COMMENTS
v. 8.0 – 4 Nov. 2023 view/download PDF
Family BREGMACEROTIDAE Codlets
1 genus · 16 species
Bregmaceros Thompson 1840 bregma, top of head; ceros, horn, referring to occipital ray emerging from top of head of B. mcclellandi
Bregmaceros anchovia Ho, Endo & Lee 2020 Anchovia, a genus of anchovies (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae), referring to its anchovy-like outline
Bregmaceros arabicus D’Ancona & Cavinato 1965 named for its type locality in the Arabian Sea
Bregmaceros atlanticus Goode & Bean 1886 referring to its occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean relative to the similar B. mcclellandi from the western Pacific (actually a circumglobal species, including the Mediterranean Sea)
Bregmaceros bathymaster Jordan & Bollman 1890 bathy, deep; master, seeker, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its habitat (holotype collected at 86 m)
Bregmaceros cantori Milliken & Houde 1984 in honor of Danish naturalist Theodor Edvard Cantor (1809-1860), who discovered and was the first to describe Bregmaceros in a manuscript that was “unfortunately mislaid” (see B. mcclellandi, below) [Milliken & Houde state that Cantor died before his manuscript could be published but do not mention that the manuscript had been lost]
Bregmaceros cayorum Nichols 1952 –orum, belonging to: a cay (also spelled key, a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef), referring to type locality, “west of Cay Sal” in the Straits of Florida (USA)
Bregmaceros houdei Saksena & Richards 1986 in honor of Edward D. Houde (Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland, USA), for providing type specimens and reviewing the authors’ manuscript (the authors note: “Dr. Houde’s name is often mispronounced, so please note that the pronounciation of houdei is hood-eye and not how-dee-eye, whodee-eye or hud-dee-eye”)
Bregmaceros japonicus Tanaka 1908 Japanese, proposed as a subspecies of B. atlanticus known only from Japan
Bregmaceros lanceolatus Shen 1960 pointed, referring to pointed caudal fin
Bregmaceros mcclellandi Thompson 1840 based on a manuscript name (“unfortunately mislaid”) by Danish naturalist Theodor Edvard Cantor (1809-1860), in honor of his friend John McClelland (1805-1875), physician and ichthyologist, “whose researches in the Biology and Geology of India [type locality] are well known” [sometimes spelled macclellandi]
Bregmaceros moseri Harold & Baltzegar 2023 in honor of the late H Geoffrey Moser (1938-2021), who “contributed hugely” to our understanding of the biodiversity of mid-water fishes; in 1996, he referred to larval and post-metamorphic juveniles that, based on the data provided, are probably early stages of this species (the absence of a period after “H” in his name is not a typo; “H,” and only “H,” is actually his given name, the first initial of both of his parents’ names)
Bregmaceros nectabanus Whitley 1941 etymology not explained; since Whitley sometimes coined fish names inspired by literary characters (e.g., Figaro, Malvoliophus), here’s a guess: named after Nectabanus, a dwarf in Sir Walter Scott’s 1825 novel The Talisman, referring to small size of Bregmaceros species in general or the size of this species (described at 31.75 mm) in particular
Bregmaceros neonectabanus Masuda, Ozawa & Tabeta 1986 neo-, new, i.e., a new species previously reported as a form of B. nectabanus
Bregmaceros pseudolanceolatus Torii, Javonillo & Ozawa 2004 pseudo-, false, i.e., although it may closely resemble B. lanceolatus, such an appearance is false
Bregmaceros rarisquamosus Munro 1950 rarus, thinly scattered; squamosus, scaly, with “considerably less horizontal and vertical tracts of scales” compared to the similar B. nectabanus
Bregmaceros retrodorsalis Ho & Endo 2020 retro, back or behind; dorsalis, of the back, referring to backward position of second dorsal fin
Family PHYCIDAE Phycid Hakes
2 genera · 11 species
Phycis Walbaum 1792 a name dating to Aristotle, said to be a nest-building fish, almost certainly a wrasse (Labridae), later applied to a nest-building goby (Gobius niger) by Cuvier and others, and also misapplied by Artedi (1738, made nomenclaturally available in Walbaum’s edition of Artedi’s work), who misread Salviani (1558) and erroneously believed “phycis,” “Tenca marina” (a vernacular in Rome for Aristotle’s “phycis”), and a fish Salviani correctly identified as a hake (now known as Phycis phycis), were all the same species (Holger Funk, pers. comm.); name may derive from phýkos, meaning seaweed, which has no bearing on its application here [strictly not tautonymous with Blennius phycis Linnaeus 1766 since type was designated by the ICZN]
Phycis blennoides (Brünnich 1768) –oides, having the form of: a blenny, intermediate in form between Gadus and Blennius (which it resembles), which were thought to be related at the time
Phycis chesteri Goode & Bean 1878 according to Goode & Bean (1896): in honor of Capt. Hubbard C. Chester (1836-1886), U.S. Fish Commission, sailing master of the Arctic exploring steamer Polaris and later engaged in deep-sea work, who collected type
Phycis phycis (Linnaeus 1766) a name borrowed from Artedi (1738); see genus, above
Urophycis Gill 1863 oura, tail, i.e., a Phycis with an emarginate (instead of convex) caudal fin
Urophycis brasiliensis (Kaup 1858) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Brazil (although type locality is off Montevideo, Uruguay)
Urophycis chuss (Walbaum 1792) local name for this species in 18th-century New York (USA), from where it was described; according to Jordan & Evermann (1898), “apparently derived from cusk” (a 17th-century word of unknown origin usually applied to Brosme brosme, Lotinae)
Urophycis cirrata (Goode & Bean 1896) curly or fringed, presumably referring to long, filamentous pectoral fins, which extend beyond anal-fin origin
Urophycis earllii (Bean 1880) in honor of ichthyologist and museum curator R. Edward Earll (1853-1896), U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. National Museum, who secured type specimens from a market in Charleston, South Carolina (USA)
Urophycis floridana (Bean & Dresel 1884) –ana, belonging to: Pensacola, northwestern Florida (USA), type locality
Urophycis mystacea Miranda Ribeiro 1903 mustached, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its blackened snout (“Focinho denegrido”)
Urophycis regia (Walbaum 1792) royal, apparently alluding “Kingfish,” its local name in 18th-century New York (USA), from where it was described
Urophycis tenuis (Mitchill 1814) slender, presumably referring to its body shape (Mitchill called it the “Slender Cod”)
Family GAIDROPSARIDAE Rocklings
3 genera · 18 species
Ciliata Couch 1832 ciliate, referring to a “ciliated membrane placed in a chink behind the head” (i.e., a row of small, fleshy filaments behind first dorsal-fin ray) of C. glauca (=mustela)
Ciliata mustela (Linnaeus 1758) weasel, a name for a gadid fish that dates back to Pliny, allusion not evident
Ciliata septentrionalis (Collett 1875) northern, referring to its distribution, described from Norway and occurring in the North Sea, eastern North Atlantic and Western Baltic Sea
Ciliata tchangi Li 1994 in honor of Li’s teacher, ichthyologist Tchunlin (or Tchung-Lin) Tchang (1897-1963), “memorializing his stunning achievements in studies of Chinese fishes”
Enchelyopus Bloch & Schneider 1801 enchelys, ancient Greek for eel; latinization of opos, face, i.e., resembling an eel (“facie anguillae”), perhaps referring to its slippery body (“Corpus lubricum”)
Enchelyopus cimbrius (Linnaeus 1766) referring to its occurrence in the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula, also known as Jutland, bounded by the North Sea to the west, the Skagerrak to the north, the Kattegat (type locality) and Baltic Sea to the east and Germany to the south
Gaidropsarus Rafinesque 1810 gáidaros, modern Greek equivalent of onos, ancient Greek for donkey or ass, Aristotle’s name for a fish (now believed to be Phycis blennoides [Gadidae]) that hid in the substrate and used appendages inside its mouth to lure prey (according to Francis Day [The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland, 1882], many cods were called Asinus by the ancients, perhaps referring to their color or to “due to their having been carried to market on the backs of asses”); opsarus, perhaps derived from opsarion, a little fish used as a relish that complements the staple part of a meal (type species, G. mustellaris [=mediterraneus] is palatable and sometimes sold fresh in small markets)
Gaidropsarus argentatus (Reinhardt 1837) silvery; name proposed without a description, probably referring to juvenile coloration (adults are brown or brick red, with a pink belly and a blue hue around the head)
Gaidropsarus capensis (Kaup 1858) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kaup did not provide type locality or distribution data, presumably Cape of Good Hope based on its occurrence in the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian oceans
Gaidropsarus ensis (Reinhardt 1837) sword; name proposed without a description, probably referring to long first ray of dorsal fin, as long as head
Gaidropsarus gallaeciae Bañón, Baldó, Serrano, Barros-García & Carlos 2022 of Gallaecia, an ancient Roman Iberian province, now called Galicia, the westernmost region of Spain, referring to the Galicia Bank, northeast Atlantic, type locality
Gaidropsarus granti (Regan 1903) in honor of Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant (1863-1924), who acquired a collection of fishes from the Azores, including type of this one
Gaidropsarus guttatus (Collett 1890) spotted, referring to numerous white spots on blackish body
Gaidropsarus insularum Sivertsen 1945 of an island, referring to its occurrence in small tidewater pools on Tristan da Cunha, a remote island in the southeast Atlantic (also occurs in western Indian Ocean)
Gaidropsarus macrophthalmus (Günther 1867) macro-, large; ophthalmus, eye, referring to its larger eye compared to congeners of the same size
Gaidropsarus mauli Biscoito & Saldanha 2018 in honor of “good friend and fine ichthyologist” Günther Edmund Maul (1909-1997), former director of the Funchal Natural History Museum, Madeira, for his “outstanding” contribution to the knowledge of Atlantic fishes
Gaidropsarus mediterraneus (Linnaeus 1758) referring to its occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea (also occurs in Black Sea and eastern Atlantic from Norway and British Isles to Morocco)
Gaidropsarus novaezealandiae (Hector 1874) of New Zealand, referring to type locality at Cape Campbell, Cook Strait
Gaidropsarus pakhorukovi Shcherbachev 1995 in honor of Ukrainian ichthyologist Nikolay P. Pakhorukov, who collected type
Gaidropsarus parini Svetovidov 1986 in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences, who provided specimens for Svetovidov’s revision of the genus
Gaidropsarus vulgaris (Cloquet 1824) common, a name that dates to Rondelet (1554), “De Mustella vulgari”
Family LOTIDAE Burbot, Cusk and Lings
2 genera · 8 species/subspecies
Brosme Oken 1817 tautonymous with Gadus brosme
Brosme brosme (Ascanius 1772) vernacular name for this species among Danish fishermen of the 18th century
Lota Oken 1817 tautonymous with Gadus lota
Lota lota lota (Linnaeus 1758) ancient name for a kind of fish, applied to this species by Rondelet (1554)
Lota lota lacustris (Walbaum 1792) lacustrine (belonging to a lake), based on Thomas Pennant’s statement (1784) that it occurs in the “northerly lakes” of the Hudson Bay region, Canada (taken nearly verbatim from a 1773 paper by John Reinhold Forster)
Lota lota leptura (Hubbs & Schultz 1941) leptos, thin; oura, tail, referring to the “slender, long, and acute posterior end of the isocercal caudal region”
Lota lota maculosa (Lesueur 1817) spotted, referring to roundish white spots scattered across a reddish body
Molva Lesueur 1819 presumably tautonymous with Linnaeus 1758 (Lesueur did not explicitly link the genus with the species)
Molva dypterygia (Pennant 1784) dyas, two; pterygius, fin, referring to its two dorsal fins, the first one short and the second one long (~2/3 of body length)
Molva macrophthalma (Rafinesque 1810) macro-, large; ophthalmus, eye, described as having “big eyes protruding outwards [i.e., globular]” (translation)
Molva molva (Linnaeus 1758) ancient name for this or a similar species
Family GADIDAE Cods and Haddocks
11 genera · 27 species/subspecies
Arctogadus Dryagin 1932 arcto-, north, referring to type locality in northeastern Siberia and/or distribution in Arctic and North Atlantic and North Pacific waters; gadus, a cod or gadiform fish
Arctogadus glacialis (Peters 1874) icy or frozen, presumably referring to its type locality, Sabine Island, Greenland, and/or its distribution in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans [date often given as 1872]
Boreogadus Günther 1862 borealis, northern, proposed as a northern subgenus of Gadus, referring to distribution of Gadus fabricii (=B. saida) in Arctic seas and the North Pacific and North Atlantic
Boreogadus saida (Lepechin 1774) Russian name for this species
Eleginus Fischer 1813 Eleginus, a shoaling fish mentioned by Aristotle, probably referring to how E. nawaga forms large breeding shoals under the ice, during which it is caught in industrial fishing nets
Eleginus gracilis (Tilesius 1810) slender, allusion not explained, presumably referring to thinner body compared to E. nawaga
Eleginus nawaga (Walbaum 1792) Russian name for this species (sometimes spelled navaga)
Gadiculus Guichenot 1850 diminutive of Gadus, referring to its affinity with other gadoid fishes, particularly Gadus barbatus (=Trisopterus luscus) and G. (now Merluccius) merluccius
Gadiculus argenteus argenteus Guichenot 1850 silver, referring to its uniformly silver body
Gadiculus argenteus thori Schmidt 1913 “in memory” of Thor, the first Danish research ship specially equipped for scientific work on the oceans, on the cruises of which Schmidt was able study the postlarval development of both forms of this species
Gadus Linnaeus 1758 latinization of gados, ancient Greek for cod
Gadus chalcogrammus Pallas 1814 chalkos, copper; grammus, line, referring to two interrupted golden-brown longitudinal bands on sides
Gadus macrocephalus Tilesius 1810 macro-, large; cephalus, head, referring to its very large head (>1/3 TL) with a wide gaping mouth (“rictu oris amplissimo”)
Gadus morhua morhua Linnaeus 1758 morrhua, New Latin for cod
Gadus morhua callarias Linnaeus 1758 from the ancient Greek kallarias, used for a kind of cod
Gadus morhua kildinensis Derjugin 1920 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kildin Island, Barents Sea, Russia, type locality
Gadus morhua marisalbi Derjugin 1920 maris, sea; albus, white, referring to the White Sea of Russia, where it is endemic
Gadus ogac Richardson 1836 local name for this species in Greenland (also known as Owak)
Melanogrammus Gill 1862 melano-, black; grammus, line, referring to its black lateral line
Melanogrammus aeglefinus (Linnaeus 1758) apparently a latinization of “Egrefin” and “Eglefin,” its vernacular names in France and England, respectively, according to Pierre Belon, De aquatilibus (1553)
Merlangius Garsault 1764 a variation of Merlangus, perhaps a misprint [name dates to 1764 plate, not to text published in 1765]
Merlangius merlangus merlangus (Linnaeus 1758) etymology unknown, probably related to its French vernacular name, merlan
Merlangius merlangus euxinus (Nordmann 1840) from Pontus Euxinus, archaic name of Black Sea, where type locality (Balaclava, Crimea, Ukraine) is situated (also occurs in Sea of Azov, Sea of Marmara and Aegean Sea)
Microgadus Gill 1865 micro-, small, referring to small size of M. proximus (<15.25 cm), i.e., a small Gadus
Microgadus proximus (Girard 1854) near, allusion not explained; Jordan & Evermann (1898) state that name refers to its affinity with M. tomcod
Microgadus tomcod (Walbaum 1792) Tom Cod, its local name in 18th-century New York (USA), from where it was described
Micromesistius Gill 1863 micro-, small; mes-, middle; istios, sail, referring to its three dorsal fins, the middle one described by Gill as “short” (although to our eyes it is no smaller than the first, or anterior, dorsal fin)
Micromesistius australis australis Norman 1937 southern, referring to its distribution in the Southern Hemisphere (contrasted with M. poutassou from the Northern Hemisphere)
Micromesistius australis pallidus Inada & Nakamura 1975 pale, referring to body color when kept in formalin
Micromesistius poutassou (Risso 1827) presumably from gros poutassou, French name for this species
Pollachius Nilsson 1832 tautonymous with Gadus pollachius
Pollachius pollachius (Linnaeus 1758) apparently a latinization of its Anglo-Saxon common name, pollack, dating back to Willughby (1686)
Pollachius virens (Linnaeus 1758) green, referring to its greenish back (“dorso virescente”)
Trisopterus Rafinesque 1814 trissos, threefold; pterus, fin, referring to three dorsal fins and anal fins opposite each other (species have only two anal fins; Rafinesque may have been fooled by a drawing in Willughby [1686] that appears to show three anal fins)
Trisopterus capelanus (Lacepède 1800) apparently a latinization of capelan, French vernacular for this species dating back to Rondelet (1554)
Trisopterus esmarkii (Nilsson 1855) in honor of Laurent Esmark (1806-1884), Conservator of the Zoological Museum of the University of Christiana, who was the first to notice that this cod represented a separate species, an “equally excellent astute researcher, amiable and honorable man, and sincere friend” (translation) who made valuable contributions to Scandinavian ichthyology
Trisopterus luscus (Linnaeus 1758) a name coined by Willughby (1686), meaning one-eyed or half-blind, probably alluding to “blind,” a vernacular name in Cornwall, England, which, according to Francis Day (The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland, 1880), refers to a double layer of skin that partially or entirely crosses the front surface of its eye, with a “sort of hollow bag” between the layers that becomes “bal[l]oon-shaped” when a specimen is pulled from great depths; this “bag” takes on an “opaque or white sodden character” seen in both living and dead specimens
Trisopterus minutus (Linnaeus 1758) small, a name that traces to Willughby (1686), who called it Asellus mollis minor or Asellus omnium minimus and described it as the “smallest known of its kind” (translation); reaches up to 40 cm TL compared to most presumed congeners at the time (typically 70-200 cm TL)
Family RANICIPITIDAE Tadpole Cod
Raniceps Oken 1817 rana, frog; ceps, head, referring to its large, wide and depressed head, like that of a frog
Raniceps raninus (Linnaeus 1758) frog-like, referring to its large, wide and depressed head, like that of a frog
Family MERLUCCIIDAE Hakes
2 genera · 16 species/subspecies
Lyconodes Gilchrist 1922 –oides, having the form of: Lyconus, a related genus (now in its own family) from the South Atlantic
Lyconodes argenteus Gilchrist 1922 silvery, referring to “marked silvery sheen, especially on the abdominal region”
Merluccius Rafinesque 1810 presumably tautonymous with Gadus merluccius (although Rafinesque spelled the species name with one “c”); ancient name for hakes, derived from maris (sea) and lucius (pike), “sea pike”
Merluccius albidus (Mitchill 1818) whitish, referring to its “white and silvery complexion” [preoccupied by Gadus albidus Gmelin 1789 (=Phycis blennoides in Gadidae), but perhaps can be retained based on prevailing usage]
Merluccius australis (Hutton 1872) southern, referring to Cook Strait, New Zealand, type locality
Merluccius bilinearis (Mitchill 1814) bi-, two; linearis, lined, referring to its “dark and double” lateral line (i.e., visual lines formed by the top and bottom margins of the large scales along its prominent lateral line)
Merluccius capensis Castelnau 1861 –ensis, suffix denoting place: the Cape Colony (or Cape of Good Hope), referring to type locality in what is now South Africa
Merluccius gayi gayi (Guichenot 1848) in honor of Claude (Claudio in Spanish texts) Gay (1800-1873), one of the first naturalists to explore Chile (where this species occurs), and who edited volume in which description appeared
Merluccius gayi peruanus Ginsburg 1954 Peruvian, proposed as a Peruvian subspecies of the otherwise Chilean nominate form
Merluccius hubbsi Marini 1933 in honor of Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), “one of the most distinguished” (translation) American ichthyologists; Hubbs supplied type material from the University of Michigan’s Division of Fishes
Merluccius merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus 1758) ancient name for hakes, derived from maris (sea) and lucius (pike), “sea pike”
Merluccius merluccius smiridus Rafinesque 1810 latinization of smiriddu, local name for this hake along the coasts of Sicily, type locality
Merluccius paradoxus Franca 1960 strange or contrary to expectation, allusion not explained; perhaps referring to the existence of two nearly identical hakes, M. capensis and this species (proposed as a subspecies of capensis), with an overlapping distribution along the coast of southern Africa (it has since been discovered that M. paradoxus prefers deeper waters and M. capensis shallower waters on the continental shelf and slope; both are often harvested together)
Merluccius polli polli Cadenat 1950 in honor of Belgian ichthyologist Max Poll (1908-1991), who collected type
Merluccius polli cadenati Doutre 1960 in honor of ichthyologist Jean Cadenat (1908-1992), Director, Marine Biological Section of the Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (Gorée, Senegal), who studied the biology of Merluccius in Senegal and described the nominate subspecies, M. p. polli, in 1950
Merluccius polylepis Ginsburg 1954 poly, many; lepis, scale, having more scale rows along lateral line (182-186) compared to M. hubbsi (138-144)
Merluccius productus (Ayres 1855) drawn out, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its elongate, tapering body and/or to its head, “somewhat pointed anteriorly” (but it is no more “drawn out” than any other hake known at the time)
Merluccius senegalensis Cadenat 1950 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Dakar, Coast of Senegal, type locality
Family EUCLICHTHYIDAE Eucla Cods
Euclichthys McCulloch 1926 Eucla, referring to Great Australian Bight southwest of Eucla, Southern Australia, type locality; ichthys, fish
Euclichthys microdorsalis Last & Pogonoski 2020 micro-, small; dorsalis, dorsal, referring to relatively small first dorsal fin compared to that of its congeners
Euclichthys polynemus McCulloch 1926 poly, very; nema, thread, presumably referring to pelvic fins under head, each with four long, thread-like rays, the longest reaching the anus
Euclichthys robersti Last & Pogonoski 2020 in honor of Clive Roberts, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, for his “considerable” contribution to ichthyology, and who, with Chris Paulin, were the first to formally report on this fish in 1997
Family MURAENOLEPIDIDAE Eel Cods
2 genera · 8 species
Muraenolepis Günther 1880 muraena, Latin for moray eel, but used probably here as term for eels in general; lepis, scale, referring to body of M. marmorata covered with “epidermoid productions which are lanceolate, intersecting with each other at right angles, like those of a fresh-water eel” (first half of name could also allude to their general eel-like appearance, with low dorsal and anal fins that merge and are continuous with caudal fin)
Muraenolepis andriashevi Balushkin & Prirodina 2005 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009), who at the time was about to reach his 95th birthday: “The authors have had the privilege to work with this remarkable scientist for many years, and he has proven to be a benevolent and wise guide, and an intelligent and widely-educated person. His fundamental scientific works and, to no smaller degree, his dedication to science and sense of responsibility will be an example to all researchers whose creative interests are related to the study of ichthyology and marine biogeography for years to come” (translation)
Muraenolepis evseenkoi Balushkin & Prirodina 2010 in honor of Sergei Afanas’evich Evseenko (1949-2020), for his considerable contribution to the study of Antarctic fishes
Muraenolepis kuderskii Balushkin & Prirodina 2007 in honor of Leonid Aleksandrovich Kuderski (or Kudersky), “famous ichthyologist, organizer of Russian fishery science, and an outstanding expert of the freshwater fishes of Russia” (translation), on the occasion of his 80th birthday
Muraenolepis marmorata Günther 1880 marbled, referring to its reddish body, “finely marbled with brown”
Muraenolepis orangiensis Vaillant 1888 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Orange Bay, Strait of Magellan, type locality
Muraenolepis pacifica Prirodina & Balushkin 2007 referring to its occurrence in the Pacific Ocean (Antarctic Rise at Hercules and Umanov banks; also occurs in Southern Ocean)
Muraenolepis trunovi Balushkin & Prirodina 2006 in honor of ichthyologist Ivan Andreevich Trunov (1936-2005), Atlantic Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, “an enthusiastic and indefatigable investigator of the seas of the World Ocean …, a great expert in the marine ichthyofauna, and a remarkable fish collector … who made a substantial contribution to investigations of the species richness and to the taxonomy of many fish groups” and “artfully combined his fundamental investigations with the applied tasks of scouting and the commercial development of marine fish stock” (translation)
Notomuraenobathys Balushkin & Prirodina 2010 notos, southern; muraeno, abridgement of Muraenolepis; bathys, deep, referring to the distribution of M. microcephalus at bathyal depths of high latitudes of the Southern Ocean
Notomuraenobathys microcephalus (Norman 1937) micro-, small; cephalus, head, referring to smaller head compared to Muraenolepis orangiensis, its presumed congener at the time
Family MELANONIDAE Pelagic Cods
Melanonus Günther 1878 melanos, black, referring to entirely deep-black body of M. gracilis; onus, presumably a latinization of onos, a name dating to Aristotle, originally referring to Phycis blennoides (Gadidae) but often applied to Merluccius merluccius (Merlucciidae) and hence used several times by Günther as a suffix for a hake-like fish
Melanonus gracilis Günther 1878 thin or slender, presumably referring to its “rather compressed” head and body and/or how body terminates into a “long tapering” tail without a caudal fin
Melanonus zugmayeri Norman 1930 in honor of ichthyologist Erich Zugmayer (1879-1938), who reported this species as M. gracilis in 1911
Family TRACHYRINCIDAE Armored Grenadiers
4 genera · 9 species
Idiolophorhynchus Sazonov 1981 idio-, special; lophus, crest or ridge; rhynchus, snout, referring to “distinct crests on the head”
Idiolophorhynchus andriashevi Sazonov 1981 in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009)
Macrouroides Smith & Radcliffe 1912 –oides, having the form of: described as a “Degenerate” macrourid
Macrouroides inflaticeps Smith & Radcliffe 1912 inflatus, puffed up or swollen; ceps, head, referring to “very large, ellipsoidal” head
Squalogadus Gilbert & Hubbs 1916 squalus, shark, allusion not explained, possibly referring to prickly scales that resemble denticulate skin surfaces of most sharks (Tomio Iwamoto, pers. comm.); gadus, a cod or gadiform fish
Squalogadus modificatus Gilbert & Hubbs 1916 modified, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its huge bulbous head, which appears to be an extreme example of morphological change (i.e., modified) from a basically cod-like body plan (Tomio Iwamoto, pers. comm.)
Trachyrincus Giorna 1809 trachys, rough, rhynchus, snout, referring to rough scales, with a median serrated ridge, on head and snout of T. scabrus
Trachyrincus aphyodes McMillan 1995 whitish, referring to its grayish white body and reflecting its common name, “White Rattail”
Trachyrincus helolepis Gilbert 1892 helo-, tubercle; lepis, scale, referring to “tubercle-like” projection at center of scales
Trachyrincus longirostris (Günther 1878) longus, long; rostris, snout, referring to how snout is “produced into a long flattened process, pointed anteriorly, and not quite twice as long as the large eye”
Trachyrincus murrayi Günther 1887 in honor of John Murray (1841-1914, later the founder of modern oceanography), who discovered this species during the cruise of the Knight Errant in the Faröe Channel, North Atlantic (1880)
Trachyrincus scabrus (Rafinesque 1810) rough, referring to its spinigerous scales
Trachyrincus villegai Pequeño 1971 in honor of marine biologist Luis Villegas, Department of Fisheries, University of Valparaiso (Peru), who examined two specimens of this species and told Pequeño they were unfamiliar
Family MORIDAE Deepsea Cods
19 genera · 114 species/subspecies
Antimora Günther 1878 anti-, opposed to or like, referring to how “imperfect division” of anal fin “approaches” the genus Mora”
Antimora microlepis Bean 1890 micro-, small; lepis, scale, described as “very small,” ~130 along lateral line
Antimora rostrata (Günther 1878) beaked, referring to its “peculiarly produced snout, which forms a short, triangular, pointed lamina, sharply keeled on the sides, and overreaching the cleft of the mouth”
Auchenoceros Günther 1889 auchenos, nape or neck; ceros, horn, presumably referring to anterior dorsal fin “reduced to a single long ray on the neck”
Auchenoceros punctatus (Hutton 1873) spotted, referring to “minute black dots” on back, tail and base of pectoral fins
Eeyorius Paulin 1986 named for Eeyore, “a literary character who lived in damp places” (no other explanation given); presumably this is Eeyore, the gloomy stuffed donkey in the “Winnie-the-Pooh” books, but as a forest resident his supposed connection to “damp places” is not evident to us
Eeyorius hutchinsi Paulin 1986 in honor of ichthyologist J. Barry Hutchins (b. 1946), Western Australian Museum, who collected type
Eretmophorus Giglioli 1889 eretmon, oar; phoros, carrier, referring to median three ventral-fin rays, which are “greatly elongated and furnished at the end with a beautiful lanceolate paddlelike blade” [italics in original]
Eretmophorus kleinenbergi Giglioli 1889 in honor of Nicolaus Kleinenberg (1842-1897), director of the Zoological Institute of Messina University, who provided three specimens and “many other ichthyological rarities”
Gadella Lowe 1843 etymology not explained, presumably a diminutive of gadus, cod, possibly referring to small size (~10 cm) of the single specimen of G. gracilis (=maraldi) that Lowe examined
Gadella brocca Paulin & Roberts 1997 broccus, teeth, referring to its prominent dentition
Gadella dancoheni Sazonov & Shcherbachev 2000 in honor of Daniel M. Cohen (1930-2017), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, friend and colleague, for his important and well-known papers on the family; in addition, Cohen took part on the cruise during which type was collected
Gadella edelmanni (Brauer 1906) patronym not identified, possibly in honor of J. Edelmann, a machinist on the Valdivia Expedition (1888-1899) that collected type
Gadella filifer (Garman 1899) filum, thread; fero, to bear, referring to third ray of first dorsal fin, “prolonged in a filament, longer than the head”
Gadella imberbis (Vaillant 1888) beardless, referring to absence of mental barbel (a diagnostic feature of the genus)
Gadella jordani (Böhlke & Mead 1951) in honor of ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1851-1931), former President and Chancellor of Stanford University, where type is housed, and a student of gadiform fishes from Japan (where this one is from)
Gadella macrura Sazonov & Shcherbachev 2000 macro-, long; oura, tail, referring to elongated tail common to other Indian Ocean species of the genus (dancoheni, edelmanni, jordani)
Gadella maraldi (Risso 1810) in honor of Giacomo F. Maraldi (1665-1729, also known as Jacques Maraldi), French-Italian astronomer and mathematician [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Gadella molokaiensis Paulin 1989 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Island of Molokai, Hawaiian Islands, where several paratype specimens were collected
Gadella obscurus (Parin 1984) dark, referring to its “overall shade coloration” (translation)
Gadella svetovidovi Trunov 1992 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Anatolii Nikolaevich Svetovidov (1903-1985), for “great contributions” (translation) to the study of gadiform fishes
Gadella thysthlon Long & McCosker 1998 sacred torch used to ignite ceremonial fires during festivities that celebrated Bacchus (Roman) or Dionysus (Greek), the god of wine and revelry, referring to bright orange-red fins emanating from a dark body, resembling a torch
Guttigadus Taki 1953 gutti-, etymology not explained, perhaps guttiform, shaped like a drop, referring to anterior body shape of G. nana; gadus, a cod or gadiform fish
Guttigadus globiceps (Gilchrist 1906) globus, globe or sphere; cephalus, head, referring to its globular head
Guttigadus globosus (Paulin 1986) spherical, referring to its very large globular head
Guttigadus kongi (Markle & Meléndez C. 1988) in honor of ichthyologist Ismael Kong Urbina (1942-2008), University of Antofagasta (Chile), collector of the type material and “ardent friend” of Chilean ichthyology
Guttigadus latifrons (Holt & Byrne 1908) latus, broad; frons, forehead, presumably referring to its shape (“rather massive anteriorly”) and/or “broad and somewhat depressed” head
Guttigadus nana (Taki 1953) dwarf, referring to its small size, described at 74 mm TL
Guttigadus nudicephalus (Trunov 1990) nudus, bare or naked; cephalus, head, referring to head “practically devoid” (translation) of scales
Guttigadus nudirostris (Trunov 1990) nudus, bare or naked; rostris, snout, referring to snout “practically devoid” (translation) of scales
Guttigadus squamirostris (Trunov 1990) squamis, scale; rostris, snout, referring to presence of scales on snout (compared to G. nudirostris)
Halargyreus Günther 1862 etymology not explained, perhaps halos, of the sea, referring to deep-sea habitat; argyreus, silvery, referring to its color (“delicate red on silvery ground”)
Halargyreus johnsonii Günther 1862 in honor of English naturalist James Yate Johnson (1820-1900), who presented type
Laemonema Günther 1862 laemo-, throat; nema, thread, presumably referring to “very slender” chin barbel of L. yarrellii and/or L. robustum
Laemonema barbatulum Goode & Bean 1883 diminutive of barbata, barbled, referring to small barbel, “half as long as the diameter of the eye”
Laemonema compressicauda (Gilchrist 1903) compressa, compressed; cauda, tail, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its slender caudal fin, a character not mentioned but clearly evident in the illustration that accompanied the description
Laemonema filodorsale Okamura 1982 filum, thread; dorsalis, dorsal, referring to first dorsal-fin ray prolonged as a filament
Laemonema goodebeanorum Meléndez C. & Markle 1997 –orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of George Brown Goode (1851-1896) and Tarleton H. Bean (1846-1916), for their 1896 monograph Oceanic Ichthyology
Laemonema gracillipes Garman 1899 gracilis, thin or slender; pes, foot, referring to “slender” ventral fins
Laemonema laureysi Poll 1953 in honor of J. Laureys, commander of the expedition trawler from which type was collected
Laemonema longipes Schmidt 1938 longus, long; pes, foot, referring to “very long” ventral-fin rays, “cirrus-like, reaching by their tips nearly to middle of body length”
Laemonema macronema Meléndez C. & Markle 1997 macro-, long; [c]nemo-, legging, referring to long “leggings or fin rays,” specifically the pelvic-fin rays
Laemonema melanurum Goode & Bean 1896 melanos, black; oura, tailed, referring to “dark blotch occupying almost the whole of the caudal, leaving a margin of whitish around it”
Laemonema modestum (Franz 1910) modest or unassuming, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its brown color and/or short dorsal-fin filament compared to Lepidion inosimae, its presumed congener at the time
Laemonema rhodochir Gilbert 1905 rhodo-, rosy; cheiros, hand, referring to orange-red pectoral fins
Laemonema robustum Johnson 1862 robust or full-bodied, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to anterior part of body (“thick before, much depressed behind”)
Laemonema verecundum (Jordan & Cramer 1897) according to Jordan & Evermann (1898): modest, allusion not explained, possibly referring to non-filamentous (and therefore modest) first dorsal fin compared to filamentous first dorsal fin of Lepidion lepidion, its presumed congener at the time
Laemonema yarrellii (Lowe 1838) in honor of English zoologist William Yarrell (1784-1856), expressing both a “public tribute to one of our ablest ichthyologists” and “private acknowledgements to the friend who first drew my attention to this very distinct and pretty species”
Laemonema yuvto Parin & Sazonov 1990 abbreviation based on the vernacular term used by Russian fishermen for the southeastern Pacific Ocean (where this species occurs), Yugo-Vostochnaya chast Tikhogo Okeana
Lepidion Swainson 1838 tautonymous with Gadus lepidion (which Swainson unnecessarily renamed as L. rissoii and, a year later, L. rubescens)
Lepidion capensis Gilchrist 1922 –ensis, suffix denoting place: presumably referring to its occurrence off the Eastern Cape of South Africa
Lepidion ensiferus (Günther 1887) ensis, sword; fero-, to bear, presumably referring to long dorsal-fin ray (at least in males), “strongly compressed, broad, shaped like a blade of grass”
Lepidion guentheri (Giglioli 1880) in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830-1914), who reported this species as Haloporphyrus (=Lepidion) lepidion in 1862
Lepidion inosimae (Günther 1887) of Inosima, Japan, type locality (but occurs antitropically in western and central Pacific)
Lepidion lepidion (Risso 1810) diminutive of lepis, scale, referring to its “small smooth scales, strongly adherent to the skin” (translation)
Lepidion microcephalus Cowper 1956 micro-, small; cephalus, head, referring to its “comparatively small” head relative to congeners
Lepidion natalensis Gilchrist 1922 –ensis, suffix denoting place: off the Natal coast (now called KwaZulu-Natal coast) of South Africa, type locality
Lepidion schmidti Svetovidov 1936 in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Petr Yulievich Schmidt (1872-1949), who reported this cod as L. inosimae in 1931
Lotella Kaup 1858 diminutive of Lota, original genus of type species, L. phycis (which Kaup unnecessarily renamed as L. schlegeli)
Lotella fernandeziana Rendahl 1921 –iana, belonging to: Juan Fernández Islands, where it is endemic
Lotella phycis (Temminck & Schlegel 1846) etymology not explained, perhaps referring to general resemblance to Phycis phycis (Gadidae), or perhaps used as a general term for a cod or cod-like fish
Lotella rhacina (Forster 1801) Rhacinus, ancient name for a small black fish, dating to “Halieutica” (“On Fishing”), a fragmentary didactic poem spuriously attributed to Ovid, circa AD 17; according to Forster’s full description (posthumously published in 1844), it seemed a fitting name for what he described as a uniform sooty black fish (actually, the fish is brown; interestingly, one Latin-English dictionary we consulted defined Rhacinus as a “fish of brown colour”)
Lotella tosaensis (Kamohara 1936) –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Tosa Province, Shikoku, Japan, type locality
Mora Risso 1827 moro, vernacular name for this species in France and Italy (see species); Risso changed spelling to “mora” apparently to agree with type species, Mora mediterranea, an unnecessary replacement name for M. moro
Mora moro (Risso 1810) vernacular name for this species in France and Italy, presumably derived from morrhua, New Latin for cod
Notophycis Sazonov 2001 notos, southern, referring to the distribution of N. marginata in the Southern Hemisphere; Phycis, a generic name from Gadidae, here used as a general term for a cod or cod-like fish
Notophycis fitchi Sazonov 2001 in honor of the late John E. Fitch (1918-1982), marine and fisheries biologist, California Department of Fish and Game, the senior author of a 1972 study on the structure of otoliths in N. marginata
Notophycis marginata marginata (Günther 1878) on the edge or margin, presumably referring to “outer series of distinctly larger teeth” on jaws
Notophycis marginata tasmaniensis Sazonov 2001 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Tasman Sea, off New South Wales and Tasmania, where it occurs
Notophycis marginata trunovi Sazonov 2001 in honor of ichthyologist Ivan Andreevich Trunov (1936-2005), Atlantic Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, who first noted the existence of this form in 1992, and who studied morid and other bathyal fishes of the southeastern Atlantic
Physiculus Kaup 1858 etymology not explained, presumably a diminutive of Phycis, a generic name from Gadidae, possibly used as a general term for a cod or cod-like fish
Physiculus andriashevi Shcherbachev 1993 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009)
Physiculus argyropastus Alcock 1894 arguros, silver; pastos, sprinkled, presumably referring to color in spirits: “light pinkish brown, with a silvery sheen”
Physiculus beckeri Shcherbachev 1993 in honor of ichthyologist Vladimir Eduardovich Becker (1925-1995), Institute of Oceanology (Moscow)
Physiculus bertelseni Shcherbachev 1993 in honor of Danish ichthyologist Erik Bertelsen (1912-1993), for contributions to the study of deep-sea fishes
Physiculus caboverdensis González, Triay-Portella & Biscoito 2018 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cape Verde Islands, type locality
Physiculus capensis Gilchrist 1922 –ensis, suffix denoting place: presumably referring to its occurrence off the Eastern Cape of South Africa
Physiculus chigodarana Paulin 1989 Japanese word meaning “small codfish” (known from Kagashima, Japan)
Physiculus cirm Carvalho-Filho & Pires 2019 named for CIRM, Comissão Interministerial para os Recursos do Mar, which, since the middle 1990s, has been the “main institution responsible for financing research and keeping a local research station,” and which made the authors’ study possible
Physiculus coheni Paulin 1989 in honor of Daniel M. Cohen (1930-2017), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, for contributions to the knowledge of morid fishes
Physiculus cyanostrophus Anderson & Tweddle 2002 cyano, dark blue; strophus, belt or swaddling band, referring to distinctive blue pigment encircling body
Physiculus cynodon Sazonov 1986 cyno-, dog; odon, tooth, referring to uniserial fanged teeth in lower jaw
Physiculus dalwigki Kaup 1858 in honor of German statesman and “dear friend” Reinhard von Dalwigk (1802-1888), as a “small sign of my gratitude” (translations)
Physiculus fedorovi Shcherbachev 1993 in honor of Vladimir Vladimirovich Fedorov (b. 1939), Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg, for contributions to the study of deep-sea fishes, particularly those of the Pacific
Physiculus fulvus Bean 1884 brownish yellow, referring to “light yellowish-brown” general coloration (with undersurface of head, abdomen, margins of dorsal and anal fins, lips, and pectoral-fin axis a “very dark brown”)
Physiculus grinnelli Jordan & Jordan 1922 in honor of lepidopterist Fordyce Grinnell, Jr. (1882-1943), a former student of David Starr Jordan, who provided “efficient assistance” by visiting Honolulu fish markets daily
Physiculus helenaensis Paulin 1989 –ensis, suffix denoting place: St. Helena, a volcanic tropical island in the South Atlantic, where it is endemic
Physiculus hexacytus Parin 1984 hex, six; acytus, cavity, referring to presence of six pyloric caeca, an important diagnostic character
Physiculus huloti Poll 1953 in honor of André Hulot, Institut National pour l’Etude Agronomique du Congo, “who successfully took on ichthyological observations during second half of expedition” from which type was collected (translation)
Physiculus indicus Babu, Ho, Mariyambi & Sureshkumar 2022 Indian, described from Lakshadweep (Laccadives), east coast of Kavaratti Island, India
Physiculus japonicus Hilgendorf 1879 Japanese, referring to type locality off Yokohama, Japan (also occurs off Taiwan and Hawaiian Islands)
Physiculus karrerae Paulin 1989 in honor of German ichthyologist Christine Karrer, for her contributions to the knowledge of morid fishes
Physiculus kaupi Poey 1865 in honor of naturalist Johann Jacob Kaup (1803-1873), who proposed the genus Physiculus in 1858
Physiculus lakshadeepa Babu, Ho, Mariyambi & Sureshkumar 2022 lakshadeep, Malayalam word meaning “one lakh [hundred thousand] islands,” source of the name Lakshadweep (Laccadives), east coast of Kavaratti Island, India, type locality; –a, Malayalam suffix for “of” or “from”
Physiculus longicavis Parin 1984 longus, long; cavus, cavity, referring to great length of its abdominal cavity
Physiculus longifilis Weber 1913 longus, long; filum, thread, presumably referring to extended ray of first dorsal fin
Physiculus luminosa Paulin 1983 full of light, referring to light organ on belly [probably should be spelled luminosus]
Physiculus marisrubri Brüss 1986 maris, sea; rubrus, red, referring to the Red Sea, where it is endemic
Physiculus maslowskii Trunov 1991 in memory of Alexandr Davidovich Maslovskiy (1897-1969), Trunov’s first teacher, an Associate Professor in the Department of Hydrobiology, Khar’kov State University
Physiculus megastomus Tang 2021 mega-, large; stomus, mouthed, referring to large mouth, with posterior end of maxilla extending well behind level of the posterior margin of the orbit
Physiculus microbarbata Paulin & Matallanas 1990 micro-, small, barbata, bearded, referring to small barbel, <¼ diameter of orbit [probably should be spelled microbarbatus]
Physiculus natalensis Gilchrist 1922 –ensis, suffix denoting place: off the Natal coast (now called KwaZulu-Natal coast) of South Africa, type locality
Physiculus nematopus Gilbert 1890 nemato-, thread; pous, foot, referring to filamentous outer two rays of ventral fins
Physiculus nielseni Shcherbachev 1993 in honor of Danish ichthyologist Jørgen G. Nielsen (b. 1932), Zoological Museum of Copenaghen, for his major contributions to the study of deepwater fishes of the World Ocean
Physiculus nigrescens Smith & Radcliffe 1912 blackish, referring to “brownish black” ground color and/or “dusky” vertical fins
Physiculus nigripinnis Okamura 1982 niger, black; pinnis, fin, referring to its black fins
Physiculus normani Brüss 1986 in honor of ichthyologist J. R. (John Roxborough) Norman (1898-1944), British Museum (Natural History), who first described this cod but reported it as P. peregrinus in 1939
Physiculus parini Paulin 1991 in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences, for his contributions to the study of marine fishes of the southeastern Pacific Ocean
Physiculus peregrinus (Günther 1872) foreign, exotic or strange, “the first instance of a true Gadoid being found in the East-Indian Archipelago”
Physiculus rastrelliger Gilbert 1890 rastrell, diminutive of rastrum, rake; –iger, to bear, having small (i.e., slender and numerous) gill rakers
Physiculus rhodopinnis Okamura 1982 rhodo-, rosy; pinnis, fin, referring to its “deep red” fins (but basal half of pectoral and dorsal fins black)
Physiculus roseus Alcock 1891 rosy, referring to its “uniform rose-red” coloration in life
Physiculus sazonovi Paulin 1991 in honor of Yuri (also spelled Yuriya) I. Sazonov (1950-2002), curator of ichthyology, Zoological Museum, Moscow State University, who established that this species is distinct from P. parini
Physiculus sterops Paulin 1989 Greek for flashing, referring to light organ on belly
Physiculus talarae Hildebrand & Barton 1949 of Talara, Peru, type locality (but occurs northward in the eastern Pacific to Baja California)
Physiculus therosideros Paulin 1987 theros, summer; sideros, iron, named for the vessel Iron Summer, which conducted a deepwater survey for Queensland Fisheries Research (1982-1983) and collected specimens of this species
Physiculus yoshidae Okamura 1982 in honor of Miss Kiyoko Yoshida, who helped Okamura prepare the book in which this species was described
Pseudophycis Günther 1862 pseudo-, false, presumably referring to similarity with and/or close relationship to Phycis (both placed in the family Gadidae at the time)
Pseudophycis bachus Forster 1801 Bloch & Schneider’s misspelling of Forster’s manuscript name, bacchus, named for Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, referring to wine-red color of body and fins shortly after capture (and lost soon after death)
Pseudophycis barbata Günther 1863 bearded, probably referring to chin barbel
Pseudophycis breviuscula (Richardson 1846) rather short, described as a “small ling,” reaching nearly 17.75 cm
Pseudophycis palmata (Klunzinger 1872) palmate, allusion not explained nor evident
Pterophycis Ho 2019 ptero-, fin, referring to diagnostic large pelvic fin; Phycis, a generic name from Gadidae, used as a general term for a cod or cod-like fish
Pterophycis spatium Ho 2019 Latin for distance, referring to clear gape between anus and genital papilla, unique in the family
Rhynchogadus Tortonese 1948 rhynchus, snout, referring to upwardly arching snout; gadus, a cod or gadiform fish [replacement name for Hypsirhynchus Facciolà 1884, preoccupied by Hypsirhynchus Günther 1858 in Reptilia]
Rhynchogadus hepaticus (Facciolà 1884) of the liver, referring to its “unusually large” (translation) liver
Salilota Günther 1887 sale, road, referring to how S. australis “forms a passage to Lota [Gadidae], from which it differs by an entirely different form of the head”
Salilota australis (Günther 1878) southern, referring to its occurrence in the Strait of Magellan (southern Chile)
Svetovidovia Cohen 1973 –ia, belonging to: eponym not identified but clearly in honor of Russian ichthyologist of Anatolii Nikolaevich Svetovidov (1903-1985), who published several papers on gadiform fishes
Svetovidovia lucullus (Jensen 1953) Lucullus (118-57/56 BC), a Roman consul and general famous for his wealth, luxury and banquets, allusion not explained nor evident [it is interesting to note that Jensen’s proposed (but unavailable) generic name for this species, is also taken from the name of a Roman, Gargilius (d. 260 AD), a writer on horticulture, botany and medicine]
Tripterophycis Boulenger 1902 tri-, three and ptero-, fin, referring to its three dorsal fins, “the first very small and on the nape, the second short and deep, behind the vertical of the vent, the third elongate and low, widely separated from the second and nearly reaching the caudal”; Phycis, presumed to occupy an “isolated position” among phycine fishes
Tripterophycis gilchristi Boulenger 1902 in honor of a Scottish-born South African ichthyologist John Dow Fisher Gilchrist (1866-1926), who discovered this species but gave Boulenger the “pleasure” of describing it
Tripterophycis svetovidovi Sazonov & Shcherbachev 1986 in honor of the late Anatolii Nikolaevich Svetovidov (1903-1985), who first confirmed the validity of the family Moridae and “made a great impact to its study” (translation)
Family MACRURONIDAE Southern Hakes
Macruronus Günther 1873 etymology not explained, presumably macruro-, reflecting original placement of M. novaezelandiae in the macrourid genus Coryphaenoides; onus, presumably a latinization of onos, a name dating to Aristotle, originally referring to Phycis blennoides (Gadidae) but often applied to Merluccius merluccius (Merlucciidae) and hence used several times by Günther as a suffix for a hake-like fish
Macruronus maderensis Maul 1951 –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Madeira, eastern Atlantic, type locality
Macruronus novaezelandiae novaezelandiae (Hector 1871) of New Zealand, referring to type locality off Ward Island, Port Nicholson
Macruronus novaezelandiae magellanicus Lönnberg 1907 referring to Magellan Region of Chile and Argentina (i.e., region around Strait of Magellan), where it occurs
Family LYCONIDAE Atlantic Hakes
Lyconus Günther 1887 wolf-like, presumably referring to two “canine-like” teeth on upper jaw and single “canine-like” tooth on each side of vomer of L. pinnatus; onus, presumably a latinization of onos, a name dating to Aristotle, originally referring to Phycis blennoides (Gadidae) but often applied to Merluccius merluccius (Merlucciidae) and hence used several times by Günther as a suffix for a hake-like fish
Lyconus brachycolus Holt & Byrne 1906 brachys, short; colus, limb, arm or leg, referring to shorter pectoral fins compared to L. pinnatus
Lyconus pinnatus Günther 1887 winged, presumably referring to “exceedingly elongate” pectoral fins, their middle rays extending far beyond the vent
Family BATHYGADIDAE Codhead Rattails
2 genera · 27 species
Bathygadus Günther 1878 bathys, deep, referring to deep-sea habitat of B. cottoides (caught at 950-1280 m); gadus, a cod or gadiform fish
Bathygadus antrodes (Jordan & Starks 1904) full of cavities, referring to “spongy” head with “wide mucous canals and fragile crests”
Bathygadus bowersi (Gilbert 1905) in honor of politician George M. Bowers (1863-1925), head of the United States Fish Commission, whose fisheries steamer Albatross collected type
Bathygadus cottoides Günther 1878 –oides, having the form of: Cottus, sculpin, presumably referring to sculpin-like combination of big head and wide mouth
Bathygadus dubiosus Weber 1913 doubtful or uncertain, described from a poorly preserved specimen that appears closely related to B. bowersi but differs in one character: the extension of the pectoral, ventral and possibly dorsal fins
Bathygadus entomelas Gilbert & Hubbs 1920 entos, within; melas, black, referring to completely black branchial cavity
Bathygadus favosus Goode & Bean 1886 according to Goode & Bean (1896): cavernous, from favus, a honeycomb, referring to cavities in skull
Bathygadus furvescens Alcock 1894 growing dark, referring to its “warm dusky brown” coloration with “blackish” vertical fins, black paired fins, and black gill membranes, mouth and peritoneum
Bathygadus garretti Gilbert & Hubbs 1916 in honor of the late Lieut. Commander LeRoy Mason Garrett (1857-1906), U.S. Navy, commander of the fisheries steamer Albatross, from which type was collected, for his contributions to the success of an 1906 expedition to the Northwest Pacific; he was lost overboard during a storm on the return voyage from Japan
Bathygadus macrops Goode & Bean 1885 macro-, large; ops, eye, described at 20 mm in diameter, contained five times in length of head, twice as long as the eye of Gadomus longifilis, its presumed congener at the time
Bathygadus melanobranchus Vaillant 1888 melano-, black; branchos, gill, referring to black branchial cavity and interior of mouth
Bathygadus micronema (Gilbert 1905) micro-, small; nema, thread, referring to “minute” mandibular barbel
Bathygadus nipponicus (Jordan & Gilbert 1904) –ica, belonging to: Nippon, or Japan, where type locality, Suruga Bay, is situated
Bathygadus spongiceps Gilbert & Hubbs 1920 spongia, sponge; ceps, head, referring to the “spongy nature” of its head
Bathygadus sulcatus (Smith & Radcliffe 1912) furrowed or grooved, presumably referring to small coracoid foramen (opening), “situated near the edge of the hypercoracoid, a shallow fossa [groove] extending backward toward center of bone”
Gadomus Regan 1903 gadus, a cod or gadiform fish; omus, shoulder, presumably referring to perforate scapula (shoulder blade) of G. longifilis
Gadomus aoteanus McCann & McKnight 1980 –anus, belonging to: Aotearoa, “land of the long white cloud,” Maori name for New Zealand, type locality (also occurs off Australia)
Gadomus arcuatus (Goode & Bean 1886) with a curved or arched profile, referring to its “gibbous” back, “the dorsal outline rising rapidly from the interorbital region to the origin of the first dorsal, whence it descends gradually to the end of the tail”
Gadomus capensis (Gilchrist & von Bonde 1924) –ensis, suffix denoting place: the Cape, presumably referring to type locality off Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
Gadomus colletti Jordan & Gilbert 1904 in honor of Norwegian zoologist Robert Collett (1842-1913), University of Christiana
Gadomus denticulatus Gilbert & Hubbs 1920 denticulated, i.e., finely toothed, referring to teeth “so excessively minute and crowded as to form an even shagreen-like surface, on which the individual teeth cannot be distinguished by the unaided eye”
Gadomus dispar (Vaillant 1888) dissimilar, referring to confusion with G. longifilis at time of capture (but branchial cavity is not as black)
Gadomus filamentosus (Smith & Radcliffe 1912) filamentous, presumably referring to “filiform” second dorsal-fin spine and/or “filiform” pectoral- and ventral-fin rays
Gadomus introniger Gilbert & Hubbs 1920 intro-, inside or within; niger, black, referring to “wholly dark” buccal and branchial cavities
Gadomus longifilis (Goode & Bean 1885) longus, long; filum, thread, referring to extended dorsal-, pectoral- and ventral-fin rays
Gadomus magnifilis Gilbert & Hubbs 1920 magnus, great; filum, thread, referring to long dorsal- and ventral-fin filaments
Gadomus melanopterus Gilbert 1905 melanos, black; pterus, fin, referring to “jet-black” base and axil of pectoral fins
Gadomus multifilis (Günther 1887) multi-, many; filis, thread, referring to second dorsal-, pectoral- and ventral-fin rays “produced into very long filaments”
Gadomus pepperi Iwamoto & Williams 1999 in honor of Roger Pepper, fishing master of FRV [Fisheries Research Vessel] Southern Surveyor and FRV Soela, for his contributions to many scientific fishing expeditions, including those that provided much of the material for the authors’ study of the macrouroid fishes of western Australia
Family STEINDACHNERIIDAE Luminous Hake
Steindachneria Goode & Bean 1888 ia-, belonging to: Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), Custos [Keeper or Custodian] of the Imperial Zoological Museum of Vienna
Steindachneria argentea Goode & Bean 1896 silvery, referring to its base coloration (upper parts light brown, belly purplish, inside of mouth dark)