Revised 29 March 2023
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Avocettina Jordan & Davis 1891 -ina (L. suffix), having the nature of: the avocet, a shorebird with a long, curved bill, referring to the similarly long, curved jaws of A. infans

Avocettina acuticeps (Regan 1916) acutus (L.), sharp or pointed; -ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to “rather produced and acute” snout of leptocephalus

Avocettina bowersii (Garman 1899) in honor of American politician George M. Bowers (1863–1925), head of the United States Fish Commission, whose steamer Albatross collected holotype

Avocettina infans (Günther 1878) Latin for infant or immature, allusion not explained nor evident (perhaps Günther believed this eel had a larval or undeveloped appearance)

Avocettina paucipora Nielsen & Smith 1978 paucus (L.), few; pora (L.), pored, referring to relatively few lateral-line pores compared with A. infans

Labichthys Gill & Ryder 1883 labís (Gr. λαβίς), forceps or handle, referring to long, slender jaws of L. carinatus; ichthyos (Gr.), fish

Labichthys carinatus Gill & Ryder 1883 Latin for keeled or carinate, referring to ridge or keel on rostrum of holotype (of no morphological or taxonomic importance; caused by skin shrinking and pulling tight around posterolateral edges of ethmovomer)

Labichthys yanoi (Mead & Rubinoff 1966) in honor of Shigeru Yano, Honolulu, Hawai‘i (USA), “friend and fellow fisherman,” whose maintenance and operation of nets and associated equipment contributed greatly to the success of the authors’ trawling expedition

Nemichthys Richardson 1848 nḗma (Gr. νῆμα), thread, referring to thread-like caudal region of N. scolopaceus; ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish

Nemichthys curvirostris (Strömman 1896) curvis, properly spelled curvus (L.), curved; rostrum, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, referring to slightly curved snout of leptocephalus

Nemichthys larseni Nielsen & Smith 1978 in honor of Verner Larsen, who began revising the family while a student at the University of Copenhagen, and who “generously handed over his material” to the authors “when he was unable to finish it”

Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson 1848 -eus ( L. suffix), having the quality of: Scolopax, a genus of long-billed wading birds, referring to its similarly long jaws