Order ATHERINIFORMES: Families ATHERINOPSIDAE, ATHERINIDAE and ATHERIONIDAE

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v. 7.0 – 22 Dec. 2022  view/download PDF

Family ATHERINOPSIDAE New World Silversides
19 genera/subgenera · 110 species

Subfamily ATHERINOPSINAE

Atherinops Steindachner 1876    ops, appearance, proposed as a subgenus of Atherinichthys (=Chirostoma) and perhaps alluding to its similarity to and presumed affinity with Atherina (Atherinidae)

Atherinops affinis (Ayres 1860)    related, referring to previous misidentification as Atherinopsis californiensis, its presumed congener at the time

Atherinopsis Girard 1854    opsis, appearance, referring to similarity to and presumed affinity with Atherina (Atherinidae)

Atherinopsis californiensis Girard 1854    ensis, suffix denoting place: San Francisco, California (USA), type locality (occurs from Oregon to Baja California)

Basilichthys Girard 1855    basileus, king, probably referring to Pez del Rey (“fishes of the king”) or Pexerey (“Royal Fish” or “King Fish”), local names for silversides in some Latin American countries; ichthys, fish

Basilichthys archaeus (Cope 1878)    etymology not explained, presumably archaic (of an early period), possibly referring to Cope’s speculation that this species (which he regarded as a mullet, Mugilidae) represented an intermediate (and therefore basal or primitive) form among the Percesoces, a clade then recognized to include mullets and silversides

Basilichthys australis Eigenmann 1928    southern, referring to its distribution along coast of Chile (Santiago and southward), south of B. microlepidotus (Valparaiso and northward)

Basilichthys microlepidotus (Jenyns 1841)    micro-, small; lepidotus, scaled, referring to its small scales, smaller than those of Odontesthes incisa, described in the same publication and its presumed congener at the time

Basilichthys semotilus (Cope 1874)    marked, presumably referring to broad, lead-colored band on posterior ⅔ of its length

Colpichthys Hubbs 1918    colp, bay; ichthys, fish, i.e., fish of the bay or gulf, referring to Gulf of California, where C. regis occurs

Colpichthys hubbsi Crabtree 1989    in honor of ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), who first collected and recognized specimens of this species and whose contributions to ichthyology are “legion”

Colpichthys regis (Jenkins & Evermann 1889)    of the king, referring to Pez del Rey (“fishes of the king”), local name for silversides among Mexican fishermen in the Gulf of California (type locality)

Leuresthes Jordan & Gilbert 1880    leuros, smooth; esthio, to eat, referring to their toothless jaws

Leuresthes sardina (Jenkins & Evermann 1889)    sardine, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its silvery color and/or sardina, local name for silversides in some areas of Latin America

Leuresthes tenuis (Ayres 1860)    slender, referring to its “elongated, somewhat compressed, very slender” body

Odontesthes Evermann & Kendall 1906    odontos, tooth; esthio, to eat, differing from Basilichthys in having two rows of comparatively long, sharp teeth on each jaw, and conspicuous vomerine teeth, instead of several series of fine sharp teeth and no teeth on the vomer

Subgenus Odontesthes

Odontesthes argentinensis (Valenciennes 1835)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Argentina (but type locality is across the Río de la Plata in Montevideo, Uruguay)

Odontesthes bicudo Malabarba & Dyer 2002    Portuguese word meaning pointed, with a beak, referring to elongated, pointed snout

Odontesthes bonariensis (Valenciennes 1835)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Buenos Aires, Argentina, type locality (type locality also given as Río de la Plata, Montevideo, Uruguay)

Odontesthes crossognathos Wingert, Ferrer, Neves, Baumgartner & Malabarba 2022    krossos, fringe or tassel; gnathos, jaw, referring to its fringed lips due to the presence of dermal papillae

Odontesthes hatcheri (Eigenmann 1909)    in honor of paleontologist John Bell Hatcher (1861-1904), who collected many fishes in Patagonia, including type of this one

Odontesthes humensis de Buen 1953    ensis, suffix denoting place: Hum, local name for the Río Negro of Uruguay, type locality (not to be confused with the Río Negro of the Amazon; also occurs in Argentina and Brazil)

Odontesthes ledae Malabarba & Dyer 2002    in honor of ichthyologist Leda Francisca Armani Jardim, former advisor of several young southern Brazilian undergraduate students at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, in projects related to ichthyology

Odontesthes mirinensis Bemvenuti 1996    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lagoa Mirim (also spelled Mirin), Brazil and Uruguay, type locality

Odontesthes perugiae Evermann & Kendall 1906    in honor of Italian ichthyologist Albert Perugia (1847-1897), Natural History Museum of Genoa, for his work on South American fishes

Odontesthes piquava Malabarba & Dyer 2002    a combination of the names of the lagoas Pinguela, Quadros and Itapeva, three of the interconnected lakes in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where this silverside occurs

Odontesthes retropinnis (de Buen 1953)    retro, back; pinnis, fin, presumably referring to posterior placement of both dorsal fins (instead of only second dorsal fin)

Odontesthes yucuman Wingert, Ferrer & Malabarba 2017    named for Salto do Yucumã in Brazil, an “impressive longitudinal” waterfall that serves as the limit between upper and lower portions of the rio Uruguay basin; this silverside occurs in the upper portion

Subgenus Austromenidia Hubbs 1918    auster, south wind, referring to occurrence on both coasts of southern South America; Menidia, “very closely” resembling this genus

Odontesthes gracilis (Steindachner 1898)    slender, presumably referring to its shape, its largest body height 7-8 times in TL

Odontesthes regia (Humboldt 1821)    royal or kingly, referring to Pexerey (“Royal Fish” or “King Fish”), its local name near Lima, Peru

Odontesthes smitti (Lahille 1929)    in honor of Swedish zoologist Fredrik Adam Smitt (1839-1904), who reported this silverside as a variety of O. regia in 1898; in addition, Smitt’s account of silversides in his 1898 monograph on the fishes of Tierra del Fuego is cited many times by Lahille

Subgenus Cauque Eigenmann 1928    local name for silversides in southern Chile

Odontesthes brevianalis (Günther 1880)    brevis, short; analis, anal, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to fewer anal-fin rays (15) compared to those of presumed congeners (16-27) catalogued by Günther in 1861

Odontesthes incisa (Jenyns 1841)    notched or incised, referring to its “rather peculiar” scales: “the anterior [sic] or free edge of each scale in some instances presenting two or three processes, separated by deep incisions; in others being irregularly notched or jagged”

Odontesthes mauleana (Steindachner 1896)    anum, adjectival suffix: Maule River, Chile, type locality

Odontesthes nigricans (Richardson 1848)    blackish, described as “smoky black” in color, with a silvery stripe along the middle

Odontesthes platensis (Berg 1895)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, type locality (also occurs in Uruguay)

Subfamily MENIDIINAE

Atherinella Steindachner 1875    etymology not explained, presumably a diminutive of Atherina (Atherinidae), which itself is derived from atherine, an ancient name for Atherina hepsetus (Atherinidae), dating to Aristotle

Subgenus Atherinella

Atherinella argentea Chernoff 1986    silvery, referring to prominent silver stripe on sides

Atherinella balsana (Meek 1902)    ana, belonging to: Río Balsas basin, México, where it is endemic

Atherinella beani (Meek & Hildebrand 1923)    patronym not identified but probably in honor of Barton A. Bean (1860-1947), Assistant Curator of Fishes, U.S. National Museum (instead of his better-known brother and boss, Tarleton H. Bean, also an ichthyologist); Barton is acknowledged in the “Introduction” for allowing the authors to study their collections and write their monograph in Barton’s lab

Atherinella callida Chernoff 1986    skillful, crafty or cunning, referring to its having eluded capture but for a single collection

Atherinella chagresi (Meek & Hildebrand 1914)    of the Río Chagres at Gorgona Island, Panama Canal Zone, Panama, type locality (also occurs in Costa Rica)

Atherinella crystallina (Jordan & Culver 1895)    crystalline, referring to window-like appearance of air bladder through translucent muscles

Atherinella elegans Chernoff 1986    tasteful, choice or fine, referring to its “gracious body form and beautiful contrast between the blackened fins and olivaceous to pallid body of males”

Atherinella guatemalensis (Günther 1864)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Guatemala, type locality (also occurs along Pacific slope of México and El Salvador)

Atherinella guija (Hildebrand 1925)    named for Lake Guija, El Salvador, type locality (also occurs along Pacific slope of Guatemala and Honduras)

Atherinella pachylepis (Günther 1864)    pachys, thick; lepis, scale, allusion not explained nor evident; according to Chernoff (1986), referring to its thick scales, which he described as “wider than long, … roundly rhombic to shield-shaped”

Atherinella panamensis Steindachner 1875    ensis, suffix denoting place: Panama, type locality

Atherinella pellosemeion Chernoff 1986    pellos, dark-colored or dusky, semeion, flag, referring to darkly pigmented pelvic fins

Atherinella serrivomer Chernoff 1986    serra, serrate or toothed; vomer, ploughshare, referring to presence of vomerine teeth

Subgenus Allomastax Chernoff 1986    allos, different; mastax, jaw, referring to dorsal process of maxilla large and triangular, instead of elongate or blade-like

Atherinella jiloaensis (Bussing 1979 ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Jiloá, Nicaragua, where it is endemic

Atherinella sardina (Meek 1907)    sardina, its local name at Lake Managua, Nicaragua, type locality (also occurs in Costa Rica)

Subgenus Eurystole Jordan & Evermann 1895    eury, broad; stole, band, referring to wide silvery band of A. eriarcha

Atherinella alvarezi (Díaz-Pardo 1972)    in honor of José Alvarez del Villar (1903-1986), described by others as the “founder of modern Mexican ichthyology”

Atherinella ammophila Chernoff & Miller 1984    ammos, sand; philo, to love, referring to its “apparent ecological preferences,” i.e., occurring over sand

Atherinella blackburni (Schultz 1949)    in honor of Paul P. Blackburn (1883-1970), commanding officer of the U.S.S. Niagara, who made an extensive collection of fishes in the Gulf of Venezuela, including type of this one

Atherinella eriarcha Jordan & Gilbert 1882    eri-, very; archus, anus, referring to very long anal fin, its base three times in body length

Atherinella hubbsi (Bussing 1979)    in honor of Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), “who has done so much for ichthyology, including numerous pioneer publications dealing with Middle American fishes”

Atherinella lisa (Meek 1904)    local name for this species along the Río Tonto drainage of Veracruz, México (also used for mullets)

Atherinella marvelae (Chernoff & Miller 1982)    in honor of museum cataloger Marvel B. Parrington, “whose education and hard work have contributed significantly to ichthyological efforts at the University of Michigan [Museum of Zoology] for the past 17 years”

Atherinella meeki (Miller 1907)    in honor of ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek (1859-1914), Field Columbian Museum (Chicago, Illinois, USA), for his work on Mexican fishes

Atherinella nepenthe (Myers & Wade 1942)    a fictional medicine for sorrow mentioned in Greek mythology, used here as anything that banishes sorrow; “To its users is left the interpretation of the name; let them consider the habits and bright appearance of the fish, the systematic tangle which its discovery cleared up, and the murky future of freedom and science in the world at large at the time [during World War II] the authors immersed themselves in its description”

Atherinella nesiotes (Myers & Wade 1942)    an islander, referring to its occurrence along the islands of the Galapagos Archipelago (also occurs off México and mainland Ecuador)

Atherinella nocturna (Myers & Wade 1942)    of the night, referring to its nocturnal surface-swimming habits

Atherinella pallida (Fowler 1944)    pale, referring to “very pale or light gray” color in alcohol

Atherinella sallei (Regan 1903)    in honor of Auguste Sallé (1820-1896), French traveler and entomologist, who supplied Mexican fishes to the British Museum, including type of this one

Atherinella schultzi (Álvarez & Carranza 1952)   in honor of Leonard P. Schultz (1901-1986), Curator of Fishes, U.S. National Museum, whose 1948 revision of atherine fishes is cited by the authors

Atherinella starksi (Meek & Hildebrand 1923)    in honor of ichthyologist Edwin Chapin Starks (1867-1932), Stanford University, who co-wrote a monograph on the fishes of Panama Bay in 1904

Subgenus Xenomelaniris Schultz 1948    xeno-, different; Melaniris (=Atherinella), a related genus, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to superficial similarity between the two putative genera

Atherinella brasiliensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1825)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, type locality (but occurs throughout northern to southeastern coast of South America)

Atherinella robbersi (Fowler 1950)    in honor of Raymond J. Robbers, Project Manager, Compañia Constructura de Carreteras (Galerazamba, Colombia), who guided Fowler throughout the region and helped him secure some “interesting” fishes, including type of this one

Atherinella venezuelae (Eigenmann 1920)    of Venezuela, type locality (also occurs in Trinidad and Tobago)

Incertae sedis

Atherinella colombiensis (Hubbs 1920)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Pacific slope of Colombia, where it is endemic

Atherinella milleri (Bussing 1979)    in honor of Robert Rush Miller (1916-2003), University of Michigan, “foremost authority on Middle American fishes,” who first recognized this fish as new to science

Chirostoma Swainson 1839    chiro, hand; stoma, mouth, allusion not explained; according to Jordan & Evermann (1896), referring to strong mandible of C. humboldtianum, which protrudes beyond upper jaw

Chirostoma aculeatum Barbour 1973    sharp-pointed, referring to its long, pointed snout

Chirostoma arge (Jordan & Snyder 1899)    silvery, referring to silvery lateral band with dark upper edge extending from upper part of pectoral-fin base to base of caudal fin

Chirostoma attenuatum Meek 1902    tapered or thin, probably referring to its long and slender caudal peduncle

Chirostoma bartoni Jordan & Evermann 1896    in honor of Barton A. Bean (1860-1947), Assistant Curator of Fishes, U.S. National Museum

Chirostoma breve (Steindachner 1894)    short, described at 5.1-5.3 cm in length, much smaller than C. grandocule and Atherinichthys albus (=C. estor), described in the same publication

Chirostoma chapalae Jordan & Snyder 1899    of Lago de Chapala, Jalisco, México, type locality

Chirostoma charari (de Buen 1945)    from the local Mexican vernacular charal or charari, meaning minnow (i.e., a small fish) [extinct]

Chirostoma compressum de Buen 1940    compressed, proposed as a subspecies of C. grandocule with an “extremely thin” (translation) body

Chirostoma contrerasi Barbour 2002    in honor of friend and ichthyologist Salvador Contreras-Balderas (1936-2009), for his many contributions to the study of the systematics, evolution and conservation of Mexican fishes

Chirostoma copandaro de Buen 1945    name of town on western side of Lago de Zirahuén, Michoacán, México, type locality

Chirostoma estor Jordan 1880    eater, a name Lesueur applied to pikes (Esociformes), referring to its large, pike-like head

Chirostoma humboldtianum (Valenciennes 1835   anum, belonging to: Prussian geographer-naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), who described Odontesthes regia in 1821

Chirostoma jordani Woolman 1894    in honor of David Starr Jordan (1851-1931), who reported this species as Chirostoma (now Atherinella) brasiliensis in 1879; he also provided assistance and suggestions in the preparation of Woolman’s paper

Chirostoma labarcae Meek 1902    of La Barca, Jalisco, México, where type locality (Río Lerma) is situated

Chirostoma melanoccus Álvarez 1963    melanos, black; okkos, eye, referring to its black iris

Chirostoma mezquital Meek 1904    named for the Río Mezquital at Durango, México, where this species is endemic to its headwaters

Chirostoma reseratum Álvarez 1963    discovered, referring to the newness (“novedad”) of this taxon

Chirostoma riojai Solórzano & López 1966    in honor of Spanish biologist Enrique Rioja Lo Bianco (1895-1963), for his contributions to Mexican hydrobiology

Chirostoma sphyraena Boulenger 1900    Greek name for barracuda (literally “hammer fish”), referring to barracuda-like body

Chirostoma zirahuen Meek 1902    name after Lago de Zirahuén (Michoacán, México), where it is endemic and where it was the most abundant species in 1902

Labidesthes Cope 1870    labidos, forceps; esthio, eat, referring to prolonged jaws, which form a short, depressed beak

Labidesthes sicculus (Cope 1865)    etymology not explained, perhaps an adjectival form of sicula, dagger, referring to its sharp snout and dagger-like shape; Jordan & Evermann (1896) posit that the name derives from siccus, dry or desiccated, referring to Cope having found his specimens in dried ponds, but these specimens were collected in 1869 from Tennessee, whereas the type specimen came from Michigan ca. 1864

Labidesthes vanhyningi Bean & Reid 1930    in honor of herpetologist Oather C. Van Hyning (1901-1973), who collected type (and not his father Thompson H. Van Hyning, first director of the Florida Museum of Natural History, as is sometimes reported)

Melanorhinus Metzelaar 1919    melano-, black; rhinos, snout, referring to black blotch on snout of M. boekei

Melanorhinus boekei Metzelaar 1919   in honor of Jan Boeke (1874-1956), professor of histology and embryology, University of Utrecht (Netherlands), who studied fisheries in the Dutch West Indies (1904-1905) and collected type of this species

Melanorhinus cyanellus (Meek & Hildebrand 1923)    diminutive of cyano-, dark blue, referring to “dark blue” color above

Melanorhinus microps (Poey 1860)    micro-, small; ops, eye, referring to smaller eyes compared to Atherina laticeps (=Atherinomorus stipes, Atherinidae), its presumed congener, described in the same publication

Membras Bonaparte 1836    Greek word for a kind of herring or anchovy (i.e., a small silvery fish that lives in the sea), dating to at least Aristotle

Membras analis (Schultz 1948)    anal, referring to “far forward” placement of anus compared to congeners

Membras argentea (Schultz 1948)    silvery, presumably referring to silvery lateral band

Membras dissimilis (Carvalho 1956)    different, referring to how it shares characters unique to both M. analis and M. argentea but diverges from them sufficiently enough to warrant separate specific status

Membras gilberti (Jordan & Bollman 1890)    in honor of ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928), who collected type

Membras martinica (Valenciennes 1835)    ica, belonging to: Martinique Island, West Indies, type locality (although record of it occurring there is doubtful, per Chernoff 1986)

Membras procera Chernoff, Machado-Allison, Escobedo, Freiburger, Henderson, Hennessy, Kohn, Neri, Parikh, Scobell, Silverstone & Young 2020    long or slender, referring to its overall shape

Membras pygmaea Chernoff, Machado-Allison, Escobedo, Freiburger, Henderson, Hennessy, Kohn, Neri, Parikh, Scobell, Silverstone & Young 2020    little or dwarf, referring to its diminutive size, <41 mm SL

Menidia Bonaparte 1836    presumably tautonymous with Atherina menidia (no species mentioned), diminutive of mene, moon, ancient name of some small silvery fish, referring to silver-metallic white of its scales

Menidia audens Hay 1882    having gone far from the sea, referring to inland distribution (Mississippi Basin, USA) compared to marine congeners

Menidia beryllina (Cope 1867)    like the mineral beryl (e.g., emerald), presumably referring to “Bright pale olive” body color

Menidia clarkhubbsi Echelle & Mosier 1982    in honor of Clark Hubbs (1921-2008), University of Texas at Austin, for his contributions to ichthyology; he stimulated the authors’ interest in the Menidia of Texas (where this all-female species occurs in the Gulf of Mexico) and discussed the authors’ data

Menidia colei Hubbs 1936    in honor of geneticist and ornithologist Leon J. Cole (1877-1948), who conducted an early fish survey of Yucatán (where this species is endemic) and published his collections (jointly with Thomas Barbour) in 1906

Menidia conchorum Hildebrand & Ginsburg    orum, commemorative suffix, plural: conchs, local name by which natives of Key West, Florida, USA (type locality) are known

Menidia extensa Hubbs & Raney 1946    stretched out, referring to its more slender body compared to congeners

Menidia menidia (Linnaeus 1766)    diminutive of mene, moon, ancient name of some small silvery fish, referring to silver-metallic white of its scales

Menidia peninsulae (Goode & Bean 1879)    of the peninsula, i.e., Florida, referring to Pensacola, Florida, USA, type locality

Poblana de Buen 1945    presumably from poblanos, an inhabitant of Puebla, México, referring to locality of type species, P. alchichica

Poblana alchichica de Buen 1945    named for Lake Alchichica, Puebla, México, where it is endemic

Poblana ferdebueni Solórzano & López 1965    in honor of Spanish ichthyologist and oceanographer Fernando de Buen y Lozano (1895-1962), for his “valuable” (translation) contributions to Mexican ichthyology (he also proposed the genus in 1945)

Poblana letholepis Álvarez 1950    letho, forget; lepis, scales, referring to “more developed nakedness of body” (translation) compared to half-scaled, half-naked P. alchichica

Poblana squamata Álvarez 1950    scaled, referring to its being completely covered by scales compared to half-scaled, half-naked P. alchichica                                

Subfamily NOTOCHEIRINAE Surf Silverside

Notocheirus Clark 1937    notos, back; cheiros, hand, referring to insertion of pectoral fins up near the back, higher than eyes and above beginning of lateral stripe

Notocheirus hubbsi Clark 1937    in honor of ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), an “authority” on silversides, who confirmed the placement of this species, “so strikingly different from any other member of the family,” among silversides and suggested the generic name 


Family ATHERINIDAE Silversides
13 genera · 79 species

Subfamily ATHERINOMORINAE

Alepidomus Hubbs 1944    a-, without; lepid, scale; omos, shoulder, referring to lack of scales on shoulder girdle below pectoral fin

Alepidomus evermanni (Eigenmann 1903)    in honor of ichthyologist Barton Warren Evermann (1853-1932), for his “valuable” work on the fishes of the West Indies, especially those of Puerto Rico

Atherinomorus Fowler 1903    [h]omorus, having the same borders with (i.e., near), proposed as a subgenus of Atherina

Atherinomorus crenolepis (Schultz 1953)    creno-, crenulate; lepis, scale, referring to scales with strongly crenulate posterior edges

Atherinomorus endrachtensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1825)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Eendraghtsland, an early name for Australia, referring to presumed type locality at Shark Bay, Western Australia (apparently erroneous, probably New Guinea or Waigeo Island; specimens may have been mixed up with A. vaigensis due to shipwreck) [spelling sometimes emended to “eendrachtensis” but prevailing usage applies]

Atherinomorus forskalii (Rüppell 1838)    in honor of Swedish explorer and naturalist Peter Forsskål, also known as Petrus Forskål (1732-1763), who reported this species as Atherina hepsetus (published in 1775)

Atherinomorus insularum (Jordan & Evermann 1903)    of an island, “common inside the reef in shallow bays everywhere in the Hawaiian Islands”

Atherinomorus lacunosus (Forster 1801)    full of cavities, referring to pit-like pores on head between eyes (often covered by a large scale)

Atherinomorus pinguis (Lacepède 1803)    fat, fleshy or plump, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to its robust body compared to the slender A. lacunosus

Atherinomorus regina (Seale 1910)    queen, allusion not explained nor evident

Atherinomorus stipes (Müller & Troschel 1848)    log, alluding to its common name in the West Indies, “Loggerhead Fry,” i.e., small fish with big heads, described as “broader than the diameter of an eye, and flat above”

Atherinomorus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1825)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Pulau Waigeo (or Vaigiou), Papua Barat, Indonesia, presumed type locality (apparently erroneous, probably Shark Bay, Western Australia, or Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia; specimens may have been mixed up with A. endrachtensis due to shipwreck)

Doboatherina Sasaki & Kimura 2019    dobo, local name of atherinid fishes in Mie Prefecture, Japan; Atherina, type genus of family

Doboatherina aetholepis (Kimura, Iwatsuki & Yoshino 2002)    aethes, unusual or strange; lepis, scale, referring to scales with long spatular outgrowth posteriorly along dorsal midline anterior to second dorsal-fin

Doboatherina balabacensis (Seale 1910)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Balabac Island, Philippines, type locality (type lost during WW2; also known from Ticao, Palawan and Cuyo islands)

Doboatherina bleekeri (Günther 1861)    in honor of Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878), who reported this species as Atherina japonica (preoccupied by Atherina japonica Houttuyn 1782, now known as Hypoatherina tsurugae) in 1853

Doboatherina duodecimalis (Valenciennes 1835)    –alis, adjectival suffix: duodecim, twelve, referring to 12 (sometimes 13) anal-fin rays

Doboatherina iwatsukii Sasaki, Kimura & Satapoomin 2019    in honor of Yukio Iwatsuki, University of Miyazaki (Miyazaki, Japan), whose collections of atherinid species greatly contributed to the authors’ study

Doboatherina magnidentata Sasaki, Kimura, Satapoomin & Nguyen 2019    magni-, large; dentata, toothed, referring to large teeth on premaxilla, vomer and endopterygoid

Doboatherina palauensis Kimura, Takeda, Gotoh & Hanzawa 2020    -ensis, suffix denoting place: Palau Islands, where type locality (Mecherchar Island) is situated

Doboatherina salangensis Sasaki, Kimura & Satapoomin 2019    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Salang (now Phuket), Thailand, only known area of occurrence

Doboatherina valenciennei (Bleeker 1854)    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Achille Valenciennes (1794-1865), co-author of the 22-volume Histoire Naturelle des Poissons (1828-1850), a basic reference for Bleeker and other ichthyologists of the time [note: Bleeker often spelled Valenciennes without the “s”; see Valenciennea (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae)]

Doboatherina woodwardi (Jordan & Starks 1901)    in honor of paleontologist Arthur Smith Woodward (1864-1944), British Museum, for his work on fish osteology (he authored Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum [1889-1901] and described the Piltdown Man in 1912, which proved to be fraudulent)

Doboatherina yoshinoi Sasaki & Kimura 2019    in honor of Tetsuo Yoshino, University of the Ryukyus, for his “valuable contributions” to systematics on fishes in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

Hypoatherina Schultz 1948    hypo-, under, allusion not explained, possibly referring to anus behind tips of pelvic fins; Atherina, type genus of family

Hypoatherina barnesi Schultz 1953    in honor of oceanographer Clifford A. Barnes, project officer of the U.S.S. Bowditch during Operations Crossroads (studying effects of atomic bombs on Bikini Atoll) in 1946

Hypoatherina celebesensis Sasaki & Kimura 2012    ensis, suffix denoting place: island of Celebes, now Sulawesi, Indonesia (also occurs in Singapore and Palau)

Hypoatherina gobio (Klunzinger 1884)    gudgeon, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its cylindrical body, more like a gudgeon than Atherinimorus pinguis and A. forskalii, its presumed congeners at the time

Hypoatherina golanii Sasaki & Kimura 2012    in honor of Daniel Golani, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for his “valuable” contributions to systematics of fishes in the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean

Hypoatherina klunzingeri (Smith 1965)    in honor of German physician and zoologist Carl Benjamin Klunzinger (1834-1914), whose 1870 synopsis of Red Sea fishes is cited many times by Smith

Hypoatherina lunata Sasaki & Kimura 2012    crescent moon, referring to distinct crescent marking anterior to eye

Hypoatherina macrophthalma Sasaki & Kimura 2012    macro-, large; ophthalmus, eye, referring to larger eyes compared to the similar H. celebesensis and H. ovalaua

Hypoatherina ovalaua (Herre 1935)    from Ovalau Island, Fiji Islands, type locality (occurs in Western Pacific from Papua New Guinea east to Fiji)

Hypoatherina panatela (Jordan & Richardson 1908)    Spanish name for a long and slender cigar, presumably referring to its long and slender shape

Hypoatherina temminckii (Bleeker 1854)    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858), director of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), and co-author of the vertebrate sections of Fauna Japonica (1843-1850), which Bleeker consulted

Hypoatherina tropicalis (Whitley 1948)    tropical, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to type locality (near Bowen) in Tropical North Queensland

Hypoatherina tsurugae (Jordan & Starks 1901)    of Tsuruga, Fukui, Japan, one of the paratype localities (also occurs off Korea)

Hypoatherina uisila (Jordan & Seale 1906)    local Samoan name for this species

Hypoatherina villosa (Duncker & Mohr 1926)    rough, presumably referring to “entire muzzle occupied with fine, rigid spines” (translation)

Teramulus Smith 1965    etymology not explained, perhaps diminutive of teramus, soft, possibly referring to toothless palatine bone (i.e.., a soft palate) compared to toothed palatine bone of Pranesus (=Atherinomorus)

Teramulus kieneri Smith 1965    in honor of André Kiener, French fisheries researcher who helped collect type and reported it as Atherina (now Atherinomorus) duodecimalis in 1961

Teramulus waterloti (Pellegrin 1932)    in honor of Georges Waterlot (1877-1939), who collected specimens for the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) in French West Africa and Madagascar, including type of this one

Subfamily ATHERININAE Silversides

Atherina Linnaeus 1758    derived from atherine, an ancient name for Atherina hepsetus (Atherinidae), dating to Aristotle, itself possibly derived from ather, a spike of wheat

Atherina boyeri Risso 1810    in honor of Guillaume Boyer, an historic son of Nice, France (type locality), a naturalist, poet and mathematician whose “love poems were sung by all the troubadours of the 13th century” (translation)

Atherina breviceps Valenciennes 1835    brevis, short; ceps, head, referring to its shorter head compared to A. carolina (possibly a specimen of the European A. boyeri, wrongly attributed to the coast of South Carolina, USA)

Atherina caspia Eichwald 1831    from the Caspian Sea drainage, where it is endemic

Atherina harringtonensis Goode 1877    ensis, suffix denoting place: Harrington Sound, a “beautiful little lagoon” in Bermuda, type locality

Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus 1758    a name dating to at least Hasselquist (1749), which Linnaeus edited, probably derived from hepsetos, ancient Greek for any small fish that is boiled for human consumption (as indeed this species, the Mediterranean Sand Smelt, most assuredly was)

Atherina lopeziana Rossignol & Blache 1961    iana, belonging to: Point Clairette, immediately north of Cape Lopez, Gabon, type locality

Atherina presbyter Cuvier 1829    an elder or minister of the Christian Church, latinization of French vernacular name Prêtre, meaning priest, because of silvery band on flanks, which resembles a stole (strip of fabric used as an ecclesiastical vestment)

Atherinason Whitley 1934    Atherina, original genus of A. dannevigi (=hepsetoides); nason, French equivalent of naso, long-nosed, referring to its long snout

Atherinason hepsetoides (Richardson 1843)    oides, having the form of: “corresponding very closely in external form” with Atherina hepsetus

Atherinosoma Castelnau 1872    soma, body, i.e., having the “General form” of Atherina

Atherinosoma elongatum (Klunzinger 1879)    elongate, referring to longer body compared to Atherinomorus pinguis and Hypoatherina valenciennei, its presumed congeners at the time

Atherinosoma microstoma (Günther 1861)    micro-, small; stoma, mouth, described as “rather small, the maxillary not extending to the anterior margin of the eye”

Kestratherina Pavlov, Ivantsoff, Last & Crowley 1988    kestra, pointed at one end, referring to pike-like snout and head; atherina, used here as a generic suffix for silversides, derived from atherine, an ancient name for Atherina hepsetus, dating to Aristotle

Kestratherina brevirostris Pavlov, Ivantsoff, Last & Crowley 1988    brevis, short; rostrum, snout, referring to shorter snout compared to K. esox

Kestratherina esox (Klunzinger 1872)    pike-like, allusion not explained, probably referring to produced snout and flat head, similar to pikes (Esox, Esocidae)

Leptatherina Pavlov, Ivantsoff, Last & Crowley 1988    leptos, thin, referring to more slender bodies compared to Atherinosoma species; atherina, used here as a generic suffix for silversides, derived from atherine, an ancient name for Atherina hepsetus, dating to Aristotle

Leptatherina presbyteroides (Richardson 1843)   oides, having the form of: referring to how it “strongly” resembles Atherina presbyter

Leptatherina wallacei (Prince, Ivantsoff & Potter 1982)    in honor of fisheries biologist John H. Wallace, “whose cooperation and encouragement” during the authors’ study of Australian atherinids was “invaluable”; Wallace set up Potter’s fish-sampling laboratory and was regarded as its “unsung hero” (Jeremy Prince, pers. comm.)

Subfamily CRATEROCEPHALINAE Hardyheads

Craterocephalus McCulloch 1912    krateros, strong, hard or sturdy; cephalus, head, presumably a Latin transliteration of “hardyhead,” an Australian name for atherinids in use since at least 1881, perhaps referring to what appears to be a bony head with a thin epithelium

Craterocephalus amniculus Crowley & Ivantsoff 1990    small creek or stream, referring to its habitat

Craterocephalus capreoli Rendahl 1922    of a capreol (a roebuck deer), referring to Roebuck Bay, Western Australia, type locality

Craterocephalus centralis Crowley & Ivantsoff 1990    central, referring to its provenance in Central Australia (Northern Territory)

Craterocephalus cuneiceps Whitley 1944    cuneus, wedge; cephalus, head, referring to flat head, tapering down towards ventral profile

Craterocephalus dalhousiensis Ivantsoff & Glover 1974    ensis, suffix denoting place: Dalhousie Springs, Lake Eyre basin, South Australia, where it is endemic

Craterocephalus eyresii (Steindachner 1883)    of the Lake Eyre basin, South Australia, where it is endemic

Craterocephalus fistularis Crowley, Ivantsoff & Allen 1995    of a pipe or flute, referring to slightly extended upper and lower jaws, which give the mouth a flute- or funnel-like appearance

Craterocephalus fluviatilis McCulloch 1912    of a river, referring to its occurrence in freshwater rivers (but also occurs in billabongs, lagoons and water holes)

Craterocephalus fulvus Ivantsoff, Crowley & Allen 1987    brownish yellow, referring to its yellow or tawny hue

Craterocephalus gloveri Crowley & Ivantsoff 1990    in honor of John Glover (1935-1992), Curator of Fishes, South Australian Museum, who “has done so much to further the knowledge and understanding of the fishes of Central Australia” (note: three species from Dalhousie Springs are named after Glover: this silverside, the catfish Neosilurus gloveri, and the goby Chlamydogobius gloveri)

Craterocephalus helenae Ivantsoff, Crowley & Allen 1987    in honor of the senior author’s wife, Helena

Craterocephalus honoriae (Ogilby 1912)    in honor of Honor Coralie Hamlyn-Harris, one of three daughters of entomologist Ronald Hamlyn-Harris (1874-1953), Director of the Queensland Museum when Ogilby was Ichthyology Curator and editor of journal in which description appeared

Craterocephalus kailolae Ivantsoff, Crowley & Allen 1987    in honor of Patricia J. Kailola, a “major contributor” to the knowledge of ichthyology of Papua New Guinea; “Without her help much of the work on Papua New Guinea species of Craterocephalus would have been very difficult”

Craterocephalus lacustris Trewavas 1940    lacustrine (belonging to a lake), referring to Lake Kutubu, Papua New Guinea, elevation 808 m, where it is endemic

Craterocephalus laisapi Larson, Ivantsoff & Crowley 2005    name that the people from Muapiting/Malahara (East Timor) were given when they came to Los Palos (a village near the Ira Siquero River, type locality), because they caught very small fish, such as hardyheads

Craterocephalus lentiginosus Ivantsoff, Crowley & Allen 1987   freckled, referring to fine peppering of melanophores concentrated on each upper-body scale of adults

Craterocephalus marianae Ivantsoff, Crowley & Allen 1987    in honor of the senior author’s daughter, Mariana

Craterocephalus marjoriae Whitley 1948    matronym not identified, possibly in honor of Marjorie Frewer, Whitley’s sister (it is perhaps relevant to note than in 1951 Whitley described a hardyhead named Atherinason dannevigi verae, now a synonym of A. hepsetoides; Vera was another of Whitley’s sisters)

Craterocephalus mugiloides (McCulloch 1912)    oides, having the form of: Mugil (Mugilidae), allusion not explained but clearly referring to its mullet-like appearance

Craterocephalus munroi Crowley & Ivantsoff 1988    in honor of Australian ichthyologist Ian S. R. Munro (1919-1994), who first suspected this fish to be new and who had “always a special interest in the family Atherinidae”

Craterocephalus nouhuysi (Weber 1910)    in honor of Capt. Jan Willem van Nouhuys (1869-1963), Dutch naval officer, “essential to the brilliant successes” (translation) of two expeditions to New Guinea (type locality)

Craterocephalus pauciradiatus (Günther 1861)    paucus, few; radiatus, rayed, allusion not explained, presumably referring to fewer dorsal- and anal-fin rays compared to most of its presumed congeners in Atherina

Craterocephalus pimatuae Crowley, Ivantsoff & Allen 1991    of the junction of Pima and Tua Rivers, Papua New Guinea, type locality

Craterocephalus randi Nichols & Raven 1934    in honor of ornithologist Austin L. Rand (1905-1982), who helped collect type

Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum (Günther 1867)    stercus, dung; muscarum, of flies, i.e., fly-specked, presumably referring to black dot at base of each scale

Craterocephalus stramineus (Whitley 1950)    straw-like, referring to its “straw-yellowish” color in alcohol

Sashatherina Ivantsoff & Allen 2011    Sasha, named for the first author’s son, who frequently assisted his father on collecting trips “without any official acknowledgement so far of his being so helpful”; atherina, used here as a generic suffix for silversides, derived from atherine, an ancient name for Atherina hepsetus, dating to Aristotle

Sashatherina gigantea Ivantsoff & Allen 2011    gigantic, referring to its “unusual” size (15.8 cm SL, with unconfirmed reports suggesting it reaches 35 cm TL), as most Old World atherinids rarely exceed 10 cm SL

Subfamily BLEHERATHERININAE New Caledonian Silverside

Bleheratherina Aarn & Ivantsoff 2009    Bleher, in honor of explorer and ornamental-fish wholesaler and supplier Heiko Bleher (b. 1944), who collected type with his friend Paola Pierucci, “both having collected in the most inaccessible parts of the world frequently under the most difficult conditions”; atherina, used here as a generic suffix for silversides, derived from atherine, an ancient name for Atherina hepsetus, dating to Aristotle

Bleheratherina pierucciae Aarn & Ivantsoff 2009    in honor of Paola Pierucci, who collected type with her friend Heiko Bleher (see genus)


Family ATHERIONIDAE Pricklenose Silversides

Atherion Jordan & Starks 1901    diminutive of ather, the rough spike of wheat, referring to similarity to and/or presumed relationship with Atherina (Atherinidae)

Atherion africanum Smith 1965    African, referring to its occurrence in the Indian Ocean from South Africa to Madagascar

Atherion elymus Jordan & Starks 1901    Elymus, genus of rye grasses, referring to small, sharp, tooth-like spines set in rows on head

Atherion maccullochi Jordan & Hubbs 1919    in honor of Allan Riverstone McCulloch (1885-1925), Curator of Fishes, Australian Museum, who provided type