COMMENTS
v. 13.0 – 29 May 2024 view/download PDF
Family APLOCHEILIDAE Asian and Malagasy Rivulines
2 genera · 16 species
Aplocheilus McClelland 1838 [h]aplo-, simple or single; cheilus, lip, allusion not explained, possibly referring to upper jaw, instead of both jaws, bordered by premaxilla; Wildekamp (1995) says that name refers to “non-protractible upper lip” but multiple accounts from other authors report that upper jaw is protrusible
Aplocheilus andamanicus (Köhler 1906) –icus, belonging to: Andaman Islands, India, where it is endemic
Aplocheilus armatus (van Hasselt 1823) armed with a weapon, presumably referring to teeth (only feature mentioned), which are said to “span the lower jaw externally and the entire upper jaw” (translation)
Aplocheilus blockii Arnold 1911 in honor of Captain Block (no other information available), who collected and imported this species to Germany as an aquarium fish
Aplocheilus dayi Steindachner 1892 in honor of Francis Day (1829-1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, who reported this species as A. panchax in 1877
Aplocheilus kirchmayeri Berkenkamp & Etzel 1986 in honor of Josef Kirchmayer, German aquarist who collected, imported and was the first to breed this species
Aplocheilus lineatus (Valenciennes 1846) lined, presumably referring to 8-15 dark crossbars when alarmed, originally described as “two black lines that descend from middle of body to belly, forming half-bands on posterior part of trunk” (translation)
Aplocheilus panchax (Hamilton 1822) from Pangchak, local Bengali name for this species in India
Aplocheilus parvus (Sundara Raj 1916) small, described at 42 mm (adult males) and 28 mm (adult females)
Aplocheilus werneri Meinken 1966 in honor of Andreas Werner, an “influential” (translation) fish importer in Munich, who imported this fish for the first time in 1964 (Werner’s company is now called Transfish)
Pachypanchax Myers 1933 pachys, thick, referring to body shape similar to that of Panchax (=Aplocheilus), “but more chubby”
Pachypanchax arnoulti Loiselle 2006 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Jacques Arnoult (1914-1995), for many contributions to Malagasy ichthyology, and who introduced this and other fishes from Madagascar to science and to the aquarium hobby in the 1950s
Pachypanchax omalonotus (Duméril 1861) [h]omalos, level or even (i.e., flat); notus, back, referring to back from tip of muzzle to origin of dorsal fin forming a “large flat surface” (translation)
Pachypanchax patriciae Loiselle 2006 in honor of Patricia Yazgi (1946-2006), who ran Friends of Fishes, a charitable organization, for her support of ongoing efforts to document and conserve the Malagasy freshwater ichthyofauna
Pachypanchax playfairii (Günther 1866) in honor of Lieut.-Col. Robert Lambert Playfair (1828-1899), British Consul to the Sultanate of Oman in Zanzibar (Tanzania), who presented type (from the Seychelles) to the British Museum (Natural History)
Pachypanchax sakaramyi (Holly 1928) of the Sakaramy River, at village of same name, northern Madagascar, type locality
Pachypanchax sparksorum Loiselle 2006 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of ichthyologist John S. Sparks (b. 1963), American Museum of Natural History, and his wife Karen Riseng Sparks, who first documented the presence of a distinctive Pachypanchax in the Ankofia drainage and collected much of the type series
Pachypanchax varatraza Loiselle 2006 Malagasy word for east wind, referring to unanticipated presence of a Pachypanchax species in rivers draining the eastern slope of the Tsaratanana Massi
Family NOTHOBRANCHIIDAE African Rivulines
36 genera/subgenera · 341 species/subspecies
Subfamily NOTHOBRANCHIINAE
Aphyosemion Myers 1924 aphya, a small fish; semeion, banner, referring to small size of A. castaneum (34 mm in length to base of caudal) and lyre-shaped caudal fins, with upper and lower lobes forming streamers or pennants
Subgenus Aphyosemion
Aphyosemion castaneum Myers 1924 chestnut, referring to brown color in alcohol
Aphyosemion chauchei Huber & Scheel 1981 in honor of French aquarist and fish photographer Maurice Chauche (d. 2012), for his “complete devotion” to the study of aquarium fishes
Aphyosemion christyi (Boulenger 1915) in honor of Cuthbert Christy (1863-1932), physician (specializing in sleeping sickness), zoologist, explorer, and Director of the Congo Museum (Tervuren, Belgium), who collected type (he died after being gored by a buffalo he had shot in the Congo)
Aphyosemion cognatum Meinken 1951 related, presumed (erroneously) to be related to A. calliurum and A. striatum
Aphyosemion congicum (Ahl 1924) –icum, belonging to: lower Congo River system of Central Africa, where it is endemic
Aphyosemion decorsei (Pellegrin 1904) in honor of French army physician and naturalist Gaston-Jules Decorse (1873-1907), who helped collect type and other fishes from the Ubangi River (Central African Republic) with “tireless zeal” (translation)
Aphyosemion elegans (Boulenger 1899) fine, select or elegant, allusion not explained, probably referring to male coloration, with scales edged in carmine-red and vertical fins with carmine dots and margined with carmine or dark purple
Aphyosemion fellmanni van der Zee & Sonnenberg 2018 in honor of French aquarist Emmanuel Fellmann, who collected type; he made four expeditions to the Republic of the Congo to study killifishes and to get a better insight into the distribution of Aphyosemion and Epiplatys species in the southern part of the country
Aphyosemion ferranti (Boulenger 1910) in honor of naturalist Viktor Ferrant (1856-1942), founder, Société des Naturalistes Luxembourgeois, who submitted a “few small fishes” (translation) collected by Edouard Luja (see A. lujae), including type of this one, to Boulenger for examination
Aphyosemion lamberti Radda & Huber 1977 in honor of Belgian ichthyologist Jacques G. Lambert (1923-2013), for his work on the systematics and distribution of killifishes and his research in Gabon (where this species is endemic), and the French killifish enthusiast André Lambert, who has bred this species in aquaria [preferably spelled lambertorum since name honors more than one person, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]
Aphyosemion lefiniense Woeltjes 1984 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lefini River system of the Congo River, Republic of the Congo, type locality
Aphyosemion lujae (Boulenger 1911) in honor of botanist and entomologist Edouard Luja (1875-1953), resident of Kasai, Zaire (type locality), who “obtained” type [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]
Aphyosemion musafirii van der Zee & Sonnenberg 2011 in honor of Jean Musafiri (Ubundu, Democratic Republic of Congo), coordinator for the national tuberculosis and leprosy control program in the Province Orientale Occidentale, the forest area around Kisangani, near where this species occurs; the name Musafiri means “traveler” in Swahili and, indeed, “he travels around the area under very difficult circumstances, covering enormous distances by jeep, motorised canoe or small motorcycle,” helping the people of his province “in spite of the very difficult living conditions and the atrocities of the war,” while making it possible that the type of this species [and that of Fenerbahce devosi] could be collected by A. Van Deun (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp) during an external evaluation visit of the tuberculosis/leprosy program
Aphyosemion plagitaenium Huber 2004 plagios, oblique; taenia, band, referring to oblique (instead of vertical) red lineated pattern on lower sides of males, forming a “chevron” pattern with upper sides
Aphyosemion polli Radda & Pürzl 1987 in honor of ichthyologist Max Poll (1908-1991), who reported this species as A. schoutedeni in 1952
Aphyosemion pseudoelegans Sonnenberg & van der Zee 2012 pseudo-, false, i.e., although this species may resemble, and was previously misidentified as, A. elegans, such an appearance is false
Aphyosemion rectogoense Radda & Huber 1977 –ensis, suffix denoting place, etymology not explained: according to Huber (2005), rectus, proper, right or corrected; ogoense, referring to Ogooué (or Ogowe) River, Gabon, type locality, where a similar species with a convergent pattern (A. ogoense) is supposed to occur; according to Wildekamp (1993), Radda initially regarded A. rectogoense as the original A. ogoense
Aphyosemion schioetzi Huber & Scheel 1981 in honor of Danish herpetologist and aquarist Arne Schiøtz (b. 1932), Director, Danish Aquarium (1964-1996); he also collected type of Rhexipanchax schiotzi (Procatopodidae), described by junior author in 1968 [although it was not necessary for the authors to latinize “ø” as “oe,” that spelling stands; however, the spelling of R. schiotzi, named for the same person, does not contain the “e” (see Cyprinodontiformes Part 4 for an explanation)]
Aphyosemion schoutedeni (Boulenger 1920) in honor of zoologist Henri Schouteden (1881-1972), who collected many new species in the Belgian Congo (but not this one)
Aphyosemion teugelsi van der Zee & Sonnenberg 2010 in honor of the late Guy Teugels (1954-2003), curator of fishes at the Musée Royale de l’Afrique Centrale, “renowned worldwide for his contribution of the knowledge of African freshwater fishes, especially for his expertise in clariid catfishes, his favorite group. He was not only characterized by an impressive scientific productivity but also by his affection for the African continent and its people. Guy was an enthusiastic coach for the first author at the Zoology department of the museum for many years.”
Subgenus Caeruleamsemion Valdesalici & Malumbres 2023 caeruleam, light blue, referring to coloration on flank of A. coeleste; semion, short for Aphyosemion [proposed in 2022 but not made available until 2023]
Aphyosemion aureum Radda 1980 gold, referring to distinctive golden body color
Aphyosemion citrineipinnis Huber & Radda 1977 citrina, lemon or orange; pinnis, fin, referring to lemon-yellow fins of males
Aphyosemion coeleste Huber & Radda 1977 sky-blue, referring to brilliant sky-blue coloration of sides (posterior half) of males
Aphyosemion cryptum van der Zee, Walsh, Boukaka Mikembi, Jonker, Alexandre & Sonnenberg 2018 hidden, referring to how this species was first thought to represent a color variation of A. coeleste and not a species of its own
Aphyosemion hanneloreae Radda & Pürzl 1985 in honor of Hannelore, wife of the junior author
Aphyosemion mandoroense van der Zee, Walsh, Boukaka Mikembi, Jonker, Alexandre & Sonnenberg 2018 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mandoro River, a tributary of the Louessé River, Republic of the Congo, type locality
Aphyosemion ocellatum Huber & Radda 1977 eyed (i.e., with an eye spot), referring to dark spot behind pectoral fin on both sexes
Aphyosemion passaroi Huber 1994 in honor of Guido Passaro (Ludwigsburg, Germany), who collected type with Wolfgang Eberl (named at the request of Eberl)
Aphyosemion wuendschi Radda & Pürzl 1985 in honor of Prof. Leopold Wündsch, Institute for General and Comparative Physiology, University of Vienna
Subgenus Chromaphyosemion Radda 1971 Aphyosemion subgenus named for color (chroma), allusion not explained, probably referring to brightly colored males of Fundulopanchax multicolor (=A. bitaeniatum), with body and fins that change colors when displaying
Aphyosemion alpha Huber 1998 first letter of Greek alphabet, referring to red α-shaped dots on sides of males
Aphyosemion aurantiacum Chirio, Legros & Agnèse 2018 orange-colored, referring to orange head, ventral region and anal fin of living males
Aphyosemion barakoniense Chirio, Legros & Agnèse 2018 –ensis, suffix denoting place: lower Barakonié River, Gabon, type locality
Aphyosemion bitaeniatum (Ahl 1924) bi-, two; taeniatum, striped, referring to color pattern of type specimen in alcohol, featuring two dark brown longitudinal bands across body, an upper one around the lips and through eye to upper edge of caudal peduncle, and a lower one over chin and under pectoral fins to lower margin of caudal peduncle (living specimens from different populations are variable in their color and color pattern)
Aphyosemion bivittatum (Lönnberg 1895) bi-, two; vittatum, banded, referring to two rather broad dark-brown bands running entire length of body
Aphyosemion ecucuense (Sonnenberg 2008) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Ecucu basin, Equatorial Guinea, where it appears to be endemic
Aphyosemion erythron (Sonnenberg 2008) from erythros, red, referring to nearly regular rows of red dots on side and red-dotted fins, giving an overall reddish impression
Aphyosemion flammulatum Chirio, Legros & Agnèse 2018 flaming or burning, referring to bright-orange tip of dorsal fin of living males
Aphyosemion flavocyaneum Chirio, Legros & Agnèse 2018 flavus, yellow; cyaneum, blue, referring to yellow-orange head and sides and blue unpaired fins (with orange accents) of living males
Aphyosemion kouamense Legros 1999 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kouama River, into which water at type locality (edge of Cristal Mountains, northwest Gabon) flows
Aphyosemion koungueense (Sonnenberg 2007) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Koungué, a small river in the forest near the village of Koungué Ndonga, Cameroon, type locality; name also acknowledges the “friendly welcome and invaluable help of the Koungué villagers”
Aphyosemion loennbergii (Boulenger 1903) in honor of Swedish zoologist Einar Lönnberg (1865-1942), “author of several contributions to the fish-fauna of Cameroon,” where this species is endemic
Aphyosemion lugens Amiet 1991 mournful, referring to the “dark, mournful” (translation) coloration of males
Aphyosemion malumbresi Legros & Zentz 2006 in honor of killifish hobbyist Francisco J. Malumbres (Madrid, Spain), co-discoverer of this species and initiator of several ichthyological expeditions in Equatorial Guinea
Aphyosemion melanogaster (Legros, Zentz & Agnèse 2005) melano-, black; gaster, belly, referring to entirely black ventral region of males
Aphyosemion melinoeides (Sonnenberg 2007) orange-colored, referring to conspicuous orange color on throat, belly and fins
Aphyosemion omega (Sonnenberg 2007) last letter of Greek alphabet, named with regard to A. alpha in the sense of alpha (the beginning) and omega (the end), referring to relative (phylogenetic) position of both species within Chromaphyosemion, with C. alpha as the basal species and C. omega as a more derived species, the result of a recent radiation
Aphyosemion pamaense Agnèse, Legros, Cazaux & Estivals 2013 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Pama River, near the village of Pama, Cameroon, type locality
Aphyosemion poliaki Amiet 1991 in honor of French killifish hobbyist Daniel Poliak, for contributions to the knowledge of the subgenus Chromaphyosemion, both in the field and in the aquarium
Aphyosemion punctulatum (Legros, Zentz & Agnèse 2005) diminutive of punctum, spot, i.e., dotted, referring to small red spots on fins of males
Aphyosemion pusillum Chirio, Legros & Agnèse 2018 very small, up to 28.5 mm SL (33.8 mm TL)
Aphyosemion riggenbachi (Ahl 1924) in honor of Swiss zoologist (and later American art dealer) Fritz Wilhelm Riggenbach (1864-1944), who collected type
Aphyosemion rubrogaster Chirio, Legros & Agnèse 2018 rubro-, red; gaster, belly, referring to orange ventral region and “intense orange” coloration between end of anal fin and caudal peduncle of living males
Aphyosemion splendopleure (Brüning 1929) splendidus, shining; pleura, side, referring to shimmering or luminescent green sides of males
Aphyosemion volcanum Radda & Wildekamp 1977 volcanic, referring to type locality (southwest of Kumbas, western Cameroon), near the active volcano Mount Cameroon
Subgenus Diapteron Huber & Seegers 1977 dia-, away from (i.e., shifted); pteron, fin, referring to forward position of dorsal fin
Aphyosemion abacinum Huber 1976 mosaic, referring to distinct color pattern of crossbars on males
Aphyosemion cyanostictum Lambert & Géry 1968 cyano-, blue; stictum, spotted, referring to light-blue (sometimes white) spot on nearly every scale of males
Aphyosemion fulgens Radda 1975 bright, probably referring to coloration of males, which feature combinations of deep blue, deep orange and red
Aphyosemion georgiae Lambert & Géry 1968 in honor of Géry’s wife, Georgie, or Georgette, “whose active participation in the collection of killifishes greatly contributed to the wealth of the collections studied” (translation)
Aphyosemion seegersi Huber 1980 in honor of German ichthyologist, aquarist and photographer Lothar Seegers (1947-2018), “as a sign of my friendship and my admiration for his remarkable research” (translation) into the egg-surface structures of killifishes
Subgenus Iconisemion Huber 2013 icon, figure or picture, referring to “diversified and rich” color patterns of body and fins of males; semion, short for Aphyosemion
Aphyosemion bitteri Valdesalici & Eberl 2016 in honor of Friedrich Bitter, German killifish hobbyist and and editor-in-chief of Aquaristik, who helped collect first known specimens in 2001, for his contribution to the knowledge of African killifishes
Aphyosemion buytaerti Radda & Huber 1978 in honor of Belgian aquarist John Buytaert (1944-2012), a “very active” (translation) member of the Belgian Killifish Association particularly interested in Aphyosemion; he collected type with Walter Wachters (see A. wachtersi)
Aphyosemion caudofasciatum Huber & Radda 1979 caudo-, tail; fasciatum, striped, referring to wide, vertical, dark-red bar on caudal fin of males
Aphyosemion cyanoflavum van der Zee, Walsh, Boukaka Mikembi, Jonker, Alexandre & Sonnenberg 2018 cyano-, blue; flavum, yellow, referring to bicolored flanks in live males
Aphyosemion escherichi (Ahl 1924) in honor of Escherich (forename not given), who collected type, probably entomologist Karl L. Escherich (1871-1951)
Aphyosemion exigoideum Radda & Huber 1977 –oideus, like, referring to similarity in male color pattern with that of A. exiguum (per Huber, 2013)
Aphyosemion gabunense gabunense Radda 1975 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Gabon, where it is endemic
Aphyosemion gabunense boehmi Radda & Huber 1977 in honor of Austrian aquarist Otto Böhm, an “internationally known killifish lover (translation)
Aphyosemion gabunense marginatum Rada & Huber 1977 bordered, referring to characteristic symmetrical marginal and submarginal bands on unpaired fins of males (Jean H. Huber, pers. comm.)
Aphyosemion grelli Valdesalici & Eberl 2013 in honor of the late Wolfgang Grell, member of the DKG (Deutsche Killifisch Gemeinschaft); a “talented killifish collector, breeder, and photographer who only one year before his death in May 2001, directed the second author’s attention to the probable existence of an unknown species [this one] in the area east of Sindara” in southern Gabon
Aphyosemion hera Huber 1998 named for the Greek goddess Hera, referring to the beauty of the female, with bright apple-yellow to gold-yellow coloration on belly and strong red pigments on sides and fins, “probably the most beautiful [female] in Aphyosemion, if not in Cyprinodonts, but this is subjective”
Aphyosemion hofmanni Radda 1980 in honor of Austrian aquarist Otto Hoffman, who discovered this species and helped collect type
Aphyosemion jeanhuberi Valdesalici & Eberl 2015 in honor of French ichthyologist and pharmaceutical executive Jean H. Huber (b. 1952), who discovered this species, and for his “long-term as well as inestimable contribution” to the knowledge of oviparous Cyprinodontiformes
Aphyosemion joergenscheeli Huber & Radda 1977 in honor of Danish count, colonel, explorer and ichthyologist (specializing in African rivulines) Jørgen J. Scheel (1916-1989), the authors’ “teacher and friend” (translation)
Aphyosemion louessense (Pellegrin 1931) –ensis, Louessé River, Republic of Congo, type locality (also occurs in Gabon)
Aphyosemion mengilai Valdesalici & Eberl 2014 in honor of François Mengila (Libreville, Gabon), for his help as driver and guide for the junior author’s collecting trips in Gabon
Aphyosemion microphtalmum Lambert & Géry 1968 micro-, small; ophthalmum [misspelled ophtalmum], eye, proposed as a subspecies of A. striatum with eye diameter shorter, rather than longer, than length of snout
Aphyosemion ogoense (Pellegrin 1930) –ensis, suffix denoting place: upper Ogooué (or Ogowe) River, Gabon, type locality (also occurs in Republic of Congo)
Aphyosemion ottogartneri Radda 1980 in honor of Austrian aquarist and policeman Otto Gartner (1925-2018), Radda’s “faithful companion” (translation) on several collecting trips to West Africa
Aphyosemion primigenium Radda & Huber 1977 first born, referring to its hypothesized ancestral (or primitive) position to that of the A. striatum superspecies (Jean H. Huber, pers. comm.)
Aphyosemion pyrophore Huber & Radda 1979 pyros, fire; phoros, bearer, referring to flame-like pattern of irregular vertical bars on posterior sides of males
Aphyosemion schluppi Radda & Huber 1978 in honor of Father Gerard Schlupp, missionary at the Zanaga Mission Post (Zaire), who provided hospitality to Belgian aquarists John Buytaert and Walter Wachters, who collected type
Aphyosemion striatum (Boulenger 1911) striped or streaked, referring to any or all of the following: olive streaks on side; carmine median streak on dorsal and anal fins; fins grayish, carmine and white streak on caudal fin
Aphyosemion thysi Radda & Huber 1978 in honor of ichthyologist Dirk Thys van den Audenaerde (b. 1934), Director at the Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale (Tervuren, Belgium)
Aphyosemion wachtersi wachtersi Radda & Huber 1978 in honor of “dear friend” (translation) Walter Wachters, Belgian aquarist who collected type with John Buytaert (see A. buytaerti); in addition to his “zealous” (translation) collecting efforts in West Africa, he is dedicated to the care and breeding of all Aphyosemion species and has already bred this one
Aphyosemion wachtersi mikeae Radda 1980 in honor of Mike Wachters, wife of Belgian aquarist Walter Wachters, for supporting her husband’s study of the genus
Aphyosemion zygaima Huber 1981 zygon, belt; haima, of blood, referring to red margin on caudal fin of males, which joins the “flame pattern” of the inner part of that fin (Jean H. Huber, pers. comm.)
Subgenus Kathetys Huber 1977 kathetos, perpendicular; according to Huber (2013), name means “with vertical bars,” referring to striped body pattern on body and fins of males
Aphyosemion bamilekorum Radda 1971 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: named for the Bamileke tribe, who live in the area (highlands of Cameroon) where this killifish occur
Aphyosemion bualanum (Ahl 1924) –anum, belonging to: Bouala, Cameroon, type locality (also occurs in Central African Republic)
Aphyosemion dargei Amiet 1987 in honor of French entomologist Philippe Darge (b. 1933), “whose enthusiasm as a naturalist and efficacious perseverance are at the heart of the publication” of the book in which the description appeared
Aphyosemion elberti elberti (Ahl 1924) in honor of Elbert (forename not given), who collected type, possibly Johannes Elbert (1878-1915), Danish geologist, geographer and naturalist who explored Cameroon in 1914 [possibly a junior synonym of A. bualanum]
Aphyosemion elberti kekemense Radda & Scheel 1975 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kekem District, Cameroon, type locality
Aphyosemion exiguum (Boulenger 1911) small or scanty, at 32 mm TL tied with Haplochilus brucii (=Fundulopanchax gardneri) as the smallest killifish Boulenger described in his paper
Subgenus Mesoaphyosemion Radda 1977 meso-, middle, referring to presumed systematic position of this subgenus within Aphyopsemion [treated as a full genus by some workers]
Aphyosemion amoenum Radda & Pürzl 1976 lovely or beautiful, allusion not explained, probably referring to markings and coloration of males
Aphyosemion cameronense (Boulenger 1903) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cameroon, type locality (also occurs in Gabon and possibly Equatorial Guinea and Republic of the Congo)
Aphyosemion etsamense Sonnenberg & Blum 2005 –ensis, suffix denoting place: the village of Etsam I, Gabon, type locality
Aphyosemion haasi Radda & Pürzl 1976 in honor of German aquarist Karl-Heinz Haas, who, although primarily interested in cichlids, “energetically supported” (translation) the authors’ killifish collecting trips in Cameroon
Aphyosemion halleri Radda & Pürzl 1976 in honor of German aquarist Ernst Haller, who collected type
Aphyosemion labarrei Poll 1951 in honor of Clement Labarre (no other information available), who collected type
Aphyosemion lorai Valdesalici & Malumbres 2023 in memory of the late Francisco Garcia Lora, “one of the most enthusiastic and well known” Spanish killifish breeder hobbyists, who travelled to Equatorial Guinea many times, contributing to the discovery of numerous new killifish species [proposed in 2022 but not made available until 2023]
Aphyosemion losantosi (Malumbres, Sonnenberg & van der Zee 2022) in honor of Félix Losantos (1967–2020), a “very good friend” and co-traveler of the senior author on collection trips to Equatorial Guinea; he was a “tireless, passionate and helpful person”
Aphyosemion maculatum Radda & Pürzl 1977 spotted, referring to dark, purplish, usually transverse spots on sides of males
Aphyosemion mimbon Huber 1977 local name among the Fang people of northern Gabon (type locality) for Aphyosemion species
Aphyosemion montealenense (Malumbres, Sonnenberg & van der Zee 2022) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Monte Alén, the highest mountain in Equatorial Guinea (1250 m); this species occurs at the southeastern foot of this mountain at an altitude of ca. 690 m
Aphyosemion obscurum (Ahl 1924) dark, referring to monochrome blackish color (body and fins) in alcohol
Aphyosemion punctatum Radda & Pürzl 1977 dotted or spotted, referring to usually interrupted rows of red dots on sides of males
Aphyosemion raddai Scheel 1975 in honor of zoologist-virologist Alfred C. Radda (1936-2022), University of Vienna, who was aware that this species, then considered a population of A. cameronense, was distinct
Aphyosemion wildekampi Berkenkamp 1973 in honor of Dutch aquarist and amateur ichthyologist Rudolf H. Wildekamp (1945-2019), who bred this species and sent specimens to Berkenkamp
Subgenus Scheelsemion Huber 2013 Scheel, in honor of Jørgen J. Scheel (1916-1989), Colonel in Danish Army, amateur ichthyologist and geneticist, and “pioneering modern researcher” of Old World cyprinodontiforms, notably Aphyosemion; semion, short for Aphyosemion
Aphyosemion ahli Myers 1933 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Ernst Ahl (1898-1945), who was “perfectly correct” in referring Fundulus neumanni, F. guentheri and related forms (Myers’ Adiniops) to Nothobranchius
Aphyosemion australe (Rachow 1921) southern, described as the southernmost variety of A. calliurum
Aphyosemion bochtleri Radda 1975 in honor of Franz Bochtler, member of the DKG (Deutsche Killifisch Gemeinschaft), who provided “results and material” from his collecting trips in Gabon, including type of this species
Aphyosemion calliurum (Boulenger 1911) calli-, beautiful; oura, tailed, presumably referring to tails of males, with prolonged middle rays, spotted with carmine, and lower lobe edged with carmine and white
Aphyosemion campomaanense Agnèse, Brummett, Caminade, Catalan & Kornobis 2009 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Campo-Ma’an National Park, Cameroon, type locality
Aphyosemion celiae celiae Scheel 1971 in honor of Celia Epie of Mambanda, West Cameroon, eldest daughter of John Epie, manager of the Meanja Rubber Estate, who hosted Scheel and accompanied him during his collecting trips; type was collected in a stream near Epie’s home
Aphyosemion celiae winifredae Radda & Scheel 1975 in honor of Winifred Epie of Mambanda, West Cameroon, daughter of John Epie, manager of the Meanja Rubber Estate, who again hosted Scheel in 1973
Aphyosemion edeanum Amiet 1987 –anum, adjectival suffix: type series collected 35 km east of Edea, Sanaga basin, Cameroon
Aphyosemion franzwerneri Scheel 1971 in honor of the late Franz Werner (Detroit, Michigan, USA), “modern amateur student of rivulins” and “eminent American killifish fancier”
Aphyosemion heinemanni Berkenkamp 1983 in honor of German aquarist Hendrik Heinemann, who helped collect type
Aphyosemion herzogi Radda 1975 in honor of Wolfgang Herzog, member of the DKG (Deutsche Killifisch Gemeinschaft), who “kindly provided the results of his successful fish collections in Gabon” (he collected paratypes with Franz Bochtler; see A. bochtleri)
Aphyosemion lividum Legros & Zentz 2007 blueish, referring to predominant color of body and fins of males
Aphyosemion mitemelense Malumbres, Sonnenberg & van der Zee 2022 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mitemele River basin, Equatorial Guinea, type locality
Aphyosemion pascheni pascheni (Ahl 1928) in honor of Paschen (forename not given), who collected type, possibly H. Paschen, a German settler and trader in Yaounde, Cameroon, who achieved some notoriety for shooting a large gorilla in 1900, then the largest gorilla known, now on display at the Natural History Museum at Tring (United Kingdom)
Aphyosemion pascheni festivum Amiet 1987 showing a feast (with bright colors), allusion not explained, probably referring to bright colors of both sexes
Aphyosemion tirbaki Huber 1999 in honor of Peter J. Tirbak (1932-2019), Palo Alto, California, USA, “renowned” killifish hobbyist, who helped collect type and provided specimens for study
Episemion Radda & Pürzl 1987 combination of Epiplatys and Aphyosemion, having characteristics of both genera
Episemion callipteron Radda & Pürzl 1987 calli-, beautiful; pterus, fin, presumably referring to fins of males, described as having numerous yellow-gold specks on dorsal and upper caudal fin and bluish-silver dots on anal and most of caudal fin, with vivid orange pectoral fins and deep yellow ventral fins
Episemion krystallinoron Sonnenberg, Blum & Misof 2006 krystallin, crystal; oron, mountains, referring to Monts de Cristal (Crystal Mountains), Gabon, type locality (also occurs in Equatorial Guinea)
Fenerbahce Özdikmen, Polat, Yilmaz & Yazicioglu 2006 etymology not explained; since authors are Turkish, perhaps derived from Turkish word fenerbahçe (fener, lantern; bahçe, garden, i.e., a garden lantern), deriving from an ancient lighthouse at Fenerbahçe Cape, perhaps referring to brilliant-white heart-shaped blotch on top of head of both sexes (per Huber, 2008); some online resources suggest genus is named for Fenerbahçe SK, a major multi-sport club based in Istanbul, or a Turkish football team, Fenerbahçe Istanbul, but these honorariums seem doubtful
Fenerbahce devosi Sonnenberg, Woeltjes & van der Zee 2011 in honor of Luc De Vos (1957-2003), Chief Ichthyologist at the National Museums of Kenya, “who died far too young” (from kidney failure); he made several “important” fish collections in the Congo Basin, including populations of this species
Fenerbahce formosus (Huber 1979) beautiful, allusion not explained but referring to color and body shape (per Huber, 2011)
Foerschichthys Scheel & Romand 1981 in honor of German physician and aquarist Walter Foersch (1932-1993), for his “research in ichthyology and in particular in the study of cyprinodont species”; ichthys, fish
Foerschichthys flavipinnis (Meinken 1932) flavus, yellow; pinnis, fin, referring to yellow-to-orange dorsal and anal fins of males, pale yellow in females
Fundulopanchax Myers 1924 combination of Fundulus (now in Fundulidae of North America but included African species at the time) and Panchax (=Aplocheilus), whose characters this genus “to some extent combines”
Subgenus Fundulopanchax
Fundulopanchax fallax (Ahl 1935) false or deceitful, probably referring to resemblance to and confusion with F. gularis and/or F. walkeri spurrelli
Fundulopanchax kamdemi Akum, Sonnenberg, van der Zee & Wildekamp 2007 in honor of André Kamdem Toham, Cameroonese ichthyologist and landscape ecologist for the World Wildlife Fund’s Central African Rainforest Project (CARPE), who collected some of the paratypes
Fundulopanchax powelli van der Zee & Wildekamp 1994 in honor of Canadian biologist Charles Bruce Powell (1943-1998), University of Port Hancourt (Nigeria), who collected type
Fundulopanchax scheeli scheeli (Radda 1970) in honor of Danish count, colonel, explorer and ichthyologist Jørgen J. Scheel (1916-1989), “the best connoisseur of old-world rivulines, who also clearly recognized and made known the distinctiveness of this form” (translation)
Fundulopanchax scheeli akamkpaensis Radda 1977 –ensis, suffix denoting place: near Akamkpa, Southeastern State, Nigeria, type locality
Fundulopanchax sjostedti (Lönnberg 1895) in honor of Swedish entomologist-ornithologist Bror Yngve Sjöstedt (1866-1948), who collected type [since name is Swedish, “ö” does not need to be rendered as “oe”; that rule applies to German names only]
Subgenus Gularopanchax Radda 1977 Gularo-, named for the type species, F. gularis; Panchax (=Aplocheilus), an aplocheiloid genus, often used for several African species as a common name
Fundulopanchax deltaensis (Radda 1976) –ensis, suffix denoting place: delta, referring to Niger River delta, Nigeria, type locality
Fundulopanchax gularis (Boulenger 1902) throat, presumably referring to purple band on each side of head of males, “passing round to the other side over the lower jaw”
Fundulopanchax kribianus (Radda 1975) –anus, belonging to: Kribi, Cameroon, near type locality
Fundulopanchax schwoiseri (Scheel & Radda 1974) in honor of naturalist Viktor Schwoiser, resident of Kumba, Cameroon, who collected type
Subgenus Paludopanchax Radda 1977 paludis, swamp, referring to the occurrence of its species in the Rhaphia swamps and swampy outcrops of streams in the marshy rainforests of the coastal plains of West-central Africa; Panchax (=Aplocheilus), an aplocheiloid genus, often used for several African species as a common name
Fundulopanchax arnoldi (Boulenger 1908) in honor of German aquarist Johann Paul Arnold (1869-1952), who provided type specimens from his aquaria, “brought over live from the mouth of the Niger [River]”
Fundulopanchax avichang Malumbres & Castelo 2001 Fang word meaning small, referring to its size, <40 mm TL, significantly smaller than its congeners
Fundulopanchax filamentosus Meinken 1933 with filaments, presumably referring to filamentous extensions on anal and caudal fins of males
Fundulopanchax robertsoni (Radda & Scheel 1974) in honor of J. T. Robertson, manager of planting at Cameroon Development Corporation, a rubber plantation in Ekona, Cameroon, type locality; he is also an aquarist and drew the authors’ attention to this species
Fundulopanchax rubrolabialis (Radda 1973) rubro-, red; labialis, of the lips, referring to bright crimson border on lower lip of males
Subgenus Paraphyosemion Radda 1977 para-, near, proposed as a subgenus of Aphyosemion by Kottelat (1976), but name not made available until Radda 1977
Fundulopanchax amieti (Radda 1976) in honor of French zoologist Jean-Louis Amiet (b. 1936), University of Yaoundé (Cameroon), “with heartfelt thanks for his valuable advice” (translation) concerning the fishes of Cameroon, where this species in endemic
Fundulopanchax cinnamomeus (Clausen 1963) cinnamon colored, referring to yellow-brown body color of males
Fundulopanchax gardneri gardneri (Boulenger 1911) in honor of Capt. R. D. Gard’ner (no other information available), who collected fishes in Nigeria for the British Museum, presumably including type of this one
Fundulopanchax gardneri lacustris (Radda 1974) lacustrine (belonging to a lake), described from a drying waterhole in the drainage of Lake Ejagham, Cameroon
Fundulopanchax gardneri mamfensis (Radda 1974) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mamfe plains, Cameroon, type locality
Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus (Clausen 1963) –anus, belonging to: Nigeria, where it is endemic
Fundulopanchax gardneri obuduensis (Wright & Jeremy 1974) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Obudu, Nigeria, type locality
Fundulopanchax gresensi Berkenkamp 2003 in honor of German aquarist Horst Gresens, who did “much field work with this species” (translation) in Cameroon over the course of two decades (1984-2012)
Fundulopanchax intermittens (Radda 1974) etymology not explained; intermittens usually means intermittent (i.e., irregular), but in this case appears to mean intermediate (in between or in the middle), possibly referring to its distribution between the northerly F. moensis and the southerly F. traudeae, or (per Huber, 2010) to intermediate color pattern of male sides between the same two species
Fundulopanchax mirabilis (Radda 1970) splendid or striking, allusion not explained, probably referring to male coloration: sky-blue to dark blue with crimson peaks on sides, posterior body red becoming a deep purple, “against which the bright blue shiny scales contrast wonderfully” (translation)
Fundulopanchax moensis (Radda 1970) –ensis, suffix denoting place: large affluent of Mo River, between Kendem and Noumba, Cameroon, type locality
Fundulopanchax ndianus (Scheel 1968) –anus, belonging to: Ndian River drainage, Nigeria-Cameroon border, where the species is said to originate
Fundulopanchax puerzli (Radda & Scheel 1974) in honor of Eduard Pürzl, Austrian aquarist and fish photographer, who collected type and first kept this species in the aquarium
Fundulopanchax spoorenbergi (Berkenkamp 1976) in honor of Dutch aquarist Frank Spoorenberg, who discovered this species in an Amsterdam aquarium store
Fundulopanchax traudeae (Radda 1971) in honor of Traude, Radda’s wife, for “always showing great interest in and understanding of [his] studies” (translation)
Fundulopanchax walkeri walkeri (Boulenger 1911) in honor of the late Robert Bruce Napoleon Walker (1832-1901), West African trader, explorer, anthropologist and natural history collector, who “obtained” type specimens at Bokitsa Mine, Ghana
Fundulopanchax walkeri spurrelli (Boulenger 1913) in honor of physician-zoologist Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell (1877-1918), who collected type
Subgenus Pauciradius Wildekamp & van der Zee 2005 paucus, few; radius, ray, referring to fewer dorsal- and anal-fin rays compared to other Fundulopanchax subgenera
Fundulopanchax marmoratus (Radda 1973) marbled, referring to irregular and interrupted red dots forming a marbled pattern on caudal peduncle of males
Fundulopanchax oeseri (Schmidt 1928) in honor of German physician Richard Öser, who collected plants and animals in Africa and was particularly interested in how some frogs bred in the water collecting in plants; he collected type
Fundulosoma Ahl 1924 soma, body, having the shape of Fundulus (which at the time included African species but is now restricted to the North American Fundulidae) but differing in its dentition
Fundulosoma thierryi Ahl 1924 in honor of Gaston Thierry (1866-1904), an Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) in the Imperial German Army, sent to Dahomey (now Benin, type locality) to enforce German control over the country and collect samples of local fauna, including type of this killifish; he was killed in Cameroon (then a German colony) by a poisoned arrow
Nothobranchius Peters 1868 nothos, false; branchius, gill, referring to presence of “free” (translation) pseudobranchs (small gills or reduced gill arches on inside of opercle); according to Wildekamp (2004), these “false gills” are actually preopercular neuromasts housed in an open groove that give the impression of another gill opening
Subgenus Nothobranchius
Nothobranchius furzeri Jubb 1971 in honor of aquarium hobbyist and bird breeder Richard E. Furzer of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), “through whose efforts this beautiful fish was introduced to Nothobranchius enthusiasts”
Nothobranchius kadleci Reichard 2010 in honor of the late Jaroslav Kadlec (1951-2006, Brno, Czech Republic), “a renowned killifish breeder recognized worldwide for his articles on killifish breeding, ecology, and his photographs” (pronounced khadlatsi)
Nothobranchius krysanovi Shidlovskiy, Watters & Wildekamp 2010 in honor of Eugeny Y. Krysanov, Russian Academy of Science, who carried out cytological studies on Nothobranchius species, as well as the effects of radiation on their chromosomes in the Chernobyl area
Nothobranchius mkuziensis (Fowler 1934) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mkuzi River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Nothobranchius orthonotus (Peters 1844) orthos, straight; notus, back, referring to straight (flat) dorsal surface from snout to tail
Nothobranchius pienaari Shidlovskiy, Watters & Wildekamp 2010 in honor of Uys de Villiers “Toll” Pienaar (1930-2011), biologist of the Kruger National Park (South Africa) and discoverer of Nothobranchius species (but not this one), for his efforts to protect and conserve these populations
Nothobranchius rachovii Ahl 1926 in honor of German aquarist Arthur Rachow (1884-1960), to whom the Zoological Museum of Berlin (now Museum für Naturkunde) “owes a large number of valuable fishes” (translation)
Subgenus Adiniops Myers 1924 ops, appearance, resembling the North American genus Adinia (=Fundulus, Fundulidae)
Nothobranchius albimarginatus Watters, Wildekamp & Cooper 1998 albus, white; marginatus, margined, referring to white margins on dorsal and anal fins of males
Nothobranchius annectens Watters, Wildekamp & Cooper 1998 linking or joining, referring to how this species is presumed to be a link between N. guentheri from the island of Zanzibar and members of the N. guentheri species group living on the Tanzanian mainland
Nothobranchius balamaensis Bragança & Chakona 2022 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Balama region, Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, type locality
Nothobranchius cardinalis Watters, Cooper & Wildekamp 2008 red, referring to the “striking, dominantly” red coloration of males, alluding to blood-red vesture worn by cardinals
Nothobranchius eggersi Seegers 1982 in honor of German aquarist Gerd (elsewhere given as Gerhard) Eggers, for his camaraderie during two trips to Tanzania, which led to the discovery of this species; he also collected plants and animals other than fishes, which he generally made available
Nothobranchius elongatus Wildekamp 1982 elongate, referring to its rather slender body (compared to its deeper-bodied congeners)
Nothobranchius flammicomantis Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse 1998 flamma, fire; comantis, hairy, i.e., with fire-like hairs, referring to orange, filamentous anterior anal-fin rays of males
Nothobranchius foerschi Wildekamp & Berkenkamp 1979 in honor of German physician and aquarist Walter Foersch (1932-1993), who has “continuously shared his experiences in keeping and breeding species of the [killifish] family through publications and lectures” (translation); he also was the first to breed (1959) and distribute this species
Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus Seegers 1997 fuscus, dark; taeniatus, striped, referring to dark bars across body, especially males but females also
Nothobranchius geminus Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse 2002 twin or double, referring to reflective silver spots on upper half of iris appearing as twin stars and making the fish visible from above when viewed in its natural habitat
Nothobranchius guentheri (Pfeffer 1893) in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830-1914), who reported this species as Fundulus (now Nothobranchius) orthonotus in 1867
Nothobranchius hengstleri Valdesalici 2007 in honor of killifish hobbyist Holger Hengstler (Munich, Germany), who helped collect type
Nothobranchius insularis Costa 2017 of an island, referring to Mafia Island, Tanzania, where it appears to be endemic
Nothobranchius interruptus Wildekamp & Berkenkamp 1979 interrupted or broken, referring to interrupted blue-gray terminal bar in caudal fin of males
Nothobranchius janpapi Wildekamp 1977 in honor of Jan Pap, Dutch aquarist and development assistant in Tanzania, who discovered this species in 1975 and sent specimens to an aquarist in Holland
Nothobranchius jubbi jubbi Wildekamp & Berkenkamp 1979 in honor of Reginald A. “Rex” Jubb (1905-1987), Freshwater Fish Section, Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa, for his “pioneering” (translation) taxonomic work on Nothobranchius
Nothobranchius jubbi cyaneus Seegers 1981 blue, referring to main color of male sides and unpaired fins
Nothobranchius kilomberoensis Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse 2002 –ensis, suffix denoting place: floodplain of Kilombero River, Tanzania, where it appears to be endemic
Nothobranchius kirki Jubb 1969 in honor of R. G. Kirk, fish biologist, Agricultural Research Services, Ministry of Natural Resources, Malawi, who collected type
Nothobranchius korthausae Meinken 1973 in honor of German aquarist Edith Korthaus (1923-1987), editor of Das Aquarium, who collected type
Nothobranchius krammeri Valdesalici & Hengstler 2008 in honor of Werner Krammer (Pöttmes, Germany), a “well known German aquarist, who first successfully bred this species”
Nothobranchius kwalensis Costa 2019 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kwale County, Coastal Province, Kenya, where type locality is situated
Nothobranchius lourensi Wildekamp 1977 in honor of Jan Lourens, biologist of the United Nations Development Programme (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), who collected type
Nothobranchius lucius Wildekamp, Shidlovskiy & Watters 2009 Latin for pike, referring to “stronger dentition, partly predatory behavior and pike-like appearance” compared to congeners
Nothobranchius luekei Seegers 1984 in honor of German aquarist Karl Heinz Lüke (b.1937), the first to breed this species
Nothobranchius makondorum Wildekamp, Shidlovskiy & Watters 2009 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: dedicated to the Makonde tribe of southeastern Tanzania and northeastern Mozambique, whose territory covers, in part, the distribution of this species
Nothobranchius melanospilus (Pfeffer 1896) melanos, black; spilos, spot, referring to black spots on sides of females
Nothobranchius niassa Valdesalici, Bills, Dorn, Reichwald & Cellerino 2012 named for Niassa Reserve, Lukombe River drainage, Mozambique, only known area of occurrence
Nothobranchius nikiforovi Nagy, Watters & Raspopova 2021 in honor of Russian killifish enthusiast Andrei Nikiforov, who participated in several field surveys aimed at research on Nothobranchius fishes in Tanzania, who co-discovered and co-collected type specimens
Nothobranchius palmqvisti (Lönnberg 1907) in honor of Gustaf Palmqvist (also spelled Palmquist), the “mæcenas” (generous patron) of the Swedish Kilimanjaro-Meru expedition (1905-1906), during which type was collected
Nothobranchius patrizii (Vinciguerra 1927) in honor of Saverio Patrizi Naro Montoro (1902-1957), Italian explorer, zoologist, speleologist and collector, who collected type
Nothobranchius rubripinnis Seegers 1986 rubri-, red; pinnis, fin, referring to red pectoral, anal and caudal fins of males
Nothobranchius ruudwildekampi Costa 2009 in honor of Dutch aquarist and amateur ichthyologist Rudolf (“Ruud”) H. Wildekamp (1945-2019), for his “fine taxonomic work” on the genus
Nothobranchius vosseleri Ahl 1924 in honor of German zoologist and Hamburg Zoo director Julius Voseller (1861-1933), who collected type
Nothobranchius wattersi Ng’oma, Valdesalici, Reichwald & Cellerino 2013 in honor of Brian R. Watters, South African-Canadian geologist and killifish enthusiast, who has “studied Malawi Nothobranchius and their biotopes extensively, and has also made significant contributions to the further understanding of the ecology of Nothobranchius fishes”
Nothobranchius willerti Wildekamp 1992 in honor of German aquarist Manfred Willert, who helped collect type and donated it to Wildekamp
Subgenus Cynobranchius Costa 2018 combination of Cynolebias (referring to superficial resemblance with this cynolebiid [or rivulid] genus from South America) and Nothobranchius
Nothobranchius bojiensis Wildekamp & Haas 1992 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Boji Plain, Kenya, type locality
Nothobranchius fasciatus Wildekamp & Haas 1992 banded, referring to 15-20 irregular crossbars on posterior body of males
Nothobranchius microlepis (Vinciguerra 1897) micro-, small; lepis, scale, referring to smaller, more numerous scales compared to congeners known at the time (guentheri, melanospilus, orthonotus, taeniopygus)
Subgenus Paranothobranchius Seegers 1985 para-, near, proposed as a separate genus said to be the “closest” (translation) to Nothobranchius
Nothobranchius matanduensis Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt 2020 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Matandu River drainage, eastern Tanzania, type locality
Nothobranchius ocellatus (Seegers 1985) having little eyes, referring to eye-spot (often divided into 2-3 smaller spots) on caudal peduncle of juveniles of both sexes and of adult females
Subgenus Plesiobranchius Costa 2018 combination of Plesiolebias (a cynolebiid [or rivulid] genus from South America) and Nothobranchius, referring to superficial resemblance of N. virgatus with Plesiolebias
Nothobranchius occultus Valdesalici 2014 hidden, referring to the “long time period that this species remained hidden following its discovery” (collected in 1950 or 1951, possibly extinct)
Nothobranchius virgatus Chambers 1984 striped, referring to “striking” russet-red stripes running obliquely forward and upward along every second or third transverse scale row of males
Subgenus Zononothobranchius Radda 1969 zono-, band, i.e., banded Nothobranchius, referring to band in caudal fin of N. brieni, N. rubroreticulatus and N. taeniopygus
Nothobranchius albertinensis Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt 2020 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Albertine Rift of Uganda, valley in which it occurs in the northern Lake Albert basin, extending into the Albert Nile drainage
Nothobranchius angelae Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt 2019 in honor of Angela Watters, wife of the first author, for her “unwavering support for his many field trips to Africa to study fishes of the genus Nothobranchius, during which she also very capably maintained the fishes in the tanks of his large fish room”
Nothobranchius attenboroughi Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt 2020 in honor of David F. Attenborough (b. 1926), broadcaster and natural historian, for his “dedicated” efforts to promote biophilia: “raising awareness of the wonders and beauties of nature for so many people worldwide, promoting awareness of the importance of biodiversity conservation, and above all, inspiring so many researchers in the field of natural history, including the authors of this paper”
Nothobranchius bellemansi Valdesalici 2014 in honor of Marc Bellemans of Belgium, “professional biologist and conservationist, collector, aquarist, and friend,” who collected type
Nothobranchius boklundi Valdesalici 2010 in honor of Jørn Boklund of Denmark, “collector, aquarist and friend,” who collected type
Nothobranchius brieni Poll 1938 in honor of friend and zoological colleague Paul Brien (1894-1975), Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), who collected type
Nothobranchius capriviensis Watters, Wildekamp & Shidlovskiy 2015 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Caprivi Strip, historical name (after German statesman Count Leo von Caprivi, 1831-1899) for narrow extension of northeastern Namibia, where this species occurs
Nothobranchius chochamandai Nagy 2014 in honor of Auguste Chocha Manda, University of Lubumbashi (Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo), for his dedication in researching the fishes of his country
Nothobranchius cooperi Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt 2017 in honor of Barry J. Cooper, “renowned collector and breeder of killifish, for his significant contributions to the field study of Nothobranchius and to the killifish hobby in general”
Nothobranchius derhami Valdesalici & Amato 2019 in honor of Swiss ichthyologist and aquarist Patrick de Rham (1936-2022), who discovered this species in 1985 and observed part of its life cycle in the field
Nothobranchius ditte Nagy 2018 in honor of Ditte, nickname of Nagy’s “beloved” wife Edit Csikós, for her “patience during all the time I am away for collecting fishes and also for the care of keeping all the fish alive during my absences” [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Nothobranchius elucens Nagy 2021 Latin for “shining out,” referring to distinctive light-blue subdistal band in anal and caudal fins, “contrasting and shining out” of the overall dark coloration of body and fins of males
Nothobranchius flagrans Nagy 2014 flaming, blazing, burning or glowing, referring to vivid orange-red color of submarginal bands on anal and caudal fins of males
Nothobranchius hassoni Valdesalici & Wildekamp 2004 in honor of Belgian conservationist Michel Hasson (b. 1955), for his assistance to obtain the type specimens, additional information, and for his support to help the National Park of Upemba (type locality, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Nothobranchius hoermanni Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt 2020 in honor of Alwin Hörmann (Kühnhausen, Germany), “well-known” aquarist and breeder of Nothobranchius fishes who maintained and propagated type specimens; “Without his dedication and expertise, the population from the type locality would not have been available for researchers and others”
Nothobranchius itigiensis Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt 2020 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Itigi township, central Tanzania, near where type locality is situated
Nothobranchius ivanovae Valdesalici 2012 in honor of aquarist and collector Iva Ivanova (Dupnitsa, Bulgaria), who collected type with Kiril Kardashev (see N. kardashevi)
Nothobranchius kafuensis Wildekamp & Rosenstock 1989 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kafue River system, Zambia, where type locality (seasonal pool in Kafue National Park) is situated (also occurs in Zambesi River system)
Nothobranchius kardashevi Valdesalici 2012 in honor of Kiril Kardashev (Dupnitsa, Bulgaria), “friend, aquarist, collector,” who collected type with Iva Ivanova (see N. ivanovae)
Nothobranchius malaissei Wildekamp 1978 in honor of Prof. Malaisse, University of Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo), who collected type, probably botanist-ecologist François Malaisse (b. 1934) [in a 2004 publication, Wildekamp gave first name as “Noël”]
Nothobranchius milvertzi Nagy 2014 in honor of Finn Christian Milvertz (Solrød Strand, Denmark), “renowned breeder and collector of killifish”
Nothobranchius moameensis Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt 2020 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Moame River drainage, Tanzania, where type locality is situated
Nothobranchius neumanni (Hilgendorf 1905) in honor of German ornithologist Oskar Neumann (1867-1946), who collected type
Nothobranchius nubaensis Valdesalici, Bellemans, Kardashev & Golubtsov 2009 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Nuba Mountains, Sudan, where type locality is situated (also occurs in Ethiopia) [name provisionally published by Bellemans in 2003 but considered unavailable since specimens were still alive and no types were deposited]
Nothobranchius oestergaardi Valdesalici & Amato 2011 in honor of collector and friend Kaj Østergaard, Denmark, for “contributions over a long period of time on field investigations that have led to the discovery of many new populations of Nothobranchius species in numerous countries”
Nothobranchius ottoschmidti Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt 2019 in honor of Otto Schmidt, a “keen birder and fish enthusiast, for his long-time and significant contributions to the study of fishes of the genus Nothobranchius”
Nothobranchius polli Wildekamp 1978 in honor of Belgian ichthyologist Max Poll (1908-1991), who made an “extensive study of the relationship between the hydrography and the ichthyological fauna” of Shaba (Democratic Republic of Congo), and placed all of his notes and study material at Wildekamp’s disposal
Nothobranchius robustus Ahl 1935 robust or stout, allusion not explained, described from one specimen (now lost), possibly referring to deeper body compared to N. melanospilus and N. mayeri (=orthonotus)
Nothobranchius rosenstocki Valdesalici & Wildekamp 2005 in honor of John Rosenstock (Hellerup, Denmark), who collected this new species (but not type) during one of his many journeys in Africa for the Danish Development Assistance Organisation
Nothobranchius rubroreticulatus Blache & Miton 1960 rubro-, red; reticulatus, net-like or netted, referring to dark-red border around scales, giving body a distinct reticulated pattern
Nothobranchius rungwaensis Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt 2019 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Rungwa River drainage, Tanzania, only known area of occurrence
Nothobranchius sagittae Wildekamp, Watters & Shidlovskiy 2013 arrow, referring to relatively pointed head and slender shape
Nothobranchius sainthousei Nagy, Cotterill & Bellstedt 2016 in honor of Ian Sainthouse, “renowned breeder and collector of killifish, for his special longstanding dedication to researches on the genus Nothobranchius”
Nothobranchius seegersi Valdesalici & Kardashev 2011 in honor of “enthusiastic” ichthyologist and aquarist Lother Seegers (1947-2018), the first collector of this species
Nothobranchius serengetiensis Wildekamp, Watters & Shidlovskiy 2013 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, where and near where this species occurs
Nothobranchius skeltoni Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt 2019 in honor of Paul H. Skelton (b. 1948), Director Emeritus of the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, for his “dedication to the science of ichthyology” and his “vast contributions to the study and documentation of African freshwater fishes and biodiversity”
Nothobranchius sonjae Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt 2019 in honor of Sonja Hengstler, who helped collect type with her husband, “renowned killifish enthusiast” Holger Hengstler
Nothobranchius steinforti Wildekamp 1977 in honor of Theo Steinfort, Dutch Nothobranchius breeder who, with Wildekamp and others, helped collect type; in addition, his breeding this species helped make it available to other killifish enthusiasts
Nothobranchius streltsovi Valdesalici 2016 in honor of killifish aquarist Sergey Streltsov, who helped collect paratypes
Nothobranchius symoensi Wildekamp 1978 in honor of Belgian botanist-ecologist Jean-Jacques Symöns (1927-2014), University of Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo), who collected type
Nothobranchius taeniopygus Hilgendorf 1891 taenio-, band; pygus, rump or buttock (i.e., anus), referring to white (sometimes pale yellow) band on anal fin of males
Nothobranchius taiti Nagy 2019 in honor of Colin C. Tait, a South African of Scottish parentage, who was the first to collect this species (in 1969 while working as a fish ranger) and published field observations about Nothobranchius habitats in Zambia, as well as notes on their behavior in captivity; he was described by a colleague as “marvellous company to have in the long dark nights in the bush, with his love of jokes, and his fund of songs and stories”
Nothobranchius torgashevi Valdesalici 2015 in honor of aquarist and collector Sergey Torgashev (Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, Russia), who collected type
Nothobranchius ugandensis Wildekamp 1994 –ensis, suffix denoting place: southern Uganda, type locality (also occurs in Kenya)
Nothobranchius usanguensis Wildekamp, Watters & Shidlovskiy 2013 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Usangu Flats, south-central Tanzania, only known area of occurrence
Nothobranchius venustus Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt 2020 attractive, charming, graceful or pretty, referring to attractive appearance and distinctive coloration of the males
Pronothobranchius Radda 1969 pro-, before or primitive, proposed as a subgenus of Nothobranchius, presumably referring to its supposed ancestral position within the genus (per Huber, 2004)
Pronothobranchius chirioi Valdesalici 2013 in honor of French/Italian herpetologist Laurent Chirio (b. 1957), who collected type, for his “long-term contributions in terms of field investigations”
Pronothobranchius gambiensis (Svensson 1933) –ensis, suffix denoting place: swamp near Gambia River, Gambia, type locality (also occurs in Senegal)
Pronothobranchius kiyawensis (Ahl 1928) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kiyawa River, near Katagum, Nigeria, type locality (also occurs in Chad and Central African Republic)
Pronothobranchius seymouri (Loiselle & Blair 1971) in honor of the late Edward J. (Ted) Seymour, Technical Editor of the British Killifish Association, who died in September 1969 “after a long career of service to the killifish hobby”
Raddaella Huber 1977 –ella, diminutive connoting endearment: in honor of zoologist-virologist Alfred C. Radda (1936-2022), University of Vienna, for his many contributions to the knowledge of Aphyosemion
Raddaella batesii (Boulenger 1911) in honor of farmer and ornithologist George Latimer Bates (1863-1940), who collected specimens for the Natural History Museum (London), including type of this one
Subfamily EPIPLATINAE
Archiaphyosemion Radda 1977 archi-, upper or higher, proposed as a subgenus of Aphyosemion with a more northerly distribution
Archiaphyosemion guineense (Daget 1954) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Dabola, Guinea, type locality (also occurs in Sierra Leone and Liberia)
Callopanchax Myers 1933 callo-, beautiful, allusion not explained, originally referring to Fundulopanchax sjostedti; Panchax (=Aplocheilus), an aplocheilid genus, often used for several African species as a common name
Callopanchax monroviae (Roloff & Ladiges 1972) of Monrovia, Liberia, about 40 km away (one account says 19 km away) from type locality (forest pool on a rubber plantation)
Callopanchax occidentalis (Clausen 1966) western, referring to a group of Aphyosemion (original genus) species that occur west of the Dahomey Gap, a portion of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic in West Africa that extends to the coast in Benin, Togo and Ghana, thus separating the forest zone that covers much of the south of the region into two separate parts
Callopanchax sidibeorum Sonnenberg & Busch 2010 in honor of Samba Sidibe and his family (Conakry, Guinea), who first collected this fish and made specimens available for the ornamental fish trade, for their “high interest in this species, their effort for a sustainable use and protection of the habitat, and providing important information for the description” [originally spelled sidibei, but since name honors more than one person, spelling emended to sidibeorum in 2011; ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction but emended spelling appears to be in prevailing usage]
Callopanchax toddi (Clausen 1966) in honor of entomologist Alexander Todd, Chief Technician, Fourah Bay College (University of Sierra Leone, Freetown), who collected type
Epiplatys Gill 1862 epi-, on or over; platys, broad, wide, flat or level, allusion not explained, presumably referring to oblong head of E. sexfasciatus and/or to flat dorsal surface of anterior half of body
Subgenus Epiplatys
Epiplatys ansorgii (Boulenger 1911) in honor of explorer William John Ansorge (1850-1913), who “obtained” type
Epiplatys atratus van der Zee, Mbimbi Mayi Munene & Sonnenberg 2013 clothed in black, referring to adult dominant males that have an almost black appearance in ethanol
Epiplatys berkenkampi Neumann 1978 in honor of Heinz Otto Berkenkamp, German aquarist and amateur ichthyologist, “who has made a name for himself identifying and distributing” (translation) pike-like killifishes (Epiplatys, Aplocheilus, Pachypanchax, Episemion)
Epiplatys boulengeri (Pellegrin 1926) in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist George A. Boulenger (1858-1937), a “learned colleague” (translation) who described the similar E. grahami in 1911
Epiplatys esekanus Scheel 1968 –ensis, suffix denoting place: a brook 24 km north of Eséka, Cameroon, near Eséka-Jaunde-Edea road crossing, type locality
Epiplatys huberi (Radda & Pürzl 1981) in honor of French ichthyologist and pharmaceutical executive Jean H. Huber (b. 1952), who discovered this species, and also for his work on the systematics and taxonomy of the E. multifasciatus complex and the fishes of Gabon (where this species is endemic)
Epiplatys infrafasciatus (Günther 1866) infra-, below; fasciatus, banded, referring to six blackish-brown crossbars between lateral band and lower margin of belly and tail
Epiplatys mesogramma Huber 1980 meso-, middle; gramma, line, referring to six wide vertical crossbars on males, which begin in middle of body and cover only its lower half
Epiplatys multifasciatus (Boulenger 1913) multi-, many; fasciatus, banded, referring to seven blackish vertical bars, including two above anal fin and two on caudal peduncle, with narrower bars sometimes present between the principal ones
Epiplatys phoeniceps Huber 1980 phoeni-, from Phoenicopterus, flamingo genus; ceps, head, referring to pink-to-red head coloration of both sexes (less intense on females)
Epiplatys rathkei Radda 1970 in honor of Radda’s “gracious host” (translation), Karl-Heinz Rathke (1932-2017), missionary in Kumba, Cameroon, type locality
Epiplatys sexfasciatus Gill 1862 sex, six; fasciatus, banded, referring to six bands below lateral line
Epiplatys togolensis Loiselle 1971 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Togo, where it is endemic (“l” presumably added for euphony)
Epiplatys zenkeri (Ahl 1928) in honor of Zenker (forename not given), who collected type, probably Georg August Zenker (1855-1922), botanist, explorer, collector and settler in Cameroon
Subgenus Aphyoplatys Clausen 1967 combination of Aphyosemion and Epiplatys, “seemingly intermediate” between these two genera
Epiplatys duboisi Poll 1952 in honor of A. Dubois, Belgian pharmacist and aquarist, who collected type
Subgenus Kulonplatys Huber 2024 kulon, Greek for western, referring to its biogeographical distribution in extreme secondary forests of northwestern Africa; platys, abridgement of Epiplatys
Epiplatys azureus Berkenkamp & Etzel 1983 latinization of the French l’zure (blue), referring to predominant body color of living males
Epiplatys barmoiensis Scheel 1968 –ensis, suffix denoting place, Barmoi District, Sierra Leone, where type locality (Rokupr) is situated
Epiplatys cashneri Pezold, Ford & Schmidt 2021 in honor of the late Robert C. Cashner (1942-2018), University of New Orleans (Louisiana, USA), a mentor and teacher to the first author and a friend to many; “A recognized authority on North American freshwater fishes, his legacy also includes descriptions of two killifish species from North America and at least two students of African fishes (the first author and Hank Bart, Tulane University) who in turn have mentored another, the third author”
Epiplatys coccinatus Berkenkamp & Etzel 1982 dressed in scarlet, referring to scarlet coloration of males in life
Epiplatys dauresi Romand 1985 in honor of G. Daures, Adventist missionary in Bouaké (near type locality), Ivory Coast, who contributed to the discovery of this species
Epiplatys fasciolatus (Günther 1866) banded, referring to nine oblique narrow brownish-black streaks on lower parts of sides of abdomen and tail, descending from middle of side forwards
Epiplatys guineensis Romand 1994 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Guinea, where it is endemic
Epiplatys hildegardae Berkenkamp 1978 in honor of Berkenkamp’s wife Hildegard, for her understanding during the course of his “private scientific work” (translation)
Epiplatys josianae Berkenkamp & Etzel 1983 in honor of Josiane Vandersmissen, wife of Jean-Pol Vandersmissen, President of the Association Killiphile Francophone de Belgique
Epiplatys kassiapleuensis Berkenkamp & Etzel 1977 –ensis, suffix denoting place: creek near Kassiapleu, Hochland von Man, Ivory Coast, type locality
Epiplatys lamottei Daget 1954 in honor of French biologist Maxime Lamotte (1920-2007), who collected type
Epiplatys njalaensis Neumann 1976 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Njala, Southwest Province, Sierra Leone, type locality (also occurs in Guinea)
Epiplatys olbrechtsi Poll 1941 in honor of Belgian ethnologist Frans M. Olbrechts (1899-1958), who led an ethnographic expedition to the Ivory Coast (type locality) in 1938-39 and collected type (also occurs in Liberia and Guinea)
Epiplatys puetzi Berkenkamp & Etzel 1985 in honor of German aquarist Wilfried Pütz (b. 1940), who collected type with the junior author in 1962
Epiplatys roloffi Romand 1978 in honor of German aquarist and amateur ichthyologist Erhard Roloff (1903-1980)
Epiplatys ruhkopfi Berkenkamp & Etzel 1980 in honor of German aquarist Willi Ruhkopf, an active member of the Deutsche Killifisch Gemeinschaft, as well as a connoisseur of native orchids and a fish photographer
Epiplatys tototaensis Romand 1978 –ensis, suffix denoting place: near Totota, Liberia, type locality
Epiplatys zimiensis Berkenkamp 1977 –ensis, suffix denoting place: creek at Zimi (entrance area of the Maho River), Pujehun District, Southwest Province, Sierra Leone, type locality
Subgenus Lycocyprinus Peters 1868 lycos, wolf, allusion not explained, possibly referring to larger teeth in inner row of jaw compared to Poecilia (original genus of type species Poecilia sexfasciata Peters 1864, preoccupied by E. sexfasciatus Gill 1863 [=E. monroviae]); cyprinus, carp, possibly referring to their cyprinid-like appearance, giving rise to the common name “toothed carp” (cyprinodont)
Epiplatys chaperi (Sauvage 1882) in honor of botanist-conchologist Maurice Armand Chaper (1834-1896), who collected type
Epiplatys dageti Poll 1953 in honor of Poll’s colleague, ichthyologist Jacques Daget (1919-2009), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)
Epiplatys etzeli Berkenkamp 1975 in honor of German veterinarian and killifish aquarist Vollrad Etzel (1944-2012), who collected type, and who “through his exacting and extensive field work and supportive help made the author’s revisionary studies of pike-like killifishes of the Ivory Coast possible” (translation)
Epiplatys monroviae Arnoult & Daget 1965 of Monrovia, Liberia, type locality
Epiplatys samborskii Neumann 2003 in honor of German aquarist Christoph Samborski, who collected holotype
Epiplatys schreiberi Berkenkamp 1975 in honor of German killifish hobbyist Gerhard Schreiber, who collected holotype
Epiplatys sheljuzhkoi Poll 1953 in honor of Ukrainian-German entomologist Leo Sheljuzhko (1890-1969), who collected fish for Werner Aquarium importers (now called Transfish, Munich, Germany), including holotype of this one
Epiplatys spillmanni Arnoult 1960 in honor of Arnoult’s colleague, ichthyologist C. J. Spillman (Arnoult identified him as M. J. Spillman)
Subgenus Parepiplatys Clausen 1967 para-, near, a subgenus of Epiplatys “distinguished mainly by its frontal lateral line pattern”
Epiplatys biafranus Radda 1970 –anus, belonging to: Biafra, a secessionist state in West Africa that existed from 1967 to 1970 (now part of Nigeria), where type locality (near Port Harcourt) was situated at the time
Epiplatys chevalieri (Pellegrin 1904) in honor of French botanist and explorer Auguste Jean Baptiste Chevalier (1873-1956), who led expedition that collected type
Epiplatys grahami (Boulenger 1911) in honor of medical entomologist W. M. Graham, specializing in blood-sucking midges, and director of the Medical Research Institute in Lagos, Nigeria (type locality); he presented type to the British Museum (Natural History)
Epiplatys longiventralis (Boulenger 1911) longus, long; ventralis, ventral, referring to its long ventral fins, “½ as long as head in females, much produced and at least as long as pectoral [fin] in adult males”
Epiplatys maeseni (Poll 1941) in honor of colleague A. Maesen, who helped collect type, probably Belgian ethnologist Albert Maesen (1915-1992), who explored the Ivory Coast (type locality) with his professor Frans M. Olbrechts (see E. olbrechtsi) in 1938-39; later became Chief Curator of the Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren [also known as Nimbapanchax leucopterygius Sonnenberg & Busch 2009, a junior synonym]
Epiplatys neumanni Berkenkamp 1993 in honor of Werner Neumann (Zwickau, Germany), author of the 1983 book Die Hechtlinge, which deals with aquarium care of pike-like killifishes (Epiplatys, Aplocheilus, Pachypanchax, Episemion); he also described E. njalaensis in 1976
Epiplatys nigricans (Boulenger 1913) blackish, referring to blackish-brown coloration, presumably its color in alcohol
Epiplatys sangmelinensis (Ahl 1928) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sangmélina, Cameroon, type locality
Epiplatys singa (Boulenger 1899) Singa, local name for this killifish, and perhaps other Epiplatys species, in the lower Congo River system of West-central Africa
Subgenus Pseudepiplatys Clausen 1967 pseudo-, false; Clausen believed E. annulatus was “so aberrant” from other Epiplatys (e.g., smaller size, long caudal fin of males, “peculiar” fluttering movement during swimming) that it deserved its own genus
Epiplatys annulatus (Boulenger 1915) ringed, referring to four broad black rings around lemon-yellow bodies of both sexes, one at head, one at caudal peduncle, two at midsection
Subgenus Xerosplatys Huber 2024 xeros, Greek for dry, referring to its biogeographical distribution mainly in savanna and Sahel regions of Africa; platys, abridgement of Epiplatys
Epiplatys bifasciatus (Steindachner 1881) bi-, two; fasciatus, banded, referring to two brown longitudinal stripes on body
Epiplatys lokoensis Berkenkamp & Etzel 1978 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Port Loko District, west of Port Loko at Bonkorkon, western Sierra Leone, type locality [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]
Epiplatys spilargyreius (Duméril 1861) spilos, mark or spot; argyros, silvery, referring to silver and black spots on head and/or silvery spot between the eyes (name does not refer to “incomplete spots” on sides as reported by Wildekamp [1996])
Nimbapanchax Sonnenberg & Busch 2009 Nimba, named for Mount Nimba region (southeastern Guinea, northern Liberia, western Ivory Coast), around which most of the included species are found; Panchax (=Aplocheilus), an aplocheilid genus, often used for several African species as a common name
Nimbapanchax jeanpoli (Berkenkamp & Etzel 1979) in honor of Jean-Pol Vandersmissen, President of the Association Killiphile Francophone de Belgique, “for his services to killiphiles — especially regarding fish of the Roloffia [=Callopanchax] genus — and his work in the form of a ‘redescription’ concering this species” (which he identified as Epiplatys melantereon [= Scriptaphyosemion liberiense] in 1977)
Nimbapanchax melanopterygius Sonnenberg & Busch 2009 melanos, black; pterygion, diminutive of pteryx, fin, referring to dark margin on anal fin of males
Nimbapanchax petersi (Sauvage 1882) in honor of Wilhelm C. H. Peters (1815-1883), German naturalist and explorer who traveled to Africa and returned to Berlin with an enormous collection of natural history specimens (but not this one); he proposed Nothobranchius in 1868
Nimbapanchax viridis (Ladiges & Roloff 1973) green, presumably referring to general body color of males (green brown above, pale green below, iridescent green to blue green on sides)
Scriptaphyosemion Radda & Pürzl 1987 scriptus, written, proposed as a subgenus of Aphyosemion with red markings on sides of males
Scriptaphyosemion banforense (Seegers 1982) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Banfora, Burkina Faso, type locality
Scriptaphyosemion bertholdi (Roloff 1965) in honor of German aquarist Karl Berthold, “diligent Aphyosemion breeder” (translation)
Scriptaphyosemion brueningi (Roloff 1971) in honor of Christian Brüning, “who died in 1943 as the result of an air raid on Hamburg, and who pioneered the import of fishes — especially Aphyosemion species — from the West African coast before the war” (translation), and wrote numerous essays on newly available aquarium fishes
Scriptaphyosemion cauveti (Romand & Ozouf-Costaz 1995) in honor of French aquarist Christian Cauvet, who first brought attention to this species “several years ago” and collected type with the authors
Scriptaphyosemion chaytori (Roloff 1971) in honor of Sierra Leonean ichthyologist Daniel Chaytor, who supported Roloff in the study and collection of West African fishes and partly collected and studied this species himself
Scriptaphyosemion etzeli (Berkenkamp 1979) in honor of German veterinarian and killifish aquarist Vollrad Etzel (1944-2012), who helped collect type and undertook “considerable preliminary travels” (translation) to find it; Berkenkamp also pays tribute to Etzel’s love for travel, noting how he has visited the Ivory Coast, India, Nepal, New Guinea, Sierrra Leone, Sumatra, and Thailand
Scriptaphyosemion fredrodi (Vandersmissen, Etzel & Berkenkamp 1980) in honor of Fred and Rod: A.J. “Fred” Wright, leader of expedition that discovered fish and ex-Technical Editor of the British Killifish Association (BKA), and Rod Roberts, then current president of the BKA, for their “important work” and their “constant dedication” to “English killiphiles and elsewhere” (translation) [although name honors more than one person, it avoids the plural –orum suffix since “fredrod” is considered an arbitrary combination of two personal names]
Scriptaphyosemion geryi (Lambert 1958) in honor of ichthyologist Jacques Géry (1917-2007), who discovered this species and was the first to write about it
Scriptaphyosemion guignardi (Romand 1981) in honor of Alain Guignard, Killiclub de France, who made several collecting trips to Africa and helped collect type of this species
Scriptaphyosemion liberiense (Boulenger 1908) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Monrovia, Liberia, type locality (also occurs in Sierra Leone)
Scriptaphyosemion nigrifluvi (Romand 1982) nigri-, black; fluvius, river, referring to Black River, local name of Bafing River, Guinea, type locality
Scriptaphyosemion roloffi (Roloff 1936) in honor of German aquarist and amateur ichthyologist Erhard Roloff (1903-1980), who collected type [manuscript name proposed by Ernst Ahl, unintentionally made available by Roloff, therefore he is author of name that honors himself; at one point this taxon was briefly known as Roloffia roloffi roloffi (Roloff 1936) (!)]
Scriptaphyosemion schmitti (Romand 1979) in honor of aquarist Gerald Schmitt, Killiclub de France, who helped Romand collect type and determine the species’ distribution
Scriptaphyosemion wieseae Sonnenberg & Busch 2012 in honor of Barbara Wiese (Remscheid, Germany), who accompanied the junior author on most of his research trips in West Africa, co-collected type, and was the first who recognized this as a new Scriptaphyosemion species