Revised 14 Nov. 2024
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Boehlkenchelys Tighe 1992 in honor of Eugenia B. Böhlke (1929–2001) and her husband, the late James E. Böhlke (1930–1982), both of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for their many contributions to the study of eels; enchelys (Gr.), eel

Boehlkenchelys longidentata Tighe 1992 longus (L.), long; dentata (L.), toothed, referring to long, needle-like teeth

Catesbya Böhlke & Smith 1968 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: English naturalist Mark Catesby (1682/83–1749), whose Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands (1743) “marks the beginning of our knowledge of Bahaman fishes”

Catesbya pseudomuraena Böhlke & Smith 1968 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false; muraena (L.), from mýraina (μύραινα), Greek name of Muraena helena and precursor to “moray,” i.e., a false moray, which “well describes the overall appearance of the fish”

Chilorhinus Lütken 1852 cheī́los (Gr. χεῖλος), lip; rhinós (Gr. ῥινός), genitive of rhís (ῥίς), snout or nose, probably referring to ventrally projecting upper lip of C. suensonii

Chilorhinus platyrhynchus (Norman 1922) flat- or broad-snouted, from platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat or broad, and rhýnchos (Gr. ῥύγχος), snout, referring to its flat and broad snout

Chilorhinus suensoni Lütken 1852 in honor of Edouard Suenson (1805–1887), Danish naval officer who collected specimens during his voyages, including some of the type material for this species

Chlopsis Rafinesque 1810 etymology not explained, possibly chlóē (Gr. χλόη), twig, grass, or first green shoot of plants in spring; ópsis (Gr. ὄψις), appearance, perhaps referring to thin (twig-like?) body of C. bicolor

Chlopsis apterus (Beebe & Tee-Van 1938) ἀ-, Greek privative, without; pterus, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to its lack of pectoral fins

Chlopsis bicollaris (Myers & Wade 1941) bi-, from bis (L.), two; collaris (L.), collared or necked, referring to white band across nuchal region and band across back at origin of dorsal fin

Chlopsis bicolor Rafinesque 1810 bi-, from bis (L.), two, of two colors, dark brown above and white below, the distinction very sharp

Chlopsis bidentatus Tighe & McCosker 2003 bi-, from bis (L.), twice; dentatus (L.), toothed, referring to vomerine dentition in two biserial rows anteriorly

Chlopsis dentatus (Seale 1917) Latin for toothed, referring to its sharp, pointed and conical teeth

Chlopsis kazuko Lavenberg 1988 in honor of Kazuko Nakamura, for “single-handedly archiving the Giles W. Mead ichthyological library at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History” [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “ae,” because, Lavenberg said, “formation of the personal name in the genitive case is clumsy”]

Chlopsis longidens (Garman 1899) longus (L.), long; dens (L.) teeth, referring to its large, acicular and very slender teeth

Chlopsis nanhaiensis Tighe, Ho, Pogonoski & Hibino 2015 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nan Hai, Chinese name for South China Sea, apparently where type was captured by commercial fishermen

Chlopsis olokun (Robins & Robins 1966) god or goddess of the sea in the culture of the Yoruba-speaking peoples, including those of the Ivory Coast, type locality

Chlopsis orientalis Tighe, Hibino & Nguyen 2015 Latin for eastern, referring to its type locality in the Far East (Nha Trang, Vietnam, South China Sea)

Chlopsis sagmacollaris Pogonoski & Tighe 2015 ságma (Gr. σάγμα), pack saddle; collaris (L.), collared or necked, referring to distinctive dark pigment patch at nape of neck

Chlopsis slusserorum Tighe & McCosker 2003 –orum (L.), commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Marion (1914–2013) and Willis Slusser (1935–2010), birdwatchers, amateur naturalists and philanthropists, for their “keen interest in natural history and generous support of research and education”

Kaupichthys Schultz 1943 in honor of German naturalist Johann Jacob Kaup (1803–1873), for his work on apodal fishes; ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish

Kaupichthys atronasus Schultz 1953 atro-, from ater (L.), black; nasus (L.), nose, referring to its black anterior nostrils

Kaupichthys brachychirus Schultz 1953 short-handed, from brachýs (Gr. βραχύς), short, and  cheír or cheirós (Gr. χείρ, genitive χειρός), hand (homologous to the pectoral fin), referring to its short pectoral fin

Kaupichthys diodontus Schultz 1943 di-, from dis (L.), in two; odontos (Gr.), tooth, referring to two rows of teeth on vomer

Kaupichthys hyoproroides (Strömman 1896) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: referring to its supposed resemblance to Hyoprorus, a name applied to the leptocephalus of Nettastoma melanura (Nettastomatidae)

Kaupichthys japonicus Matsubara & Asano 1960 –icus (L.), belonging to: Japan, proposed as a Japanese subspecies of K. diodontus

Kaupichthys nuchalis Böhlke 1967 Latin for of the neck or nape, referring to pale band at nape

Powellichthys Smith 1966 in honor of Ronald Powell, Fisheries Officer, Cook Island, South Pacific, who provided holotype; ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish

Powellichthys ventriosus Smith 1966 Latin for potbellied, referring to the distended abdomen of females caused by “tightly packed” eggs

Robinsia Böhlke & Smith 1967 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: American ichthyologist C. Richard Robins (1928–2020), for his contributions to the knowledge of this “fascinating group of eels” (trivial name of its only species honors his wife)

Robinsia catherinae Böhlke & Smith 1967 in honor of ichthyologist and sculptor Catherine H. Robins, for her contributions to the knowledge of this “fascinating group of eels” (generic name honors her husband)

Xenoconger Regan 1912 xeno-, from xenikós (Gr. ξενικός), strange or foreign (i.e., different), presumably referring to how it resembles anguillids in most of its characters, but has small branchial openings into the pharynx like those of a muraenid; conger, Latin for a marine eel

Xenoconger fryeri Regan 1912 in honor of English entomologist John Claud Fortescue Fryer (1866–1948), who collected holotype