, alternating with interrupted stripes of same color, on body
Pareques iwamotoi Miller & Woods 1988 in honor of “good friend” Tomio Iwamoto (b. 1939), California Academy of Sciences, who participated in the 1952 exploratory cruises during which type was collected, and is a “well recognized world authority for his contributions to the knowledge of the deep water macrourid fishes”
Pareques lanfeari (Barton 1947) in honor of mining engineer and minerals prospector Lanfear B. Norrie (1896-1977), of New York City (reason for honor not explained)
Pareques lineatus (Cuvier 1830) lined, referring to 6-7 narrow white or gray longitudinal bands on body
Pareques perissa (Heller & Snodgrass 1903) perissos, Greek for extraordinary, strange or remarkable, allusion not explained nor evident
Pareques umbrosus (Jordan & Eigenmann 1889) shady, referring to “darky smutty brown” coloration “with traces only of 7 pale streaks” (per Jordan & Evermann 1898)
Pareques viola (Gilbert 1898) Viola, genus of the violet (flowering plant), referring to this fish’s “violet shades”
Pennahia Fowler 1926 from Pinnah, local Tamil (Indian subcontinent) name for P. aneus
Pennahia aneus (Bloch 1793) latinization of Anei, from Anei Katalei, its Malayam name in India [often misspelled “aena” by those who erroneously believe name is an adjective]
Pennahia argentata (Houttuyn 1782) silvery, referring to silvery scales, as if it were “silver plated” (translation)
Pennahia macrocephalus (Tang 1937) macro-, large; cephalus, head, referring to large and blunt head, 4.0-4.5 times length of snout
Pennahia ovata Sasaki 1996 oval, referring to deep, oval-shaped body
Pennahia pawak (Lin 1940) from Pak wak (=white croaker), its local name in Hong Kong, South China Sea, type locality (also occurs in eastern Indian Ocean from southern Indonesia to Gulf of Thailand and Viêt Nam)
Pentheroscion Trewavas 1962 pentheros, mourning, referring to black lining of mouth and branchial cavity; scion, modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, which Gill selected over “sciaena” because it sounded better (see Cynoscion, above)
Pentheroscion mbizi (Poll 1950) named for Mbizi, non-profit organization that sponsored expedition that collected type (mbizi means fish in one of the local dialects of Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Petilipinnis Casatti 2002 petilus, slender; pinnis, fin, referring to slender anal-fin spine
Petilipinnis grunniens (Jardine & Schomburgk 1843) Latin for grunting, referring to drum-like sounds that resonate from swim bladder of mature males (hence the common names Drum and Croaker); according to Jardine, this fish made a “curious grating noise under a canoe, when she is tied up near their haunts”
Plagioscion Gill 1861 plagio, oblique, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “oblique, nearly parallel” crest and margin of preoperculum; scion, modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, which Gill selected over “sciaena” because it sounded better (see Cynoscion, above)
Plagioscion auratus (Castelnau 1855) golden, referring to its general body color
Plagioscion magdalenae (Steindachner 1878) of the Río Magdalena, Colombia, type locality (also occurs in Brazil)
Plagioscion microps Steindachner 1917 micro-, small; ops, eye, referring to its small eyes, “remarkably similar” (translation) to those of Nebris microps
Plagioscion montei Soares & Casatti 2000 in honor of Sebastião Monte, head of the Department of Oceanography and Limnology at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil) in 1978
Plagioscion squamosissimus (Heckel 1840) very scaly, referring to lateral-line scales formed by single basal larger scale covered by 4-5 smaller scales; anal, pectoral, and pelvic fins with 1-2 rows of small ctenoid scales along their bases (and a few scales on basal half of membranes); and caudal fin almost completely covered by scales
Plagioscion ternetzi Boulenger 1895 in honor of ichthyologist and naturalist Carl Ternetz (1870-1928), who “formed” the collection that contained type
Pogonias Lacepède 1801 bearded, referring to large number of barbels lining lower jaw of P. fasciatus (=cromis)
Pogonias courbina (Lacepède 1803) Portuguese name for this species, equivalent to the Spanish Corvina, diminutive of corvus, crow, and of Corvina, Spanish name for croakers and early generic name, Corvina Cuvier 1829, in the family (preoccupied by Corvina Hahn 1822 in birds), perhaps alluding to crow-like croaking noise that resonates from swim bladder of mature males
Pogonias cromis (Linnaeus 1766) chromis, a name dating to Aristotle, possibly derived from chroemo (to neigh), referring to drum-like sounds that resonate from swim bladder of mature males (spelling appears to be based on Cromis subargenteus oblongus, a pre-Linnaean name dating to Browne’s 1756 Civil and Natural History of Jamaica)
Protonibea Trewavas 1971 protos, first, its characters and wide distribution in the Indo-West Pacific suggesting that it represents a form ancestral to Nibea (and also Daysciaena, Dendrophysa and perhaps Chrysochir)
Protonibea diacanthus (Lacepède 1802) di-, two; acanthus, spine, described as a snapper (Lutjaniformes: Lutjanidae) with two, instead of three, anal-fin spines
Protosciaena Sasaki 1989 protos, first, referring to “primitive nature” and “remote phyletic position” of P. trewavasae, originally placed in Sciaena
Protosciaena bathytatos (Chao & Miller 1975) deepest, occurring at a greater depth (183-549 m), than any known sciaenid at the time
Protosciaena trewavasae (Chao & Miller 1975) in honor of ichthyologist Ethelwynn Trewavas (1900-1993), British Museum (Natural History), for her “valuable contributions” to the study of sciaenids
Pseudolarimichthys Lo, Liu, Mohd Nor & Chen 2017 pseudo-, false, i.e., although similar to (and originally classified as) Larimichthys, such an appearance is false
Pseudolarimichthys terengganui (Seah, Hanafi, Mazlan & Chao 2015 Kuala Terengganu, east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, South China Sea, type locality
Pseudotolithus Bleeker 1863 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus resembles Otolithus (Otolithes) in physiognomy, such a resemblance is false
Subgenus Pseudotolithus
Pseudotolithus brachygnathus Bleeker 1863 brachy, short; gnathus, jaw, referring to shorter upper jaw compared to P. typus and P. macrognathus (=senegalensis)
Pseudotolithus senegalensis (Valenciennes 1833) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gorée, Senegal, type locality (endemic along West Africa from Cape Verde Islands and Mauritania to Angola; rarely in Morocco) [not to be confused with P. senegallus]
Pseudotolithus senegallus (Cuvier 1830) Senegalese, referring to Senegal, type locality (endemic to African coast from Senegal south to Angola) [not to be confused with P. senegalensis]
Pseudotolithus typus Bleeker 1863 serving as type of genus
Subgenus Fonticulus Trewavas 1962 little fountain or spring, referring to fountain-like pattern of appendages on air bladder of P. nigrita (=elongatus)
Pseudotolithus elongatus (Bowdich 1825) referring to “considerably elongated” body (italics in original) compared to “the Sciaena Levistomus of Cuvier” (the identity of “Sciaena Levistomus” is unknown, probably an unpublished museum or manuscript name (Bowditch studied under Cuvier), possibly referring in a general way to sciaenids without chin barbels (laevis, smooth; stomus, mouth) such as this one and P. senegallus described by Cuvier in 1830 (we found no references to barbel-less sciaenids in Cuvier’s pre-1825 publications)
Subgenus Hostia Trewavas 1962 Latin for a sacrificial victim, referring to the fact that the types of P. moorii are reported destroyed by bombing in Liverpool in the war of 1939-45, and those of its synonym Corvina cameronensis Ehrenbaum 1915, were bombed in Hamburg during the same war
Pseudotolithus moorii (Günther 1865) in honor of Thomas John Moore (1824-1892), curator, Free Public Museum of Liverpool, who sent to Günther specimens collected by J. Lewis Ingram in Gambia
Subgenus Pinnacorvina Fowler 1925 pinna, fin, proposed as a subgenus of Johnius with more dorsal-fin rays; corvina, Spanish name for croakers and early generic name, Corvina Cuvier 1829, in the family (preoccupied by Corvina Hahn 1822 in birds), derived from corvus, crow, perhaps alluding to croaking noise that resonates from swim bladder of mature males
Pseudotolithus epipercus (Bleeker 1863) etymology not explained, perhaps epi-, upon, beside, over or after and percus, perch; if so, allusion not evident
Pteroscion Fowler 1925 ptero-, fin, proposed as a subgenus of Larimus with more dorsal-fin rays; scion, modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, which Gill selected over “sciaena” because it sounded better (see Cynoscion, above)
Pteroscion peli (Bleeker 1863) in honor of Hendrik Severinus Pel (1818-1876), Dutch Governor of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), whose “enlightened zeal” (translation) led to the deposition of natural history specimens at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), including type of this species
Pterotolithus Fowler 1933 proposed as a subgenus of Otolithus distinguished by its ptero-, fin, referring to large anal fin of P. maculatus
Pterotolithus lateoides (Bleeker 1849) –oides, having the form of: allusion not explained, perhaps referring to superficial resemblance to Lates (Carangiformes: Centropomidae)
Pterotolithus maculatus (Cuvier 1830) spotted, referring to small, irregular, brown spots on back, sides, caudal and second dorsal fins
Robaloscion Béarez & Schwarzhans 2014 robalo, local Peruvian name for R. wieneri (endemic to Peru); scion, modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa, which Gill selected over “sciaena” because it sounded better (see Cynoscion, above)
Robaloscion wieneri (Sauvage 1883) in honor of Charles Wiener (1851-1913), Austrian-French explorer, linguist and diplomat, who collected type
Roncador Jordan & Gilbert 1880 Spanish name for grunters among California fishermen (type locality: San Diego, California, USA)
Roncador stearnsii (Steindachner 1875) in honor of conchologist Robert Edwards Carter Stearns (1827-1909), “one of the most active and outstanding members of the California Academy of Sciences as a token of my respect” (translation)
Sciaena Linnaeus 1758 presumably from skiaina, Greek name for perch-like marine fishes, now applied to sciaenids
Sciaena callaensis Hildebrand 1946 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Callao Bay, Peru, type locality
Sciaena umbra Linnaeus 1758 shade, possibly referring to its blackish (“nigro varia”) or dark color (especially juveniles); also a name used by early naturalists, equivalent to scion or Sciaena
Sciaenops Gill 1863 ops, appearance, presumably similar to (and previously recognized as) Sciaena
Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus 1766) with eye-like spots, referring to distinctive black spot near base of caudal fin (some individuals exhibit several spots)
Seriphus Ayres 1860 etymology not explained nor evident; Jordan & Evermann (1896) listed three possible explanations, none of which seem to apply: (1) Seriphus (or Serifos), a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, (2) a small winged insect (perhaps from the ancient Greek serphos or seriphos), and (3) a kind of wormwood, very close to Seriphium Linnaeus 1753, a genus of asters
Seriphus politus Ayres 1860 polished, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its silvery sides and belly
Sonorolux Trewavas 1977 sonoros, noisy, referring to drum-like sounds that resonate from swim bladder of mature males; lux, light, referring to yellow, presumably luminous, tissue under scales on ventral part of body
Sonorolux fluminis Trewavas 1977 stream or river, presumably referring to Moratabas, a river estuary near Kuchling, Sarawak, Borneo, type locality
Stellifer Oken 1817 stella, star; fero, to bear, latinization of “Les Stellifères” of Cuvier (1816), referring to radiated appearance of spongy (to touch) suborbital of S. stellifer (proposed without species, so not tautonymous with Bodianus stellifer)
Stellifer brasiliensis (Schultz 1945) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Brazil, “along whose shores the types were collected”
Stellifer cervigoni Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos 2021 in honor of late Fernando Cervigón Marcos (1930-2017), formerly at Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela, for his contributions to ichthyology and for discovering this species
Stellifer chaoi Aguilera, Solano & Valdez 1983 in honor of ichthyologist Ning Labish Chao, then at Fundaçao Universidade do Rio Grande (Brazil), for his “valuable” contributions to the study of sciaenids
Stellifer chrysoleuca (Günther 1867) chrysos, gold; leukos, white, referring to silvery body irregularly mottled with large brownish patches shining gold
Stellifer collettei Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos 2021 in honor of Bruce B. Collette (b. 1935), formerly of the Systematics Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, who collected holotype, and is the principal mentor of the senior author
Stellifer colonensis Meek & Hildebrand 1925 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Colón, Panama, where type locality (Mindi Reef at Mindi) is situated
Stellifer ephelis Chirichigno F. 1974 Greek for freckle, referring to chromatophore pattern on sides of body
Stellifer ericymba (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) eri-, very; cymba, cavity, referring to “extreme” cavernous structure of preopercle, preorbital and cranium
Stellifer fuerthii (Steindachner 1875) in honor of Ignatius Fürth, Austrian Consul at Panama, who donated many specimens to the Vienna Museum, including type of this species
Stellifer gomezi Cervigón 2011 in honor of Alfredo Gómez Gaspar, Cervigón’s colleague and collaborator for more than 30 years, an “excellent and prestigious researcher in the field of marine ecology and aquaculture” (translation)
Stellifer griseus Cervigón 1966 gray, referring to general body color
Stellifer illecebrosus Gilbert 1898 –us, adjectival suffix: illecebra, spur, presumably referring to preopercle with 8-9 rather slender spines, increasing in size toward the angle, with usually the three at the angle enlarged and radiating regularly, and sometimes the lowermost spine directed abruptly downward
Stellifer imiceps (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) imus, lowest; ceps, head, referring to head “very small, narrow, and low”
Stellifer lanceolatus (Holbrook 1855) lanceolate, referring to shape of caudal fin
Stellifer macallisteri Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos 2021 in honor of the late Don E. McAllister (1934-2001), formerly of the National Museum of Natural History, Ottawa, Canada
Stellifer magoi Aguilera 1983 in honor of Francisco Mago-Leccia (1931-2004), for his contributions to the knowledge of Venezuelan fishes
Stellifer mancorensis Chirichigno F. 1962 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Máncora, Peru, type locality
Stellifer melanocheir Eigenmann 1918 melano-, black; cheiros, hand, referring to all but the lower rays of the pectoral fin “nearly black, much darker than the other fins”
Stellifer menezesi Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos 2021 in honor of Naércio Aquino Menezes (b. 1937), Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, for his contributions to neotropical ichthyology and his mentorship of numerous students
Stellifer microps (Steindachner 1864) micro-, small; ops, eye, referring to smaller eyes compared to S. stellifer
Stellifer minor (Tschudi 1846) small or less, presumably referring to smaller size of type specimen (19 cm) compared to that of Sciaena deliciosa (45.72 cm), presumed congener described in same publication (name is unfortunate since this species is one of the largest in the genus)
Stellifer musicki Chao, Carvalho-Filho & Andrade Santos 2021 in honor of the late John (“Jack”) A. Musick (1941-2021), formerly at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary; he was the major professor of the senior author and many other students, including several Brazilian ichthyologists
Stellifer naso (Jordan 1889) long-nosed, referring to “thick, blunt, protruding” snout
Stellifer oscitans (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) yawning, referring to “very wide and oblique” mouth, length of gape twice in length of head
Stellifer pizarroensis Hildebrand 1946 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gulf of Guayaquil, off Puerto Pizarro, Peru, type locality
Stellifer punctatissimus Meek & Hildebrand 1925 very spotted, referring to “lower parts everywhere profusely dotted with brown punctulations”
Stellifer rastrifer (Jordan 1889) rastrum, rake; fero, to bear, referring to longer and more numerous gill rakers compared to the related S. fuerthii
Stellifer scierus (Jordan & Gilbert 1884) dusky, described as “steel-gray above, dull-silvery below, everywhere much soiled with dark brown points”
Stellifer simulus (Gilbert 1898) diminutive of simus, snub-nosed, referring to blunt snout, “scarcely at all compressed, evenly rounded in all directions”
Stellifer stellifer (Bloch 1790) stella, star; fero, to bear, referring to radiated appearance of spongy (to touch) suborbital
Stellifer strabo (Gilbert 1897) squinter or blinkard, referring to small, oblique eyes
Stellifer typicus (Gll 1863) typical, serving as type of genus Ophioscion (=Stellifer)
Stellifer venezuelae (Schultz 1945) of Venezuela, described from near mouth of Caño de Sagua, 25 kilometers north of Sinamaica
Stellifer vermicularis (Günther 1867) vermiculate, presumably referring to “purplish brown streak, obliquely ascending downwards, follow[ing] the middle of each series of scales” (per Günther 1868)
Stellifer walkeri Chao 2001 in honor of Boyd W. Walker, (1917-2001), fisheries biologist, University of California, Los Angeles, for contributing to our knowledge of eastern Pacific shorefishes
Stellifer wintersteenorum Chao 2001 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Chao’s late collaborator John Wintersteen (d. 1989), University of California, Los Angeles, who first recognized this species as distinct in the 1960s, and his mother, Bernice McI. Wintersteen
Stellifer zestocarus Gilbert 1898 zestos, soft-boiled; carus, head, referring to “extremely soft” head, the “bones cavernous”
Totoaba Villamar 1980 local name (also spelled totuava) for T. macdonaldi among the Seri, an indigenous group of Sonora, México
Totoaba macdonaldi (Gilbert 1890) in honor of Marshall McDonald (1835-1895, note latinization of “Mc” to “Mac”), U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries, under whose auspices type was collected
Umbrina Cuvier 1816 –ina, a dimunitive: umbra, shade, a name used by early naturalists, equivalent to scion or Sciaena
Umbrina analis Günther 1868 anal, referring to “very strong” anal-fin spine, more than half as long as head
Umbrina broussonnetii Cuvier 1830 in honor of physician-naturalist Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet (1761-1807), whose collection supplied type [Cuvier apparently misspelled Broussonet’s name, with an extra “n”; since this spelling is in prevailing usage, emendment is not recommended]
Umbrina bussingi López S. 1980 in honor of the author’s husband, ichthyologist William Bussing (1933-2014), Universidad de Costa Rica, for his “valuable contributions” to the knowledge of Costa Rican fishes
Umbrina canariensis Valenciennes 1843 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Canary Islands, type locality (occurs in southern Mediterranean Sea, eastern Atlantic from Bay of Biscay to South Africa, and western Indian Ocean from South Africa, Madagascar and Réunion Island to Pakistan)
Umbrina canosai Berg 1895 in honor of Sabas Canosa, preparator and later conservator at the Museo Nacional de Montevideo (Uruguay), who provided type and many other fishes to the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos Aires
Umbrina cirrosa (Linnaeus 1758) with a curl or tendril, referring to short and rigid barbel on chin
Umbrina coroides Cuvier 1830 –oides, having the form of: similar in color to and initially identified as Sciaena coro (=Conodon nobilis, Lutjaniformes: Haemulidae)
Umbrina dorsalis Gill 1862 of the back, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to more dorsal-fin rays compared to U. xanti, described in same publication (Gill also mentions that the back is tinged with rose and that the dorsal fins are sometimes spotted with black)
Umbrina galapagorum Steindachner 1878 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: referring to Galápagos Islands, where it is endemic
Umbrina imberbis Günther 1873 beardless, referring to chin barbel “reduced to a small nodule between two pairs of mandibular pores” (a doubtful species; known only from type, now lost)
Umbrina milliae Miller 1971 in honor of Miller’s wife Mildred (diminutive, Milly)
Umbrina reedi Günther 1880 in honor Edwyn Charles Reed (1841-1910), English naturalist living in Chile (type locality), who presented type (a skin) to the British Museum “some years ago”
Umbrina robinsoni Gilchrist & Thompson 1908 in honor of John Benjamin Romer Robinson (1869-1949), South African attorney, businessman and recreational angler, who presented many fishes to the South African Museum and Durban Museum, including type of this one
Umbrina roncador Jordan & Gilbert 1882 Spanish name for grunters, alluding to its common name, Yellow-finned Roncador, among California fishermen, derived from rhonchus, Greek for snoring, referring to drum-like sounds that resonate from swim bladder of mature males
Umbrina ronchus Valenciennes 1843 rhonchus, Greek for snoring, referring to drum-like sounds that resonate from swim bladder of mature males
Umbrina steindachneri Cadenat 1951 in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), who provisionally reported this species as Umbrina cirrhosa var. canariensis in 1882
Umbrina wintersteeni Walker & Radford 1992 in honor of the late John Wintersteen (d. 1989), University of California, Los Angeles, “longtime researcher” in the taxonomy of eastern Pacific sciaenids
Umbrina xanti Gill 1862 in honor of John Xantus de Vesey (1825-1894), Hungarian exile and zoologist, who collected type; Gill (1860) praised his “worth and abilities,” obtaining a collection of terrestrial and marine animals from México, including many new species, all in the “highest state of preservation,” despite many obstacles and the “present condition of affairs” in México