Updated 30 April 2025
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Neoscopelus Johnson 1863 néos (Gr. νέος), new, i.e., a new genus presumed to be allied to Scopelus (=Myctophum, Myctophidae) at the time, with a “scopeloid form of body” Scopelus, from skopós (Gr. σκοπός), looker, is an old name historically applied to lanternfishes and other pelagic or deep-sea fishes with large eyes]
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus Johnson 1863 macro-, from makrós (Gr. μaκρóς), long or large; lepidōtós (Gr. λεπιδωτός), scaly, referring to body covered with “large caducous” scales
Neoscopelus microchir Matsubara 1943 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; cheirós (Gr.χειρός), genitive of cheir (χείρ), hand (homologous to the pectoral fin), referring to smaller pectoral fins (15–16 rays) compared with N. macrolepidotus (18–19 rays)
Neoscopelus porosus Arai 1969 Latin for pored or full of holes, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to many photophores when viewed from below, which in the figures accompanying the description could be said to resemble holes or pores
Neoscopelus serranoi Bañón, Barros-García, Arronte, Rábade, del Rio, Baldó & Carlos 2024 in honor of Alberto Serrano, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (Madrid, Spain), leader of the expedition that carried out the scientific sampling at the Galicia Bank (northwest of Spain), where this species has been found most frequently
Scopelengys Alcock 1890 engýs (Gr. ἐγγύς), near, presumed at the time to be “nearly allied” to Scopelus (=Myctophum, Myctophidae) Scopelus, from skopós (Gr. σκοπός), looker, is an old name historically applied to lanternfishes and other pelagic or deep-sea fishes with large eyes]
Scopelengys clarkei Butler & Ahlstrom 1976 in honor of American ichthyologist Thomas A. Clarke (1940–2013), Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, who provided additional specimens, helping to confirm it is distinct from S. tristis
Scopelengys tristis Alcock 1890 Latin for sad, mournful, or dark or dull in color or tone, perhaps referring to its uniform black coloration in life
Solivomer Miller 1947 soli-, from solitarius (L), solitary or alone; vomer (L.), plowshare, but in ichthyology the bone forming the front part of the roof of the mouth, referring to single patch of vomerine teeth (compared with two patches on other neoscopelids)
Solivomer arenidens Miller 1947 arena (L.), sand; dens (L.), tooth, referring to its sandpaper-like (i.e., granular) dentition