Order CYPRINODONTIFORMES: Families PANTANODONTIDAE, CYPRINODONTIDAE, PROFUNDULIDAE, GOODEIDAE, FUNDULIDAE and FLUVIPHYLACIDAE

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v. 10.0 – 16 June 2024  view/download PDF

Family PANTANODONTIDAE Spine Killifishes
4 genera · 13 species

Aliteranodon Meinema & Huber 2023    alius, other, and iter, a way or passage, i.e., “otherwise” or “in another way”; –odon, abridgement of Pantanodon, referring to its “previously unnoticed differences” with that “putatively closely related” genus

Aliteranodon bucinus Meinema & Huber 2023    Latin for hornblower or trumpeter, referring to its superior mouth, reaching above the eye and partially above the dorsal area

Aliteranodon effusorium Huber & Meinema 2024    Latin for spout, referring to “shape of the mouth-snout, like an elongated beak or a nozzle”

Aliteranodon filimbi Meinema & Huber 2023    Swahili (national language of Tanzania, type locality) for whistle or flute, referring to its slightly superior mouth, resembling a swollen upper lip, less pronounced that the superior mouth of A. bucinus (hence a flute rather than a horn or trumpet)

Aliteranodon ndoano Meinema & Huber 2023    Swahili (national language of Kenya, type locality) for hook, referring to its “extreme underbite, the dentary bent and curved upward like a hook”

Aliteranodon rostratus Meinema & Huber 2023    Latin for beaked, referring to its “bird-like” snout

Aliteranodon stuhlmanni (Ahl 1924)    in honor of Franz Ludwig Stuhlmann (1863-1928), German Colonial Service, who, with Emin Pascha, led the German East Africa Expedition (1889-1892), during which holotype was collected

Eremodon Huber & Meinema 2024    eremia, desert, referring to “isolated inland distribution in a desertic area” of all species; odon, tooth, referring to presence of teeth, compared their absence in Pantanodon

Eremodon cochlear Huber & Meinema 2024    Latin for spoon, referring to second pelvic-fin ray of males, with a “thickened posterior ending” that resembles a small spoon

Eremodon jeanneli (Pellegrin 1935)    in honor of René Gabriel Jeannel (1879-1965), entomologist on Omo River (Ethiopia) expedition during which type was collected

Eremodon kifuani Huber & Meinema 2024    Swahili for pectoral, referring to its elongated pectoral fins

Malagodon Meinema & Huber 2023    Malag-, from Malagasy, old name for Madagascar, where genus is endemic; odon, tooth, referring to presence of external teeth (vs. their absence on Aliteranodon and Pantanodon)

Malagodon honahona Carr, Martin & Sparks 2024    Malagasy word for swamp or swampy, referring to the swampy Pandanas-dominated habitat in which it occurred within the Réserve Spéciale de Manombo, in southeastern coastal Madagascar [extinct in the late 1990s due to deforestation and competition with exotic Gambusia]

Malagodon madagascariensis (Arnoult 1963)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Madagascar, where it is endemic [extinct due to habitat loss and exotic species]

Pantanodon Myers 1955    pan(tos), all; ano-, without; odon, tooth, referring to lack of teeth in P. podoxys

Pantanodon podoxys Myers 1935    podus, foot (homologous to the anal fin); oxys, sharp or pointed, referring to its acuminate anal fin

Pantanodon propinquus Meinema & Huber 2023    Latin for neighboring or similar to, referring to its resemblance to, and nearby distribution of, P. podoxys


Family CYPRINODONTIDAE Pupfishes
10 genera · 112 species

Subfamily CUBANICHTHYINAE Island Pupfishes

Cubanichthys Hubbs 1926    Cuba, where genus was thought to be endemic until generic placement of C. pengelleyi; ichthys, fish

Cubanichthys cubensis (Eigenmann 1903)     –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cuba, where it is endemic (including mainland and Isla de la Juventud, or Isle of Pines)

Cubanichthys pengelleyi (Fowler 1939)    in honor of Jamaican physician and medical officer Charles Edward Pengelley (1888-1966), who “obtained” type specimens and “sent interesting details of his experience with them as aquarium fishes”

Yssolebias Huber 2012    yssos, javelin, referring to elongate and narrow dorsal and anal fins with sharp borders; lebias, Greek name for a kind of small fish, first applied to killifishes (“Les Lebias”) by Cuvier (1816) and now a common root-name formation in the order

Yssolebias martae (Steindachner 1876)    of Santa Marta, Colombia, type locality (only one specimen known, perhaps extinct)

Subfamily CYPRINODONTINAE Pupfishes

Cualac Miller 1956    derived from a Mexican place name of Nahuatl origin meaning “where there is good water,” referring to type locality (La Media Luna, San Luis Potosí, México), a “spectacular spring area”

Cualac tessellatus Miller 1956    tessellated, i.e., inlaid with small squares, referring to “mosaic-like or checkered pattern so prominently displayed on the dorsal fin of the male”

Cyprinodon Lacepède 1803    cyprinus, carp or minnow; odon, tooth, i.e., a carp- or cyprinid-like fish but with teeth (hence “tooth carps,” another name for the order)

Cyprinodon albivelis Minckley & Miller 2002    albus, white; velum, sail, referring to white color covering at least of outer dorsal and anal fins of nuptial males

Cyprinodon alvarezi Miller 1976    in honor of Mexican ichthyologist José Álvarez del Villar (1903-1986), who collected this species in 1952 and intended to describe it but turned it over to Miller to study [extinct in the wild]

Cyprinodon arcuatus Minckley & Miller 2002    arched or shaped or bent like a bow, referring to highly convex dorsal body profile [extinct in 1971 due to habitat alteration and introduced Largemouth Bass]

Cyprinodon artifrons Hubbs 1936    artus, narrow; frons, forehead, proposed as a subspecies of C. variegatus with a narrower bony interorbital compared to C. v. ovinus

Cyprinodon atrorus Miller 1968    atra, black; ora, border, referring to “conspicuous” black terminal band on caudal fin of males

Cyprinodon beltrani Álvarez 1949    in honor of Mexican biologist Enrique Beltrán Castillo (1903-1994) on the occasion of his 25th anniversary as a biologist

Cyprinodon bifasciatus Miller 1968    bi-, two; fasciatus, striped, referring to two prominent lateral stripes: one along midside from head to base of caudal fin, the other from base of pectoral fin to end of anal-fin base

Cyprinodon bobmilleri Lozano-Vilano & Contreras-Balderas 1999    in honor of Robert Rush Miller (1916-2003), University of Michigan, known as “Bob” to his colleagues, for his lifelong devotion to Mexican fishes and his “friendly support” of the authors’ studies

Cyprinodon bondi Myers 1935    in honor of biologist Richard Marshall Bond (1903-1976), who collected types during an ecological investigation of Hispaniolan lakes

Cyprinodon bovinus Baird & Girard 1853    like a bull, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to robust body shape of males

Cyprinodon brontotheroides Martin & Wainwright 2013oides, having the form of: referring to resemblance of protruding nasal region to the “bizarre” horn-like skull appendages of the extinct odd-toed ungulate family Brontotheriidae

Cyprinodon ceciliae Lozano-Vilano & Contreras-Balderas 1993    in honor of Cecilia Contreras Lozano, the senior author’s daughter and the junior author’s niece, who helped in the 1988 trip during which type was collected [extinct when spring nearly dried in 1991]

Cyprinodon dearborni Meek 1909    in honor of American ornithologist Ned Dearborn (1865-1948), who collected type

Cyprinodon desquamator Martin & Wainwright 2013    de-, remove; squamator, scaler, referring to its scale-eating behavior

Cyprinodon diabolis Wales 1930    devilish or of the devil, referring to Devils Hole, Ash Meadows, Nevada, only area of occurrence (believed to be the smallest natural range of any known vertebrate species)

Cyprinodon elegans Baird & Girard 1853    elegant, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to more elongate shape compared to other Cyprinodon described in same publication

Cyprinodon eremus Miller & Fuiman 1987    lonely or alone, referring to isolated type locality (spring-fed pond, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Pima County, Arizona, USA)

Cyprinodon esconditus Strecker 2002    hidden, referring to prior failure to detect this species among specimens not assignable to one of the other pupfish species in Laguna Chichancanab (Yucatán, México)

Cyprinodon eximius Girard 1859    exceptional, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its being the largest Cyprinodon species “so far observed in North America” at the time

Cyprinodon fontinalis Smith & Miller 1980    living in or near springs, referring to its occurrence in five springs and their outflows in Bolsón de los Muertos, Chihuahua, México

Cyprinodon higuey Rodriguez & Smith 1990    named for the Higüey people who originally inhabited eastern Hispaniola, where this species occurs (a coastal lake in eastern Dominican Republic)

Cyprinodon inmemoriam Lozano-Vilano & Contreras-Balderas 1993    in memory, referring to its being described after it went extinct shortly after its discovery in 1983 due to dewatering of spring habitat

Cyprinodon julimes De la Maza-Benignos & Vela-Valladares 2009    named for municipality of Julimes, Chihuahua, México, where this pupfish is known from a single thermal spring

Cyprinodon labiosus Humphries & Miller 1981    large-lipped, referring to its “enlarged and convoluted” lips

Cyprinodon laciniatus Hubbs & Miller 1942    laciniate (divided into deep narrow irregular segments), referring to “strongly and diagnostically laciniate scale margins”

Cyprinodon latifasciatus Garman 1881 latus, broad; fasciatus, banded, presumably referring to much wider caudal band compared to C. variegatus [extinct due to habitat destruction, last seen in 1903]

Cyprinodon longidorsalis Lozano-Vilano & Contreras-Balderas 1993    longus, long; dorsalis, of the back, referring to long dorsal fin of mature males, reaching caudal fin when depressed [extinct in wild]

Cyprinodon macrolepis Miller 1976    macro-, large; lepis, scales, referring to its distinctively large scales, 23 or 24 along lateral line

Cyprinodon macularius Baird & Girard 1853    spotty, referring to color pattern of females and non-breeding males

Cyprinodon maya Humphries & Miller 1981    named for the Maya, indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica in pre-Columbian times, who occupied the region (Yucatán, México) where this pupfish occurs

Cyprinodon meeki Miller 1976    in honor of ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek (1859-1914), who “pioneered in exploring the Mexican freshwater fish fauna”

Cyprinodon nazas Miller 1976    named for the Río Nazas basin of northern México (Durango, Zacatecas, Coahuila), where it is endemic

Cyprinodon nevadensis nevadensis Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889    ensis, suffix denoting place: referring to type locality, Saratoga Spring, Death Valley, Inyo County, California, USA, which the authors erroneously placed in Nevada

Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae Miller 1948    of the Armagosa River, San Bernardino County, California, USA, where it is endemic

Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae Miller 1948    of a calida, warm spring, referring to Tecopa Hot Springs, Inyo County, California, USA, where it occurred [extinct due to modification of springs for bathhouses; last seen in 1970]

Cyprinodon nevadensis mionectes Miller 1948    Greek for “one who has less,” referring to its reduced size and lower number of fin rays and scales compared to other C. nevadensis subspecies

Cyprinodon nevadensis pectoralis Miller 1948    pectoral, referring to increased number of pectoral-fin rays compared to other C. nevadensis subspecies

Cyprinodon nevadensis shoshone Miller 1948    Native American word meaning “warm water,” referring to Shoshone Spring outflow, Inyo County, California, USA, where it is endemic

Cyprinodon nichollsi Smith 1989    in honor of Kenneth W. Nicholls (no other information available), for “support of fieldwork”

Cyprinodon pachycephalus Minckley & Minckley 1986    pachy, thick; cephalus, head, referring to greatly enlarged head, its length > and width >¼ SL, with “broad and massive” jaws

Cyprinodon pecosensis Echelle & Echelle 1978    ensis, suffix denoting place: Pecos River system of Texas and New Mexico, USA, where it is endemic

Cyprinodon pisteri Miller & Minckley 2002    in honor of fisheries biologist Edwin Philip (“Phil”) Pister (b. 1929); “For almost four decades, Phil Pister has unerringly and effectively performed the daunting task of preserving the integrity of natural aquatic habitats and biotas in North American deserts, along the way teaching others to do the same. His infectious and tireless persistence, enthusiasm, optimistic outlook, and unique capability to redirect conflicting views toward common goals have led to significant and enviable successes in equating science and a strong environmental ethic with political reality.”

Cyprinodon radiosus Miller 1948    rayed, referring to higher average number of dorsal-, anal- and pelvic-fin rays compared to congeners from Death Valley (California, USA) system (macularius, nevadensis, diabolis, salinus)

Cyprinodon riverendi (Poey 1860)    in honor of Cuban naturalist Luis Le Riverend, who provided type; he “added to the knowledge of natural history” in Cuba (type locality) “through his collections and his aquariums” (translation)

Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis Fowler 1916    rubro-, red; fluviatilis, of a river, referring to the Red River drainage of Texas and Oklahoma, the “most northern inland region” in which the genus naturally occurs

Cyprinodon salinus salinus Miller 1943    of salt, named for Salt Creek, Death Valley, California, USA, where it is endemic

Cyprinodon salinus milleri LaBounty & Deacon 1972    in honor of Robert Rush Miller (1916-2003), University of Michigan, who described the nominate form in 1943

Cyprinodon salvadori Lozano-Vilano 2002    in honor of Salvador Contreras-Balderas (1936-2009), for his “life-long dedication” to the study and teaching about Mexican fishes, and his “friendly support” of the author’s studies over many years [note: Lozano-Vilano is married to Contreras-Balderas’ brother]

Cyprinodon simus Humphries & Miller 1981    snub-nosed, referring to its short, blunt snout

Cyprinodon suavium Strecker 2005    kiss, referring to distinctive protruded appearance of its lips

Cyprinodon tularosa Miller & Echelle 1975    named for the endorheic Tularosa basin on New Mexico, USA, where it is endemic

Cyprinodon variegatus variegatus Lacepède 1803    variegated, referring to variable color patterns of brown spots and bands on sides

Cyprinodon variegatus baconi Breder 1932    in honor of Daniel Bacon, sponsor of the Bacon-Andros Expedition in the Carribean, during which type was collected; Bacon was also Breder’s host in Long Cay, Bahamas

Cyprinodon variegatus hubbsi Carr 1936    in honor of ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), who suggested this form of C. variegatus be described as a new species

Cyprinodon variegatus ovinus (Mitchill 1815)    of sheep, referring to Sheep’s-Head Killifish, local name of C. variegatus in New York, USA (now widely known as Sheepshead Minnow)

Cyprinodon verecundus Humphries 1984    mysterious or shy, referring to how it was overlooked in previous investigations of pupfishes of the Yucatán Peninsula of México

Cyprinodon veronicae Lozano-Vilano & Contreras-Balderas 1993    in honor of Verónica Contreras Arqueita, the junior author’s daughter and the senior author’s niece, for her help in the 1984 trip during which type was collected [extinct in wild]

Floridichthys Hubbs 1926    Florida (USA), where Hubbs stated the genus “appears to be wholly confined” (but Hubbs later found F. polyommus to occur along the Yucatán Peninsula of México); ichthys, fish

Floridichthys carpio (Günther 1866)    carp (Cyprinus carpio), allusion not explained, probably referring to its carp-like shape, especially since it is larger than most of its presumed congeners in Cyprinodon

Floridichthys polyommus Hubbs 1936    poly, many; omma, eye, referring to numerous ocellated spots on posterior body of adult males

Garmanella Hubbs 1936    ella, diminutive connoting endearment: “dedicated to the respected memory” of Harvard ichthyologist-herpetologist Samuel Garman (1843-1927), with “special regard” to his 1895 monograph on cyprinodontiform fishes; “In a prospected second revision of this group, left unfinished by his death, Garman recognized the genotype of Garmanella as a undescribed species” [treated as a junior synonym of Jordanella by many workers]

Garmanella pulchra Hubbs 1936    lovely or beautiful, described as a “very pretty species” and “handsomely marked” [placed in Jordanella by many workers]

Jordanella Goode & Bean 1879    ella, diminutive connoting endearment: in honor of ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1851-1931)

Jordanella floridae Goode & Bean 1879    of Florida, USA, where it is endemic (but introduced elsewhere)

Megupsilon Miller & Walters 1972    mega, large; upsilon, the Greek letter Y, referring to exceptionally large Y chromosome in males

Megupsilon aporus Miller & Walters 1972    a-, without; porus, pores, referring to lack of pores in sensory cephalic canal system [extinct; last surviving captive specimens perished in 2014]

Subfamily ORESTIINAE Andean Pupfishes

Orestias Valenciennes 1839    named for the Greek mythological figure Orestes, the “nymph of the mountains” (translation), referring to their occurrence in the Andes [genus is feminine, so all adjectival names, originally ending in –us (e.g., albus, robustus), have been emended (e.g., alba, robusta) per Cruz-Jofré et al. (2013)]

Orestias agassii Valenciennes 1846    in honor of zoologist-geologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), who collected type, but was specifically honored (along with O. F. Müller, see O. mulleri) for his contributions to science [three spellings appear in the publication: agassii, agassizii, agassisii; Parenti (1994), as the first reviser to analyze all three spellings, chose “agassii” since it appears above the original description and is used by most modern workers; according to Huber (2014), Valenciennes may have deleted the “z” in order to create a phonetic spelling that was easier for non-French readers to pronounce]

Orestias alba Valenciennes 1846    white, one of two species from Lake Titicaca locally known by their colors, a yellow species (see O. lutea) and this one, described as “gilded green” in alcohol but probably “whiter” in life (translation)

Orestias ascotanensis Parenti 1984    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lago Ascotan, a salt basin in northwestern Chile, where it is endemic

Orestias chungarensis Vila & Pinto 1987    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Chungará, Chilean Altiplano, where it is endemic

Orestias crawfordi Tchernavin 1944    in honor of malacologist George I. Crawford (1910-2011), British Museum (Natural History), Deputy Leader of Percy Sladen Trust Titicaca Expedition (1937), during which type was collected

Orestias ctenolepis Parenti 1984    ctenos, comb; lepis, scale, referring to ctenoid scales over most of body of adult males

Orestias cuvieri Valenciennes 1846    in honor of French naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832); Valenciennes was Cuvier’s pupil and successor as author of the 22-volume Histoire Naturelle des Poissons (1828-1850)

Orestias elegans Garman 1895    elegant, fine or select, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to more elongate shape compared to the similar O. agassii

Orestias empyraeus Allen 1942    named for Empyrean, the highest heaven in ancient cosmologies, referring to its “extremely elevated habitat” (3048-4267 m)

Orestias forgeti Lauzanne 1981    in honor of Lauzanne’s friend J. M. Forget (no other information available)

Orestias frontosa Cope 1876    with a broad head, presumably referring to wider head compared to O. ortonii (=agassii)

Orestias gilsoni Tchernavin 1944    in honor of botanist Hugh Cary Gilson (1910-2000), Leader of Percy Sladen Trust Titicaca Expedition (1937), during which type was collected

Orestias gloriae Vila, Scott, Mendez, Valenzuela, Iturra & Poulin 2012    in honor of Chilean ichthyologist Gloria Arratia, for her research work on Chilean fishes, especially those of the Andean region

Orestias gracilis Parenti 1984    slender or thin, referring to its “overall elongate and delicate appearance”

Orestias gymnota Parenti 1984    gymnos, naked or lightly clad; –ta, adjectival suffix denoting possession, referring to few or no head scales, and no lateral scales dorsal or ventral to the lateral, median rows of scales

Orestias hardini Parenti 1984    in honor of ecologist Tim Hardin, Colorado State University (now biologist and instream flow specialist, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife), for collecting and donating Orestias specimens from northern Peru, including type of this one

Orestias imarpe Parenti 1984    abbreviation for Instituto del Mar del Peru, which “helped to inspire a cooperative study of the Titicaca Basin”

Orestias incae Garman 1895    of the Incas, presumably referring to its occurrence in Lake Titicaca (Bolivia and Peru), part of the Inca Empire in the 15th century

Orestias ispi Lauzanne 1981    etymology not explained, almost certainly derived from ispus, local Andean name for smaller Orestias species

Orestias jussiei Valenciennes 1846    in honor of Joseph de Jussieu (1704-1779), French botanist and explorer in South America, who illustrated this species and O. pentlandii; according to Huber (2014), Valenciennes may have deleted the “u” in order to create a phonetic spelling that was easier for non-French readers to pronounce

Orestias laucaensis Arratia 1982    ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Lauca, Parinacota, Chile, elevation ~4300 m, type locality

Orestias lutea Valenciennes 1846    yellow, one of two species from Lake Titicaca locally known by their colors, a white species (see O. alba) and this one, pale in alcohol but with a yellowish background that indicates the fish is more yellow in life (and indeed it is)

Orestias minima Tchernavin 1944    least, at 36 mm SL, the smallest Orestias known

Orestias minuta Tchernavin 1944    minute or very small, referring to maximum size (37 mm SL) of type specimens, both ripe females

Orestias mooni Tchernavin 1944    in honor of biologist Harold Philip Moon (1919-1982), Freshwater Biological Association (UK), member of Percy Sladen Trust Titicaca Expedition (1937), during which type was collected

Orestias mulleri Valenciennes 1846    patronym identified only as “Muller,” one of three Orestias species Valenciennes named after famous biologists of the day, including O. agassii (see above) and O. owenii (Richard Owen, now a junior synonym of O. jussiei); probably in honor of Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller (1730-1784), whose Fauna Danica (also known as Zoologica Danica) is cited three times in the volume, and who was earlier praised by Cuvier & Valenciennes (1828) as “one of the most painstaking and accurate observers of the 18th century, made famous by his microscopic discoveries” (translation) [Huber (2001) states that name honors Johann Friedrich “Fritz” Theodor Müller (1822-1897), but he was still at university and medical school in 1846 and had not yet emigrated to Brazil where he conducted his famous studies on mimicry in butterflies]

Orestias multiporis Parenti 1984    multi-, many; porus, pore, referring to multiple series of neuromasts along median dorsal ridge and lateral series

Orestias munda Parenti 1984    neat or trim, referring to unadorned, nearly uniform color pattern from juvenile through adult males and females

Orestias olivacea Garman 1895    olive-colored, referring to “olive” color of larger specimens (7.6-11.3 cm) in and “olivaceous mottled with brownish” color of smaller specimens (5 cm)

Orestias parinacotensis Arratia 1982    ensis, suffix denoting place: Parinacota, northern Chile, where type locality, a bofedales (wetland) at 4300 m, is situated

Orestias pentlandii Valenciennes 1846    in honor of Joseph Barclay Pentland (1796-1873), Irish explorer and diplomat in Bolivia, who collected several species of Orestias from Lake Titicaca, including type of this one

Orestias piacotensis Vila 2006    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Piacota, Parinacota Province, Chilean Altiplano, where it is endemic

Orestias polonorum Tchernavin 1944    Poles (i.e., people of Poland), presumably referring to how “first specimens of this species were collected by a Polish zoologist, [Konstanty] Jelski, member of the Count K. Branicki Expedition to South America in 1866-1867, and the British Museum of Natural History obtained these specimens through the courtesy of the Warsaw University”

Orestias puni Tchernavin 1944    of Bahia de Puno, Lake Titicaca, Peru, type locality

Orestias richersoni Parenti 1984    in honor of limnologist (and later evolutionary anthropologist) Peter J. Richerson (b. 1943), University of California, Davis, who provided the impetus for a multidisciplinary and international study of Lake Titicaca

Orestias robusta Parenti 1984    strong or robust, referring to its “overall robust appearance”

Orestias rotundipinnis Parenti 1984    rotundus, round; pinnis, fin, referring to rounded margin of pectoral fins

Orestias silustani Allen 1942    of Silustan, “nearby Inca ruin on the shore of Lake Umayo [Peru], overlooking the weedy habitat” from which type was collected

Orestias taquiri Tchernavin 1944    named for Taquiri Island, Lesser Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, only known area of occurrence

Orestias tchernavini Lauzanne 1981    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Russian ichthyologist Vladimir V. Tchernavin (1887-1949), author of 1944 revision of the subfamily (he earlier achieved fame as one of the few prisoners of the Soviet Gulag to escape and live abroad, eventually settling at the Natural History Museum of London)

Orestias tomcooni Parenti 1984    in honor of ecologist-limnologist Thomas G. “Tom” Coon, University of California, Davis (now at Michigan State University), for his “expert collection” of more than 3000 specimens of Orestias from the Titicaca Basin in 1979, which formed the impetus for Parenti’s revision of the family

Orestias tschudii Castelnau 1855    in honor of Swiss naturalist and “learned traveler” (translation) Johann Jakob von Tschudi (1818-1889), author of Faune du Pérou and other works

Orestias tutini Tchernavin 1944    in honor of botanist Thomas Gaskell Tutin (1908-1987), member of Percy Sladen Trust Titicaca Expedition (1937), during which type was collected

Orestias uruni Tchernavin 1944    named for Uruni Bay, north side of Capachica Peninsula, Lake Titicaca, Peru, only known area of occurrence

Orestias ututo Parenti 1984    named for Lago Ututo, Peru, type locality

Pseudorestias Arratia, Vila, Lam, Guerrero & Quezada-Romegialli 2017    pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may have “overall similarities” with Orestias, such an appearance is false

Pseudorestias lirimensis Arratia, Vila, Lam, Guerrero & Quezada-Romegialli 2017    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lirima, a small village in northern Chile that is irrigated by Charvinto Creek, type locality


Family PROFUNDULIDAE Middle American Killifishes
2 genera · 14 species

Profundulus Hubbs 1924    pro-, in front of or before, allusion not explained but clearly reflecting Hubbs’ belief (“it seems not improbable that Profundulus, of all American genera, diverges least from a general ancestral cyprinodont type”) that this genus is ancestral compared to Fundulus, its confamilial at the time (name does not mean “deep” as stated by FishBase and others)

Profundulus balsanus Ahl 1935    anus, belonging to: Río Balsas system, Guerrero, México, where Ahl believed type locality (Malinaltepec River) was situated; in actuality, that river is a tributary of the Papagayo River and does not occur in the Balsas system

Profundulus chimalapensis Del Moral-Flores, López-Segovia & Hernández-Arellano 2020    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Selva de Los Chimalapas, geographic area in Oaxaca, México, type locality (Chimalapa means “jicara [cup or bowl made from the fruit of a calabash tree] of gold” in Castilian)

Profundulus emilioi Calixto-Rojas, Lira-Noriega, Rubio-Godoy, Pérez-Ponce de Léon & Pinacho-Pinacho 2023    in honor of Emilio Martínez Ramírez, professor of ichthyology, colleague and friend, “always willing to study fishes” in Oaxaca, Mexico, and who “kindly opened the doors of his lab” to the first and fourth authors “in their early student days”

Profundulus guatemalensis (Günther 1866)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Guatemala, where it occurs (also occurs in Ecuador)

Profundulus kreiseri Matamoros, Schaefer, Hernández & Chakrabarty 2012    in honor of biologist Brian R. Kreiser, University of Southern Mississippi (USA), doctoral advisor and friend of the first author

Profundulus mixtlanensis Ornelas-García, Martinez-Ramírez & Doadrio 2015    ensis, suffix denoting place: Mixtlan (mixtli, cloud and –tlan, place, i.e., “the place of the clouds”), Nahuatl name used in Tenoch culture for the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, México, where this killifish occurs

Profundulus oaxacae (Meek 1902)    of Oaxaca, México, where it is endemic to the Verde River basin

Profundulus parentiae Matamoros, Domínguez-Cisneros, Velázquez-Velázquez & McMahan 2018    in honor of Lynne R. Parenti (b. 1954), Smithsonian Institution, for “many important contributions to our knowledge of the systematics, biogeography, biology, and morphology of cyprinodontiforms as well as numerous other groups of fishes”

Profundulus punctatus (Günther 1866)    spotted, described as having a vertical dark-purple or violet spot at center of each scale (especially on the tail), and 3-4 series of blackish dots on dorsal fin

Profundulus rei Calixto-Rojas, Lira-Noriega, Rubio-Godoy, Pérez-Ponce de Léon & Pinacho-Pinacho 2023    named for the first author’s pet cat Rei, his “companion for 11 years, during which his academic formation took place (BSc, MSc and almost all PhD), and was his constant attendant while measuring all the fish specimens for this work”; the cat’s name was inspired by the fictional character Rei Ayanami from the Japanese animation series Neon Genesis Evangelion

Tlaloc Álvarez & Carranza 1951    named for Tlaloc, god of water in Aztec mythology, presumably referring to occurrence of T. mexicanus (=labialis) in Chiapas, México

Tlaloc candalarius (Hubbs 1924)    ius, pertaining to: Candalaria, a limestone spring near the Mexican boundary of Guatemala, type locality (also occurs in Chiapas, México)

Tlaloc hildebrandi (Miller 1950)    in memory of Samuel F. Hildebrand (1883-1949), for his “significant contributions to our understanding of the ichthyology of Central America”

Tlaloc labialis (Günther 1866)    of the lips, referring to “well developed, broad” lips, extending to angle of mouth

Tlaloc portillorum (Matamoros & Schaefer 2010)    orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Honduran brothers Hector (b. 1963, ecologist and environmental consultant) and Danilo (b. 1965) Portillo, life-long fieldwork collaborators who guided senior author to type locality and provided valuable natural history information about the area


Family GOODEIDAE Goodeids
19 genera/subgenera · 53 species/subspecies

Subfamily EMPETRICHTHYINAE Springfishes

Crenichthys Hubbs 1932    creno-, spring, referring to occurrence in desert springs; ichthys, fish

Crenichthys baileyi baileyi (Gilbert 1893)    in honor of American naturalist and ethnographer Vernon Orlando Bailey (1864-1942), who collected type with C. Hart Merriam (see Empetrichthys merriami)

Crenichthys baileyi albivallis Williams & Wilde 1981    albus, white; vallis, valley, referring to White River Valley of Nevada (USA), where it is endemic

Crenichthys baileyi grandis Williams & Wilde 1981    large, the largest subspecies of C. baileyi

Crenichthys baileyi moapae Williams & Wilde 1981    of the Moapa River system (specifically, headwater streams), Clark County, Nevada (USA), where it is endemic

Crenichthys baileyi thermophilus Williams & Wilde 1981    thermos, heat; philo, to love, referring to its occurrence in warm spring waters

Crenichthys nevadae Hubbs 1932    of Nevada (USA), where it is endemic to thermal spring systems of Railroad Valley in Nye County

Empetrichthys Gilbert 1893    em-, within and petra, rock, referring to stone-like pharyngeal teeth of E. merriami; ichthys, fish

Empetrichthys latos latos Miller 1948    latus, wide; os, mouth, referring to wider mouth compared to E. merriami

Empetrichthys latos concavus Miller 1948    concave, referring to marked concavity of top of head [extinct by 1960 due to introduced carp and bullfrogs]

Empetrichthys latos pahrump Miller 1948    named for Pahrump Ranch in Pahrump Valley, Nevada, USA, where it was endemic [extinct in 1958 due to introduced carp and bullfrogs and excessive spring pumping]

Empetrichthys merriami Gilbert 1893    in honor of American naturalist and physician C. Hart Merriam (1855-1942), who led Death Valley (California, USA) expedition during which he collected type with Vernon O. Bailey (see Crenichthys baileyi) [extinct in the early 1950s due to introduced bullfrogs and crayfish]

Subfamily GOODEINAE Goodeids or Splitfins

Allodontichthys Hubbs & Turner 1939    allos, different and odon, tooth, referring to distinctly shaped jaw teeth of A. zonistius, “instead of being regularly conic (everywhere evenly round in cross section) are definitely compressed and shouldered within the slender conic tip and are keeled (rather weakly) at either edge of the anterior face”; ichthys, fish

Allodontichthys hubbsi Miller & Uyeno 1980    in honor of ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), “whose early studies on goodeids set the stage for subsequent understanding of this compact but highly diversified family”

Allodontichthys polylepis Rauchenberger 1988    poly, many; lepis, scales, referring to greater number of scales along lateral line compared to congeners

Allodontichthys tamazulae Turner 1946    of Tamazula, a town in Jalisco, México, where type locality is situated

Allodontichthys zonistius (Hubbs 1932)    zon(us), band; istius, sail, referring to jet-black bands on dorsal fin

Alloophorus Hubbs & Turner 1939    allos, different; oön, egg; phoras, bearing, referring to its distinctive ovarian structure, e.g., ovarian septum entire and trophotaeniae (see Allotoca) not rosette-shaped

Alloophorus robustus (Bean 1892)    stout, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to chunky appearance compared to presumed congeners in Fundulus (Fundulidae)

Allotoca Hubbs & Turner 1939    allos, different; tokos, offspring, referring to the trophotaeniae, ribbon-like extensions that hang from anal region of developing goodeine embryos and absorb nutrients from the mother’s ovarian fluid

Allotoca catarinae (de Buen 1942)    of Laguna Santa Catarina, Michoacán, México, type locality

Allotoca diazi (Meek 1902)    in honor of José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (1830-1915), President of México from 1877-1880 and 1884-1911

Allotoca dugesii (Bean 1887)    in honor of French physician Alfredo Dugès (1826-1910), often called the father of Mexican herpetology, who collected type

Allotoca goslinei Smith & Miller 1987    in honor of ichthyologist William A. Gosline (1915-2002), University of Michigan, for his work on sensory canals in cyprinodontoid fishes [possibly extinct in wild]

Allotoca maculata Smith & Miller 1980    spotted, referring to black spot at base of caudal fin

Allotoca meeki (Álvarez 1959)    in honor of ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek (1859-1914), who authored the first review of Mexican fishes in 1904

Allotoca regalis (Álvarez 1959)    regal, referring to Los Reyes (the kings), Michoacán, México, near type locality [placed in a monotypic Neoophorus by some workers, but that genus is a junior synonym of Allotoca based on placement of type species, A. diazi; if A. regalis warrants its own genus, then a new one needs to be proposed for it]

Allotoca zacapuensis Meyer, Radda & Domínguez-Domínguez 2001    ensis, suffix denoting place: Laguna de Zacapu, Michoacán, México, type locality

Ameca Miller & Fitzsimons 1971    named for upper Río Ameca basin (primarily in the Río Teuchitlán springs), Jalisco, México, where it is endemic

Ameca splendens Miller & Fitzsimons 1971    bright, shining or glowing, referring to its “striking” colors in life

Ataeniobius Hubbs & Turner 1939    a-, without; taenia, band; bios, means of living, referring to lack of functional trophotaeniae (see Allotoca) in newborn fish

Ataeniobius toweri (Meek 1904)    in honor of its discoverer, William L. Tower (1872-1955), evolutionary biologist, University of Chicago (USA)

Chapalichthys Meek 1902    named for Lago de Chapal, near Ocotlan, Jalisco, México, type locality of C. encaustus; ichthys, fish

Chapalichthys encaustus (Jordan & Snyder 1899)    branded, referring to nine vertical bands on median part of body

Chapalichthys pardalis Álvarez 1963    leopard, referring to its circular black spots, like those of a leopard

Characodon Günther 1866    charax, Greek word meaning “palisade of pointed sticks”; odon, tooth, presumably referring to “about twenty smallish teeth in each jaw” of C. lateralis

Characodon audax Smith & Miller 1986    bold or daring, referring to its aggressive behavior

Characodon garmani Jordan & Evermann 1898    in honor of Harvard ichthyologist-herpetologist Samuel Garman (1843-1927), for his “valuable studies” of cyprinodontoid fishes [extinct]

Characodon lateralis Günther 1866    of the sides, referring to darker (than brownish-olive body) band running from eye to caudal-fin root, sometimes broken up into a series of brownish black spots (band most evident in preserved specimens)

Girardinichthys Bleeker 1860    named for ichthyologist-herpetologist Charles Girard (1822-1895), whose 1859 work on cyprinodontoid fishes mentioned a form that Bleeker believed represented a new genus and species, now a junior synonym of G. viviparus; ichthys, fish

Subgenus Girardinichthys

Girardinichthys multiradiatus (Meek 1904)    multi-, many; radiatus, rayed, referring to its long (>20 rays) dorsal and anal fins

Girardinichthys viviparus (Bustamante 1837)    livebearer (as are all members of the subfamily), but at the time believed to be a cyprinid that gave birth to live young [note: the first Mexican fish scientifically described by a Mexican]

Subgenus Hubbsina de Buen 1940    ina, belonging to: ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979); when paired with the specific epithet of G. turneri, the combined name honors the biologists who collaborated on a seminal revision of the goodeids in 1939

Girardinichthys ireneae Radda & Meyer 2003    in honor of Radda’s wife Irene

Girardinichthys turneri (de Buen 1940)    in honor of zoologist Clarence Lester Turner (1890-1969); when paired with the genus-level epithet of Hubbsina, the combined name honors the biologists who collaborated on a seminal revision of the goodeids in 1939 [probably extinct; not seen since the 1980s]

Goodea Jordan 1880    ea, belonging to: ichthyologist George Brown Goode (1851-1896), Director, U.S. National Museum, and “one of the most scholarly of modern writers on fishes” (per Jordan & Evermann 1896)

Goodea atripinnis Jordan 1880    ater, black; pinna, fin, referring to “chiefly black” vertical fins, especially on distal half

Ilyodon Eigenmann 1907    ilyos, ooze; odon, tooth, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how single series of bicuspid teeth of I. paraguayense (=furcidens), along with its alimentary canal (described as three times as long as entire fish) are adaptations for grazing on afwuchs and detrital matter

Ilyodon cortesae Paulo-Maya & Trujillo-Jiménez 2000    in honor of María Teresa Cortés, for her “outstanding” (translation) contributions to the development of Mexican ichthyology [treated as a synonym of I. whitei by some workers]

Ilyodon furcidens (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    furcatus, forked; dens, teeth, referring to anterior teeth, all bicuspid or Y-shaped

Ilyodon lennoni Meyer & Förster 1983    in honor of singer-songwriter John Lennon (1940-1980) of The Beatles [treated as a synonym of I. whitei by some workers]

Ilyodon whitei (Meek 1904)    in honor of E. A. White, Interoceanic Railway of Mexico (Mexico City), who took a “personal interest” in Meek’s work, for “many favors received through his courtesy,” which “resulted in considerable substantial aid”

Neotoca Hubbs & Turner 1939    neo, new; tokos, offspring, i.e., a new type of embryo, presumably a general reference to trophotaeniae (see Allotoca)

Neotoca bilineata (Bean 1887)    bi-, two; lineatus, lined, referring to two vertical lines on body of females

Skiffia Meek 1902    ia, belonging to: Frederick J. V. Skiff (1851-1921), Director of the Field Columbian Museum (now the Field Museum, Chicago, USA), where Meek was Assistant Curator of Zoology at the time

Skiffia francesae Kingston 1978    in honor of Frances H. Miller (1919-1987), daughter of Carl L. Hubbs (see Hubbsina) and wife and collecting partner of Mexican fish expert Robert Rush Miller, for her “help in furthering our understanding of Mexican fishes” [extinct in wild]

Skiffia lermae Meek 1902    of the Río Lerma system, where type locality (Patzcuaro Lake at Parzvuaro, Michoacan, México) is situated

Skiffia multipunctata (Pellegrin 1901)    multi-, many; punctatus, spotted, referring to dark spot on posterior margin of each scale on upper half of body

Xenoophorus Hubbs & Turner 1939    xenos, strange; oön, egg; phorus, bearing, referring to distinctive structure of ovary; e.g., ovarian flaps thick and trophotaeniae (see Allotoca) “very considerably elongated, when fully developed about reaching end of caudal fin, not lobate, asymmetrical”

Xenoophorus captivus (Hubbs 1924)    captive, allusion not explained, probably referring to Hubbs’ hypothesis that it derived from Goodea atripinnis (presumed closest relative) after isolation following stream capture

Xenotaenia Turner 1946    xenos, strange; taenia, ribbon or band, but in this case possibly short for trophotaeniae (see Allotoca); since its trophotaeniae “are unlike any others in the subfamily, the genus is named for [this] character”

Xenotaenia resolanae Turner 1946    of Río Resolana, ~40 km southwest of Autlan, Jalisco, México, type locality

Xenotoca Hubbs & Turner 1939    xenos, strange; toca, offspring (i.e., embryo), presumably a general reference to trophotaeniae (see Allotoca)

Xenotoca doadrioi Domínguez-Domínguez, Bernal-Zuñiga & Piller 2016    in honor of the “prestigious” ichthyologist Ignacio Doadrio (b. 1957), Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (Spain), who has “strongly contributed to the study and knowledge of Mesoamerican fish diversity”

Xenotoca eiseni (Rutter 1896)    in honor of Gustav Eisen (1847-1940), Curator of Marine Invertebrates, California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, USA), who collected type

Xenotoca lyonsi Domínguez-Domínguez, Bernal-Zuñiga & Piller 2016    in honor of the “prominent” ichthyologist John Lyons, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (now retired), for “substantial contributions to our understanding of the distribution, ecology, diversity, and conservation status of fishes in Mexico, and to goodeids in particular”

Xenotoca melanosoma Fitzsimons 1972    melano-, black; soma, body, referring to “nearly jet-black” adult males and “dark-bodied” females

Xenotoca variata (Bean 1887)    spotted, referring to numerous dark spots on lower half of body

Zoogoneticus Meek 1902    icus, having the nature of: zoon, animal; gonos, offspring, i.e., live young, referring to its viviparity, which Meek used to distinguish it from the superficially similar Fundulus (Fundulidae)

Zoogoneticus purhepechus Domínguez-Domínguez, Pérez-Rodríguez & Doadrio 2008    derived from Purhepecha, name of indigenous ethnic group who inhabited part of the distribution range of this species, including type locality (Zamora, Michiacán, México)

Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis (Bean 1898)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Quitzeo (now known as Cuitzeo), Michoacán, México, type locality

Zoogoneticus tequila Webb & Miller 1998    named for Volcan Tequila (2920 m), which “looms north” of type locality (Río Teuchitlán, Río Ameca drainage, at eastern edge of Teuchitlán, Jalisco, México)


Family FUNDULIDAE Topminnows
6 genera/subgenera · 46 species/subspecies

Fundulus Lacepède 1803    fundus, bottom; –ulus, a diminutive suffix, i.e., a “small burrower,” referring to “mudfish,” local name for F. heteroclitus in South Carolina (USA), perhaps referring to their occurrence in muddy pools, creeks and ditches, and/or to how they bury 15-20 cm into the mud during winter

Subgenus Fundulus

Fundulus albolineatus Gilbert 1891    albus, white; lineatus, lined, referring to rows of scales on males with “interrupted whitish streaks, most conspicuous on hinder half of body” [extinct by 1900 due to habitat modification, dewatering and exotics]             

Fundulus bifax Cashner & Rogers 1988    two-faced, referring to strong resemblance with F. catenatus

Fundulus catenatus (Storer 1846)    chained, allusion not explained, probably referring to series of dots and dashes that form lines on flanks

Fundulus confluentus Goode & Bean 1879    flowing together, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to confluence of salt and fresh water at type locality (Lake Monroe, Florida, USA), which is 161 miles from the sea; Wildekamp (1996) says name refers to “partial interconnection of the cross-bars on the sides of the body” but provides no source for this explanation

Fundulus diaphanus diaphanus (Lesueur 1817)    transparent, referring to its semi-translucent (“diaphanous”) body (probably a male)

Fundulus diaphanus menona Jordan & Copeland 1877    named for Lake Menona, Wisconsin (USA), type locality (but occurs throughout Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins)

Fundulus grandis Baird & Girard 1853    large, probably referring to its “stout” body and/or length (described at 12.7 cm)

Fundulus grandissimus Hubbs 1936    very large, referring to larger size compared to the similar F. grandis

Fundulus herminiamatildae García-Ramírez, Lozano-Vilano & De la Maza Benignos 2022    in honor of Herminia Ramírez and Matilde García, the senior author’s parents, “who were important pillars in the profesional [sic] and personal growth of the author, and who have a great respect for nature” [preferably spelled herminiamatildarum since name honors more than one woman, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction; first published online in 2021 but without ZooBank registration, so name dates to printed version, which appeared in 2022]

Fundulus heteroclitus heteroclitus (Linnaeus 1766)    heteros, different; clinus, leaning or inclining, i.e., deviating, abnormal or different, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to Linnaeus’ uncertainty (“Genus nondun certam”) in placing it in the loach genus Cobitis, from which it clearly differs; Wildekamp (1996) states that name refers to “differences between the sexes,” but sexual dimorphism is not included in Linnaeus’ brief description (based on notes from South Carolina naturalist Andrew Garden, who sen–t Linnaeus right half-skins of two specimens, pressed in a botanical press, varnished, and glued to a sheet of herbarium paper)

Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus Walbaum 1792    macro-, large; lepidotus, scaled, referring to larger scales on head and preorbital region compared to nominate form

Fundulus jenkinsi (Evermann 1892)    in honor of Oliver Peebles Jenkins (1850-1935), physiology professor, Stanford University, for his work on fishes of the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands

Fundulus julisia Williams & Etnier 1982    derived from the Cherokee (Native American) words amjulisi, watercress, and atsat, fish, referring to its association with aquatic vegetation, typically watercress

Fundulus majalis (Walbaum 1792)    pertaining to May, based on “Mayfish,” local name recorded by Schöpf (1788), who collected specimens from New York City’s East River

Fundulus persimilis Miller 1955    per, through or by, referring to its “evolution through F. similis or the precursor of that species”

Fundulus philpisteri García-Ramírez, Contreras-Balderas & Lozano-Vilano 2007    in honor of fisheries biologist Edwin Philip (“Phil”) Pister (b. 1929), for his dedication to the study and teaching of ichthyology, and for promoting the conservation of the desert fishes and their ecosystems

Fundulus pulvereus (Evermann 1892)    powdery, referring to small mother-of-pearl spots on sides of males

Fundulus rathbuni Jordan & Meek 1889    in honor of Richard Rathbun (1852-1918), Chief of the Division of Scientific Inquiry, U.S. Fish Commission

Fundulus saguanus Rivas 1948    anus, belonging to: Sagua La Grande, Las Villas Province, Cuba, type locality (also known from southern peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys)

Fundulus seminolis Girard 1859    is, genitive singular of: allusion not explained, probably referring to the Seminole Indians, originally from Florida (USA), where this killifish is endemic

Fundulus similis (Baird & Girard 1853)    similar, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to similarity with F. majalis; Jordan & Evermann (1896) say name refers “sexes being nearly alike,” perhaps referring to “Transverse narrow black bands in both sexes” as noted in original description

Fundulus stellifer (Jordan 1877)    stella, star; fero, to bear, probably referring to sparkles on nuptial males and/or large pale yellow blotch on back in front of dorsal fin, “very distinct in life, so that the fish may be recognized in the water as far as it can be seen”

Fundulus waccamensis Hubbs & Raney 1946    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, USA, where it is endemic

Subgenus Plancterus Garman 1895    wandering, allusion not explained, possibly referring to “convolutions of the intestine and the reduction of the pharyngeals [which] indicate habits [“mud-eating”] differing from those of the majority of the genus”

Fundulus kansae Garman 1895    of Kansas, USA, type locality (but occurs elsewhere in central USA, including Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas)

Fundulus zebrinus Jordan & Gilbert 1883    zebra-like, replacement name for Hydrargyra zebra Girard 1859, secondarily preoccupied by Fundulus zebra DeKay 1842 (=F. heteroclitus), originally referring to its “numerous transverse lateral bars”                              

Subgenus Wileyichthys Ghedotti & Davis 2013    in honor of Edward O. Wiley (b. 1944), University of Kansas (USA), for his many contributions to our understanding of fundulid fishes, North American biogeography, and to phylogenetic systematics; ichthys, fish                 

Fundulus parvipinnis parvipinnis Girard 1854    parvus, small; pinnis, fin, “All the fins are of small dimensions”

Fundulus parvipinnis brevis Osburn & Nichols 1916    short, referring to “noticeably shorter and deeper body” compared to nominate form                         

Fundulus lima Vaillant 1894    file, referring to scale ctenii, which form elongate spines in breeding males

Subgenus Zygonectes Agassiz 1854    zygos, yoke (i.e., in pairs; nectes, swimmer, allusion not explained; according to Jordan (1882), referring to “supposed habit of swimming at the surface of the water in pairs”

Fundulus blairae Wiley & Hall 1975    in honor of Blair Knies (no other information available), for her assistance in the field

Fundulus chrysotus (Günther 1866)    based on manuscript name coined by physician-naturalist John E. Holbrook (1796-1871); scholars have offered two etymologies: gilded, referring to gold flecks on sides, and chrysos, gold and otos, ear, referring to gold iridescence on opercle (neither character mentioned by Günther, who remarked “it is impossible to know whether the specimens described are identical with those for which Holbrook intended this name”)

Fundulus cingulatus Valenciennes 1846    banded, referring to vertical bars on sides of both sexes

Fundulus dispar (Agassiz 1854)    dissimilar, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to differences between the sexes (“Longitudinal lines of minute dots particularly distinct in the anterior part of the body, alternating backwards with continuous lines in the males, which are besides transversely barred, whilst the female has only continuous serrated lines upon the sides”)

Fundulus escambiae (Bollman 1887)    of the Escambia River, Alabama (USA), type locality; also occurs in Georgia and Florida

Fundulus euryzonus Suttkus & Cashner 1981    eury, broad; zonus, band, referring to wide purple-brown stripe on sides of both sexes

Fundulus lineolatus (Agassiz 1854)    lined, presumably referring to black stripes on sides of females (vertical bars on males)

Fundulus luciae (Baird 1855)    in honor of Baird’s daughter, Lucy Hunter Baird (1848-1913)

Fundulus notatus (Rafinesque 1820)    marked, referring to white spot (pineal eye) on top of head

Fundulus nottii (Agassiz 1854)    in honor of Josiah Clark Nott (1804-1873), surgeon-anthropologist from Mobile, Alabama (USA), who sent type to Agassiz (footnote: a slave owner, Nott claimed that “the negro achieves his greatest perfection, physical and moral, and also greatest longevity, in a state of slavery”)

Fundulus olivaceus (Storer 1845)    olive-colored, referring to coloration of upper body, “sprinkled with minute black dots”

Fundulus rubrifrons (Jordan 1880)    ruber, red; frons, forehead, “Jaws and space in front of eyes bright orange-red”

Fundulus sciadicus Cope 1865    shady or belonging to the shade, allusion not explained nor evident; perhaps referring to coloration (described as “olive slate” above, “brownish yellow” below) or to habitat (occurs in heavy vegetation, but this is not mentioned by Cope)

Fundulus xenicus (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    strange, foreign or exotic, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to deep, diamond-shaped body, like that of Cyprinodon (Cyprinodontidae), unusual for Fundulus; Huber (2013) says name refers to its “rare or discontinuous occurrence,” but the species occurs along Gulf Coast from southern Florida to Corpus Christi, Texas, and was described as “locally very abundant” (as Adinia multifasciata) by Jordan and Evermann in 1896 [previously placed in its own genus, Adinia]

Leptolucania Myers 1924    leptos, slender, compared to the deeper-bodied Lucania                 

Leptolucania ommata (Jordan 1884)    eyed, referring to ocellus on mid-caudal peduncle of both sexes

Lucania Girard 1859    a Native American word chosen presumably because Girard liked the sound of it

Lucania goodei Jordan 1880    in honor of ichthyologist George Brown Goode (1851-1896), who collected type

Lucania interioris Hubbs & Miller 1965    interior, being an “isolated endemic species of an interior-drainage basin far inland in northeastern México

Lucania parva (Baird & Girard 1855)    small, referring to its “diminutive size” (up to 6.2 cm TL)


Family FLUVIPHYLACIDAE American Lampeyes
1 genus · 7 species

Fluviphylax Whitley 1965    fluvius, river; phylax, guard or guardian, replacement name for Potamophylax Myers & Carvalho 1955 (potamos, river), preoccupied in caddisflies, allusion not explained by the original authors, possibly referring to occurrence of F. pygmaeus in the middle Amazon basin and metaphorical all-seeing or guardian nature of its “enormous eyes”

Fluviphylax gouldingi Bragança 2018    in honor of conservation ecologist Michael Goulding (b. 1950), for his collection efforts in the Amazon, especially in the Rio Negro, and for his many ecological studies on neotropical fishes

Fluviphylax obscurus Costa 1996    dark, referring to how larger specimens preserved in alcohol seem to be darker than congeners known at the time

Fluviphylax palikur Costa & Le Bail 1999    named for the Palikur Indians, who live in the coastal part of the lower Oiapoque drainage of northern Brazil, where this species occurs

Fluviphylax pygmaeus (Myers & Carvalho 1955)    dwarf, a “very tiny” species (up to 19.3 mm SL)

Fluviphylax simplex Costa 1996    simple, referring to open cephalic sensory canals of adults

Fluviphylax wallacei Bragança 2018    in honor of English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), for his collection effort in the Amazon, especially in the Rio Negro drainage (where this species occurs); unfortunately, when he was returning to Europe, an accidental fire resulted in the sinking of the ship and all specimens were lost (only some drawings of the fishes survived)

Fluviphylax zonatus Costa 1996    banded, referring to 6-12 dark bars on sides of males