COMMENTS
v. 11.0 – 14 Dec. 2024 view/download PDF
Family CLINIDAE Kelp Blennies
27 genera/subgenera · 91 species
Blennioclinus Gill 1860 blennio-, referring to “blenniform head” of B. brachycephalus; Clinus, original genus of that species
Blennioclinus brachycephalus (Valenciennes 1836) brachys, short; cephalus, head, referring to “brevity” (translation) of its head, described as 5½ times in TL
Blennioclinus stella Smith 1946 a star, allusion not explained nor evident
Blennophis Swainson , blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids; ophis, snake, referring to eel-like shape of B. anguillaris
Blennophis anguillaris (Valenciennes 1836) eel-like, referring to its elongate and cylindrical body, which “give it something of the appearance of an eel” (translation)
Blennophis striatus (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) furrowed or grooved (i.e., striped), referring to longitudinal bands on body
Cancelloxus Smith 1961 cancellosus, mesh-like; loxus, slanting, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to 12 light-brown saddles surrounded by white rectangular areas along back of C. burrelli, which, when seen from above, may look like meshes
Cancelloxus burrelli Smith 1961 in honor of Cyril J. Burrell, Esq. (no other information available), “who has constantly provided valuable aid in [Smith’s] researches”
Cancelloxus elongatus Heemstra & Wright 1986 referring to its elongate, compressed body
Cancelloxus longior Prochazka & Griffiths 1991 longer, referring to its “extremely elongate” body form
Cirrhibarbis Valenciennes 1836 cirrhis, curl or tendril; barbis, barbel, referring to palmate tentacle with 4-12 cirri behind each eye, spatulate tentacle at each forward nostril, and eight barbels on chin
Cirrhibarbis capensis Valenciennes 1836 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, type locality
Climacoporus Barnard 1935 climacis, ladder; porus, pore, referring to lateral line, a “broad, well-marked canal opening by paired pores, the upper and lower pores opposite one another …, and joined by a slight cuticular ridge, thus resembling a ladder”
Climacoporus navalis Barnard 1935 naval (or ships or the navy), presumably referring to how it was collected from the training ship General Botha “on entering the naval dry-dock” of Simonstown, False Bay, South Africa
Clinitrachus Swainson 1839 Clinus, a clinid blenny that resembles Trachinus, genus of weever-fishes (Perciformes: Trachinidae)
Clinitrachus argentatus (Risso 1810) silvery, referring to silvery blotches on body
Clinoporus Barnard 1927 Clinus, closely resembling that genus; porus, pore, referring to double line pores on lateral line
Clinoporus biporosus (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) bi-, two; porosus, pored, referring to double line pores on lateral line
Clinus Cuvier 1816 ancient Greek name for blennies, etymology not clear, often said to derive from clino, bend, slant or slope, referring to sloping forehead
Clinus acuminatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) sharpened or pointed, referring to pointed head formed by wedge-shaped snout
Clinus agilis Smith 1931 quick or nimble, an “active and shy little fish lives in the seagrass on the mud-banks of the river and is captured with difficulty”
Clinus arborescens Gilchrist & Thompson 1908 arbor, tree; –escens, becoming, i.e., tree-like, referring to its orbital tentacles, a “rounded tapering stalk with a long fringe, often branched”
Clinus berrisfordi Penrith 1967 in honor of marine biologist C. D. Berrisford, who collected type with Penrith’s husband
Clinus brevicristatus Gilchrist & Thompson 1908 brevis, short; cristatus, crested, referring to dorsal crest lower than last spine of dorsal fin
Clinus cottoides Valenciennes 1836 –oides, having the form of: Cottus, genus of sculpins, referring to its short, fat body and large head, giving it “at first glance, some resemblance to the sculpins” (translation)
Clinus exasperatus Holleman, von der Heyden & Zsilavecz 2012 exasperate, referring to “numerous, unsuccessful attempts by the second author to obtain additional specimens” (described from only one specimen)
Clinus helenae (Smith 1946) matronym not identified, perhaps in honor of Smith’s mother-in-law, Helen Evelyn Zondagh (1877-1951)
Clinus heterodon Valenciennes 1836 heteros, different; odon, teeth, referring to teeth in a single series, except in the middle, where they form a group
Clinus latipennis Valenciennes 1836 latus, wide; pennis, fin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to soft portion of dorsal fin more elevated than spinous portion and/or to dorsal fin extending on (i.e., continuous with) caudal
Clinus musaicus Holleman, von der Heyden & Zsilavecz 2012 mosaic, referring to reticulated color pattern, “reminiscent of mosaics”
Clinus nematopterus Günther 1861 nemato-, thread; pterus, fin, referring to nine anterior dorsal fin spines, “provided with a skinny lobe composed of filaments”
Clinus ornatus Gilchrist & Thompson 1908 decorated, presumably referring to its “usually vivid” color
Clinus robustus Gilchrist & Thompson 1908 stout or strong, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “erect and strong” anterior spines of dorsal fin
Clinus rotundifrons Barnard 1937 rotundus, round; frons, forehead, presumably referring to “rather abruptly descending” profile with blunt snout
Clinus spatulatus Bennett 1983 spatulate (having a broad, rounded end), referring to shape of supraorbital tentacle
Clinus superciliosus (Linnaeus 1758) super, over and above; ciliosus, haughty or having a raised eyebrow, referring to prominent cirri above eyes, sometimes quite bushy in mature adults
Clinus taurus Gilchrist & Thompson 1908 bull, allusion not explained, probably referring to mature specimens having “rather a fierce aspect,” as suggested by the authors’ proposed vernacular name, Bull Klip
Clinus venustris Gilchrist & Thompson 1908 lovely, pleasing or beautiful, referring to its coloration, “prettily variegated with red, bright-blue, and white and yellow markings on body and vertical fins,” and “bright orange blotches at base of dorsal, or longitudinal irregular brown bands crossed by broad confluent patches of the same shade,” their tints “always very pleasingly arranged”
Clinus woodi (Smith 1946) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of friend Alexander Thomas Wood (1872-1957), Xora Mouth, South Africa (type locality), who provided specimens and owned a cottage that Smith frequently used as a base for fieldwork
Cologrammus Gill 1893 colos, curtailed; grammus, line, referring to “imperfect” lateral line (sloping gently downwards, ceasing under 10th dorsal spine)
Cologrammus flavescens (Hutton 1872) yellowish, referring to pale yellow coloration
Cristiceps Valenciennes 1836 crista, crest or crown; ceps, head, referring to first dorsal fin originating above eye and behind supraorbital tentacles
Cristiceps argyropleura Kner 1865 argyros, silver; pleuron, side, referring to large silver blotches along the sides
Cristiceps aurantiacus Castelnau 1879 orange-colored, a fish of a “beautiful orange colour, with the fins of a fine yellow”
Cristiceps australis Valenciennes 1836 southern, referring to its distribution off southern Australia
Ericentrus Gill 1893 eri-, very; kentron, thorn or spine, referring to many spines (~40) of dorsal fin
Ericentrus rubrus (Hutton 1872) red, to rose body coloration
Fucomimus Smith 1946 Fucus, genus of brown algae or seaweed; mimus, imitator, described as “abundant in weeds,” presumably referring to its variable cryptic coloring of reddish, green or brown
Fucomimus mus (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) mouse, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to small size (described as a “little fish” at 41-85 mm in length); the authors’ proposed vernacular name is Mouse Klipfish
Gibbonsia Cooper 1864 –ia, belonging to: William P. Gibbons (1812-1897), physician, naturalist and founding member of the California Academy of Sciences, whose 1854 descriptions of viviparous fishes (Ovalenteria: Embiotocidae) “have only of late been awarded the credit they deserve”
Gibbonsia elegans (Cooper 1864) elegant, “beautiful little fish” whose “varied and elegant coloration would make them beautiful objects for a marine aquarium”
Gibbonsia metzi Hubbs 1927 in honor of “well-known” geneticist Charles W. Metz (1889-1975), University of Pennsylvania, “the first to differentiate clearly between the three forms of the genus”
Gibbonsia montereyensis Hubbs 1927 –ensis, suffix denoting place: near Monterey, California (USA), type locality
Heteroclinus Castelnau 1872 hetero-, different; Clinus, type genus of family but possibly referring to how this genus differs (shorter, less elongate body) from Ophiclinus, proposed in same publication
Heteroclinus adelaidae Castelnau 1872 of Adelaide, city near type locality, St. Vincent Gulf, South Australia
Heteroclinus antinectes (Günther 1861) anti-, opposed; nectes, swimmer, allusion not explained, possibly referring to 23 soft rays in anal fin, as opposed to 19-20 of Clinitrachus argentatus, its presumed congener at the time
Heteroclinus argyrospilos Hoese & Pogonoski 2021 argyros, silver; spilos, spot, referring to silver spots on belly and lower surface of head and pectoral-fin base
Heteroclinus colemani Hoese, Hay & DiBattista 2024 in honor of Neville Coleman, (1938–2012), Australian environmental photographer, explorer and conservationist, who collected material of this species and other clinid species studied
Heteroclinus eckloniae (McKay 1970) etymology not explained, presumably of Ecklonia, a genus of kelp (brown algae), referring to type specimen ”removed from amongst brown kelp weed torn up by a craypot set in eighteen fathoms”
Heteroclinus equiradiatus (Milward 1960) aequalis, equal; radiatus, rayed, referring to three ventral-fin rays of equal length (unlike Australian congeners)
Heteroclinus heptaeolus (Ogilby 1885) diminutive of hepta, seven, presumably referring to seven black spots on each side along base of dorsal fin
Heteroclinus johnstoni (Saville-Kent 1886) in honor of statistician and scientist Robert Mackenzie Johnston (1843-1918), “to whom science is so much indebted for the already advanced state of our knowledge concerning the fish fauna” of Tasmania (per Saville-Kent in a more-detailed description that appeared later that year)
Heteroclinus kuiteri Hoese & Rennis 2006 in honor of Australian underwater photographer Rudolf “Rudie” Kuiter (b. 1943), who provided much of the type material and “valuable” material of other Australian clinids
Heteroclinus longicauda Hoese, Hay & DiBattista 2024 longus, long; cauda, tail, referring to its elongate caudal peduncle
Heteroclinus macrophthalmus Hoese 1976 macro-, large; ophthalmus, eye, referring to larger eye compared to H. adelaidae
Heteroclinus nasutus (Günther 1861) large-nosed, presumably referring to subconical snout, “somewhat longer than the eye”
Heteroclinus perspicillatus (Valenciennes 1836) spectacled, referring to eyeglass-like marking on each side of nape above operculum, described as a round and black spot, surrounded by a yellow circle, similar to the marking on the Indian (or Spectacled) Cobra, Naja naja
Heteroclinus puellarum (Scott 1955) genitive plural of puella, girl, referring to the three collectors of holotype, all female: Miss B. McCormick, Miss J. Paterson and Miss B. Townsend (no other information available about them)
Heteroclinus roseus (Günther 1861) rosy, referring to rose-colored crossbars on head, body, and anal and pectoral fins
Heteroclinus tristis (Klunzinger 1872) sad, mournful, or dark or dull in color or tone, referring to uniform blackish-brown color
Heteroclinus whiteleggii (Ogilby 1894) in honor of Ogilby’s friend, naturalist Thomas Whitelegge (1850-1927), who collected type under stones between tidemarks on oyster beds of Jervis Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Heteroclinus whitleyi Hoese, Hay & DiBattista 2024 in honor of British-born Australian ichthyologist and malacologist Gilbert Percy Whitley (1903–1975), former Curator of Fishes at the Australian Museum
Heteroclinus wilsoni (Lucas 1891) in honor of John Bracebridge Wilson (1828-1895), headmaster and naturalist, who collected type while dredging for shellfish, seaweeds and sponges near Port Phillip Heads, Victoria, Australia
Heterostichus Girard 1854 hetero-, different; stichus, rank or row, allusion not explained; according to Jordan & Evermann (1898), referring to “differentiation of the anterior dorsal spines,” which constitute an apparently distinct fin
Heterostichus rostratus Girard 1854 beaked, presumably referring to long and low head with produced, very acute snout
Muraenoclinus Smith 1946 muraena, Latin for moray eel, but probably used here as term for eels in general, presumably referring to its moray-like shape, but also described by Smith (1950) as “difficult to capture, agile as an eel”; Clinus, type genus of family
Muraenoclinus dorsalis (Bleeker 1859) of the back, described as the only species of Clinus (original genus) with a single soft dorsal-fin ray
Myxodes Cuvier 1829 slimy, referring to slimy mucus on skin, to which blennies owe their Greek name of Blennius
Myxodes cristatus Valenciennes 1836 crested, referring to three elongate anterior dorsal fin spines, which form a kind of crest on head
Myxodes ornatus Stephens & Springer 1974 decorated, presumably referring to dusky bands on body and dorsal and anal fins, absent on both congeners
Myxodes viridis Valenciennes 1836 green, referring to upper-body color in life (brown in alcohol)
Ophiclinops Whitley 1932 ops, appearance, similar to and previously placed in Ophiclinus
Ophiclinops hutchinsi George & Springer 1980 in honor of Western Australian Museum (Perth) fish curator J. Barry Hutchins (b. 1946), who collected all the type specimens and allowed George and Springer to describe the species
Ophiclinops pardalis (McCulloch & Waite 1918) like a leopard, presumably referring to leopard-like spots on body
Ophiclinops varius (McCulloch & Waite 1918) variable, presumably referring to irregular dark lines and dots on body, which are “variable and may be absent”
Ophiclinus Castelnau 1872 ophis, snake, referring to very elongate body of O. antarcticus; Clinus, type genus of family
Ophiclinus antarcticus Castelnau 1872 southern, referring to distribution off coasts of South and Western Australia
Ophiclinus brevipinnis George & Springer 1980 brevis, short; pinnis, fin, having the shortest pectoral fin in the genus
Ophiclinus gabrieli Waite 1906 in honor of Charles John Gabriel (1879-1963), Australian pharmacist and conchologist, who collected type while dredging for molluscs
Ophiclinus gracilis Waite 1906 slender, allusion not explained but clearly referring to its elongate body
Ophiclinus ningulus George & Springer 1980 Latin for nobody, referring to “lack of distinctive characters that might otherwise serve as a basis for a scientific name”
Ophiclinus pectoralis George & Springer 1980 of the breast, referring to distinctive coloration of pectoral fins (darkly colored proximal portion sharply demarcated from distal pale portion)
Pavoclinus Smith 1946 pavo, presumably named for type species, P. pavo; clinus, a clinid blenny
Subgenus Pavoclinus
Pavoclinus caeruleopunctatus Zsilavecz 2001 caeruleus, blue; punctatus, spotted, referring to vivid blue in front of and behind eye and usually on flanks of living specimens
Pavoclinus graminis (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) grass, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its occurrence in “weedy rockpools” and/or its green coloration; the authors’ proposed vernacular name is Grass Klipfish
Pavoclinus laurentii (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) latinization of Lawrence, in honor of Master Lawrence Robinson, who caught type specimens at Winkle Spruit (now Winklespruit), a seaside resort in South Africa [as used here, “Master” probably refers to a boy under age 12]
Pavoclinus litorafontis Penrith 1965 litoris, beach; fontis, fountain, Latin transliteration of Strandfontein, South Africa, type locality
Pavoclinus myae Christensen 1978 in honor of Mya van Harten, for “continuous help and support” during the course of Christensen’s studies; she was his fiancée at the time (Mike Christensen, pers. comm.)
Pavoclinus pavo (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) peacock, allusion not explained, presumably referring to large nuchal crest on males (like the head ornament of male peacocks) and/or dark ocellated spots at base of dorsal fin
Pavoclinus profundus Smith 1961 deep, presumably referring to capture at 20 fathoms (36.6 m)
Pavoclinus smalei Heemstra & Wright 1986 in honor of friend and colleague Malcolm J. Smale, who assisted in the SCUBA collections of this and several other new species, an “ever cheerful field worker and extremely competent diver-biologist”
Subgenus Labroclinus Smith 1946 labrosus, thick-lipped, presumably referring to prominent skinny flap on lower jaw at symphysis; clinus, a clinid blenny
Pavoclinus mentalis (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) relating to the chin, referring to prominent skinny flap on lower jaw at symphysis
Peronedys Steindachner 1883 etymology not explained, possibly derived from perone, pin or anything pointed for piercing, referring to any or all of the following: elongate body, gradually tapering almost to a point; dorsal fin consisting mostly of spines; pelvic fin, which consists of a single, short ray
Peronedys anguillaris Steindachner 1883 eel-like, referring to long, eel-like body
Ribeiroclinus Pinto 1965 in honor Pinto’s late colleague, ichthyologist Paulo de Miranda Ribeiro (1901-1965), National Museum of Brazil; Clinus, type genus of family
Ribeiroclinus eigenmanni (Jordan 1888) in honor of ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann (1863-1927), Jordan’s former assistant, “who has contributed a good deal to our knowledge of the fishes of tropical America”
Smithichthys Hubbs 1952 in honor of ichthyologist J.L.B. Smith (1897-1968), for his “fine work” on South African clinids; ichthys, fish [author is Clark Hubbs, son of Carl]
Smithichthys fucorum (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908) –orum, belonging to: Fucus, genus of brown algae or seaweed, referring to how it “appears to frequent the vicinity of seaweed, and its colouring and general appearance render it almost indistinguishable from the fronds of weed among which it lives”
Springeratus Shen 1971 –atus, having the nature of: Shen’s “ichthyological colleague” (and blenny taxonomist) Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), U.S. National Museum
Springeratus polyporatus Fraser 1972 poly, many; poratus, pored, referring to numerous cephalic head pores
Springeratus xanthosoma (Bleeker 1857) xanthos, yellow; soma, body, referring to yellow coloration in alcohol (reddish-brown in life)
Sticharium Günther 1867 etymology not explained, presumably –ium, adjectival suffix; stichus, line, rank or row, allusion not evident, perhaps referring to long line of dorsal-fin spines (also, a sticharium is a vestment or tunic, but that interpretation does not seem to apply)
Sticharium clarkae George & Springer 1980 in honor of ichthyologist Eugenie Clark (1922-2015), University of Maryland, for her “continued guidance and encouragement” of the senior author
Sticharium dorsale Günther 1867 of the back, presumably referring to long dorsal fin, “formed by pungent spines only”
Xenopoclinus Smith 1948 xenos, strange and pous, foot, referring to pelvic fins “resembling a webbed foot”; clinus, a clinid goby
Xenopoclinus kochi Smith 1948 in honor of malacologist H. J. Koch (Somerset West, South Africa), who collected type with his wife Anne during field work in conchology
Xenopoclinus leprosus Smith 1961 scabby, presumably referring to body, including belly, “sparsely covered with minute thin cycloid scales, nowhere imbricate or regular”
Family LABRISOMIDAE
18 genera/subgenera · 130 species
Alloclinus Hubbs 1927 allo-, another; Clinus, type genus of Clinidae, i.e., a new genus of Clinidae (family at time of description)
Alloclinus holderi (Lauderbach 1907) in honor of American naturalist, conservationist and writer Charles Frederick Holder (1851-1915), Pasadena, California (USA), who helped acquire fishes at Santa Catalina Island (California), presumably including type of this one
Auchenionchus Gill 1860 auchen, neck or nape; onchos, protuberance or tubercle, presumably referring to small nuchal tentacle of A. variolosus [originally spelled Anchenionchus, believed to be a misprint since at least 1898; corrected spelling is now in prevailing usage]
Auchenionchus crinitus (Jenyns 1841) hairy, referring to tentacles on nape and nostril, each consisting of eight short bristles, “all separate to the root”
Auchenionchus microcirrhis (Valenciennes 1836) micro-, small; cirrhis, curl or tendril, referring to small tentacles (whisker-like structures) on nostril and nape
Auchenionchus variolosus (Valenciennes 1836) variegated, referring to coloration in life, with numerous black spots on a yellow body (and on tongue and inside of cheeks)
Brockius Hubbs 1953 –ius, belonging to: Vernon E. Brock (1912-1971), ichthyologist-herpetologist, who collected type of B. striatus and “developed a collecting technique satisfactory to sample its habitat” (rocky bottom slightly below low-tide line)
Brockius albigenys (Beebe & Tee-Van 1928) albus, white; genys, cheek, referring to large white, black-bordered spot on cheek
Brockius nigricinctus (Howell Rivero 1936) nigri-, black; cinctus, girdle or belt, referring to “ribbonlike bands” that mark its body
Brockius striatus (Hubbs 1953) striped, referring to striped color phase (life coloration is variable based on habitat)
Calliclinus Gill 1860 calli-, beautiful, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to colors and/or color pattern of C. geniguttatus; Clinus (Clinidae), original genus of that species
Calliclinus geniguttatus (Valenciennes 1836) genys, cheek; guttatus, spotted, referring to speckling of many small black dots on cheeks
Calliclinus nudiventris Cervigón & Pequeño 1979 nudus, bare or naked; ventris, belly, referring to scaleless, elongated triangular area on belly, directly behind ventral fins
Cottoclinus McCosker, Stephens & Rosenblatt 2003 Cottus, genus of sculpins, referring to its sculpin-like appearance; Clinus, ancient Greek name for blennies
Cottoclinus canops McCosker, Stephens & Rosenblatt 2003 kanon, rule or standard; ops, eye, referring to “normal structure” of cornea, i.e., lacking fleshy pigmented vertical bar across eye separating two flat windows as in the related Dialommus
Cryptotrema Gilbert 1890 kryptos, secret or hidden; trema, hole, referring to anterior portion of lateral line of C. corallinum, “which runs on a series of enlarged scales having no externally visible pores”
Cryptotrema corallinum Gilbert 1890 coralline, referring to irregular narrow longitudinal streaks of “bright coral red” on body
Cryptotrema seftoni Hubbs 1954 in honor of banker Joseph W. Sefton, Jr. (1882-1966), San Diego, California, USA, “who has done much to promote the investigation of the marine fauna and flora of the coasts of California and Baja California” (type was dredged from aboard Sefton’s yacht Orca)
Dialommus Gilbert 1891 dia-, divided; l, presumably added for euphony; omma, eye, referring to cornea of D. fuscus “divided by an oblique pigmented band into an anterior lower and posterior upper half”
Dialommus fuscus Gilbert 1891 dark or dusky, referring to brownish color above and on sides, becoming blackish on head and/or dusky fins
Dialommus macrocephalus (Günther 1861) macro-, large or long; cephalus, head, presumably referring to width of head, described as “nearly as broad as long,” its crown “broad and flat”
Gobioclinus Gill 1860 gobio, referring to gudgeon-like appearance of G. gobio; Clinus (Clinidae), original genus of that species
Gobioclinus bucciferus (Poey 1868) bucca, cheek; fero, to bear, presumably referring to large mouth, reaching beyond middle of eye
Gobioclinus dendriticus (Reid 1935) dendritic, referring to its orbital appendage, a broad, leaf-like pad with 5-9 filaments superiorly
Gobioclinus filamentosus (Springer 1960) referring to long, filamentous first three spines of dorsal fin
Gobioclinus gobio (Valenciennes 1836) gudgeon, referring to its gudgeon-like appearance
Gobioclinus guppyi (Norman 1922) in honor of naturalist Plantagenet Lechmere Guppy (1871-1934, son of the civil engineer who discovered the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata), who collected type and sent it to the British Museum
Gobioclinus haitiensis (Beebe & Tee-Van 1928) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Port-au-Prince Bay, Haiti, type locality
Gobioclinus kalisherae (Jordan 1904) in honor of Emilia Kalisher (1868-1959), painter, San Francisco, California (USA), named at the request of her future husband, Joseph Cheesman Thompson (1874-1943), U.S. Navy medical officer (neurosurgeon), amateur zoologist-archaeologist, co-founder of the Zoological Society of San Diego, psychoanalyst, and Burmese cat breeder
Haptoclinus Böhlke & Robins 1974 hapto, join or fasten to, referring to how H. apectolophus caused the authors to “unite family units” since it presents characters common to three blenny families (Clinidae, Tripterygiidae and Chaenopsidae); Clinus, ancient Greek name for blennies, used as a “combining form in coining many generic names for blennioid fishes”
Haptoclinus apectolophus Böhlke & Robins 1974 apektos, unkempt or uncombed; lophos, mane or crest, referring to uneven distribution of anterior dorsal-fin spines, consisting of four parts
Haptoclinus dropi Baldwin & Robertson 2013 of DROP, acronym for the Smithsonian Institution’s Deep Reef Observation Project; this blenny is said to the first of numerous new species that will be described from DROP submersible research in the southern Caribbean
Labrisomus Swainson 1839 etymology not explained, perhaps labri-, Labrus (wrasse) and soma, body, referring to superficial resemblance with wrasses in general or Labrus in particular
Labrisomus conditus Sazima, Carvalho-Filho, Gasparini & Sazima 2009 hidden, referring to its previous misidentification as L. nuchipinnis by most authors who dealt with specimens from Fernando de Noronha Archipelago
Labrisomus cricota Sazima, Gasparini & Moura 2002 Cricota, childhood nickname of fish ecologist Cristina Sazima, University of Campinas (Campinas, Brazil), diver companion who collected the first specimen shown to be distinct from the more widespread L. nuchipinnis [presumably a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Labrisomus fernandezianus (Guichenot 1848) –ianus, belonging to: Juan Fernández Islands, southeastern Pacific, only known area of occurrence
Labrisomus jenkinsi (Heller & Snodgrass 1903) in honor of Oliver Peebles Jenkins (1850-1935), physiology professor at Stanford University
Labrisomus multiporosus Hubbs 1953 multi-, many; porosus, pored, referring to many lateral-line pores on head
Labrisomus nuchipinnis (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) nuchi-, nuchal; pinnis, fin, presumably referring to dorsal fin commencing near the nape
Labrisomus philippii (Steindachner 1866) patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Rodolpho (or Rudolph) A. Philippi (1808-1904), German-Chilean paleontologist and zoologist (type locality is off the coast of Chile), or his brother Bernhard Eunom Philippi (1811-1852), naturalist, explorer and colonization agent for Chile, or his son Federico Philippi (1838-1910), also a biologist in Chile
Labrisomus pomaspilus Springer & Rosenblatt 1965 poma, operculum; spilos, spot, referring to its opercular ocellus
Labrisomus socorroensis Hubbs 1953 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Socorro Island, eastern Pacific, type locality [originally misspelled soccorroensis with a extra “c”; corrected spelling is in prevailing usage]
Labrisomus wigginsi Hubbs 1953 in honor of botanist Ira L. Wiggins (1899-1987), Stanford University, who collected type
Labrisomus xanti Gill 1860 in honor of John Xantus de Vesey (1825-1894), Hungarian exile and zoologist, who collected type; Gill praised his “worth and abilities,” obtaining a collection of terrestrial and marine animals from México, including many new species, all in the “highest state of preservation,” despite many obstacles and the “present condition of affairs” in México
Malacoctenus Gill 1860 malacos, soft; cteno, comb, referring to pectiniform row of filaments at nape of M. delalandii
Malacoctenus africanus Cadenat 1951 African, first collected (no types known) off Africa’s west coast (Senegal)
Malacoctenus aurolineatus Smith 1957 auro-, gold; lineatus, lined, referring to reddish-gold lines on lower sides of body
Malacoctenus boehlkei Springer 1959 in honor of James E. Böhlke (1930-1982), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who brought a specimen of this species to Springer’s attention and gave “considerable assistance in curatorial matters”
Malacoctenus brunoi Guimarães, Nunan & Gasparini 2010 in honor of Bruno Álvares da Silva Lobo (1884-1945), director of Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who organized and participated in the “pioneering” Barroso Expedition (1918) to Trindade Island (where this blenny is endemic)
Malacoctenus carrowi Wirtz 2014 in honor of Frank Carrow, “whose interest in marine conservation led to his creation and funding of the Carrow Foundation, a charitable organization that supports a broad range of marine conservation activities” (Wirtz auctioned off the right to name this blenny)
Malacoctenus costaricanus Springer 1959 –anus, belonging to: Costa Rica, only known area of occurrence
Malacoctenus delalandii (Valenciennes 1836) in honor of the late Pierre Antoine Delalande (1787-1823), French naturalist and explorer, who collected type off the coast of Brazi
Malacoctenus ebisui Springer 1959 named for Ebisu, patron god of Japanese fishermen (although this species occurs in the eastern Pacific of Central America)
Malacoctenus erdmani Smith 1957 in honor of fishery biologist Donald S. Erdman, “who in recent years has added much to our knowledge of the fishes of Puerto Rico” (type locality); he also contributed advice and encouragement throughout the course of Smith’s study and provided Puerto Rican blennies for study
Malacoctenus gigas Springer 1959 large, at 78 mm SL, the largest species in the genus
Malacoctenus gilli (Steindachner 1867) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Smithsonian zoologist Theodore Gill (1837-1914), who proposed the genus Malacoctenus in 1860
Malacoctenus hubbsi Springer 1959 in honor of ichthyologist Clark L. Hubbs (1912-2008), University of Texas at Austin, for his contributions to the study of clinid systematics
Malacoctenus lianae Carvalho-Filho, Almeida, Britto, Dias & Lima 2020 in honor of “ichthyologist friend” Liana Mendes, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Natal, Brazil), who studied the natural history of blennioid fishes at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago
Malacoctenus macropus (Poey 1868) macro-, long; pous, foot, referring to ventral fins as long as the depth of the trunk
Malacoctenus margaritae (Fowler 1944) of margarita (pearl), referring to Perlas Islands, Panama, type locality
Malacoctenus mexicanus Springer 1959 Mexican, known only from the eastern Pacific coast of México
Malacoctenus polyporosus Springer 1959 poly, many; porosus, pored, proposed as a subspecies of M. hubbsi with a higher average number of symphysial pores
Malacoctenus sudensis Springer 1959 –ensis, suffix denoting place: sud, south, proposed as a southern subspecies of M. zonifer
Malacoctenus tetranemus (Cope 1877) tetra, four; nema, thread, referring to long tentacle above posterior orbit “deeply split into four subequal portions”
Malacoctenus triangulatus Springer 1959 triangular, named for triangle-like saddles on body
Malacoctenus versicolor (Poey 1876) variegated, referring to head, sides and fins varied with vertical brown bands and large brown spots
Malacoctenus zacae Springer 1959 named for the 1946 Zaca Expedition, named for Zaca, a schooner-rigged yacht then owned by swashbuckling movie star Errol Flynn (whose father was a marine biologist), during which type was collected
Malacoctenus zaluari Carvalho-Filho, Gasparini & Sazima 2020 in honor of “ichthyologist friend” Ricardo Zaluar Passos Guimarães, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, who “decisively” contributed to studies and descriptions of several reef fishes from the Brazilian coast
Malacoctenus zonifer (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) zonus, band; fero, to bear, referring to five distinct irregular dark-brown bars on sides, extending from base of dorsal fin to level of lower margin of pectoral fin, their lower edges connected by a vague undulating longitudinal band
Malacoctenus zonogaster Heller & Snodgrass 1903 zonus, band; gaster, belly, referring to “barred and spotted” ventral region, “the bars about as wide as the interspaces”
Nemaclinus Böhlke & Springer 1975 nema, thread, referring to elongated individual rays in the paired fins; Clinus, ancient Greek name for blennies, used as a “combining form in coining many generic names for blennioid fishes”
Nemaclinus atelestos Böhlke & Springer 1975 unfinished or imperfect, referring to incomplete state of lateral line (well developed anteriorly only)
Paraclinus Mocquard 1888 para-, near, presumed to be closely related to Clinus (Clinidae) but differentiated by long dorsal fin composed entirely of spines and incomplete lateral line
Paraclinus altivelis (Lockington 1881) altus, high; velum, sail, referring to elevated first two rays of dorsal fin, the first nearly equal in height to the distance of its base from tip of upper jaw
Paraclinus arcanus Guimarães & Bacellar 2002 secretive, referring to its habit of hiding underneath rocks
Paraclinus asper (Jenkins & Evermann 1889) rough, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to 25 “rather stout, sharp spines” of second dorsal fin
Paraclinus barbatus Springer 1955 bearded, referring to lips of lower jaw produced anteroventrally into a fleshy barbe
Paraclinus beebei Hubbs 1952 in honor of naturalist and explorer William Beebe (1877-1962), New York Zoological Society, who collected type [author is Clark Hubbs, son of Carl]
Paraclinus cingulatus (Evermann & Marsh 1899) banded, referring to “conspicuous” and “heavy” dark-brown vertical bars on body, each about four rows of scales wide, extending to vertical fins
Paraclinus ditrichus Rosenblatt & Parr 1969 di-, two; trichos, hair, referring to two soft rays of pelvic fin
Paraclinus fasciatus (Steindachner 1876) banded, referring to 7-8 “rather sharply demarcated crooked transverse bands” (translation) on sides
Paraclinus fehlmanni Springer & Trist 1969 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Herman Adair Fehlmann (1917-2005), Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, for “outstanding contributions to ichthyology as evidenced by a long and productive history of ichthyological collecting,” including type of this blenny
Paraclinus grandicomis (Rosén 1911) museum name coined by Lütken, etymology not explained; probably grandis, large and cornis (misspelled comis), horn, referring to its “extremely large ocular tentacle”
Paraclinus infrons Böhlke 1960 in-, without; frons, forehead, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its lack of nuchal cirri
Paraclinus integripinnis (Smith 1880) integer, entire; pinnis, fin, referring to its continuous dorsal fin, compared to divided dorsal fin of P. monophthalmus [author is Rosa Smith Eigenmann]
Paraclinus magdalenae Rosenblatt & Parr 1969 of Bahía Magdalena, Baja California México, prominent geographic feature near type locality
Paraclinus marmoratus (Steindachner 1876) marbled, referring to gray and brown mottling on head and body
Paraclinus mexicanus (Gilbert 1904) Mexican, referring to type locality, La Paz, México, Baja California, Gulf of California (occurs in eastern Pacific from México to Ecuador)
Paraclinus monophthalmus (Günther 1861) mono-, one; ophthalmus, eye, referring to black eyespot, edged with white, on 19th and 20th spines of posterior dorsal fin
Paraclinus naeorhegmis Böhlke 1960 naetes, an inhabitant; rhegma, break or fracture, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its occurrence at well-washed, eroded limestone localities (some specimens were taken at bottom of large hole)
Paraclinus nigripinnis (Steindachner 1867) nigri-, black; pinnis, fin, referring to “watery black” (translation) dorsal and anal fins (i.e., color of a drop of black ink dropped in clear water) and/or deep-black ocellus between 22nd and 24th dorsal-fin spines
Paraclinus rubicundus (Starks 1913) reddish, referring to uniformly bright-red color of head and body, growing only very slightly below (dorsal fin is alternately red and colorless)
Paraclinus sini Hubbs 1952 sinus, bay or gulf, referring to large bays, its typical habitat [author is Clark Hubbs, son of Carl]
Paraclinus spectator Guimarães & Bacellar 2002 observer, referring to how this blenny, when closely approached underwater, usually relies on its camouflaged coloration and observes the diver and its surroundings
Paraclinus stephensi Rosenblatt & Parr 1969 in honor of environmental biologist John S. Stephens, Jr. (b. 1932), for his contributions to the study of blennioid fishes
Paraclinus tanygnathus Rosenblatt & Parr 1969 tanyo-, to stretch out; gnathus, jaw, referring to upper jaw in adult males extending to behind vertical from rear margin of orbit
Paraclinus walkeri Hubbs 1952 in honor of fisheries biologist Boyd W. Walker (1917-2001), University of California, Los Angeles, who helped collect specimens and placed them at Hubbs’ disposal [author is Clark Hubbs, son of Carl]
Starksia Jordan & Evermann 1896 –ia, belonging to: ichthyologist Edwin Chapin Starks (1867-1932), Stanford University, in recognition of his work on the fishes of the Pacific Coast of North America
Starksia atlantica Longley 1934 –ica, belonging to: the “first known species of its genus from the Atlantic,” Longley said (other earlier-described congeners, e.g., S. brasiliensis, occur in the Atlantic but were placed in different genera at the time)
Starksia brasiliensis (Gilbert 1900) –ensis, suffix denoting place: reef near Maceio, Brazil, type locality
Starksia cremnobates (Gilbert 1890) kremnos, cliff; bates, a frequenter, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its occurrence in deeper waters of the Gulf of California (collected at 60 m, not 130 m as reported)
Starksia culebrae (Evermann & Marsh 1899) of Culebra (reefs outside harbor), Puerto Rico, type locality
Starksia elongata Gilbert 1971 referring to its “unusually slender and elongate body” compared to congeners known at the time
Starksia fasciata (Longley 1934) banded, referring to seven brown bars on body
Starksia fulva Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 tawny, referring to “distinctive background color of the holotype”
Starksia galapagensis Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Galápagos Islands, where it is endemic
Starksia grammilaga Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 gramme, line; lagon, flank, referring to distinctive horizontal lines on posterior half of body
Starksia greenfieldi Baldwin & Castillo 2011 in honor of ichthyologist David W. Greenfield (b. 1940), for his work on blennioid fishes, particularly the Starksia ocellata complex
Starksia guadalupae Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 of Isla Guadalupe, Baja California, México, type locality
Starksia guttata (Fowler 1931) spotted, referring to “small, black, strongly contrasted, irregularly scattered rather large black spots” on posterior trunk and entire tail
Starksia hassi Klausewitz 1958 in honor of biologist, underwater cinematographer, and scuba-diving pioneer Hans Hass (1919-2013), leader of expedition during which type was collected
Starksia hoesei Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 in honor of friend and ichthyologist Douglass F. Hoese (b. 1942), Australian Museum (Sydney)
Starksia langi Baldwin & Castillo 2011 in honor of Michael A. Lang, Director of the Smithsonian Marine Science Network (MSN) and Smithsonian Science Diving Program, for the support MSN has provided for the authors’ Caribbean fish diversity studies and for his contributions to “science diving”
Starksia lepicoelia Böhlke & Springer 1961 lepis, scale; coelio-, belly, referring to its “fully and densely scaled” belly
Starksia lepidogaster Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 lepidos, scale; gaster, belly, referring to entirely scaled belly, with 10-14 rows between pelvic-fin base and vent
Starksia leucovitta Williams & Mounts 2003 leucos, white; vitta, ribbon, referring to ribbon-like white bars along dorsum
Starksia melasma Williams & Mounts 2003 Greek for black spot, referring to black spot in dorsal fin of males
Starksia multilepis Williams & Mounts 2003 multi-, many; lepis, scale, referring to high number (17) of arched lateral-line scales
Starksia nanodes Böhlke & Springer 1961 Greek for dwarfish, up to 17.0 mm SL
Starksia occidentalis Greenfield 1979 western, having the westernmost distribution of any species in the S. ocellata complex
Starksia ocellata (Steindachner 1876) having little eyes, referring to several blue-sky spots (orange in the photos we have seen) with dark borders on cheek and opercle
Starksia posthon Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 Greek for “one with a large phallus,” referring to long intromittent organ of males
Starksia rava Williams & Mounts 2003 tawny or grayish yellow, referring to tawny yellow color of body in preservative
Starksia robertsoni Baldwin, Victor & Castillo 2011 in honor of D. Ross Robertson (b. 1946), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, for contributions to understanding of diversity of shorefishes of the New World and his “generous” facilitation of collecting in Panama (type locality)
Starksia sangreyae Castillo & Baldwin 2011 in honor of Mary Sangrey for her many years of work coordinating the intern program at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History; she brought Castillo’s intern application to Baldwin’s attention and took the first steps toward procuring funding for Castillo’s internship
Starksia sella Williams & Mounts 2003 saddle, referring to dark bars saddling its dorsal profile
Starksia sluiteri (Metzelaar 1919) in honor of tunicate specialist Carel Philip Sluiter (1854-1933)
Starksia smithvanizi Williams & Mounts 2003 in honor of ichthyologist William F. Smith-Vaniz (b. 1941), for many contributions to our knowledge of the taxonomy of marine shorefishes and for collecting and photographing representatives of this species at St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands)
Starksia spinipenis (Al-Uthman 1960) spinis, spine; penis, copulatory organ, referring to first anal-fin spine of males, long and free from rest of fin, modified as a sexual organ (a characteristic of the genus)
Starksia splendens Victor 2018 shining, brilliant, or splendid, referring to “impressive appearance” of mature males
Starksia springeri Castillo & Baldwin 2011 in honor of Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), Senior Scientist Emeritus, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, for his contributions to the systematics of blennioid fishes, including Starksia, and for advice and friendship bestowed upon the second author
Starksia starcki Gilbert 1971 in honor of Walter A. Starck II (b. 1939), for his many contributions to marine biology, especially ichthyology
Starksia variabilis Greenfield 1979 variable, referring to “unusual” variation of coloration on side of head when compared to other members of the S. ocellata complex
Starksia weigti Baldwin & Castillo 2011 in honor of Lee A. Weigt (b. 1960), Head of the Smithsonian’s Laboratories of Analytical Biology, for his contributions to the DNA barcoding of fishes and his contributions to fish-collecting efforts in Belize (type locality), Curaçao, Florida, Tobago, and Turks & Caicos Islands
Starksia williamsi Baldwin & Castillo 2011 in honor of Jeffrey T. Williams, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, for his work on blennioid fishes, including Starksia; his field-collecting efforts at Saba Bank, Tobago, and Turks and Caicos, resulted in numerous specimens utilized in the authors’ study
Starksia y-lineata Gilbert 1965 lineata, lined, referring to y-shaped markings on sides
Stathmonotus Bean 1885 stathme, a carpenter’s rule; notus, back, presumably referring to long, low dorsal fin of S. hemphillii, consisting entirely of stiff, sharp spines
Subgenus Stathmonotus
Stathmonotus hemphillii Bean 1885 in honor of malacologist Henry Hemphill (1830-1914), Key West, Florida (USA), who collected type
Subgenus Auchenistius Evermann & Marsh 1899 auchen, nape; istios, sail, presumably referring to tall cirri on nape of S. stahli
Stathmonotus gymnodermis Springer 1955 gymnos, bare or naked; dermis, skin, referring to its lack of scales
Stathmonotus stahli (Evermann & Marsh 1899) in honor of Agustín Stahl (1842-1917), physician-biologist in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, who, “under many difficulties put in his way by Spanish authorities, made considerable collections of natural-history objects of Puerto Rico”
Stathmonotus tekla Nichols 1910 named for the yacht Tekla, from which type was collected; its owner, Allesandro Fabbri, conducted “extensive” fish collecting efforts in Florida on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History, where Nichols worked
Subgenus Parastathmonotus Chabanaud 1942 para-, near, proposed as a new genus similar to Stathmonotus but distinguished by lack of vomerine teeth
Stathmonotus culebrai Seale 1940 of Culebra, Costa Rica, type locality
Stathmonotus lugubris Böhlke 1953 doleful or mournful, allusion not explained nor evident, but here’s a guess: referring to sad countenance of short, bluntly pointed head with large, oblique mouth
Stathmonotus sinuscalifornici (Chabanaud 1942) of the Gulf of California, where type locality (San Gabriel Bay, Espiritu Santo Island) is situated
Xenomedea Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 xenos, strange; medos, genital, referring to adult (35 mm) males with complex fleshy folds around genital papilla (and along anterior part of anal-fin base)
Xenomedea rhodopyga Rosenblatt & Taylor 1971 rhodo-, rosy; pygus, rump, referring to red area near anus (pale in preservative)
Family CHAENOPSIDAE Pikeblennies or Tubeblennies
13 genera · 94 species/subspecies
Acanthemblemaria Metzelaar 1919 acanthus, spine, referring to short, strong spines surrounding eye of A. spinosa; Emblemaria, related and/or similar to that genus
Acanthemblemaria aceroi Hastings, Eytan & Summers 2020 in honor of Arturo Acero Pizarro (b. 1954), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, who first documented meristic differences between populations of “A. rivasi” from Central and South America, for his contributions to ichthyology, including the systematics of chaenopsid blennies
Acanthemblemaria aspera (Longley 1927) aspera, rough, presumably referring to “strongly serrate” orbital ridge with a pair of “strong sharp” post-ocular spines
Acanthemblemaria atrata Hastings & Robertson 1999 dressed in black, referring to unique dark color morph
Acanthemblemaria balanorum Brock 1940 –orum, belonging to: Balanus, acorn barnacle, referring to this blenny’s occurrence inside empty barnacle shells
Acanthemblemaria betinensis Smith-Vaniz & Palacio 1974 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Punta Betín, Colombia, in honor of Instituto Colombo-Aleman de Investigaciones “Punta de Betin” at Santa Maria, for its contributions to marine research in Colombia
Acanthemblemaria castroi Stephens & Hobson 1966 in honor of Miguel Castro, naturalist at the Charles Darwin Laboratory, Academy Bay, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Archipelago (where this blenny is endemic)
Acanthemblemaria chaplini Böhlke 1957 in honor of ichthyologist Charles C. G. Chaplin (1906-1991), whose support made possible the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia’s shorefish program in the Bahamas, during which type was collected
Acanthemblemaria crockeri Beebe & Tee-Van 1938 patronym not identified but probably in honor of San Francisco philanthropist and self-proclaimed explorer Charles Templeton Crocker (1884-1948), who used his yacht Zaca as a research vessel
Acanthemblemaria exilispinus Stephens 1963 exilis, meager or poor; spinus, spine, referring to its weakly developed cranial spines, compared to highly developed spines in A. crockeri
Acanthemblemaria greenfieldi Smith-Vaniz & Palacio 1974 in honor of ichthyologist David W. Greenfield (b. 1940), then of Northern Illinois University, who independently recognized the undescribed status of this blenny and “generously” made his material available to the authors
Acanthemblemaria hancocki Myers & Reid 1936 in honor of Capt. George Allan Hancock (1875-1965), oil magnate and philanthropist, who led expedition that collected type
Acanthemblemaria harpeza Williams 2002 Greek for thorn-hedge, referring to heavily branched nasal and orbital cirri that resemble bushes amidst thorn-like spines on head
Acanthemblemaria hastingsi Lin & Galland 2010 in honor of marine biologist Philip A. Hastings (b. 1951), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who has contributed to our knowledge of chaenopsid blennies for more than 25 years
Acanthemblemaria johnsoni Almany & Baldwin 1996 in honor of G. David Johnson (b. 1945), Curator, Division of Fishes, Smithsonian Institution, who helped collect type, for his contributions to the systematics of a broad array of teleostean taxa (including Acanthemblemaria), and his “inspirational” knowledge of teleostean anatomy and phylogeny
Acanthemblemaria macrospilus Brock 1940 macro-, large; spilos, spot, proposed as a subspecies of A. hancocki with fewer but larger spots on sides
Acanthemblemaria mangognatha Hastings & Robertson 1999 mango, a tropical fruit with rich orange flesh; ganthos, jaw, referring to unique coloration of lower jaw
Acanthemblemaria maria Böhlke 1961 latinization of Mary, in honor of Mary George, Böhlke’s secretary at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for the past five years and “now parent and housewife, in appreciation of her assistance in all the activities of the department [of ichthyology] during that period” (presumably a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”; vernacular name is Secretary Blenny)
Acanthemblemaria medusa Smith-Vaniz & Palacio 1974 Medusa, in Greek mythology a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair, referring to extreme development of fleshy papillae
Acanthemblemaria paula Johnson & Brothers 1989 little, referring to its diminutive size, the smallest member of the family, up to 18.4 mm SL; name also honor Paula Keener, South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, who helped collect paratypes
Acanthemblemaria rivasi Stephens 1970 patronym not identified, probably in honor of Luis René Rivas y Díaz (1916-1986), Curator of Fishes, University of Miami, whom Stephens thanked for the loan of specimens
Acanthemblemaria spinosa Metzelaar 1919 spiny, referring to short, strong spines surrounding eye
Acanthemblemaria stephensi Rosenblatt & McCosker 1988 in honor of environmental biologist John S. Stephens, Jr. (b. 1932), “the major contributor to present knowledge of systematics of the Chaenopsidae”
Chaenopsis Gill 1865 chaeno-, yawn or gape; opsis, face or appearance, referring to large mouth of C. ocellata, with the “cleft nearly horizontal, linear, continued behind the eyes” (name apparently coined by Poey but made available by Gill)
Chaenopsis alepidota alepidota (Gilbert 1890) a-, not; lepidotus, scaly, referring to its “wholly naked” body
Chaenopsis alepidota californiensis Böhlke 1957 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Santa Catalina Island, California (USA), type locality
Chaenopsis celeste Tavera 2021 in honor of the author’s daughter, Celeste, his “main source of inspiration” [presumably a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Chaenopsis coheni Böhlke 1957 in honor of ichthyologist Daniel M. Cohen (1930-2017), then of Stanford University, Böhlke’s “co-worker” on expedition that collected type
Chaenopsis deltarrhis Böhlke 1957 delta, fourth letter of Greek alphabet (∆); rhis, nose, referring to triangular shape of snout when viewed from above
Chaenopsis limbaughi Robins & Randall 1965 in honor of the late Conrad Limbaugh (1925-1960), zoologist, diver and underwater photographer, who helped the senior author’s earlier paper by providing detailed field observations on C. alepidota; he also collected type of that species [Limbaugh died after losing his way while diving in the labyrinth of an underground river in France]
Chaenopsis megalops Smith-Vaniz 2000 mega-, large; ops, eye, referring to its relatively large eyes
Chaenopsis ocellata Poey 1865 having eye-like spots, referring to orange ocellated spot at anterior angle of dorsal fin
Chaenopsis resh Robins & Randall 1965 from the Hebrew letter resh (ר), the form of which characterizes this species’ diagnostic postocular mark
Chaenopsis roseola Hastings & Shipp 1981 rosy colored, referring to rust- or pink-colored flecks (in living adults) reminiscent of roseola or measles
Chaenopsis schmitti Böhlke 1957 in honor of carcinologist Waldo L. Schmitt (1887-1977), Curator of the Division of Marine Invertebrates, U.S. National Museum, who collected both type specimens
Chaenopsis stephensi Robins & Randall 1965 in honor of environmental biologist John S. Stephens, Jr. (b. 1932), for his work on blennioid fishes
Cirriemblemaria Hastings 1997 cirrus, curl or tendril, referring to double row of cirri extending across nape; Emblemaria, a related genus
Cirriemblemaria lucasana (Stephens 1963) –ana, belonging to: San Lucas Canyon, southern tip of Baja California Peninsula, México, type locality
Coralliozetus Evermann & Marsh 1899 corallium, coral; zetus, to seek, referring to reef habitat of C. cardonae
Coralliozetus angelicus (Böhlke & Mead 1957) angelic, heavenly or divine, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “well-marked and distinctive” coloration of adult males, with a “striking” white face on a “very dark” head
Coralliozetus boehlkei Stephens 1963 in honor of ichthyologist James E. Böhlke (1930-1982), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who loaned specimens and was in “continual communication” with Stephens in regard to his (Böhlke’s) work on Atlantic species
Coralliozetus cardonae Evermann & Marsh 1899 of Cardona, off Playa de Ponce, Puerto Rico, type locality (also occurs off Bahamas, in Caribbean Sea, and off Atlantic coast of Venezuela)
Coralliozetus clausus Hastings 2021 Latin for “enclosed” or “having been shut off,” referring to its restricted distribution (known only from Isla del Coco, Costa Rica), and to the “isolation imposed on the author by the Covid-19 pandemic, providing an opportunity to complete the description of this species whose distinctiveness had been known for some time” (proposed common name is Pandemic Blenny)
Coralliozetus micropes (Beebe & Tee-Van 1938) micro-, small; pes, foot, referring to small ventral fins compared to the “somewhat similar” Emblemaria oculocirris (=hypacanthus), its presumed congener at the time
Coralliozetus rosenblatti Stephens 1963 in honor of ichthyologist Richard H. Rosenblatt (1930-2014), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who loaned specimens
Coralliozetus springeri Stephens & Johnson 1966 in honor of ichthyologist Victor G. Springer (b. 1928), U.S. National Museum, who alerted the authors of material (including type specimen) from the Argosy Expedition to Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, and made valuable suggestions concerning their paper
Ekemblemaria Stephens 1963 eka, one, presumably referring to a single pinnately multifid cirrus above each eye; Emblemaria, a related genus
Ekemblemaria lira Hastings 1992 ridge or furrow thrown up by a plow, referring to strong ridge or flange of bone on frontals
Ekemblemaria myersi Stephens 1963 in honor of Stanford University ichthyologist George S. Myers (1905-1985), who provided specimens
Ekemblemaria nigra (Meek & Hildebrand 1928) black, presumably referring to uniform dark-brown coloration in life and/or black fins (except for pectoral and posterior parts of dorsal and anal fins, which are reddish)
Emblemaria Jordan & Gilbert 1883 -aria, adjectival suffix: emblema, a banner, presumably referring to single high dorsal fin of E. nivipes, beginning on nape and extending to (but not confluent with) caudal fin
Emblemaria atlantica Jordan & Evermann 1898 –ica, belonging to: presumably referring to distribution in the Western Atlantic, but described from the Gulf of Mexico (Pensacola, Florida)
Emblemaria australis Ramos, Rocha & Rocha 2003 southern, only member of genus known to occur in the South Atlantic
Emblemaria biocellata Stephens 1970 bi-, two; ocellata, having little eyes, referring to two ocellus-like markings on dorsal fin of female
Emblemaria caldwelli Stephens 1970 in honor of David K. Caldwell (1928-1990), Director of Marineland Research Laboratory, St. Augustine, Florida (USA), whom Stephens thanked for the loan of specimens
Emblemaria caycedoi Acero P. 1984 in honor of the late Ivan Enrique Caycedo Lara (d. 1978), “the best of the Colombian young marine biologists, killed through ignorance” (we do not know the details, but he apparently died while SCUBA diving for his research)
Emblemaria culmenis Stephens 1970 –is, genitive singular of: culmen, ridge to roof, referring to postorbital ridges on roof of skull
Emblemaria diphyodontis Stephens & Cervigón 1970 diphy, double; odontus, tooth, referring to double row of palatine teeth
Emblemaria hudsoni Evermann & Radcliffe 1917 in honor of Capt. Charles Bradford Hudson (1865-1939), District of Columbia National Guard, “artist and author, who has succeeded better than any other in depicting on canvas the life colors of American fishes”
Emblemaria hyltoni Johnson & Greenfield 1976 in honor of Nick Hylton, who donated his services as captain and crew of the yacht Miss Sabrina during the Miskito Coast Expedition (1975) to Honduras and Nicaragua, aided in field work, and “without whose assistance the expedition would not have been successful”; he also “saved the expedition at Brus Lagoon, [and] will never forget Trujillo,” events not explained by the authors
Emblemaria hypacanthus (Jenkins & Evermann 1889) hypo-, below (i.e., imperfect); acanthus, spine, presumably referring to gradual change from spines to soft rays on posterior second dorsal fin, with those in the middle not distinguishable as either spines or soft rays, a “character, if we mistake not, [that] is entirely unique”
Emblemaria nivipes Jordan & Gilbert 1883 nivis, snow; pes, foot, referring to “bright white” ventral fins (but their basal portion is dusky)
Emblemaria pandionis Evermann & Marsh 1900 –is, genitive singular of: referring to the fish-hawk or osprey, Pandion haliaetus carolinensis, named for the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Fish Hawk, from which type was collected
Emblemaria piratica Ginsburg 1942 –ica, belonging to: pirata, pirate, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to black, sail-like dorsal fin
Emblemaria piratula Ginsburg & Reid 1942 diminutive of pirata, pirate, referring to well-marked white spot at base of anteriorly black dorsal fin, which “imaginatively suggests the pirate’s flag”
Emblemaria tortugae Hildebrand 1946 of Tortuga Bay, Peru, type locality
Emblemaria vitta Williams 2002 band, referring to ribbon-like shape of orbital cirri
Emblemaria walkeri Stephens 1963 in honor of fisheries biologist Boyd W. Walker (1917-2001), University of California, Los Angeles, who loaned specimens and guided, counseled and supervised Stephens’ graduate studies
Emblemariopsis Longley 1927 opsis, appearance, referring to similarity to Emblemaria
Emblemariopsis bahamensis Stephens 1961 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bahamas, type locality
Emblemariopsis bottomei Stephens 1961 in honor of Peter Bottome (no other information provided), who collected type; possibly referring to Peter Bottome Deery (1937-2016), a Venezuelan businessman
Emblemariopsis carib Victor 2010 named for the Carib native people of the Antilles, reflecting its occurrence in the Greater Antilles
Emblemariopsis dianae Tyler & Hastings 2004 in honor of Diane M. Tyler (wife of senior author), Smithsonian Institution Press, for her studies of the behavioral ecology of chaenopsids at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize; she is co-collector of most of the type specimens of this species, and her “dedicated collecting efforts over the years in and around Carrie Bow Cay have procured many important materials”
Emblemariopsis diaphana Longley 1927 transparent, described as “largely translucent” in life (relatively opaque in alcohol)
Emblemariopsis falcon Victor & Rodríguez 2020 named for state of Falcon in western Venezuela, location at which this species was first recognized in 2008
Emblemariopsis lancea Victor 2020 Latin for lance or spear, referring to similarity of red-over-white bands on dorsal fin to red-over-white spear banner carried by Lancer light-cavalry regiments in European (and Ottoman) armies over the centuries, and up to the present in the British and Indian Army; “It may not be coincidental that red and white contrasting bands are visible in low light conditions both on the battlefield and in sometimes murky reef waters in the southern Caribbean Sea, especially a region under the influence of the Orinoco outflow plume”
Emblemariopsis leptocirris Stephens 1970 leptos, fine or thin; cirrus, curl or tendril, referring to “weakly developed” oribtal cirrus
Emblemariopsis occidentalis Stephens 1970 western, allusion not explained; since this species is not the westernmost member of the genus known at the time, name may refer to the Western Atlantic (where the genus is endemic), or to Occidental College, Los Angeles, California (USA), where Stephens was professor from 1959-2003
Emblemariopsis pricei Greenfield 1975 in honor of George C. Price (1919-2011), Premier of the “emerging” Central American nation of Belize (type locality); the Belize government granted Greenfield permission to collect in its waters
Emblemariopsis randalli Cervigón 1965 in honor of ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), who collected type specimens and gave them to Cervigón to describe
Emblemariopsis ruetzleri Tyler & Tyler 1997 in honor of Klaus Ruetzler (b. 1936), Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the National Museum of Natural History, “who has so effectively directed the Smithsonian’s Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem (CCRE) Program and its marine laboratory at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize [type locality], since its inception in 1972; he has given generously of his time and talents for all those years in providing research opportunities for many Smithsonian scientists and their colleagues throughout the world”
Emblemariopsis signifer (Ginsburg 1942) signum, mark; fero, to bear (i.e., color sergeant or standard bearer), presumably referring to filamentous first dorsal-fin spine
Emblemariopsis tayrona (Acero P. 1987) named for the Tayrona Indians, who live in the Santa Marta region of Colombia, type locality
Hemiemblemaria Longley & Hildebrand 1940 hemi-, partial, referring to compressed head and body, as in Emblemaria
Hemiemblemaria simula Longley & Hildebrand 1940 resembling, referring to its resemblance to the sympatric Thalassoma bifasciatum (Labridae); the resemblance is “so great that it would be extremely easy to mistake the blenny for a labrid”
Lucayablennius Böhlke 1958 Lucaya, named for the Lucayan Archipelago and the Lucayans, first inhabitants of the Bahamas, where the genus is endemic; blennius, blenny, derived from blennos, mucus, referring to scaleless body of blenniids (replacement name for Lucaya Böhlke 1957, preoocupied in Crustacea)
Lucayablennius zingaro (Böhlke 1957) Italian for gypsy, referring to Gypsy, name of dive boat owned by underwater film producer Stan Waterman (b. 1923), from which type was collected
Mccoskerichthys Rosenblatt & Stephens 1978 in honor of John E. McCosker (b. 1945), California Academy of Sciences, who discovered this species and helped collect all specimens known at the time; ichthys, fish
Mccoskerichthys sandae Rosenblatt & Stephens 1978 in honor of anthropologist Sandra McCosker, John E. McCosker’s wife at the time, who participated in the first collection of this species in 1971
Neoclinus Girard 1858 neo-, new, “not without affinities with Clinus [Clinidae], but the latter contains yet too great a diversity of species to make it a natural genus”
Neoclinus blanchardi Girard 1858 in honor of Dr. S. B. Blanchard, San Diego, California (USA), who collected this blenny and passed it on to Girard
Neoclinus bryope (Jordan & Snyder 1902) byrum, moss; ops, face, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “tufted filaments” (i.e., branched tentacles) above eye
Neoclinus chihiroe Fukao 1987 in honor of Chihiro, wife of Toshio Okazaki (see N. okazakii); chihiro also means “a thousand fathoms,” referring to how this blenny, while living in the littoral zone, occurs in deeper water than its closest congeners (N. bryope and N. okazakii)
Neoclinus lacunicola Fukao 1980 lacuna, hole; incola, inhabitant, referring to its habitat of small holes in rocky reef
Neoclinus monogrammus Murase, Aizawa & Sunobe 2010 monos, one; gramme, line, referring to single row of lateral-line pores, which look like a single line
Neoclinus nudiceps Murase, Aizawa & Sunobe 2010 nudus, bare or naked; ceps, head, referring to apparent (but not actual) lack of cirri on head (they’re translucent and whitish)
Neoclinus nudus Stephens & Springer 1971 bare or naked, referring to its lack of scales
Neoclinus okazakii Fukao 1987 in honor of Toshio Okazaki, Yamazaki University of Animal Health Technology, who carried out the electrophoresis that led to the recognition of this species (see also N. chihiroe)
Neoclinus stephensae Hubbs 1953 in honor of Kate Stephens (ca. 1853-1954), Curator of Mollusks and Marine Invertebrates, San Diego Natural History Museum, “now over 100 years old, who first collected the fish”
Neoclinus toshimaensis Fukao 1980 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Toshima island, mouth of Tanabe Bay, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, type locality
Neoclinus uninotatus Hubbs 1953 uni-, one; notatus, marked, referring to single ocellus on dorsal fin
Protemblemaria Stephens 1963 protos, first, referring to how this genus “probably more nearly approaches the ancestral type of the Chaenopsidae than any other existing genus”; Emblemaria, a related genus
Protemblemaria bicirrus (Hildebrand 1946) bi-, two; cirrus, curl or tendril, referring to two “separate and distinct fringed tentacles on upper margin of eye”
Protemblemaria perla Hastings 2001 an arbitrary combination of letters referring to both Islas Perlas, Panama (type locality) and pearly bars on body
Protemblemaria punctata Cervigón 1966 spotted, referring to row of large, dark-brown blotches on upper back and/or small orange spots on posterior body
Tanyemblemaria Hastings 1992 tany, long, referring to its elongate body; Emblemaria, a related genus
Tanyemblemaria alleni Hastings 1992 in honor of Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), who collected type, for his contributions to the study of fishes