Family DOROSOMATIDAE Bleeker 1872 (Gizzard Shads and Sardinellas)

Revised 8 June 2023
PDF version (with illustrations and additional information)

Amblygaster Bleeker 1849 amblýs (Gr. ἀμβλύς), blunt; gastḗr (Gr. γαστήρ), belly or stomach, referring to obtuse, round and smooth (unserrated) belly (“ventre obtuso rotundata non serrato”) of A. clupeoides

Amblygaster clupeoides Bleeker 1849 oides, Latinized suffix adopted from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: clupea, Latin vernacular for a herring-like fish, possibly referring to Clupea, which at the time was a catch-all genus for many herring-like fishes

Amblygaster indiana Mary, Balasubramanian, Selvaraju & Shiny 2017ana (L.), belonging to: India, type specimens collected at fish landing centers and fish markets at Eraviputhenthurai, west coast of India

Amblygaster leiogaster (Valenciennes 1847) leí̄os (Gr. λεῖος) smooth; gastḗr (Gr. γαστήρ), belly or stomach, referring to less prominent belly scutes compared with Sardinella aurita, its presumed congener at the time
Amblygaster sirm (Walbaum 1792) Arabic vernacular for this herring along the Red Sea

Anodontostoma Bleeker 1849 án– (Gr. ἄν-), without; odontos, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth; stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, presumably referring to toothless mouth

Anodontostoma chacunda (Hamilton 1822) local Indian vernacular for this shad

Anodontostoma selangkat (Bleeker 1852) from Ikan Selangkat, local name in Jakarta (formerly Batavia), Indonesia (Ikan = fish)

Anodontostoma thailandiae Wongratana 1983 of Thailand, referring to Gulf of Thailand, type locality (Wongratana believes this is first use of name thailandiae in ichthyological literature, all previous references to country being styled as siamensis and variations thereof)

Clupanodon Lacepède 1803 clupea, Latin vernacular for a herring-like fish; án– (Gr. ἄν-), without; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to toothless vomer compared with toothed vomer of Clupea (Clupeidae), its original genus

Clupanodon thrissa (Linnaeus 1758) thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (θρίξ), hair, referring to hair-like bones, but in this case probably referring to filamentous dorsal-fin ray [specific name coined by Swedish explorer Pehr Osbeck in his 1757 journal of his voyage to China]

Congothrissa Poll 1964 Congo, referring to Congo River, type locality; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to the anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes (literally, the Congo Anchovy)

Congothrissa gossei Poll 1964 in honor of Jean-Pierre Gosse (1924–2001), curator of vertebrates, Institut Royal des Sciences Naturalles de Belgique, who discovered this clupeid and recognized its distinctiveness despite small size and “benign appearance” (translation)

Dorosoma Rafinesque 1820 dóratos (Gr. δόρατος), genitive of dóry (δόρυ), lance or spear; sṓma (Gr. σῶμα), referring to “lanceolate” body of D. notata (=cepedianum), “tapering gradually towards the tail”

Subgenus Dorosoma

Dorosoma anale Meek 1904 Latin (neuter) for anal, referring to its long anal fin

Dorosoma cepedianum (Lesueur 1818)anum (L., neuter), belonging to: Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de [count of] La Cepède (also spelled as La Cépède, Lacépède, or Lacepède, 1756–1825), whose five-volume Histoire Naturelle des Poissons (1798–1803) was the standard ichthyological reference of his day; Lesueur may have honored his fellow countryman for having proposed the tarpon genus Megalops, into which this species was originally assigned

Dorosoma chavesi Meek 1907 in honor of Dioclesiano Chaves (1844–1936), taxidermist, National Museum of Nicaragua, for his assistance in collecting in Lakes Tiscapa and Managua

Dorosoma smithi Hubbs & Miller 1941 in honor of Hugh M. Smith (1865–1941), “worthy colleague of such masters as Jordan and Gilbert and Evermann,” all members of America’s “greatest school of ichthyologists”

Dorosoma (subgenus Signalosa) Evermann & Kendall 1898 signum (L.), flagstaff or pole (per the authors), referring to long dorsal-fin ray of S. atchafalayae (=D. petenense); alosa, from alausa, Latin name for Alosa alosa (Alosidae) from the river Moselle in Germany, now used as a general suffix for shads and herrings

Dorosoma petenense (Günther 1867) ense, Latin suffix (neuter) denoting place: Lake Petén (now Petén Itzá), Guatemala, type locality

Escualosa Whitley 1940 etymology not explained, perhaps escu-, from esculentus (L.), edible, referring to fisheries importance of E. macrolepis (=thoracata); alosa, from alausa, Latin name for Alosa alosa (Alosidae) from the river Moselle in Germany, now used as a general suffix for shads and herrings

Escualosa elongate Wongratana 1983 Latin for prolonged, referring to its slenderer body compared with E. thoracata

Escualosa thoracata (Valenciennes 1847) Latin for armed with a breastplate, referring to spines or serrations on abdomen

Ethmalosa Regan 1917 ēthmós (Gr. ἠθμός), sieve or strainer, referring to its fine and numerous gill rakers, which filter phytoplankton from the water; alosa, from alausa, Latin name for Alosa alosa (Alosidae) from the river Moselle in Germany, now used as a general suffix for shads and herrings

Ethmalosa fimbriata (Bowdich 1825) Latin for fringed, referring to its fringed scales, “which makes the fish have a very peculiar appearance”

Gonialosa Regan 1917 gōnía (Gr. γωνία), corner or angle, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to angular mouth clefts of G. manmina and G. modesta; alosa, from alausa, Latin name for Alosa alosa (Alosidae) from the river Moselle in Germany, now used as a general suffix for shads and herrings

Gonialosa manmina (Hamilton 1822) presumably a local Bengali name, as it was Hamilton’s practice to derive trivial names “from some of those used by the natives of India” (sometimes spelled manminna)

Gonialosa modesta (Day 1870) Latin for moderate, modest or unassuming, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its snout “moderately projecting over the lower jaw” and/or its “uniform” coloration

Gonialosa whiteheadi Wongratana 1983 in honor of ichthyologist Peter J. P. Whitehead (1930–1993), British Museum (Natural History), who encouraged Wongratana to make Indo-Pacific clupeoids the subject of his thesis

Gudusia Fowler 1911 from Gudusa, a “native name” in India, presumably of the type species, G. chapra; spelled Gudua in Odissa (now Odisha), India, per Talwar & Jhingran, 1991, Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries

Gudusia chapra (Hamilton 1822) probably referring to Chapra District (also known as Saran), Bihar, India, type locality

Gudusia variegata (Day 1870) Latin for “of different sorts” (particularly colors), referring to its combination of colors and markings: silvery glossed with gold, a dark humeral spot, ~18 dorsal saddles, black band on lower posterior half of dorsal fin, and black tips on end of tail

Harengula Valenciennes 1847 diminutive of harengus, Medieval Latin for herring [see Clupea harengus, Clupeidae, for a detailed etymology], i.e., similar to herrings but distinguished by the absence of vomerine teeth

Harengula clupeola (Cuvier 1829) diminutive of Clupea (Clupeidae, original genus), perhaps reflecting its 18th-century French vernacular “Petit Cailleu”

Harengula humeralis (Cuvier 1829) Latin for humeral, referring to silvery, dark humeral spot (in the area analogous to the humerus, or shoulder) seen on many specimens

Harengula jaguana Poey 1865 ana (L.), belonging to: “bahía de Jagua” (bay of Jagua, but likely a port on the Bay of Cienfuegos), Cuba, presumed type locality (no type specimens are known)

Harengula thrissina (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) diminutive of thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly derived from thrix, hair, referring to the anchovy’s hair-like bones (but used here as a general term for herring or shad) [thrissina may intentionally mirror the construction of the name of its closest congener, H. clupeola]

Harengula thrissina peruana Fowler & Bean 1923ana (L.), belonging to: Peru, referring to Callao, Peru, type locality

Herklotsichthys Whitley 1951 Herklots + ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish: replacement name for Herklotsella Fowler 1934, preoccupied by Herklotsella Herre 1933 (=Pterocryptis, Siluridae), originally named for Fowler’s friend, botanist and ornithologist G. A. C. Herklots (1902–1986), University of Hong Kong, “with many fond memories of the China Sea and Java”

Herklotsichthys blackburni (Whitley 1948) in honor of Australian marine biologist Maurice Blackburn (1915–2012), for his work on the bionomics of Australian clupeoids; he discovered this species but placed his specimens and notes at Whitley’s disposal

Herklotsichthys castelnaui (Ogilby 1897) patronym not identified but clearly in honor of French naturalist François Louis Nompar de Caumont La Force, comte de [count of] Castelnau (1810–1880), who published several papers on Australian fishes in the 1870s

Herklotsichthys collettei Wongratana 1987 in honor of American ichthyologist Bruce B. Collette (b. 1934), Director, National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, for his “hospitality, encouragement, and interest” in Wongratana’s work on Indo-Pacific clupeoid fishes

Herklotsichthys dispilonotus (Bleeker 1852) δι– (Gr. prefix), derived from dýo (δύο), two; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot; nótos (Gr. νότος), back, referring to two dark blotches on back, one at posterior end of dorsal fin base and the other a short distance behind

Herklotsichthys gotoi Wongratana 1983 in honor of entomologist H. E. Goto, Imperial College, University of London, director of Wongratana’s studies in London

Herklotsichthys koningsbergeri (Weber & de Beaufort 1912) in honor of Jacob Christian Koningsberger (1867-1951), Dutch biologist and politician, “distinguished” director of ’s Lands Plantentuin (National Botanical Garden), Buitenzorg, Java, who sent holoype to the authors [“’s” is a Dutch abbreviation meaning “of the” or “in the”]

Herklotsichthys lippa (Whitley 1931) etymology not explained, perhaps lippus (L.), bleary-eyed or dim-sighted, referring to adipose lids on eyes

Herklotsichthys lossei Wongratana 1983 in honor of German biologist and fishery officer Georg F. Losse, who collected most of the type material, and for his “most useful” studies of East African clupeoids

Herklotsichthys ovalis (Anonymous [Bennett] 1830) Latin for oval, referring to its body shape

Herklotsichthys punctatus (Rüppell 1837) Latin for spotted, referring to round black spots on dorsal surface

Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus (Rüppell 1837) quadri– (L.), four; maculatus (L.), spotted, presumably referring to orange spots, two at edge of each gill opening

Herklotsichthys spilura (Guichenot 1863) spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot; ura, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to “large black spots” (translation) on tail (although this character does not appear to be confirmed in more recent literature)

Hilsa Regan 1917 Bengali vernacular for large clupeiform fishes (usually referring to Tenulosa ilisha) often used as food

Hilsa kelee (Cuvier 1829) local vernacular for this shad in Andhra Pradesh, India, where type locality (Bay of Bengal at Vishakhapatnam) is situated

Konosirus Jordan & Snyder 1900 Latinization of Konoshiro, Japanese name of K. punctatus

Konosirus punctatus (Temminck & Schlegel 1846) Latin for spotted, referring to dark spot behind gill opening and/or several lines of dark dots along flank

Laeviscutella Poll, Whitehead & Hopson 1965 laevis (L.), smooth; scutella, diminutive of scutum (L.), shield, i.e., a small scute, referring to unkeeled pre-pelvic scutes and/or post-pelvic scutes lacking ascending arms

Laeviscutella dekimpei Poll, Whitehead & Hopson 1965 in honor of Paul De Kimpe (b. 1927), Fisheries Officer at Cotonou (Dahomey, now Republic of Benin), for his services in collecting this and other species for the Musée de l’Afrique Centrale in Tervuren

Lile Jordan & Evermann 1896 from matt-lile, Tamil name for the east-Indian Clupea lile (=Escualosa thoracata), presumed to be congeners at the time

Lile gracilis Castro-Aguirre & Vivero 1990 Latin for thin or slender, referring to its slender body (“cuerpo grácil”)

Lile nigrofasciata Castro-Aguirre, Ruiz-Campos & Balart 2002 nigro, from niger (L.), black; fasciata (L.), banded, referring to obvious dark or black band on midlateral part of body, from posterior edge of operculum to end of caudal peduncle

Lile piquitinga (Schreiner & Miranda Ribeiro 1903) presumably a local Brazilian name for this species first reported in Markgraf von Liebstadt’s Historiae naturalis brasiliae (1648)

Lile stolifera (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) stolḗ (Gr. στολή), an ecclesiastical vestment usually made of a band of silk and worn over the shoulders during liturgical functions; –fer, from fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to distinct lateral silvery band

Limnothrissa Regan 1917 limno, from límnē (Gr. λίμνη), marsh (but also applied to lakes and pools), referring to distribution in Lake Tanganykia; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Limnothrissa miodon (Boulenger 1906) mio-, from meíōn (Gr. μείων), lesser or smaller; odontos, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to smaller teeth compared with Pellonula vorax, its presumed congener at the time

Limnothrissa stappersii (Poll 1948) in honor of physician-biologist Louis Stappers (1883–1916), head of the Belgian colony in the Congo, who led an expedition to Lake Moero in 1912 and collected holotype

Microthrissa Boulenger 1902 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, probably referring to much smaller size (M. royauxi described at 6.5 cm TL) compared with its Congo relative Odaxothrissa losera (16 cm TL); thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Subgenus Microthrissa

Microthrissa minuta Poll 1974 Latin for very small, referring to its size (to 3.5 cm SL)

Microthrissa royauxi Boulenger 1902 in honor of Louis-Joseph Royaux (1866–1936), Belgian Army captain and station chief in the Belgian Congo, who led expedition that collected holotype and supplied indigenous names of the species he collected

Microthrissa whiteheadi Gourène & Teugels 1988 in honor of Peter J. P. Whitehead (1930–1993), British Museum (Natural History), “whose numerous publications on clupeoid fishes have contributed substantially to our knowledge of this group”

Microthrissa (subgenus Poecilothrissa) Regan 1917 poecilio-, from poikílos (Gr. ποικίλος), varicolored, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to lateral band present only on posterior half of M. congica; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Microthrissa centralis (Poll 1974) Latin for central, referring to its centralized distribution in the Lake Tumba region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Microthrissa congica (Regan 1917)ica (L.), belonging to: Congo River, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), type locality

Microthrissa moeruensis (Poll 1948)ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Moero (or Mweru), Kilwa, Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo), where it is endemic

Nannothrissa Poll 1965 nánnos (Gr. νάννος), dwarf, referring to small size of N. parva (up to 4.2 cm SL); thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Nannothrissa parva (Regan 1917) Latin for small, referring to small size (up to 4.2 cm SL)

Nannothrissa stewarti Poll & Roberts 1976 in honor of ichthyologist Donald J. Stewart (b. 1946), then with the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, who helped collect holotype

Nematalosa Regan 1917 nḗmatos (Gr. νήματος), threaded, referring to long, filamentous last ray of dorsal fin; alosa, from alausa, Latin name for Alosa alosa (Alosidae) from the river Moselle in Germany, now used as a general suffix for shads and herrings

Nematalosa arabica Regan 1917ica (L.), belonging to: Arabia, referring to type locality at Muscat, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea

Nematalosa come (Richardson 1846) apparent Latinization of kome, local vernacular for this species off the Coromandel Coast of India

Nematalosa erebi (Günther 1868) in honor of H.M.S. Erebus, from which holotype, first reported as Chatoesus (=N.) come, was collected

Nematalosa flyensis Wongratana 1983ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Fly River, Papua New Guinea, type locality

Nematalosa galatheae Nelson & Rothman 1973 in honor of the Danish Galathea Expedition, which collected first-known specimens

Nematalosa japonica Regan 1917ica (L.), belonging to: Inland Sea of Japan, type locality

Nematalosa nasus (Bloch 1795) Latin for nose, referring to its rounded and projected snout (characteristic of the genus)

Nematalosa papuensis (Munro 1964)ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Papua New Guinea, where it is endemic

Nematalosa persara Nelson & McCarthy 1995 combination and abbreviation of Persian and Arabian, referring to its distribution in the Persian/Arabian Gulf and northern Arabian Sea to Pakistan

Nematalosa resticularia Nelson & McCarthy 1995 artificial adjective of resticula (L.), cord or line, i.e., cord-like (but authors say it means “maker of small ropes”), referring to large size and texture of its intestinal diverticula

Nematalosa vlaminghi (Munro 1956) patronym not identified but probably in honor of Willem de Vlamingh (1640–ca. 1698), Dutch sea captain who explored western Australia (general location of this species), or his son, Admiral Cornelis de Vlamingh (ca. 1678–1735), explorer and naval officer, who collected and illustrated many fishes for the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)

Odaxothrissa Boulenger 1899 odáx (Gr. ὀδάξ), biting, referring to strong canines on lower jaw of O. losera; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Odaxothrissa ansorgii Boulenger 1910 in honor of English explorer and collector William John Ansorge (1850–1913), who collected holotype

Odaxothrissa losera Boulenger 1899 indigenous name for this species in the Congo River basin of Africa

Odaxothrissa mento (Regan 1917) from the Latin mentum, chin, probably referring to its strongly projecting lower jaw

Odaxothrissa vittata Regan 1917 Latin for banded, referring to its well-defined silvery lateral band

Opisthonema Gill 1861 opistho-, from ópisthen (Gr. ὄπισθεν), behind; nḗma (Gr. νῆμα), thread, referring to long, filamentous last ray of dorsal fin

Opisthonema berlangai Berry & Barrett 1963 in honor of Fray Tomás de Berlanga (1487–1551), fourth bishop of Panama, who is credited with discovery of the Galapagos Islands (distribution of this species) in May 1535

Opisthonema bulleri (Regan 1904) in honor of American naturalist Audley Cecil Buller (1853–1894), who collected many specimens of Mexican vertebrates, including holotype of this one

Opisthonema libertate (Günther 1867) of La Libertad, El Salvador, type locality

Opisthonema medirastre Berry & Barrett 1963 medius (L.), middle; rastrum (L.), rake, referring to intermediate number of gill rakers compared with two other coastal Pacific congeners, O. berlangai and O. libertate

Opisthonema oglinum (Lesueur 1818) etymology unexplained, unless from the word ogle, referring to its large eyes

Pellonula Günther 1868 etymology not explained, presumably a diminutive of Pellona (now in Pristigasteridae); if so, reason not evident

Pellonula leonensis Boulenger 1916 ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sierra Leone (Northern Sherbo District), type locality

Pellonula leonensis afzeliusi Johnels 1954 in honor of biologist-biophysicist Björn Afzelius (1925–2008), member of expedition that collected type in Gambia River

Pellonula leonensis miri (Daget 1954) vernacular used by indigenous fishermen of Bambara (Diafarabé, Mali)

Pellonula vorax Günther 1868 Latin for voracious, probably referring to its “well developed” dentition, with premaxillary teeth pointing outward

Platanichthys Whitehead 1968 platan[a], –ana (L.) belonging to: referring to Río de la Plata (Argentina), type locality of its one species; ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish

Platanichthys platana (Regan 1917) ana (L.), belonging to: Río de la Plata (Argentina), type locality

Potamothrissa Regan 1917 potamós (Gr. ποταμός), river, referring to their occurrence in fresh water; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Potamothrissa acutirostris (Boulenger 1899) acutus (L.), sharp or pointed; rostris (scientific Neo-Latin), snout, referring to pointed snout

Potamothrissa obtusirostris (Boulenger 1909) obtusus (L.), blunt or dull; rostris (scientific Neo-Latin), snout, referring to blunt snout compared with pointed snout of P. acutirostris

Potamothrissa whiteheadi Poll 1974 in honor of ichthyologist (and clupeoid specialist) Peter J. P. Whitehead (1930–1993), British Museum (Natural History), who examined Poll’s specimens and reported the existence of this species

Rhinosardinia Eigenmann 1912 rhinós (Gr. ῥινός), genitive of rhís (ῥίς), nose or snout, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to retrorse spine on upper part of maxilla at about eye level (and near snout), unique among clupeoids; sardinia, presumably a variation of Sardina, a sardine, perhaps referring to its Sardinella-like shape

Rhinosardinia amazonica (Steindachner 1879)ica, belonging to: Amazon River at Pará, Brazil (type locality)

Rhinosardinia bahiensis (Steindachner 1879)ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bahia, Brazil, type locality

Sardinella Valenciennes 1847 diminutive of Sardina, a sardine, “similar to the external form of a sardine” (translation)

Subgenus Sardinella

Sardinella aurita Valenciennes 1847 Latin for eared, probably referring to black spot at hind border of gill cover

Sardinella lemuru Bleeker 1853 from Ikan Lemuru, its local name in Jakarta (formerly Batavia), Indonesia, type locality (Ikan = fish) [treated as a junior synonym of S. aurita by some workers]

Sardinella longiceps Valenciennes 1847 longus (L.), long; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to “long, thick head” (translation) [treated as a subspecies of S. aurita by some workers]

Sardinella (subgenus Clupeonia) Valenciennes 1847ia (L. suffix), pertaining to: Clupea (Clupeidae), genus to which some species had originally been assigned

Sardinella albella (Valenciennes 1847) presumably a diminutive of albus (L.), white, referring to its bright silver coloration

Sardinella alcyone Hata & Motomura 2019 alkyṓn (Gr. ἁλκυών), kingfisher, referring to its “brilliant” blueish dorsum, like that of the bird

Sardinella atricauda (Günther 1868) atri-, from ater (L.), black; cauda (L.), tail, referring to deep black tip of each caudal lobe (which may disappear in preserved specimens)

Sardinella brachysoma Bleeker 1852 brachýs (Gr. βραχύς), short; sṓma (Gr. σῶμα), body, presumably referring to its shorter (but deeper) body compared with S. lemuru

Sardinella dayi Regan 1917 in memory of Francis Day (1830–1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India and author of the “Fishes of India” series (1875–1888)
Sardinella electra Hata & Motomura 2019 from ḗlektron (Gr. ἤλεκτρον), an alloy of gold and silver, now used as a metaphor for splendor, i.e., something bright, referring to its “brilliant” silver body

Sardinella fijiensis (Fowler & Bean 1923) ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Fiji Islands, type locality

Sardinella fimbriata (Valenciennes 1847) Latin for fringed, referring to scales with fringed (i.e., striated, serrated or indented) margins

Sardinella gibbosa (Bleeker 1849) Latin for humpbacked, referring to its elevated back (“dorso medio in gibbam elevato”)

Sardinella goni Stern, Rinkevich & Goren 2016 in honor of Ofer Gon (b. 1949), South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, for his “extensive study” of the taxonomy of Indian Ocean fishes

Sardinella hualiensis (Chu & Tsai 1958)ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Hualien, Taitung, east coast of Taiwan Island, type locality

Sardinella jussieu (Lacepède 1803) in honor of French botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (1748–1836), for sharing an unpublished 1770 manuscript about this fish written by Philibert Commerçon [presumably a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]

Sardinella maderensis (Lowe 1838)ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: off the coast of Madeira, type locality

Sardinella marquesensis Berry & Whitehead 1968ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Marquesas Islands, where it is endemic

Sardinella melanura (Cuvier 1829) mélanos (Gr. μέλανος), genitive of mélas (μέλας), black; ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to black tips of caudal fin

Sardinella pacifica Hata & Motomura 2019 ica (L.), belonging to: Pacific Ocean, distinguishing it from S. fimbriata, with which it had been confused, now considered to be restricted to the Indian Ocean

Sardinella richardsoni Wongratana 1983 in honor of Scottish surgeon-naturalist John Richardson (1787–1865), who described this fish in 1846 as Clupea isingleena (a name suppressed by the ICZN for not having been used for more than 50 years)

Sardinella rouxi (Poll 1953) in honor of marine zoologist Charles Roux (1920–ca. 2000), director, Centre Oceanographique de Pointe-Noire (Republic of the Congo), who provided some “interesting material” (translation) regarding this fish

Sardinella sindensis (Day 1878)ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sindh province of Pakistan, referring to type locality at Karachi

Sardinella tawilis (Herre 1927) local Tagalog (Philippines) name for this fish

Sardinella ventura Hata & Motomura 2021 Italian for fortune (authors say it is Latin, which would be fortuna), reflecting the “unexpected find” of type specimens at the British Museum (Natural History)

Sardinella zunasi (Bleeker 1854) Japanese vernacular for this fish (described from Nagasaki); also spelled zunashi

Sierrathrissa Thys van den Audenaerde 1969 Sierra, referring to Sierra Leone, type locality; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Sierrathrissa leonensis Thys van den Audenaerde 1969ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sierra Leone, type locality

Stolothrissa Regan 1917 stolḗ (Gr. στολή), an ecclesiastical vestment usually made of a band of silk and worn over the shoulders during liturgical functions; thríssa (Gr. θρίσσα), a kind of anchovy, possibly related to thrix (Gr. θρίξ), hair, referring to an anchovy’s hair-like bones, often used as a standard suffix for clupeiform fishes

Stolothrissa tanganicae Regan 1917 of Lake Tanganyika, where it is endemic

Tenualosa Fowler 1934 tenuis (L.), slender, allusion not explained nor evident; alosa, from alausa, Latin for shad, possibly referring to original generic placement of type species, T. reevesii

Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton 1822) Latinization of ilish, Bengali vernacular usually applied to this species

Tenualosa macrura (Bleeker 1852) large-tailed, from makrós (Gr. μaκρóς), long or large, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to its long caudal fin, 40–42% of standard length, with long pointed lobes

Tenualosa reevesii (Richardson 1846) in honor of John Reeves (1774–1856), who acquired fish specimen and commissioned Chinese artists to paint or illustrate them while working as a tea inspector in China (1812–1831), including holotype of this one

Tenualosa thibaudeaui (Durand 1940) in honor of French Colonial administrator Leon Emmanuel Thibaudeau (1883–1946), Résident Supérieur, Cambodia; he worked with Cambodia’s Oceanographic Institute to help local fishers gain more control over fish sales by grouping into co-operatives

Tenualosa toli (Valenciennes 1847) presumably vernacular for this species in Puducherry, India, as recorded by Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792–1883), voyager and merchant who collected zoological specimens from southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean

Thrattidion Roberts 1972 neuter diminutive of thrā́tta (Gr. θρᾷττα), literally a “Thracian woman” but used in ancient times as a name for a small herring-like fish, referring to its small size (21.4 mm)

Thrattidion noctivagus Roberts 1972 noctis, genitive of nox (L.), night; vagus (L.), wandering, referring to its upward and shoreward migrations at nightfall in mixed aggregations with other small fishes