COMMENTS
v. 13.0 – 29 Sept. 2024  view/download PDF

Family BLENNIIDAE Combtooth Blennies
64 genera/subgenera · 416 species/subspecies

Subfamily SALARIINAE

Aidablennius Whitley 1947    Aida, allusion not explained, but since Whitley coined fish names inspired by literary characters (e.g., Figaro, Malvoliophus) and is reported to have been fond of music and theatre, this may be an allusion to Verdi’s 1871 opera Aida, which takes place in Egypt, possibly referring to the name (sphynx) of its only species (although this blenny occurs in the Black Sea and Mediterranean and likely was not named for the sphinxes of Egypt; see below) and (as Whitley noted) to this genus’ equivalency with the “Sphynx” group of subgenus Salarias as proposed by Norman (1944), or, per evolutionary biologist Sarah B.M. Kraak (2008), possibly drawing a parallel between Aida, who in Verdi’s opera waited in a cave for her lover, and the male of this blenny, which waits for its mate in a cave (although we doubt that Whitley knew of this breeding behavior); blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids [note: FishBase reports that name is derived from Aides, or Hades, the god of death and the dead and king of the underworld, but we see nothing in this lovely blenny that would justify such a dark name]

Aidablennius sphynx (Valenciennes 1836)    etymology not explained, possibly named for its sphynx moth- or butterfly-like appearance: “a charming little species with a high dorsal [fin] like the butterfly blenny [Blennius ocellaris], and dressed in the most beautiful colors” (translation)

Alloblennius Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    allos, different or strange; blennius, blenny (derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids), referring to “unusual discovery” of a blenny genus at the time known only from the Red Sea

Alloblennius anuchalis (Springer & Spreitzer 1978)    a-, not; nuchalis, nuchal, referring to absence of nape cirri, exceptional for an Antennablennius (presumed genus at the time) species

Alloblennius frondiculus Smith-Vaniz & Allen 2012    a small leaf, referring to shape of orbital cirrus

Alloblennius jugularis (Klunzinger 1871)    jugular (located in front of pectoral fins), allusion not explained, perhaps referring to yellow or yellow and black-spotted breast

Alloblennius parvus Springer & Spreitzer 1978    little, referring to small size (up to 25.7 mm SL)

Alloblennius pictus (Lotan 1970)    painted or colored, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to any or all of the following: two lines of brown dotted rings on body, becoming brown spots towards the head; row of half-dotted rings at base of dorsal fin; line of white spots on lower half of body, from pectoral fin to tail; line of brown dots along lower third of anal fin

Alticus Lacepède 1800    from l’altique sauteur, meaning “high jumper,” referring to how, when grazing on algae outside the water on exposed rocks of the tidal zone, they skip and jump like wet lizards, especially when approached

Alticus aldabrensis (Regan 1912)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Aldabra Island, Indian Ocean, type locality

Alticus anjouanae (Fourmanoir 1955)     of Anjouan Island, Comoro Islands, southwestern Indian Ocean, type locality [placed in Andamia, its original genus, by some workers]

Alticus arnoldorum (Curtiss 1938)    –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: eponym not identified; one of seven fishes given the same name in Curtiss’ privately printed book on the fauna of Tahiti, possibly in honor of amateur naturalist Augusta Foote Arnold (1844-1903), whose 1901 book The Sea-Beach at Ebb-Tide: A Guide to the Study of the Seaweeds and the Lower Animal Life Found Between Tidemarks is mentioned by Curtiss and may have inspired him to follow her example and publish a book of his own

Alticus kirkii (Günther 1868)    in honor of John Kirk (1832-1922), Scottish physician, naturalist and explorer, who presented fishes to the British Museum, including type of this one

Alticus magnusi (Klausewitz 1964)    in honor of ethologist Dietrich B. E. Magnus, who collected type

Alticus monochrus Bleeker 1869    monos, one; chroa, color of body or skin, referring to uniform “deep purple-black” (translation) color of body and fins, without stripes or spots (presumably color in alcohol since living specimens are indeed spotted with short vertical bands)

Alticus montanoi (Sauvage 1880)    in honor of French ethnologist Joseph Montano (1844-ca. 1886), who collected type with Paul Rey (see Andamia reyi)

Alticus orientalis Tomiyama 1955    eastern, “Named in reference to the Orient” (described from Japan)

Alticus saliens (Lacepède 1800)    leaping or jumping, referring to how, when grazing on algae outside the water on exposed rocks of the tidal zone, they skip and jump like wet lizards, especially when approached [authorship often incorrectly attributed to (Forster 1788)]

Alticus sertatus (Garman 1903)    wreathed or garlanded, allusion not explained, probably referring to pinnately branched orbital cirri

Alticus simplicirrus Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    simpli-, simple; cirrus, curl or tendril, referring to simple (as opposed to pinnately branched) orbital cirri

Andamia Blyth 1858    –ia, belonging to: Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal, type locality of A. expansa

Andamia aequipinnis (Günther 1861)     aequalis, equal; pinna, fin, presumably referring to distinctly notched dorsal fin, divided into two more or less equal portions

Andamia amphibius (Walbaum 1792)    amphi-, double; bios, life, i.e., living a double life, referring to its occurrence both on land (exposed rocks of tidal zone) and water

Andamia cyclocheilus Weber 1909    cyclo-, circular; cheilos, lips, referring to suction disc on lower lips that allows it to cling to wet rocks out of the water

Andamia expansa Blyth 1858    spread out, presumably referring to “large expanded” pectoral and caudal fins and “permanently expanded” anal fin

Andamia heteroptera (Bleeker 1857)    hetero-, different; pterus, fin, referring to four ventral-fin rays (vs. two) and unbranched caudal-fin rays, different from its presumed congeners in Salarias

Andamia pacifica Tomiyama 1955    –ica, belonging to the Pacific Ocean, referring to distribution in the western North Pacific

Andamia reyi (Sauvage 1880)    in honor of French physician Paul Rey (1849-?), who collected type with Joseph Montano (see Alticus montanoi)

Andamia tetradactylus (Bleeker 1858)    tetra-, four; dactylus, finger, referring to four ventral-fin rays (vs. two), different from presumed congeners in Salarias

Antennablennius Fowler 1931    antenna, tentacle, referring to “long, conic, fleshy tentacle at each nostril, longer than the eye and reaching the mouth”; Blennius, proposed as a subgenus of that genus

Antennablennius adenensis Fraser-Brunner 1951    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gulf of Aden, Yemen, type locality (also occurs in Red Sea and Persian Gulf)

Antennablennius australis Fraser-Brunner 1951    southern, presumably referring to its more southern distribution (eastern coast of South Africa) compared to A. hypenetes, with which it had been confused

Antennablennius bifilum (Günther 1861)    bi-, two; filum, thread, referring to pair of slender filaments between occiput and neck, one placed at the side of the other

Antennablennius ceylonensis Bath 1983    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ceylon, former name of Sri Lanka, where type locality (Marble Point, Trincomalee) is situated

Antennablennius hypenetes (Klunzinger 1871)    one who is growing a beard, referring to its conspicuous nasal cirrhi, usually longer than the eyes, reaching down over the mouth like a moustache, giving it a somewhat comical appearance

Antennablennius persicus (Regan 1905)       –icus (L.), belonging to: Persian Gulf, type locality

Antennablennius sexfasciatus (von Bonde 1923)    sex, six; fasciatus, banded, referring to six “well-marked” transverse bars on body extending to dorsal fins

Antennablennius simonyi (Steindachner 1902)    in honor of Austrian mathematician and entomologist Oskar Simony (1852-1915), member of Socotra expedition during which type was collected; he cared for the fish collections, which arrived in Steindachner’s hands impeccably preserved (per Steindachner 1903)

Antennablennius variopunctatus (Jatzow & Lenz 1898)    vario-, variable; punctatus, spotted, presumably referring to scattered red dots on head and longer blue dots on sides of living specimens

Atrosalarias Whitley 1933    atro-, black, presumably referring to largely uniform dark-brown coloration of A. phaiosoma (=fuscus); Salarias, a related genus and original genus of A. fuscus

Atrosalarias fuscus (Rüppell 1838)    dusky, referring to largely uniform dark-brown coloration

Atrosalarias holomelas (Günther 1872)    holo-, entire; melas, black, described as entirely black

Atrosalarias hosokawai Suzuki & Senou 1999    in honor of diver and underwater photographer Masatomi Hosokawa (Kawanishi, Hyogo, Japan), who provided some of the first specimens

Bathyblennius Bath 1977    bathy, deep, referring to deepwater habitat (101-128 m) habitat of B. antholops; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Bathyblennius antholops (Springer & Smith-Vaniz 1970)    a horned animal, probably the antelope, presumably referring to long, rod-like cirri on each eye

Blenniella Reid 1943    –iella, a diminutive, i.e., a small blenny, probably referring to small size (22.6 mm) of B. rhessodon, which Reid did not realize was a postlarval or prejuvenile B. gibbifrons

Blenniella bilitonensis (Bleeker 1858)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: western Belitung (then spelled Biliton) Island, Indonesia, type locality (occurs elsewhere in Indo-West Pacific, from Singapore and Gulf of Thailand to Indonesia and Molucca Islands, north to Philippines, Taiwan and Ryukyu Islands, south to Northern Territory of Australia)

Blenniella caudolineata (Günther 1877)    caudo-, tail; lineatus, lined, referring to fine, dusky spots on each ray of caudal fin, which form up to six irregular black longitudinal lines

Blenniella chrysospilos (Bleeker 1857)    chrysos, gold; spilos, spot, referring to golden (but usually red) spots on head and body

Blenniella cyanostigma (Bleeker 1849)    cyano-, blue; stigma, mark or spot, referring to dark-blue spot behind eye and opercle (present on adult males but commonly absent)

Blenniella gibbifrons (Quoy & Gaimard 1824)    gibbus, hump; frons, forehead, referring to its “obtuse, rounded, truncated forehead, so pronounced that it forms an angle of more than 90˚” (translation)

Blenniella interrupta (Bleeker 1857)    broken apart, referring to “brown, often broken, longitudinal brown stripes on body and tail” (translation)

Blenniella leopardus (Fowler 1904)    referring to leopard-like pattern of blackish-brown spots on vertical fins and posterior half of body

Blenniella paula (Bryan & Herre 1903)    small, allusion not explained; described at “99 mm. long” with “small” pectinate teeth and a “small” dark brown line slightly below and back of eye

Blenniella periophthalmus (Valenciennes 1836)    etymology not explained; based on “Periophthalmus elegans,” a ms. name assigned by Quoy & Gaimard, who believed this blenny belonged to the mudskipper genus Periophthalmus (Gobiiformes: Oxudercidae) based on its brightly colored and close-set eyes

Chalaroderma Norman 1944    chalaros, loose; derma, skin, referring to “loose and flabby” skin of C. capito, “almost completely enveloping” dorsal and anal fins

Chalaroderma capito (Valenciennes 1836)    large head, described as “four times and three quarters in [standard] length, nearly as wide as it is deep” (translation)

Chalaroderma ocellata (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908)    with eye-like spots, presumably referring to ocellated spot on first dorsal fin

Chasmodes Valenciennes 1836    yawning or gaping, referring to large mouth opening of C. bosquianus

Chasmodes bosquianus (Lacepède 1800)    –ianus, belonging to: French naturalist Louis-Augustin Bosc d’Antic (1759-1828), whose field notes and illustration served as the basis for Lacepède’s description

Chasmodes longimaxilla Williams 1983    longus, long; maxilla, jawbone, referring to significantly larger maxillary bones compared to C. bosquianus

Chasmodes saburrae Jordan & Gilbert 1882    of ballast, referring to how some of the type series were captured from wharves, “where it abounds among the ballast rocks (saburra) on which the wharves are built”

Cirripectes Swainson 1839    cirrus, curl or tendril; pectes, etymology not explained, perhaps fix or compacted, possibly referring to “semicircle of tentaculi, or cirri, round the mouth and nape” of C. variolosus (Swainson also spelled the name as “Cirripectus,” in which case pectus could mean breast or chest, but cirri do not occur in this area)

Cirripectes alboapicalis (Ogilby 1899)    albus, white; apicalis, at the apex, referring to pale areas at tips of dorsal-fin spines

Cirripectes alleni Williams 1993    in honor of ichthyologist Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), who collected and photographed all specimens known at the time in the Kimberly Region, Western Australia

Cirripectes auritus Carlson 1981    eared, referring to enlarged black nuchal flap on either side of nape

Cirripectes castaneus (Valenciennes 1836)    chestnut, referring to uniform brown coloration of holotype in alcohol

Cirripectes chelomatus Williams & Maugé 1984    notched, referring to slight notch in dorsal-fin membrane above 12th spine

Cirripectes filamentosus (Alleyne & Macleay 1877)    presumably referring to filamentous dorsal-fin spine of adults

Cirripectes fuscoguttatus Strasburg & Schultz 1953    fuscus, dusky or dark; guttatus, spotted, referring to “profusion” of brown spots on body and fins

Cirripectes gilberti Williams 1988    in honor of ichthyologist Carter R. Gilbert (b. 1930), Florida State Museum of Natural History, who provided assistance and encouragement during the course of Williams’ revision of the genus

Cirripectes heemstraorum Williams 2010    –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of ichthyologists Phillip C. (1941-2019) and Elaine Heemstra, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, for contributions to our knowledge of marine fishes, particularly from South Africa, who collected all known specimens of this blenny and provided a color photograph showing its life colors

Cirripectes hutchinsi Williams 1988     in honor of Western Australian Museum (Perth) fish curator J. Barry Hutchins (b. 1946), who collected most of the known specimens, provided information on their ecology, and gave Williams color slides of both sexes

Cirripectes imitator Williams 1985    mimic, referring to its color pattern, similar to those of C. polyzona and C. castaneus

Cirripectes jenningsi Schultz 1943    in honor of Alexander Jennings, managing owner of Swains Island, Phoenix Islands, American Samoa (type locality), whose “kindness” made Schultz’ visit to the island “most pleasant”

Cirripectes kuwamurai Fukao 1984    in honor of fish ecologist Tetsuo Kuwamura (1950-2024), Chukyo University (Aichi Prefecture, Japan), who collected holotype

Cirripectes matatakaro Hoban & Williams 2020    from the i-Kiribati words mata, eye and, takaro, ember or burning coal, referring to its “large, eager-seeming eyes” and red slashes on face, reminiscent of smoldering embers or burning coals; named in the i-Kiribati language to honor the people and culture of Kiribati (island nation in the Pacific), where the senior author first encountered and collected this species

Cirripectes obscurus (Borodin 1927)    dark, referring to dark or mottled brown color of adults

Cirripectes perustus Smith 1959    burned up, presumably referring to bright red and yellow body

Cirripectes polyzona (Bleeker 1868)    poly, many; zona, band or belt, referring to barred color pattern of adults

Cirripectes quagga (Fowler & Ball 1924)    from the zebra, Equus quagga, referring to its “rather obscure cross lines or bands”

Cirripectes randalli Williams 1988    in honor of John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for his many contributions to tropical marine ichthyology (he also collected type of C. springeri)

Cirripectes springeri Williams 1988    in honor of ichthyologist Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), U.S. National Museum, for many contributions to blennioid systematics (he also collected type of C. randalli)

Cirripectes stigmaticus Strasburg & Schultz 1953    marked, referring to white and dark spots on body

Cirripectes vanderbilti (Fowler 1938)    in honor of yachtsman and explorer George W. Vanderbilt III (1914-1961), who organized 1937 expedition to the South Pacific, during which type was collected

Cirripectes variolosus (Valenciennes 1836)    smallpox, referring to whitish spots on cheek and front of snout, “which look like pustules of smallpox” (translation)

Cirripectes viriosus Williams 1988    robust or strong, referring to its robust body

Cirrisalarias Springer 1976    cirri, tufts of hair, referring to numerous cirri on head; Salarias, a salariinine blenny

Cirrisalarias bunares Springer 1976    bu-, large; nares, nostrils, referring to relatively large anterior and posterior nostrils, their greatest diameter equal to ~1/3 orbital diameter

Coryphoblennius Norman 1944    corypho-, top, presumably referring to fringed, fleshy crest between eyes; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Coryphoblennius galerita (Linnaeus 1758)    a name dating to Rondelet (1555), wearing a cap or hood, referring to fringed, fleshy crest between the eyes

Crossosalarias Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    krosso, fringe or tassel, referring to cirri associated with preoperculomandibular pores; Salarias, genus it most closely resembles  

Crossosalarias macrospilus Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    macro-, large; spilos, spot, referring to conspicuous black predorsal spot

Dodekablennos Springer & Spreitzer 1978    dodeka, twelve, referring to characteristic dorsal-fin spine and pectoral-fin ray counts of 12; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Dodekablennos fraseri Springer & Spreitzer 1978    in honor of Thomas H. Fraser, Mote Marine Laboratory (Sarasota, Florida, USA), who “collected all the specimens, recognized their distinctiveness, but allowed us to describe them”

Ecsenius McCulloch 1923    etymology not explained, perhaps ec-, from ec-qui, really; senio, six each, referring to lateral row of 6-7 cardiform teeth extending backwards on mandible, considered to be its main distinguishing character (Ronald Fricke, pers. comm.)

Ecsenius aequalis Springer 1988    equal, referring to approximately equal spacing of dorsal and ventral stripes relative to middle stripe

Ecsenius alleni Springer 1988    in honor of ichthyologist Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), who collected most of the specimens and recognized that they were an undescribed species, and who extended many “courtesies” to Springer

Ecsenius aroni Springer 1971    in honor of oceanographer William Aron (b. 1930), Smithsonian Institution, for making possible Springer’s field work in the Red Sea, the results of which form an “invaluable contribution” to Springer’s studies

Ecsenius australianus Springer 1988    –anus, belonging to: Australia, where it appears to be endemic

Ecsenius axelrodi Springer 1988    in honor of pet-book publisher Herbert R. Axelrod (1927-2017), for his “numerous and continuing important contributions in support of ichthyology” (he also provided color separations and printed and donated the color plates included in Springer’s monograph)

Ecsenius bandanus Springer 1971    –anus, belonging to: Banda Sea, Indonesia, presumed type locality

Ecsenius bathi Springer 1988    in honor of German ichthyologist Hans Walter Bath (1924-2015), a “prominent student of blenniid systematics,” who brought the first specimens to Springer’s attention and permitted him to describe the species

Ecsenius bicolor (Day 1888)    two-colored, referring to coloration of type specimen (one of three color patterns now known to occur): anterior half of body “deep blue (smalt)”, posterior half “carmine-orange”

Ecsenius bimaculatus Springer 1971    bi-, two; maculatus, spotted, referring to characteristic two dark spots on side of body

Ecsenius caeruliventris Springer & Allen 2004    caeruleus, sky-blue; ventris, belly, referring to its blue abdominal area

Ecsenius collettei Springer 1972    in honor of Bruce B. Collette (b. 1934), Director, National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, whose New Guinea collections of fishes provided many important blenniid specimens, including this one

Ecsenius dentex Springer 1988    with large teeth but in this case simply meaning toothed, referring to its having the highest average number of teeth of all the species in the Yaeyamaensis [Species] Group

Ecsenius dilemma Springer 1988    Latin for “two assumptions,” referring to its two strikingly different color patterns (banded and striped), as well as to problems in separating its striped form from that of E. bathi

Ecsenius fijiensis Springer 1988    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Fiji, where it appears to be endemic

Ecsenius fourmanoiri Springer 1972    in honor of ichthyologist Pierre Fourmanoir (1924-2007), who obtained the first specimens of this blenny and knew it was undescribed

Ecsenius frontalis (Valenciennes 1836)    –alis, pertaining to: front or forehead, referring to how forehead protrudes slightly beyond mouth

Ecsenius gravieri (Pellegrin 1906)    in honor of French zoologist Charles Gravier (1865-1937), who collected type

Ecsenius isos McKinney & Springer 1976    equal or like, referring to dark spots beneath head on both sexes

Ecsenius kurti Springer 1988    in honor of Kurt A. Bruwelheide, former museum specialist, Division of Fishes, National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.), who participated in much of the early work of Springer’s revision of the genus (he also photographed many of the new species Springer described)

Ecsenius lineatus Klausewitz 1962    lined, referring to wide, black longitudinal band on sides (sometimes broken up to form a series of disconnected round or squarish blotches)

Ecsenius lividanalis Chapman & Schultz 1952    lividus, black and blue; analis, anal, referring to a “sharply defined black spot (brilliantly blue in life) half the area of eye surrounding anus, and set off from brown of body by a light peripheral band”

Ecsenius lubbocki Springer 1988    in honor of the late Hugh Roger Lubbock (1951-1981), marine biologist, who collected type specimens and recognized that they did not accord with any described species of Ecsenius [Lubbock died in a car crash in Rio de Janeiro just shy of his 30th birthday]

Ecsenius mandibularis McCulloch 1923    lower jaw, referring to lateral row of 6-7 small cardiform teeth extending backward along elevated ridge of jaw

Ecsenius melarchus McKinney & Springer 1976    melas, black; archos, anus, referring to characteristic black mark that extends anteriorly from anus

Ecsenius midas Starck 1969    named for King Midas of Greek mythology, who turned everything he touched into gold, referring to golden color (in life) of type specimen (note: life color now known to be extremely variable)

Ecsenius minutus Klausewitz 1963    minute, referring to small size, described at 25.4 mm TL (19.9 mm SL)

Ecsenius monoculus Springer 1988    monos, one; oculus, eye, referring to characteristic single, dark, saddle-like spot on each side of body

Ecsenius nalolo Smith 1959    local name in Pinda, Mozambique (type locality) for small salariinine blennies

Ecsenius namiyei (Jordan & Evermann 1902)    in honor of Motokiche (also known as Motoyoshi) Namiye (1854-1918), curator in the Museum of the University of Tokyo, author of the earliest (1881) systematic account by a native author of the vertebrate animals of Japan

Ecsenius niue Springer 2002    named for Niue Island, southwestern Pacific, where it appears to be endemic

Ecsenius oculatus Springer 1988    having eyes, referring to dark, eye-like spots on body

Ecsenius oculus Springer 1971    eye, referring to eye-like spots on body

Ecsenius ops Springer & Allen 2001    eye, referring to dark spot on dorsoposterior margin of orbit

Ecsenius opsifrontalis Chapman & Schultz 1952    opsis, appearance; frontalis, forehead, probably referring to how this blenny resembles E. prooculis, both of which are distinguished by the “marked projection forward of the orbits and the resultant backward slope from the forehead to the upper lip”

Ecsenius pardus Springer 1988    leopard, referring to leopard-like ocelli on body

Ecsenius paroculus Springer 1988    para-, near, referring to superficial similarity of its color pattern with that of E. oculus

Ecsenius pictus McKinney & Springer 1976    painted or colored, referring to its “unique and striking” color pattern

Ecsenius polystictus Springer & Randall 1999    poly, many; stictus, spotted, referring to three rows of fine, dark spots on sides

Ecsenius portenoyi Springer 1988    in honor of Norman S. Portenoy (Bethesda, Maryland, USA), recognized by the staff of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, for his many years of support of ichthyological exploration

Ecsenius prooculis Chapman & Schultz 1952    pro-, forward; oculis, eye, referring to its strongly projecting forehead, “giving the eyes the effect of protruding”

Ecsenius pulcher (Murray 1887)    beautiful, presumably referring to coloration of type specimen (one of three color phases now known to occur): anterior two-thirds chocolate brown, posterior third golden-yellow with 5-7 vertical dark bars

Ecsenius randalli Springer 1991    in honor of ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), who collected and photographed type and “permitted” Springer to describe it

Ecsenius schroederi McKinney & Springer 1976    in honor of scientific illustrator and wildlife artist Jack R. Schroeder (1954-2004), whose “excellent illustrations have so greatly enhanced the usefulness of our blennioid studies”

Ecsenius sellifer Springer 1988    sella, saddle; fero, to bear, referring to distinctive large, saddle-like markings on body

Ecsenius shirleyae Springer & Allen 2004    in honor of Springer’s wife Shirley, for her “unstinting support” of his research for almost 40 years

Ecsenius similis Allen & Erdmann 2024    Latin for similar, referring to its similarity to E. trilineatus

Ecsenius springeri Allen, Erdmann & Liu 2019    in honor of Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), Senior Scientist Emeritus and past curator in the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, for his “extensive and excellent research” on this genus

Ecsenius stictus Springer 1988    spotted, referring to fine dark spots on body

Ecsenius stigmatura Fowler 1952    stigma, spot; oura, tail, referring to black spot at base of caudal fin

Ecsenius taeniatus Springer 1988    striped, referring to two pale stripes alternating with two dark stripes on sides of body

Ecsenius tessera Springer 1988    paving tile, referring to tile-like appearance of its color pattern on body

Ecsenius tigris Springer 1988    tiger, presumably referring to tiger-like coloration: tan body with a row of black spots or short bars along back, white spots between the bars, a midlateral row of white dashes, and a second row of short dark bars along lower sides

Ecsenius tricolor Springer & Allen 2001    tri-, three, referring to three stripes on head, which are reminiscent of the national flag of France (hung vertically), often referred to as “Tricolor”

Ecsenius trilineatus Springer 1972    tri-, three; lineatus, lined, referring to characteristic three longitudinal stripes on body

Ecsenius yaeyamaensis (Aoyagi 1954)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Yaeyama Islands, southern Japanese archipelago where Iriomote Island (type locality) is situated (but widely occurs in Indo-West Pacific from Sri Lanka to Vanuatu, south to Australia and New Caledonia)

Entomacrodus Gill 1859    en, in; tomeus, knife or cutter; odous, tooth (per Jordan & Evermann [1898]), presumably referring to very large and recurved tooth on each side of interior lower jaw of E. nigricans and/or to its “greatly developed” canine teeth

Entomacrodus cadenati Springer 1967    in honor of ichthyologist Jean Cadenat (1908-1992), Director, Marine Biological Section of the Institute Français d’Afrique Noire (Gorée, Senegal), who collected type specimens and sent them to Springer, for his studies of East African marine fishes

Entomacrodus caudofasciatus (Regan 1909)    caudo-, tail; fasciatus, banded, referring to dark vertical bars on caudal fin

Entomacrodus chapmani Springer 1967    in honor of ichthyologist Wilbert M. Chapman (1910-1970), for his studies on blenniid fishes, and who, “many years ago, independently concluded that this form represented a new taxon—making it doubly appropriate that the species be named for him”

Entomacrodus chiostictus (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    chionos, snow; stictos, spot, presumably referring to bright silvery oblong spots on sides under spinous dorsal fin

Entomacrodus corneliae (Fowler 1932)    in honor of Cornelia Bryce Pinchot (1881-1960), “first lady of Pennsylvania,” wife of Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946), governor of Pennsylvania, who was honored in the generic name Giffordella (=Entomacrodus) for his “successful” 1929 expedition to the South Seas, during which type was collected

Entomacrodus cymatobiotus Schultz & Chapman 1960    cymatos, wave; biotos, living, referring to its occurrence in surf along outer edges of ocean reefs

Entomacrodus decussatus (Bleeker 1858)    divided crosswise in the form of an X, referring to overlapping longitudinal and transverse bands on body, which create a net-like pattern on younger specimens

Entomacrodus epalzeocheilos (Bleeker 1859)    epalzeo-, meaning unknown, but based on Bleeker’s habit of providing Dutch transliterations of Latin epithets in his 1860 Ichthyologiae Archipelagi Indici Prodromus, it means “horn”; cheilos, lip, presumably referring to completely crenulate ventral margin of upper lip

Entomacrodus lemuria Springer & Fricke 2000    Lemuria, a hypothetical (and now discredited) continent, presumed to have existed in the Indian Ocean and now represented by Madagascar and some adjacent islands, where this blenny occurs

Entomacrodus lighti (Herre 1938)    in honor of zoologist Sol Felty Light (1886-1947), University of California, who sent type specimens from Dodd Island, Amoy, China, to Stanford University

Entomacrodus longicirrus Springer 1967    longus, long; cirrus, curl or tendril, referring to longer supraorbital cirrus compared to E. thalassinus

Entomacrodus macrospilus Springer 1967    macro-, large; spilos, spot, referring to large dark spot on head

Entomacrodus marmoratus (Bennett 1828)    marbled, referring to its “irregularly marbled” ground color, “dotted on the sides with fuscous, and similarly marbled on the back with an intermixture of pale blue”

Entomacrodus nigricans Gill 1859    blackish, referring to general color of body and fins

Entomacrodus niuafoouensis (Fowler 1932)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Niuafoou Island, Tonga Islands, type locality

Entomacrodus randalli Springer 1967    in honor of ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), whose collections of Marquesan fishes were of “great importance” for Springer’s study

Entomacrodus rofeni Springer 1967    in honor of ichthyologist Robert R. Rofen (formerly Harry, 1925-2015), who collected type specimens

Entomacrodus sealei Bryan & Herre 1903    in honor of ichthyologist Alvin Seale (1871-1958), then of the Bishop Museum (Honolulu) staff, for “kind and generous assistance”

Entomacrodus solus Williams & Bogorodsky 2010    alone, the only species of Entomacrodus occurring in the Red Sea

Entomacrodus stellifer (Jordan & Snyder 1902)    star-bearer, referring to white dots, specks or lines on head, body, soft portion of dorsal fin, outer part of anal fin, and caudal fin

Entomacrodus strasburgi Springer 1967    in honor of fish ecologist Donald W. Strasburg (1925-2008), University of Hawai‘i, for his studies of Hawaiian blennies

Entomacrodus striatus (Valenciennes 1836)    striated, possibly referring to “eight gray vertical lines, bordered with blackish” on the front of the muzzle, with three more under the throat, “forming chevrons, as in many blennies and clinids” (translations)

Entomacrodus textilis (Valenciennes 1836)    woven or tiled, referring to 12-14 violet-brown vertical bands on body, “brought together in pairs, and interrupted in part by three series of whitish points, so that they form a type of tile” (translation)

Entomacrodus thalassinus (Jordan & Seale 1906)    sea-green, referring to green color in life (whitish, with a wash of pale green, in spirits)

Entomacrodus vermiculatus (Valenciennes 1836)    vermiculated, “easily recognized by the twisted and vermiculate features that cover its entire body” (translation)

Entomacrodus vomerinus (Valenciennes 1836)    vomerine, referring to a transverse series of small, sharp points (actually teeth) on chevron of vomer

Entomacrodus williamsi Springer & Fricke 2000    in honor of ichthyologist Jeffrey T. Williams, Smithsonian Institution, for his “outstanding” efforts in collecting Indo-Pacific fishes, including type of this one

Exallias Jordan & Evermann 1905    latinization of exallos, quite different, presumably referring to how it differs from Salarias, original genus of E. brevis

Exallias brevis (Kner 1868)    short, presumably referring to shorter, deeper body compared to other species of Salarias, its presumed genus at the time

Glyptoparus Smith 1959    glyptos, carved or engraved; –parus, denoting production, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to thin, fleshy crest on top of head of males (low and poorly developed in females)

Glyptoparus delicatulus Smith 1959    diminutive of delicatus, delicate or dainty, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its size (described at 33 mm)

Hirculops Smith 1959    hircus, goat; ops, appearance, allusion not explained, presumably referring to pointed skin flaps (cirri) above eye, which may be said to resemble the horns of a goat

Hirculops cornifer (Rüppell 1830)    cornis, horn; fero, to bear, presumably referring to “long pointed flap of skin” (translation), i.e., cirri, above each eye

Hypleurochilus Gill 1861    etymology not explained nor evident; according to Jordan & Evermann (1898), hy-, upsilon; pleuros, side; cheilos, lip, referring to “V-shaped lateral lips” of H. multifilis

Hypleurochilus aequipinnis (Günther 1861)    aequalis, equal; pinna, fin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to deeply notched caudal fin, each half consisting of 12 rays

Hypleurochilus bananensis (Poll 1959)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Banana Creek, Democratic Republic of the Congo, paratype locality

Hypleurochilus bermudensis Beebe & Tee-Van 1933    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Marshall Island, Bermuda, type locality

Hypleurochilus brasil Pinheiro, Gasparini & Rangel 2013    Portuguese spelling of Brazil, which was named for the reddish color of the wood of a large Brazilian native tree (Caesalpinia echinata, “Pau-Brasil” in Portuguese), referring to both the country where this blenny is endemic, and to its vivid red spots, which are like “incandescent pieces of a brazing”

Hypleurochilus caudovittatus Bath 1994    cauda-, tail; vittatus, banded, referring to 3-4 dark crossbands formed by dark spots on transparent caudal fin

Hypleurochilus fissicornis (Quoy & Gaimard 1824)    fissus, split; cornis, horn, referring to its bifid ocular cirri

Hypleurochilus geminatus (Wood 1825)    paired, doubled or repeated, allusion not explained, possibly referring to “several pairs” of reddish-brown spots on sides, “arranged pretty regularly in a double row”

Hypleurochilus langi (Fowler 1923)    in honor of taxidermist Herbert Lang (1879-1957), American Museum of Natural History, who helped collect type

Hypleurochilus multifilis (Girard 1858)    multi-, many; filum, thread, referring to four filiform cirri over each eye

Hypleurochilus pseudoaequipinnis Bath 1994    pseudo-, false, i.e., although this blenny may superficially resemble (and was previously identified as) H. aequipinnis, such an appearance is false

Hypleurochilus springeri Randall 1966    in honor of ichthyologist Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), U.S. National Museum, for his “research and continued interest in blennioid fishes”

Hypsoblennius Gill 1861    hypso-, high, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to higher body of H. hentz relative to many other blennies of the Western Atlantic; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Hypsoblennius brevipinnis (Günther 1861)    brevis, short; pinnis, fin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to ventral fin shorter than pectoral, or perhaps to anterior dorsal fin being one ray shorter (11) compared to Hypleurochilus aequipinnis, described on the same page and its presumed congener at the time

Hypsoblennius caulopus (Gilbert 1898)    caulis, stem; pous, foot, presumably referring to four articulated ventral fin rays instead of three, as usual in Blenniinae (presumed subfamily at the time)

Hypsoblennius exstochilus Böhlke 1959    exsto-, stand out or project; cheilus, lip, referring to elongate fleshy flap on posterior lower lip that “usually projects out laterally”

Hypsoblennius gentilis (Girard 1854)    related, allusion not explained nor evident

Hypsoblennius gilberti (Jordan 1882)    in honor of ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles H. Gilbert (1859-1928), who collected type with Jordan

Hypsoblennius hentz (Lesueur 1825)    in honor of “Mr. Hentz,” who sent type to Lesueur from Charleston, South Carolina, probably French-American arachnologist Nicholas Marcellus Hentz (1797-1856) [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]

Hypsoblennius invemar Smith-Vaniz & Acero P. 1980    acronym for the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas de Punta de Betin (Santa Marta, Colombia), where some of the paratypes are housed

Hypsoblennius ionthas (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    freckled, its body “everywhere densely freckled with small round blackish spots, smaller than the pupil”

Hypsoblennius jenkinsi (Jordan & Evermann 1896)    in honor of Oliver Peebles Jenkins (1850-1935), physiology professor at Stanford University, who co-authored a paper on Mexican fishes with Evermann in 1891, wherein this blenny was reported as H. striatus

Hypsoblennius maculipinna (Regan 1903)    macula, spot; pinna, fin, referring to large black spot on anterior portion of dorsal fin

Hypsoblennius paytensis (Steindachner 1876)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Payta, Peru, type locality

Hypsoblennius proteus (Krejsa 1960)     Proteus, a sea-god in Greek mythology, Neptune’s herdsman, who could assume different shapes, referring to color changes during metamorphosis of this and other blennies

Hypsoblennius robustus Hildebrand 1946    robust, referring to its “plump, robust body”

Hypsoblennius sordidus (Bennett 1828)    dirty, presumably referring to its “dirty reddish brown” color

Hypsoblennius striatus (Steindachner 1876)     striped, presumably referring to vertical black-brown stripes on sides, alternately stronger and weaker, over most of the sides, becoming dark longitudinal stripes or longitudinal rows of dark spots towards posterior part of body

Istiblennius Whitley 1943    istios, sail, presumably referring to “very high” dorsal and anal fins of I. muelleri; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Istiblennius bellus (Günther 1861)    beautiful, presumably referring to coloration in alcohol, described as having bluish-white dots on body, bluish-white lines on tail and soft dorsal fin, and three irregular series of bluish dots between rays on black anal fin

Istiblennius colei (Herre 1934)    in honor of Howard I. Cole (1892-1966), former Chief Chemist for the Philippine Health Service at leper colony on Culion Island, Philippines (type locality), to “whose generous assistance [Herre’s] important Culion collection is due”

Istiblennius dussumieri (Valenciennes 1836)    in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who collected type

Istiblennius edentulus (Forster & Schneider 1801)    toothless, presumably referring to its lack of posterior dentary canines

Istiblennius enosimae (Jordan & Snyder 1902)    of Enoshima (island of the bay), Japan, type locality [note spelling, without the “h”]

Istiblennius flaviumbrinus (Rüppell 1830)    flavus, yellow; umbrinus, umber, referring to “dirty yellow” ground color with “earthy brown” wavy stripes and spots (translations)

Istiblennius lineatus (Valenciennes 1836)    lined, referring to five or so dark longitudinal lines across greenish-gray body in alcohol

Istiblennius meleagris (Valenciennes 1836)    guinea fowl, probably referring to round silvery spots all over body, resembling color pattern of a guinea fowl

Istiblennius muelleri (Klunzinger 1879)    in honor of physician, geographer and botanist Ferdinand von Mueller (1825-1896), who donated his extensive collection of Australian plant and animal specimens, including type of this species, to what is now the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart (Baden-Württemberg, Germany)

Istiblennius pox Springer & Williams 1994    an eruptive disease such as chicken pox, referring also to spots resembling the eruptions of this disease, referring to spots on occipital crest of males

Istiblennius rivulatus (Rüppell 1830)    rivulated, i.e., marked by irregular streaks, referring to dark wavy lines on sides

Istiblennius spilotus Springer & Williams 1994    spotted, referring to small, brilliant white or blue spots on head and body, particularly of males

Istiblennius steindachneri (Pfeffer 1893)    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919)

Istiblennius unicolor (Rüppell 1838)    uni-, one, referring to uniform liver-brown coloration in spirits

Istiblennius zebra (Vaillant & Sauvage 1875)    referring to zebra-like vertical bands on body, continuing on to vertical fins

Lipophrys Gill 1896    lipo-, want or absence; ophrys, eyebrow, referring to “absence of the superciliary cirri” of L. pholis

Lipophrys pholis (Linnaeus 1758)    per Cuvier (1816), Greek name for a fish always enveloped in mucus (i.e., scaleless), including blennies and blenny-like fishes)

Lipophrys trigloides (Valenciennes 1836)    –oides, having the form of: referring to its head, shaped like that of a gurnard (Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae: Trigla)

Litobranchus Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    litos, simple; branchos, fin, referring to unbranched rays characteristic of the genus

Litobranchus fowleri (Herre 1936)    in honor of Henry Weed Fowler (1878-1965), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for “notable contributions to our knowledge of Philippine fishes”

Lupinoblennius Herre 1942    lupinus, of a wolf, referring to elongate, wolf-like jaws of L. dispar (=vinctus); blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Lupinoblennius nicholsi (Tavolga 1954)    in honor of John Treadwell Nichols (1883-1958), curator of fishes at the American Museum of Natural History, for aid and encouragement, and for making specimens of other species under his care available for comparison

Lupinoblennius paivai (Pinto 1958)    in honor of oceanographer João de Paiva Carvalho (1903-1961), Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil), to whom Pinto is grateful for his cooperation

Lupinoblennius vinctus (Poey 1867)    bound, referring to dorsal and anal fins connected by a membrane to caudal fin

Medusablennius Springer 1966    Medusa, in Greek mythology a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair, referring to ring, complex cirri on rims of posterior and anterior nostrils, above eye, and on interorbital region; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Medusablennius chani Springer 1966    in honor of William L. Chan, who first recognized the distinctness of this species (in a note in the jar containing type specimens collected in 1955)

Microlipophrys Almada, Almada, Guillemaud & Wirtz 2005    micro-, small, referring to small body size (4-7 cm) compared to Lipophrys, genus in which species had originally been placed

Microlipophrys adriaticus (Steindachner & Kolombatović 1883)    -icus, belonging to: Adriatic Sea, where type locality (Castella Canal at Vranjica, near Split, Croatia) is situated

Microlipophrys bauchotae (Wirtz & Bath 1982)    in honor of Marie-Louise Bauchot (b. 1928), ichthyologist and assistant manager, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), who suspected this species was new in 1967 but refrained from naming it for lack of additional material

Microlipophrys caboverdensis (Wirtz & Bath 1989)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cape Verde Islands, where it is endemic

Microlipophrys canevae (Vinciguerra 1880)    in honor of “young friend” Giorgio Caneva, whose “accurate and patient research” encouraged Vinciguerra to “examine an overwhelming quantity of Blennius” from the Gulf of Genoa (Italy), and “in particular the smaller and lesser-known species,” which led to the disovery of this species (translations)

Microlipophrys dalmatinus (Steindachner & Kolombatović 1883)    Dalmatian, referring to Dalmatia (southern Croatia), where type locality (Castella Canal, Adriatic Sea) is situated

Microlipophrys nigriceps nigriceps (Vinciguerra 1883)    nigri-, black; ceps, head, referring to black crown of breeding males

Microlipophrys nigriceps cypriacus (Bath 1972)   –acus, belonging to: Cyprus, Mediterranean Sea, type locality

Microlipophrys nigriceps portmahonis (Castaños 1933)    –is, genitive singular of: Port Mahon, British name for Mahón (or Maó-Mahón), capital city of Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, presumed type locality (no types known)

Microlipophrys velifer (Norman 1935)    bearing a sail, referring to elevated spinous portion of dorsal fin in males

Mimoblennius Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    mimos, mimic; Blennius, nominal genus for which it was originally mistaken and shows the greatest superficial resemblance

Mimoblennius atrocinctus (Regan 1909)    atro-, black; cinctus, girdle or belt, referring to six blackish crossbars on body, continued on to basal part of dorsal fin

Mimoblennius cas Springer & Spreitzer 1978    CAS, acronym for California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), where holo- and paratypes are housed

Mimoblennius cirrosus Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    bearing cirri, presumably referring to more numerous and greatly developed supraorbital and posterior nasal cirri compared to M. atrocinctus  

Mimoblennius lineathorax Fricke 1999    linea, line; thorax, breast or chest, referring to dark lines across its thorax

Mimoblennius rusi Springer & Spreitzer 1978    RUSI, acronym for the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University (now South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity), where holo- and paratypes are housed

Nannosalarias Smith-Vaniz & Springer 1971    nannos, dwarf, mature adults ranging from 22.5-34.8 mm SL; Salarias, type-genus of the tribe Salariini

Nannosalarias nativitatis (Regan 1909)    place of birth or nativity, referring to Christmas Island, type locality (occurs widely in Indo-West Pacific, from Andaman Islands east to Philippines and Samoa, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to Australia and New Caledonia)

Ophioblennius Gill 1860    ophis, snake, referring to fang-like teeth of Blennophis webbii (=O. atlanticus); blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes 1836)    –icus, belonging to: eastern Atlantic from Senegal to Angola, then believed to be the only Atlantic species of a genus (Salarias) known only from the Indo-Pacific

Ophioblennius clippertonensis Springer 1962    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Clipperton Island, eastern Pacific, where it appears to be endemic

Ophioblennius macclurei (Silvester 1915)    in honor of Charles Freeman Williams McClure (1865-1955), American comparative anatomist and embryologist, for his researches upon the lymphatics of fishes (note latinization of “Mc” to “Mac”)

Ophioblennius steindachneri Jordan & Evermann 1898    in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), who reported this blenny as Blennophis webbii (=O. atlanticus) in 1879

Ophioblennius trinitatis Miranda Ribeiro 1919    Trindadian, referring to Trindade Island, Martin Vaz Islands, off southeastern Brazil, type locality

Parablennius Miranda Ribeiro 1915    para-, near, referring to previous placement of P. pilicornis in Blennius

Parablennius cornutus (Linnaeus 1758)    horned, referring to its long orbital cirri, usually a long central stalk (longer in males) with numerous side branches

Parablennius cyclops (Rüppell 1830)     Cyclops, mythical one-eyed giant, sometimes used as a synonym for large or massive, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its “fat” and “rather thick” head (translation)

Parablennius dialloi Bath 1990     in honor of Amadou Diallo, Musee de la Mer (Gorée, Senegal), who provided specimens and “helpfully supported” (translation) Bath’s research in Senegal

Parablennius gattorugine (Linnaeus 1758)     a name dating to Willughby (1686), who had seen this blenny in Venice where the locals called it “gatto ruggine,” which he provisionally translated as “rusty cat” or “rust color” (fearing that he did not properly understand these words); instead, name is apparently derived from “gatto rusola” or “gotto rosula,” a local name for blennies in the Adriatic, a diminutive of “gotto roso” (gutturosus), referring to the thickness of its throat

Parablennius goreensis (Valenciennes 1836)     –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gorée, Senegal, type locality

Parablennius incognitus (Bath 1968)     unknown, presumably referring to how the existence of this species escaped attention for 70 years due to its resemblance to P. zvonimiri

Parablennius intermedius (Ogilby 1915)    in between, referring to Darnley (or Erub) Island (Queensland, Australia, type locality), “being roughly intermediate between” Port Arthur (Tasmania) and Misaki (Japan), type localities respectively of P. tasmanius and P. yatabei

Parablennius laticlavius (Griffin 1926)    latus, wide; clavius, purple striped, referring to broad dark-purple stripe passing from eye to hypural joint

Parablennius lodosus (Smith 1959)    etymology not explained, perhaps a misspelling or variation of lutosus, muddy (lodos is Spanish for mud or sludge), referring to its occurrence in “muddy areas” of Delagoa Bay, Mozambique, type locality

Parablennius marmoreus (Poey 1876)    marbled, referring to mottled yellowish- to dark-brown coloration

Parablennius opercularis (Murray 1887)    opercular, presumably referring to dark patch on opercle and an oblique streak below it behind maxilla

Parablennius parvicornis (Valenciennes 1836)    parvus, small; cornis, horn, referring to small ocular cirri, “reduced to a small pointed filament, scarcely a quarter of the height of the eye” (translation)

Parablennius pilicornis (Cuvier 1829)    pilosus, hairy or downy; cornis, horn, referring to filiform ocular cirri

Parablennius ponticus (Slastenenko 1934)    –icus, belonging to: the Black Sea (=Pontos), where it appears to be endemic

Parablennius postoculomaculatus Bath & Hutchins 1986    post, after or behind; oculus, eye; maculatus, spotted, proposed as a subspecies of P. tasmanianus with a light-brown spot between eye and operculum and numerous small brown spots on operculum and cheek, compared to absence of such spots on the nominate form  

Parablennius ruber (Valenciennes 1836)    red, referring to red markings overlaying a pale-red background

Parablennius rouxi (Cocco 1833)    patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Jean Louis Florent Polydore Roux (1792-1833), painter, naturalist, and curator of the Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Marseille (described as s “Blennio di Roux. Blennius Ruxii” but “rouxi” can be used due to prevailing usage)

Parablennius salensis Bath 1990    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sal (an island), Murdeira Bay, Cape Verde Islands, type locality

Parablennius sanguinolentus (Pallas 1814)    full of blood, allusion not explained, probably referring to body suffused with a blood-red or rusty hue

Parablennius serratolineatus Bath & Hutchins 1986    serratus, saw-toothed; lineatus, lined, referring to serrate ventral border of dark-brown longitudinal band between nape and caudal peduncle

Parablennius sierraensis Bath 1990    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cape Sierra, Sierra Leone, type locality

Parablennius tasmanianus (Richardson 1842)    Tasmanian, referring to Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, type locality

Parablennius tentacularis (Brünnich 1768)    tentacled, referring to its simple (unbranched) orbital cirri

Parablennius thysanius (Jordan & Seale 1907)    fringed or tasseled, referring to “fan-like orbital tentacle with about 10 fringes”

Parablennius verryckeni (Poll 1959)    in honor of C. Verrycken (Banana Creek, Democratic Republic of the Congo), a radio- and telegraph operator and sport fishermen who collected “many interesting specimens” (translation) for Poll (but apparently not this blenny)

Parablennius yatabei (Jordan & Snyder 1900)    in memory of “old friend” and Cornell schoolmate Riokichi (or Ryokichi) Yatabe [1851-1899], botanist, who drowned during his summer vacation in a “sad accident” in the bay of Kamakura, Japan

Parablennius zvonimiri (Kolombatović 1892)    patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Demetrius Zvonimir, King of Croatia and Dalmatia (1075 until his death in 1089), alluding to area where this blenny was described

Parahypsos Bath 1982    etymology not explained, probably para-, near; hypsos, referring to previous placement of P. pearsoni in Hypsoblennius [replacement name for Leptoblennius Bath 1978, preoccupied by Leptoblennius Gill 1860 (=Lumpenus) in fishes (Zoarcales: Lumpenidae)]

Parahypsos piersoni (Gilbert & Starks 1904)    in honor of C. J. Pierson, a member of the Panama Expedition during which type was collected, “to whose untiring industry much of its success was due”

Paralticus Springer & Williams 1994    para-, near, closely related to group of genera that includes Alticus

Paralticus amboinensis (Bleeker 1857)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ambon Island, Moluccas Islands, Indonesia (also occurs off Malaysia)

Pereulixia Smith 1959    etymology not explained nor evident (maybe honoring someone named Pereulix?)

Pereulixia kosiensis (Regan 1908)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kosi Bay, Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, type locality

Praealticus Schultz & Chapman 1960    prae-, in front of, allusion not explained, presumably referring in some way to its close superficial similarity to and/or close relationship with Alticus

Praealticus bilineatus (Peters 1868)    bi-, two; lineatus, lined, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to broad, brown transverse bands that “split downwards like a fork” (translation) and/or two rows of small white dots

Praealticus caesius (Seale 1906)    bluish-gray, presumably referring to color in spirits, described as having a “slight tint of pale blue” on ventral surface, “bluish” band on caudal fin, “pale blue intermarginal line” on white anal fin, and blue iris  

Praealticus dayi (Whitley 1929)    in honor of Francis Day (1829-1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, who described this blenny in 1876 as Salarias alboguttatus, preoccupied by S. alboguttatus Kner 1867

Praealticus labrovittatus Bath 1992    labrum, lip; vittatus, banded, referring to four paired, dark crossbands or horizontal stripes on upper lip

Praealticus margaritarius (Snyder 1908)    pearly, referring to two rows of “pearly ocelli” along sides of body and numerous smaller ones along the back

Praealticus margaritatus (Kendall & Radcliffe 1912)    adorned with pearls, referring to “numerous small pale pearly spots, most numerous posteriorly, below median line forming a longitudinal series arranged more or less in pairs”

Praealticus multistriatus Bath 1992    multi-, many; striatus, striped, referring to dark, oblique stripes on both sections of dorsal fin

Praealticus natalis (Regan 1909)    Christmas, referring to Christmas Island, type locality (also occurs in the Mariana Islands)

Praealticus oortii (Bleeker 1851)    patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Pieter van Oort (1804-1834), draftsman and illustrator who explored Java (type locality) as part of the Physics Commission for the Dutch East Indies; he succumbed to “gall fever” (probably malaria) in Sumatra

Praealticus poptae (Fowler 1925)    in honor of Canna Maria Louise Popta (1860-1929), Curator of Reptiles, Amphibians and Fishes at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), “in slight acknowledgment of her East Indian ichthyological studies”

Praealticus semicrenatus (Chapman 1951)    semi-, half; crenatus, notched or crenate, referring to upper lip crenulate only on lateral quarters and smooth lower lip, as opposed to fully crenulate upper lip and partially crenulate lower lip of P. triangulus, described in same publication

Praealticus striatus Bath 1992    striped, referring to narrow, dark and “strongly accented” (translation) stripe in head area

Praealticus tanegasimae (Jordan & Starks 1906)    of Tanegashima (Tanega Island), Japan, co-type locality [note spelling, without the “h”]

Praealticus triangulus (Chapman 1951)    referring to triangular occipital crest (high in males, shorter and lower in females)

Rhabdoblennius Whitley 1930    rhabdos, rod, stick or staff (i.e., stripe), allusion not explained but clearly reflecting first half of name of type species, R. rhabdotrachelus; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Rhabdoblennius nigropunctatus Bath 2004    nigro-, black; punctatus, spotted, referring to round black blotches on head and anterior half of body

Rhabdoblennius nitidus (Günther 1861)    neat, elegant or shining, presumably referring to coloration in alcohol: yellowish with eight brown cross-bands, with pearl-colored, purple-edged dots on head and body with pearl-colored, purple-edged dots, and four transverse series of white dots on anal fin

Rhabdoblennius papuensis Bath 2004    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Papua New Guinea, where type locality (Ninigo Islands) is situated

Rhabdoblennius rhabdotrachelus (Fowler & Ball 1924)    rhabdos, rod, stick or staff (i.e., stripe); trachelos, neck, referring to dark bars on lower side of head

Rhabdoblennius snowi (Fowler 1928)     in honor of missionary Benjamin Galen Snow (1817-1880), who collected type

Salaria Bath 1977    historical name for S. basilisca and/or S. pavo on Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, where blennies were used as a medicine for children (not to be confused with Salarias, see below) [authorship often attributed to Forsskål 1775, but Bath was the first to make the name available]

Salaria basilisca (Valenciennes 1836)    royal or imperial, presumably referring to the “beauty of its finery,” e.g., 20 or so white or light-blue vertical lines on a “beautiful” olive-green body (translations)

Salaria pavo (Risso 1810)    peacock, probably referring to well-developed head-crest on mature males and/or blue eye-like spot on operculum

Salarias Cuvier 1816    etymology unknown, perhaps a variant or misspelling of Salaria (see above)

Salarias alboguttatus Kner 1867    albus, white; guttatus, spotted, referring to white spots on sides

Salarias ceramensis Bleeker 1853    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ceram, Indonesia, type locality (also occurs from Papua New Guinea to Philippines and Solomon Islands)

Salarias fasciatus (Bloch 1786)    banded, referring to dark bars on body and dorsal fin

Salarias guttatus Valenciennes 1836    spotted or speckled, referring to “small brown dots and white droplets” (translation) on grayish-russet body

Salarias luctuosus Whitley 1929    mournful, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its dusky brown color

Salarias nigrocinctus Bath 1996    nigro-, black; cinctus, girdle or belt, referring to 11 narrow, dark, paired vertical bands on sides of body

Salarias obscurus Bath 1992    dark or dusky, presumably referring to its dark-brown body coloration, with blackish spots and blotches

Salarias patzneri Bath 1992    in honor of Robert (“Bobby”) Patzner (b. 1945), University of Salzburg (Austria), known known for his work on blenny genitalia, who shared blenny specimens with Bath

Salarias ramosus Bath 1992    branched, referring to 3-4 branches on supraorbital tentacles, with 2-7 small tentacles at the end of each branch

Salarias segmentatus Bath & Randall 1991    referring to 17-19 (usually 18) segmented dorsal-fin rays, and usually 19 or 20 segmented anal-fin rays

Salarias sexfilum Günther 1861    sex, six; filum, thread, presumably referring to six filiform tentacles, two at nostrils, two above orbit, and two on each side of neck

Salarias sibogai Bath 1992    of the ship Siboga and Indonesian expedition (1898-1899) of same name, during which type was collected

Salarias sinuosus Snyder 1908    sinuous, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to numerous dark specks on upper body, “some of which are closely clustered, forming vermiculations on sides of abdomen”

Salariopsis Vecchioni, Ching, Marrone, Arculeo, Hundt & Simons 2022    opsis, appearance, referring to its “apparent, but misleading, morphological similarity” to Salaria [placed in Ichthyocoris Bonaparte 1840 by some workers, treated here as a junior synonym of Salaria]

Salariopsis atlantica (Doadrio, Perea & Yahyaoui 2012)    -ica, belonging to: Atlantic slope drainage (Sebou River basin) of Morocco, where it is endemic

Salariopsis burcuae Yoğurtçuoğlu, Kaya, Atalay, Ekmekçi & Freyhof 2023   in honor of Burcu Yoğurtçuoğlu, wife of the first author, for her “profound inspiration, as well as admirable patience and support towards her husband’s endless travels to explore fishes. Her understanding, despite the occasional unintentional neglect due to her husband’s tireless dedication to his work, have been invaluable to his achievements in ichthyology.”

Salariopsis economidisi (Kottelat 2004)    in honor of ichthyologist Panos Economidis, “for his help during several field trips in Greece, stimulating discussions, encouragement, and being a unique historical, gastronomic and oenological cicerone”

Salariopsis fluviatilis (Asso y del Rio 1801)    of a river, referring to its occurrence in fresh water

Salariopsis renatorum Yoğurtçuoğlu, Kaya, Atalay, Ekmekçi & Freyhof 2023    from renatus, perfect participle of the Latin verb renāscor, signifying rejuvenation, renewal or rebirth, named for Pazarcık, Turkey (type locality), near the epicenter of the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake of 6 Feb. 2023, honoring the “hope and resilience demonstrated by the communities impacted by these calamitous events”; additionally, name is dedicated to the memory of Gözde Bayırlı, a cousin of the first author, as well as her family and all others who lost their lives during this disaster

Scartella Jordan 1886    –ella, a diminutive of scartes, one who leaps, allusion not explained (these blennies are not known to hop across tidal pools when the tide recedes), perhaps referring to similarity to and/or close relationship with Scartes (=Scartichthys)

Scartella caboverdiana Bath 1990    –iana, belonging to: Cape Verde Islands, where it is endemic

Scartella cristata (Linnaeus 1758)    crested, referring to fringed dermal crest of 10-18 filaments on nape

Scartella emarginata (Günther 1861)    referring to emarginate (having a notched tip or edge), presumably referring to deeply notched dorsal fin between spinous and soft portions

Scartella itajobi Rangel & Mendes 2009    combination of the Tupí words ita (stone) and jobi (green), referring to its emerald-green color

Scartella nuchifilis (Valenciennes 1836)    nuchi-, nuchal; filum, thread, fringed dermal crest of 8-10 filaments on nape

Scartella poiti Rangel, Gasparini & Guimarães 2004    in honor of Posto Oceanográfico da Ilha da Trindade (Oceanographic Post of Trindade Island” of the Brazilian Navy, for their “extensive help during all trips by the authors”

Scartella springeri (Bauchot 1967)    in honor of ichthyologist Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), U.S. National Museum, “who was kind enough to examine some specimens and give his advice” (translation)

Scartella tongana (Jordan & Seale 1906)    –anus, belonging to: Tonga, Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago, where this blenny, of uncertain taxonomic status, is said to occur

Scartichthys Jordan & Evermann 1898    scartes, one who leaps, referring to S. rubropunctatus (=variolatus), having “extraordinary powers of throwing itself from pool to pool by leaping into the air when the tide recedes” (per Jordan & Snyder 1902); ichthys, fish [replacement name for Scartes Jordan & Evermann 1896, preoccupied by Scartes Swainson 1835 in Mammalia]

Scartichthys gigas (Steindachner 1876)    giant, referring to relatively large size of adults (up to 222 mm SL)

Scartichthys variolatus (Valenciennes 1836)    –atus, provided with: variola, “spotted disease” or smallpox, referring to pattern of spots on head and body

Scartichthys viridis (Valenciennes 1836)    green, referring to body color in life

Stanulus Smith 1959    etymology not explained nor evident

Stanulus seychellensis Smith 1959    –ensis, suffix denoting place: La Digue Island, Seychelles, type locality (but occurs elsewhere in Indo-West Pacific)

Stanulus talboti Springer 1968    in honor of friend and fisheries scientist Frank Talbot (b. 1930), South African Museum, who organized expedition that collected type and helped collect it

---

Subfamily BLENNIINAE

Adelotremus Smith-Vaniz & Rose 2012    adelos, concealed; trema, hole, referring to discovery of A. leptus hiding in a calcareous polychaete tube

Adelotremus deloachi Smith-Vaniz 2017    in honor of Ned DeLoach (b. 1944), for his “books, magazine articles and photographs that celebrate the beauty and diversity of reef fishes, all of which have encouraged numerous divers and fish watchers to become more aware of the importance of protecting the threatened marine environment and fauna”

Adelotremus leptus Smith-Vaniz & Rose 2012    thin or slender, referring to its slender body

Aspidontus Cuvier 1834    aspis, viper; odon, tooth, referring to dentary canines of prejuvenile A. taeniatus, “surmounted by two long crooked hooks like those of serpents, hiding in the bones of the skull” (translation)

Aspidontus dussumieri (Valenciennes 1836)    in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant, who collected type

Aspidontus taeniatus Quoy & Gaimard 1834    banded, referring to prominent midlateral stripe of adults

Blennius Linnaeus 1758    blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Blennius normani Poll 1949    in memory of ichthyologist J. R. (John Roxborough) Norman (1898-1944), British Museum (Natural History), “author of outstanding works that make us doubly regret his early passing” (translation)

Blennius ocellaris Linnaeus 1758    having an eye-like spot, referring to large black ocellus on first dorsal fin

Enchelyurus Peters 1868    enchelys, ancient Greek for eel; oura, tail, referring to eel-like caudal fin of E. flavipes, confluent with dorsal and anal fins

Enchelyurus ater (Günther 1877)    black, referring to brown-black body with deep-black fins

Enchelyurus brunneolus (Jenkins 1903)    dark brown, referring to color in alcohol (uniformly black in life)

Enchelyurus flavipes Peters 1868    flavus; yellow; pes, foot, referring to pale-yellow ventral fins

Enchelyurus kraussii (Klunzinger 1871)    in honor of Christian F. F. Krauss (1812-1890), botanist, malacologist, and director of the Royal Natural History Cabinet in Stuttgart

Enchelyurus petersi (Kossmann & Räuber 1877)    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Wilhelm C. H. Peters (1815-1883), German naturalist and explorer, who described the similar Enchelyurus (in which this species was ultimately placed) in 1868

Haptogenys Springer 1972    hapto, join; genys, jaw, referring to suturing joint of dentary bones of tribe Omobranchini

Haptogenys bipunctata (Day 1876)    bi-, two; punctatus, spotted, referring to two dark spots on dorsal fin

Laiphognathus Smith 1955    laiphos, a shabby, tattered garment or piece of cloth; gnathus, jaw, referring to flap of skin on lower jaw of L. multimaculatus

Laiphognathus albifrons Allen & Erdmann 2024    albus, white; frons, forehead, referring to the diagnostic white marking on its head

Laiphognathus longispinis Murase 2007    longus, long; spinis, spine, referring to 3 to 5 of the 6th-10th dorsal spines elongate in mature males (vs. no elongate dorsal spines in L. multimaculatus)

Laiphognathus multimaculatus Smith 1955    multi-, many; maculatus, spotted, referring to 4-5 series of irregular, pupil-sized black spots on body and several small black spots on head

Meiacanthus Norman 1944    meion, less; acanthus, spine, referring to dorsal fin with only 4-8 spines, compared to 10-12 on the related Petroscirtes

Subgenus Meiacanthus                      

Meiacanthus abditus Smith-Vaniz 1987    hidden or concealed, referring to its previous confusion with M. lineatus

Meiacanthus abruptus Smith-Vaniz & Allen 2011    broken off, referring to mid-lateral stripe that abruptly ends on caudal-fin base

Meiacanthus atrodorsalis (Günther 1877)    atro-, black; dorsalis, of the back, presumably referring to dark submarginal stripe usually present on dorsal fin

Meiacanthus bundoon Smith-Vaniz 1976    in honor of the yacht Bundoon, used for transportation during collection of type [presumably a noun in apposition, without the eponymic “i”]

Meiacanthus crinitus Smith-Vaniz 1987    hairy or with long hair, referring to elongate inner caudal-fin rays of adult males

Meiacanthus cyanopterus Smith-Vaniz & Allen 2011    cyanos, blue; pterus, fin, referring to blue dorsal-fin stripe

Meiacanthus erdmanni Smith-Vaniz & Allen 2011    in honor of marine biologist Mark V. Erdmann (b. 1968), who collected type, for his efforts to promote conservation of the Bird’s Head biodiversity hot spot and document the fishes of the region

Meiacanthus fakfakensis Allen, Erdmann & Hidayat 2024    –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: nearby town of Fakfak and the greater Fakfak Peninsula, West Papua Province, Indonesia, where it occurs

Meiacanthus flavivittatus Allen, Erdmann & Sianipar 2024    flavus, yellow; vittatus, striped, referring to its most conspicuous color marking

Meiacanthus fraseri Smith-Vaniz 1976    in honor of Thomas H. Fraser, Mote Marine Laboratory (Sarasota, Florida), who collected the first specimen and, suspecting that it might be undescribed, informed Smith-Vaniz of its existence

Meiacanthus geminatus Smith-Vaniz 1976    paired or doubled, referring to its presumed cognate status with M. vittatus

Meiacanthus grammistes (Valenciennes 1836)    lined, presumably referring to three dark stripes separated by pale interspaces on head and body

Meiacanthus kamoharai Tomiyama 1956    in honor of ichthyologist Toshiji Kamohara (1901-1972), Kochi University, to whom Tomiyama was “indebted in various ways during his more than twenty years of ichthyological study”

Meiacanthus limbatus Smith-Vaniz 1987    bordered, referring to dark stripe at base of anal fin

Meiacanthus lineatus (De Vis 1884)    lined, referring to three dark stripes on head and body, separated by pale interspaces, all of approximately equal width

Meiacanthus luteus Smith-Vaniz 1987    yellow, referring to brilliant yellow upper-body coloration

Meiacanthus mossambicus Smith 1959    –icus, belonging to: Mozambique, western Indian Ocean, type locality

Meiacanthus naevius Smith-Vaniz 1987    birthmark, referring to conspicuous spot on caudal peduncle

Meiacanthus nigrolineatus Smith-Vaniz 1969    nigro-, black; lineatus, lined, referring to characteristic dark stripe present on most specimens

Meiacanthus oualanensis (Günther 1880)    –ensis, Ovalau Island, Fiji, type locality [Smith-Vaniz (1976) emended spelling to “ovalauensis” believing Günther’s original spelling represented a copyist’s or printer’s error, but since Günther used that spelling in both text and index it should be retained]

Meiacanthus phaeus Smith-Vaniz 1976    of the hue or color of twilight (i.e., dusky, brown or grayish brown), referring to dominant coloration of preserved specimens

Meiacanthus procne Smith-Vaniz 1976    Prokne, from Greek mythology, whom the gods transformed into a swallow, referring to its produced caudal-fin lobes

Meiacanthus reticulatus Smith-Vaniz 1976    reticulated, referring to its “unique” reticulated color pattern, which readily distinguishes it from congeners

Meiacanthus smithi Klausewitz 1962    in honor of ichthyologist-chemist J.L.B. Smith (1897-1968), Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa), who examined type specimen and confirmed it was undescribed

Meiacanthus solomon Smith-Vaniz & Allen 2019    named for the Solomon Islands, only known area of occurrence

Meiacanthus tongaensis Smith-Vaniz 1987    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Tonga Island, Central Pacific, where it appears to be endemic

Meiacanthus vicinus Smith-Vaniz 1987    near or neighboring, referring to its presumed sister relationship with M. geminatus

Meiacanthus vittatus Smith-Vaniz 1976    decorated or bound with ribbon, i.e., striped or banded, referring to black midlateral stripe extending from snout through eye to caudal fin

Subgenus Allomeiacanthus Smith-Vaniz 1987    allos, strange or different, a subgenus of Meiacanthus in which dentary gland is positioned ventrally and encapsulated in dentary bone

Meiacanthus ditrema Smith-Vaniz 1976    di-, two; trema, hole, referring to pair of mid-dorsal supratemporal pores

Meiacanthus urostigma Smith-Vaniz, Satapoomin & Allen 2001    oura, tail; stigma, mark or spot, referring to prominent basicaudal spot

Subgenus Holomeiacanthus Smith-Vaniz 1987    holos, whole or entire, referring to hypothesis that M. anema most closely resembles progenitor that gave rise to Meiacanthus

Meiacanthus anema (Bleeker 1852)    a-, without; nema, thread, referring to simple caudal fin without filamentous rays

Oman Springer 1985    Oman, country where type locality (100 meters off shore from Sur) of O. ypsilon is situated

Oman ypsilon Springer 1985    Greek name of the letter “U,” referring to dark U-shaped marking on anterodorsal surface of head

Omobranchus Valenciennes 1836    om-, shoulder (i.e., area above pectoral fin); branchos, gill, referring to restricted gill opening, never extending ventrally much below ventral level of pectoral-fin base, described for A. anolius as a “very small hole above the chest” (translation)

Omobranchus anolius (Valenciennes 1836)    like Anolis, anoles, lizards in the family Dactyloidae, referring to how this blenny “raises its little head like these little saurians named anolis” (translation)

Omobranchus aurosplendidus (Richardson 1846)    auro-, gold; spendidus, bright or shining, referring to its “wax yellow” body with five rows of “bright golden specks,” and “bright king’s yellow” head and fins (except the anal)

Omobranchus banditus Smith 1959    etymology not explained, perhaps latinization of bandit, referring to bandit- or convict-like appearance of its black-and-white vertical stripes

Omobranchus dispar (Günther 1861)    Latin for unlike or dissimilar, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to the two type specimens, “one of which is nearly twice the size of the other,” the smaller one with an occipital crest, “the only instance known, at present” in Petroscirtes (its original genus)

Omobranchus elegans (Steindachner 1876)    elegant, fine or select, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its coloration (yellow or orange in life, but Steindachner described it as chocolate-brown, perhaps its color in spirits)

Omobranchus elongatus (Peters 1855)    elongate, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to more elongate or compressed body compared to Petroscirtes barbatus (=mitratus) and P. cynodon (=breviceps), its presumed congeners at the time, described in the same paper

Omobranchus fasciolatoceps (Richardson 1846)    fasciolatus, banded; ceps, head, referring to five vertical black bands on head

Omobranchus fasciolatus (Valenciennes 1836)    banded, referring to 12 white stripes on a grayish body

Omobranchus ferox (Herre 1927)    ferocious, for their “propensity to seize hold with their fangs”

Omobranchus germaini (Sauvage 1883)    in honor of Louis Rodolphe Germain (1827-1917), veterinary surgeon in the French colonial army, who collected type

Omobranchus hikkaduwensis Bath 1983    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka, type locality (also occurs in Bali)

Omobranchus lineolatus (Kner 1868)    lined, presumably referring to fine lines (nearly violet in life) traversing entire dorsal and anal fins  

Omobranchus loxozonus (Jordan & Starks 1906)    loxos, slanting; zonus, belt or girdle, referring to dark bands that “slope downward and forward” posteriorly on the body and “downward and backward” anteriorly

Omobranchus mekranensis (Regan 1905)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mekran Coast, Iran, type locality

Omobranchus obliquus (Garman 1903)    Latin for slanting or sideway, referring to a “series of bars of brown on the flanks, the anterior of which incline forward, the posterior, backward”

Omobranchus punctatus (Valenciennes 1836)    spotted, referring to three longitudinal rows of blackish-blue dots or small spots on russet-gray body

Omobranchus robertsi Springer 1981    in honor of ichthyologist Tyson R. Roberts (b. 1940), who collected type and made it available to Springer

Omobranchus rotundiceps (Macleay 1881)    rotundus, rounded; ceps, head, referring to “very round and obtuse” head

Omobranchus sewalli (Fowler 1931)    in honor of Arthur W. Sewall (1860-1939) of the Barber Asphalt Company, who “secured” for the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia an “interesting” collection of fishes from Trinidad and Venezuela, including holotype of this one

Omobranchus smithi (Rao 1974)    in honor of ichthyologist-chemist J.L.B. Smith (1897-1968), Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa), who has “contributed much to our knowledge of blenniid fishes”

Omobranchus steinitzi Springer & Gomon 1975    in honor of the late Heinz Steinitz (1909-1971), Hebrew University (Jerusalem), for contributions to marine biology

Omobranchus verticalis Springer & Gomon 1975    upright, allusion not explained, presumably referring to up to 16 vertical, dusky bands on body, several partially outlined with slender dark lines

Omobranchus woodi (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908)    in honor of J. Wood (no other information available), Natal, South Africa, who collected “many specimens of marine animals,” including type of this blenny

Omobranchus zebra (Bleeker 1868)    presumably referring to vertical (i.e., zebra-like) bands across head

Omox Springer 1972    “an arbitrary combination of letters,” probably alluding to its similarity to Omobranchus

Omox biporos Springer 1972    bi-, two; poros, holed, referring to two sensory pores that appear, one on each side, just anterior to dorsal-fin origin

Omox lupus Springer 1981    wolf, referring to its wolf-like snout (longer than that of O. biporos)

Parenchelyurus Springer 1972    para-, near; Enchelyurus, original genus of type species, P. hepburni

Parenchelyurus hepburni (Snyder 1908)    in honor of Lieut. A. J. Hepburn, U.S. Navy, executive officer of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries steamer Albatross, from which type was collected  

Parenchelyurus hyena (Whitley 1953)      etymology not explained, presumably referring to the Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta), alluding to this blenny’s spotted coloration

Petroscirtes Rüppell 1830    petro, stone; scirtes, to leap, referring to Rüppell’s claim that P. mitratus was seen jumping between rocks out of the water hunting for small amphipods; however, since P. mitratus is not amphibious, Rüppell may have confused it with Alticus saliens, observing both blennies at Jubal Island (Egypt, Red Sea) and thinking they were conspecific (Ronald Fricke, pers. comm.)

Subgenus Petroscirtes 

Petroscirtes mitratus Rüppell 1830    to wear a miter or other head dress, presumably referring to well-developed orbital cirrus

Subgenus Dasson Jordan & Hubbs 1925    etymology not explained; according to Jordan & Snyder’s 1902 description of Aspidontus dasson (=Omobranchus punctatus), from the Greek asson, meaning “very swift,” perhaps referring to their swimming speed and ability to avoid capture by nets (addition of “d” is not explained)

Petroscirtes ancylodon Rüppell 1835    ankylos, bent, hooked or crooked; odon, tooth, referring to large, recurved canine tooth on each dentary

Petroscirtes breviceps (Valenciennes 1836)    brevis, short; ceps, head, “distinguished at first glance by its short, broad head, which is only half as long as its height, and whose thickness is three-quarters its height” (translation)

Petroscirtes fallax Smith-Vaniz 1976    deceitful or deceptive, presumably a Batesian mimic of Meiacanthus lineatus

Petroscirtes lupus (De Vis 1885)    wolf, probably referring to large, recurved canine tooth on each dentary

Petroscirtes marginatus Smith-Vaniz 1976    enclosed with a border, referring to dark marginal stripe of dorsal fin

Petroscirtes pylei Smith-Vaniz 2005    in honor of ichthyologist Richard L. Pyle (b. 1967), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for his “pioneering efforts to shed more light on the ichthyofauna of the deep reef ‘Twilight Zone’” (60-150 m, at the lower limits of photosynthetically useful sunlight penetration); he also helped collect type

Petroscirtes springeri Smith-Vaniz 1976    in honor of ichthyologist Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), U.S. National Museum, who first introduced Smith-Vaniz to blenniid fishes and suggested the study in which the description appeared

Petroscirtes thepassii Bleeker 1853    in honor of military surgeon A. H. Thepass, who apparently collected type

Petroscirtes variabilis Cantor 1849    variable, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its variable coloration, e.g., “dorsal yellowish olive, dotted with black, rays with more or less distinct blackish spots forming two or three longitudinal series; in some individuals a black spot between the points of the first and second ray”

Petroscirtes xestus Jordan & Seale 1906    smoothed or polished, presumably referring to coloration of dorsal surface of head of juvenile type, “bright silvery, as if coated with mercury,” and/or broad silvery lateral stripe from eye to base of caudal fin

Phenablennius Springer & Smith-Vaniz 1972    phenax, imposter or deceptor, referring to “striking” superficial similarity of this genus to members of the blenniid tribe Omobranchini; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids

Phenablennius heyligeri (Bleeker 1859)    in honor of R.V. Heyliger, Belgian counsel in Batavia (now Jakarta), Indonesia, who collected type

Plagiotremus Gill 1865    plagio-, oblique; trema, hole, referring to “very wide” gape of P. spilistius, with a “lower jaw, which, when closed, shuts obliquely upwards, being capable of retraction even behind the vertical”

Subgenus Plagiotremus

Plagiotremus iosodon Smith-Vaniz 1976    ios, arrow; odon, tooth, referring to arrowhead-shaped tips on dentary incisors

Plagiotremus spilistius Gill 1865    spilos, spot or blemish; istios, sail, referring to numerous black spots on dorsal fin

Subgenus Musgravius Whitley 1961    –ius, pertaining to: entomologist and photographer Anthony Musgrave (1895-1959), Australian Museum, Whitley’s “late friend and colleague in museum and field work”

Plagiotremus laudandus (Whitley 1961)    praiseworthy, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its color in alcohol: anterior half dark brown, posterior half pale yellow

Plagiotremus phenax Smith-Vaniz 1976    imposter, referring to “striking” similarity to Meiacanthus smithi

Plagiotremus townsendi (Regan 1905)    in honor of Capt. Frederick William Townsend (d. 1948), Commander, Indian Cable-Ship Patrick Stewart, who collected many fishes and molluscs while doing cable work in the Persian Gulf, including type of this blenny

Subgenus Runula Jordan & Bollman 1890    diminutive of runa, dart, i.e., a small dart, presumably referring to slender body and continuous dorsal fin of P. azaleus

Plagiotremus azaleus (Jordan & Bollman 1890)     azaleos, parched (i.e., lightly roasted), referring to reddish-brown coloration

Plagiotremus goslinei (Strasburg 1956)    in honor of ichthyologist William A. Gosline (1915-2002), University of Hawai‘i, who helped collect type and other specimens that Strasburg examined

Plagiotremus ewaensis (Brock 1948)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Ewa Beach, Oahu Island, Hawai‘i, type locality

Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos (Bleeker 1852)    rhinos, beak or bill; rhynchos, snout, referring to fleshy conical snout of adults

Plagiotremus tapeinosoma (Bleeker 1857)    tapeinos, low or humble; soma, body, referring to its slender body, slimmer than the related P. rhinorhynchos

Spaniblennius Bath & Wirtz 1989     spanios, rare or scarce, referring to both species being known from a single specimen; Blennius, closely related to that genus

Spaniblennius clandestinus Bath & Wirtz 1989    secret or hidden, presumably referring to fact that type specimen, collected ca. 1950, remained unknown in a museum collection until 1987

Spaniblennius riodourensis (Metzelaar 1919)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio de Oro, Mauritania, type locality

Xiphasia Swainson 1839    etymology not explained, probably derived from xiphos, sword, referring to “excessively long and linear” body and lanceolate tail of X. setifer

Xiphasia matsubarai Okada & Suzuki 1952    in honor of the authors’ friend, ichthyologist Kiyomatsu Matsubara (1907-1968), Kyoto University, expressing their “gratitude to him for his kindness given them in various ways”

Xiphasia setifer Swainson 1839    seti, setae (hair-like structures); fero, to bear, presumably referring to ventral-fin rays, each consisting of a “single filamentous ray”