Updated 26 April 2024
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Bryconines
Subfamily BRYCONINAE Eigenmann 1912
Brycon Müller & Troschel 1844 derived from brýchō (Gr. βρύχω), to bite, gnash teeth or eat greedily, presumably referring to fully toothed maxillae of B. falcatus
Brycon alburnus (Günther 1860) Latin for whitefish (e.g., Common Bleak Alburnus alburnus), presumably referring to silvery coloration
Brycon amazonicus (Spix & Agassiz 1829) –icus (L.), belonging to: Amazon, described from the Amazon River in Brazil
Brycon argenteus Meek & Hildebrand 1913 Latin for silvery, referring to its coloration, without lines or bands
Brycon atrocaudatus (Kner 1863) atro-, from ater (L.), black; caudatus (L.), tailed, referring to broad black band at end of caudal fin
Brycon behreae Hildebrand 1938 in honor of American marine biologist Ellinor H. Behre (1886–1982), who collected holotype
Brycon chagrensis (Kner 1863) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Río Chagres, Atlantic slope of Panama, type locality
Brycon coquenani Steindachner 1915 of the Río Coquenan, Venezuela, type locality
Brycon costaricensis Angulo & Gracian-Negrete 2013 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Atlantic Slope of Costa Rica, type locality
Brycon coxeyi Fowler 1943 in honor of entomologist W. Judson Coxey, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who “obtained” holotype
Brycon dentex Günther 1860 from dens (L.), tooth, presumably referring to four series of intermaxillary teeth, with nearly all the upper-jaw teeth exposed
Brycon devillei (Castelnau 1855) in honor of French physician, naturalist and taxidermist Emile Deville (1824–1853), Castelnau’s “unfortunate travel companion who, having escaped the horrors [e.g., mosquitoes and other insect or spider bites] of Ucayali [River in Peru], died of yellow fever in Rio de Janeiro” (translation) [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]
Brycon dulcis Lima & Vieira 2017 Latin for sweet (doce in Portuguese), referring to rio Doce basin, states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, eastern Brazil, where is apparently endemic
Brycon falcatus Müller & Troschel 1844 Latin for falcate (sickle-shaped), referring to falcate black spot on tail
Brycon ferox Steindachner 1877 Latin for fierce, presumably referring to the fearsome appearance of its large intermaxillary teeth
Brycon fowleri Dahl 1955 in honor of Dahl’s friend Ernest L. Fowler (1907–1966), an American missionary in Colombia (later murdered by a band of thieves posing as policemen) for his “generous help and encouragement”
Brycon gouldingi Lima 2004 in honor of conservation ecologist Michael Goulding (b. 1950), for his contributions to the knowledge of Amazonian fishes
Brycon guatemalensis Regan 1908 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: described from Guatemala
Brycon henni Eigenmann 1913 in honor of Eigenmann’s student (and successor) Arthur Wilbur Henn (1890–1959), “at the moment exploring the rivers of Western Colombia”
Brycon hilarii (Valenciennes 1850) in honor of French botanist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire (1779–1853), who collected holotype
Brycon howesi Lima 2017 in honor of Gordon J. Howes (1938–-2013), Natural History Museum (London), for his “important contribution to the knowledge of the taxonomy of the genus Brycon as well as for ichthyology as a whole”
Brycon insignis Steindachner 1877 Latin for remarkable or notable, allusion not explained, but Steindachner did indicate it is distinct (among congeners known at the time) in having more slender and widely spaced teeth, and that two second-row teeth next to the mandibular symphysis (supposedly characteristic of Brycon) are often absent
Brycon labiatus Steindachner 1879 Latin for lipped, referring to external flap on lower lip [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]
Brycon medemi Dahl 1960 in honor of Latvian-born Colombian herpetologist Federico (Fred) Medem (1912–1984), for his “great” contributions to the knowledge of Colombian aquatic reptiles
Brycon meeki Eigenmann & Hildebrand 1918 in honor of the late Seth Eugene Meek (1859–1914), American ichthyologist who described two species of Brycon with Hildebrand in 1913
Brycon melanopterus (Cope 1872) black-finned, from mélanos (Gr. μέλανος), genitive of mélas (μέλας), black, and pterus, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), wing or fin, referring to black band at base of anal fin that extends through caudal peduncle along middle of upper caudal-fin lobe to its end
Brycon moorei Steindachner 1878 patronym not identified, nor can identity be inferred from available information (could this be named after the same person Steindachner honored with the doradid catfish name Oxydoras [=Hemidoras] morei [note spelling] in 1881?)
Brycon nattereri Günther 1864 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Austrian naturalist Johann Natterer (1787–1843), who explored South America and collected specimens for 18 years
Brycon obscurus Hildebrand 1938 Latin for dark, referring to dusky blotch on opercle, elongate black spot at base of caudal fin, dusky chromatophores on fins, and/or “obscure dusky lateral band” (this latter feature only on small specimens)
Brycon oligolepis Regan 1913 olígos (Gr. ὀλίγος), few or scanty; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, having fewer scales compared to the similar B. moorei
Brycon opalinus (Cuvier 1819) Latin for opaline or opalescent, referring to its “nice opal luster” (translation) in the light, even on dried specimens
Brycon orbignyanus (Valenciennes 1850) –anus (L.), belonging to: French naturalist Alcide d’Orbigny (1802–1857), who collected holotype
Brycon orthotaenia Günther 1864 orthós (Gr. ὀρθός), straight; taenia, from tainía (Gr. ταινία), band or ribbon, referring to “straight, broad band” that runs along middle of “free portion” of tail and along middle caudal-fin rays
Brycon pesu Müller & Troschel 1845 local name for this species in 19th-century Guyana
Brycon petrosus Meek & Hildebrand 1913 Latin for rocky, allusion not explained, but Hildebrand (1938) said part of the type series was collected in a “rocky creek”
Brycon polylepis Mosco Morales 1988 polý (Gr. πολύ), many; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to higher number of lateral line scales compared with congeners in Venezuela
Brycon posadae Fowler 1945 in honor of Colombian physician-naturalist Andres Posada (1839–1922, also known as Andrés Posada-Arango), author of a 1909 work on Colombian fishes [although named after a man, “ae” is an acceptable way to form a genitive from a masculine noun that ends in “a”]
Brycon rubricauda Steindachner 1879 rubri-, from ruber (L.), red; cauda (L.), tail, referring to “cherry-red” (translation) markings on caudal fin
Brycon sinuensis Dahl 1955 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sinú River basin, Colombia, where it is endemic
Brycon stolzmanni Steindachner 1879 in honor of Polish ornithologist Jean Stolzmann (1854–1928, also spelled Jan Sztolcman), who collected holotype
Brycon striatulus (Kner 1863) diminutive of striatus (L.), furrowed, i.e., marked with small striae, presumably referring to oblique brown-black streaks on sides
Brycon unicolor Mosco Morales 1988 uni-, from unus (L.), one, referring to its uniform coloration, without spots or blotches
Brycon vermelha Lima & Castro 2000 Portuguese for red-colored, referring to life coloration of dorsal, adipose and caudal fins, and to a lesser degree anal and pelvic fins
Brycon vonoi Lima 2017 in honor of “dear” colleague and friend Volney Vono (1961–2011), the first ichthyologist to collect this species and who brought it to Lima’s attention
Brycon whitei Myers & Weitzman 1960 in honor of General Thomas D. White (1901–1965), Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, who helped collect holotype, for his contributions to ichthyology and angling (in 1952, Myers described White as a “dyed-in-the-wool aquarist, fisherman and ichthyologist”)
Chilobrycon Géry & de Rham 1981 chilo-, from cheī́los (Gr. χεῖλος), lip, allusion not explained, presumably referring to single lip (lower jaw only) and/or affinity with Henochilus, which also lacks an upper lip; Brycon, type genus of family
Chilobrycon deuterodon Géry & de Rham 1981 deúteros (Gr. δεύτερος), second of two, presumably referring to lower (second) jaw, the only one with a lip; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how its trilobed, spatulate teeth are similar to those of Henochilus, a “remarkable convergence” (translation) based on their similar herbivorous diets
Henochilus Garman 1890 heno-, one; chilus, from cheī́los (Gr. χεῖλος), lip, i.e., single lip, referring to lip on lower jaw, but absent on upper
Henochilus wheatlandii Garman 1890 in honor of Henry Wheatland (1812–1893), President, Essex Institute (Salem, Massachusetts, USA, which published the description), for his “friendly interest and sympathy in favor of ichthyology and ichthyologists”
Dorados or Jaw Characins
Subfamily SALMININAE Cockerell 1915
Salminus Agassiz 1829 –inus, Latin adjectival suffix: salmo (L.), salmon or trout, referring to salmon-like shape (including adipose fin) of S. brevidens (=brasiliensis)
Salminus affinis Steindachner 1880 Latin for related, referring to its resemblance to S. cuvieri (=brasiliensis)
Salminus brasiliensis (Cuvier 1816) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Brazil, where type specimen was collected
Salminus franciscanus Lima & Britski 2007 –anus (L.), belonging to: rio São Francisco basin, Brazil, where it is endemic
Salminus hilarii Valenciennes 1850 in honor of French botanist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire (1779–1853), who collected holotype
Salminus iquitensis (Nakashima 1941) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: port of Iquitos, Peru, near where type locality (Río Napo, upstream mouth of río Mazan) is situated
Salminus santosi Lima 2022 in honor of Brazilian aquatic biologist Geraldo Mendes dos Santos, INPA (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia), for his “great” contribution to the knowledge of the fishes from the Brazilian Amazon, and particularly from the rio Tocantins basin, where this species occurs