Updated 31 March 2025
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Subfamily IPNOPINAE Gill1884
Bathymicrops Hjort & Koefoed 1912 bathýs (Gr. βαθύς), deep, presumably referring to habitat of B. regis, collected at 5000 m; micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and ṓps (Gr. ὦψ), eye, probably referring to its “vestigeal” [sic] and “inconsiderable” eyes (per Koefoed 1927)
Bathymicrops belyaninae Nielsen & Merrett 1992 in honor of Tania Belyanina, colleague and former shipmate, for “kindly” providing her illustrations of larval Bathymicrops
Bathymicrops brevianalis Nielsen 1966 brevis (L.), short; analis, anal (L.), referring to 9–10 anal-fin rays, compared with 12–15 on B. regis
Bathymicrops multispinis Nielsen & Merrett 1992 multi– (L.), many; spinus (L.), spine, referring to its more numerous gill rakers compared with congeners
Bathymicrops regis Hjort & Koefoed 1912 genitive of rex (L.), king, allusion not explained nor evident
Bathypterois Günther 1878 bathýs (Gr. βαθύς), deep, referring to their deep-sea habitat; Pterois (Scorpaenidae), the lionfishes, another genus with long pectoral-fin filaments, i.e., a deep-sea Pterois
Subgenus Bathypterois
Bathypterois atricolor Alcock 1896 ater (L.), black, referring to uniform black coloration (except for pectoral-fin filaments)
Bathypterois dubius Vaillant 1888 Latin for doubtful or uncertain, reflecting Vaillant’s provisional belief that this species is distinct from B. longipes
Bathypterois longifilis Günther 1878 longus (L.), long; filis (scientific Neo-Latin), thread-like or filiform, referring to uppermost pectoral-fin ray, longer than the fish itself
Bathypterois mediterraneus Bauchot 1962 named for the Mediterranean Sea, where it is endemic
Bathypterois parini Shcherbachev & Sulak 1988 in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932–2012), Russian Academy of Sciences
Bathypterois pectinatus Mead 1959 Latin for raked or combed, referring to “strongly pectinate” scales beneath proximal part of pectoral fin
Bathypterois perceptor Sulak 1977 Latin for one who perceives, referring to the sensory function of the “elaborate” pectoral fins of the genus, which are “undoubtedly employed as sensory devices to detect the presence of its planktonic prey”
Bathypterois phenax Parr 1928 phénax (Gr. φέναξ), cheat or imposter, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its proposal as a “possible” subspecies of B. atricolor, in which differences between the forms could be regarded as “individual variations only”
Bathypterois quadrifilis Günther 1878 quadri-, from quattuor (L.), four; filis (scientific Neo-Latin), thread-like or filiform, presumably referring to prolonged or filiform rays, one each on pelvic and caudal fins and two on pectoral fin
Bathypterois ventralis Garman 1899 Latin for of the belly, presumably referring to how individuals “vary much in the length of the ventrals; on some they reach but little if any behind the anal, on others considerably behind the base of the caudal”
Bathypterois (subgenus Bathycygnus) Sulak 1977 bathýs (Gr. βαθύς), deep, referring to their deep-sea habitat; cygnus (L.), swan, referring to the manner in which some tripodfishes hold their sensory pectoral fins (erect, spread, curved and aimed forward toward the head), similar to the wing posture of a displaying male swan (Ken Sulak, pers. comm.)
Bathypterois andriashevi Sulak & Shcherbachev 1988 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev (1910–2009), for his “significant” contributions to the knowledge of marine fishes, including deep-sea species
Bathypterois bigelowi Mead 1958 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of marine biologist Henry B. Bigelow (1879–1967), Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Bathypterois filiferus Gilchrist 1906 filum (L.), thread; fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to long upper ray of pectoral fin, nearly twice length of the body
Bathypterois insularum Alcock 1892 Latin for of islands, referring to Laccadive Sea near the Laccadive Islands, Indian Ocean, type locality
Bathypterois longicauda Günther 1878 longus (L.), long; cauda (L.), tail, referring to the “prolonged” lobes of its “deeply forked” caudal fin
Bathypterois longipes Günther 1878 longus (L.), long; pes (L.), foot, referring to “much prolonged” outer ventral-fin ray
Bathypterois oddi Sulak 1977 in honor of the legendary Icelandic hero of Bandamanna Saga, Odd, symbol of good fortune and of the Scandinavian seafaring spirit; Sulak (pers. comm.) selected this name for two reasons: 1) since many taxa are named after Greek and Roman gods and classical heroes, he thought it was time for an Icelandic tradition to receive some recognition, and 2) he liked the play on words because tripodfishes are indeed rather “odd” fishes
Bathypterois (subgenus Benthosaurus) Goode & Bean 1886 bénthos (Gr. βένθος), depth (of the sea); saurus, from saúra (Gr. σαύρα), lizard, i.e., a deep-sea lizardfish, referring to the family (Synodontidae) in which tripodfishes belonged at the time
Bathypterois grallator (Goode & Bean 1886) Latin for one who walks on stilts, referring to how it appears to stand on the sea floor using its pelvic fins and elongated rays in the tail (the “tripod” of the family’s vernacular name)
Bathypterois guentheri Alcock 1889 in honor of German-born British ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830–1914), British Museum (Natural History), “to whose monumental works all students of ichthyology must ever remain grateful debtors”
Bathypterois viridensis (Roule 1916) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: southwest of Isla de Sal, Cape Verde Islands, type locality
Bathytyphlops Nybelin 1957 bathýs (Gr. βαθύς), deep, referring to deep-sea habitat of B. sewelli (collected at 3840–3872 m); typhlós (Gr. τυφλός), blind, and ṓps (Gr. ὦψ), eye, referring to its lack of eyes
Bathytyphlops marionae Mead 1958 in honor of Marion Grey (1911–1964), Chicago Natural History Museum, for her contributions to the ichthyology of the deep sea
Bathytyphlops sewelli (Norman 1939) in honor of Lieut.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell (1880–1964), British military physician and amateur naturalist (and later Director, Zoological Survey of India), leader of the John Murray Expedition to the Indian Ocean, which collected type
Discoverichthys Merrett & Nielsen 1987 Discovery, Royal Research Ship that collected holotype; ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish
Discoverichthys praecox Merrett & Nielsen 1987 Latin for premature, referring to progenetic features evident in the sexually mature holotype
Ipnops Günther 1878 ipnós (Gr. ἰπνός), lantern; ṓps (Gr. ὦψ), eye, referring to extremely modified eyes of I. murrayi, described as flat, cornea-like organs that cover most of upper surface of head
Ipnops agassizii Garman 1899 in honor of Swiss-born American mining magnate and zoologist Alexander Agassiz (1835–1910), Curator, Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard), and supervisor of the dredging and trawling expedition that collected holotype
Ipnops meadi Nielsen 1966 in honor of American ichthyologist Giles W. Mead (1928-2003), Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard), who described several ipnopids in the 1950s
Ipnops murrayi Günther 1878 in honor of John Murray (1841–1914), Canadian-born Scottish marine biologist (and later founder of modern oceanography), of the HMS Challenger, which collected holotype
Ipnops pristibrachium (Fowler 1943) pristḗr (Gr. πριστήρ), saw; brachium, from bracchium (L.), forearm, referring to “dentated or irregularly serrated” upper edge of pectoral-fin ray
Subfamily BATHYSAUROPSINAE Sato & Nakabo 2002
Bathysauropsis Regan 1911 ópsis (Gr. ὄψις), appearance, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to superficial resemblance of B. gracilis to Bathysaurus (Bathysauridae)
Bathysauropsis gracilis (Günther 1878) Latin for thin or slender, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to thinner body compared with Paraulopus nigripinnis (Paraulopidae), its presumed congener at the time
Bathysauropsis malayanus (Fowler 1938) –anus (L.), belonging to: Malaya, presumably referring to type locality (Gulf of Boni, Sulawesi, Indonesia) and general area where it occurs