Updated 26 April 2024
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Erythrinus Scopoli 1777 –inus, Latin adjectival suffix: erythrós (Gr. ἐρυθρός), red, allusion not explained nor evident; name coined by Gronow (1756), who described color as “gray, variegated with brown spots” (translation) [predates Synodus erythrinus Bloch & Schneider 1801 and therefore is not tautonymous with it]
Erythrinus erythrinus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) –inus, Latin adjectival suffix: erythrós (Gr. ἐρυθρός), red, allusion not explained nor evident; name coined by Gronow (1756), who described color as “gray, variegated with brown spots” (translation)
Erythrinus kessleri Steindachner 1877 patronym not identified, possibly in honor of German-Russian zoologist Karl Fedorovich Kessler (1815–1881) [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]
Hoplerythrinus Gill 1896 hóplon (Gr. ὅπλον), shield or armor, presumably referring to enlarged infraorbital bones covering cheeks, i.e., an Erythrinus with an armored head (a feature all erythrinids possess)
Hoplerythrinus cinereus (Gill 1858) Latin for ash-colored or gray, referring to its coloration
Hoplerythrinus gronovii (Valenciennes 1847) in honor of Dutch naturalist Laurens Theodoor Gronow (often Latinized as Gronovius, 1730–1777), who, according to Valenciennes, illustrated this species in his Museum Ichthyologicum (vol. 2, 1756)
Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus (Spix & Agassiz 1829) uni-, from unus (L.), one; taeniatus (L.), presumably referring to wide black longitudinal band on sides
Hoplias Gill 1903 from hóplon (Gr. ὅπλον), shield or armor, referring to “defensive armature” of “cranial shield-like surface as well as the offensive teeth”
Hoplias aimara (Valenciennes 1847) from Haïmara, local name for this species in Cayenne, French Guiana, type locality
Hoplias argentinensis Rosso, González-Castro, Bogan, Cardoso, Mabragaña, Delpiani & Díaz de Astarloa 2018 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Argentina, where type locality (Río Coronda, Rio Paraná basin, Santa Fe Province) is situated
Hoplias auri Guimarães, Rosso, González-Castro, Souza, Díaz de Astarloa & Rodrigues 2021 auri, from aurum (L.), gold, referring to its occurrence in an area disturbed by artisanal gold extraction
Hoplias australis Oyakawa & Mattox 2009 Latin for southern, referring to its distribution, one of the southernmost in the genus
Hoplias brasiliensis (Spix & Agassiz 1829) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Brazil, where it is endemic to coastal rivers in the northeastern part of the country
Hoplias curupira Oyakawa & Mattox 2009 named for Curupira, a mythical creature of Brazilian folklore that protects the forest, taking the form of a small Amerindian child whose feet are turned backwards, making it difficult to follow its tracks
Hoplias intermedius (Günther 1864) Latin for intermediate, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its intermediate number (13) of longitudinal scales series across back compared with 12 on Macrodon trahira (=Hoplias malabaricus) and 13–14 on H. microlepis
Hoplias lacerdae Miranda Ribeiro 1908 in honor of physician-anthropologist Jean Baptiste de Lacerda (1845–1915), director, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, for his interest in scientific explorations of the region [although named after a man, “ae” is an acceptable way to form a genitive from nouns that end in “a”]
Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch 1794) –icus (L.), belonging to: Malabar (i.e., southern India), obviously reflecting an error in the original locality (Tranquebar, now Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu, India) of the specimens sent to Bloch since this is a South American species
Hoplias mbigua Azpelicueta, Benítez, Aichino & Mendez 2015 Guaraní word for a Neotropical cormorant Nannopterum brasilianum, the nickname of Isabelino Rodríguez, who worked many years in the Proyecto Biología Pesquera Regional (Misiones, Argentina), where she helped collect holotype; the name reportedly alludes to her cormorant-like skill at catching fishes, some of which she taught to the authors
Hoplias microcephalus (Agassiz 1829) small-headed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to smaller head-to-body ratio compared with other members of family known at the time [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]
Hoplias microlepis (Günther 1864) micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to smaller scales in longitudinal series along back compared with Macrodon trahira (=Hoplias malabaricus) and H. intermedius
Hoplias misionera Rosso, Mabragaña, González-Castro, Delpiani, Avigliano, Schenone & Díaz de Astarloa 2016 Spanish for missionary, referring to Misiones, Argentinian province where type locality is situated (and home to other species of Hoplias, including type locality of H. mbigua)
Hoplias patana (Valenciennes 1847) etymology not explained; Valenciennes provided the common name “Le Macrodon patagnaye,” perhaps a place name at or near Cayenne, French Guiana, type locality
Hoplias teres (Valenciennes 1847) Latin for rounded or cylindrical, presumably referring to its body form (a characteristic of the family)