Revised 6 Jan. 2024
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Facciolella Whitley 1938 –ella, Latin diminutive connoting endearment: named for Italian physician-ichthyologist Luigi Facciolà (1851–1943), who recognized and described the genus in 1911 but used a preoccupied name (Nettastomella)

Facciolella castlei Parin & Karmovskaya 1985 in honor of Peter H. J. Castle (1934–1999), Victoria University (Wellington, New Zealand), “famous” (translation) specialist in eel systematics

Facciolella equatorialis (Gilbert 1891) Latin for equatorial, referring to type locality off coast of Ecuador

Facciolella karrerae Klausewitz 1995 in honor of German ichthyologist Christine Karrer, for her contributions to the knowledge of eels of the western Indian Ocean and her studies on deep-sea fishes of the Red Sea at the Senckenberg Museum (Frankfurt) [originally spelled karrereri; since name honor a woman, karrerae reflects the correct gender]

Facciolella oxyrhynchus (Bellotti 1883) sharp-snouted, from oxýs (Gr. ὀξύς), sharp or pointed, and rhýnchos (Gr. ῥύγχος), snout, referring to slender, elongate snout of leptocephalus

Facciolella saurencheloides (D’Ancona 1928) -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: described from a leptocephalus, similar to that of Saurenchelys cancrivora

Hoplunnis Kaup 1859 etymology not explained, perhaps hóplon (Gr. ὅπλον), shield or armor; hýnis (Gr. ὕνις), powshare (but here meaning vomer) referring to large vomerine teeth of H. schmidti

Hoplunnis diomediana Goode & Bean 1896 –ana (L.), belonging to: Diomedia, albatross genus, referring to U.S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross, from which holotype was collected

Hoplunnis macrura Ginsburg 1951 big-tailed, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to its “notably long (for an eel)” caudal fin [originally spelled macrurus but emended to agree with feminine gender of genus]

Hoplunnis megista Smith & Kanazawa 1989 mégistos (Gr. μέγιστος), largest, up to 1095 mm TL, “by far the largest species of Hoplunnis”

Hoplunnis pacifica Lane & Stewart 1968 –ica (L.), belonging to: the Pacific (specifically, eastern Pacific near Mazatlán, México), the only known species of Hoplunnis from the Pacific Ocean [possibly a junior synonym of H. sicarius]

Hoplunnis punctata Regan 1915 Latin for spotted, referring to numerous small dark spots forming irregular longitudinal series on upper half of body

Hoplunnis schmidti Kaup 1859 in honor of “Dr. Schmidt” (forename not given), a member of the Hamburg Museum’s advisory council, who provided specimens to Kaup

Hoplunnis sicarius (Garman 1899) Latin for dagger-man or assassin, allusion not explained, possibly referring to dagger-like shape of leptocephalus

Hoplunnis similis Smith 1989 Latin for like or resembling, referring to its resemblance to H. diomediana

Hoplunnis tenuis Ginsburg 1951 Latin for thin or slender, referring to its slender body and tail

Nettastoma Rafinesque 1810 nḗtta (Gr. νῆττα), duck; stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to elongate and slightly depressed snout of N. melanura

Nettastoma falcinaris Parin & Karmovskaya 1985 falcis, genitive of falx (L.), sickle or scythe; nares (L.), nostrils, referring to its falcate nostrils

Nettastoma melanura Rafinesque 1810 mélanos (Gr. μέλανος), genitive of mélas (μέλας), black; ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, presumably referring to darkened posterior portions of dorsal and anal fins [name is regarded as a noun but often treated as a neuter adjective, melanurum]

Nettastoma parviceps Günther 1877 parvus (L.), little; -ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, its length 2/5 the distance between gill-opening and vent (compared with more than ½ in N. melanura)

Nettastoma solitarium Castle & Smith 1981 Latin for solitary or alone, referring to its isolated and widely scattered distribution in the Indo-Pacific

Nettastoma syntresis Smith & Böhlke 1981 sýntrēsis (Gr. σύντρησις), channel, passage or strait, referring to its occurrence in the Santaren, Nicholas and Northwest Providence Channels (Bahamas)

Nettenchelys Alcock 1898 nḗtta (Gr. νῆττα), duck, referring to its somewhat elongate and depressed snout; énchelys (Gr. nἔγχελυς), eel

Nettenchelys bellottii (D’Ancona 1928) described from a leptocephalus, in honor of Italian biologist-paleontologist Cristoforo Bellotti (1823–1919), who published the first review of Mediterranean leptocephali in 1883

Nettenchelys dionisi Brito 1989 in honor of malacologist Gustavo Perez-Dionis, for his contributions to the study of the marine fauna of Canary Island (type locality)

Nettenchelys erroriensis Karmovskaya 1994 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Error Seamount, northeastern Indian Ocean, type locality

Nettenchelys exoria Böhlke & Smith 1981 from exorías (Gr. ἐξορίας), beyond the frontier (an adjective), referring to posterior nostrils, which have migrated beyond occiput to behind head [originally spelled exorius because the authors mistakenly believed “enchelys” was masculine, overlooking a 1970 ICZN ruling to treat it as feminine; emended to exoria to reflect the correct gender]

Nettenchelys gephyra Castle & Smith 1981 géphyra (Gr. γέφυρα), bridge, referring to the link this species provides between N. pygmaea and N. inion (in terms of intermediate nostril position)

Nettenchelys inion Smith & Böhlke 1981 iníon (Gr. ἰνίον), back of head or occiput, referring to position of posterior nostril

Nettenchelys paxtoni Karmovskaya 1999 in honor of John R. Paxton (1938–2023), Australian Museum (Sydney), “renowned” (translation) Australian ichthyologist

Nettenchelys proxima Smith, Lin & Chen 2015 Latin for near, referring to position of posterior nostril, close to the eye; name also refers to its close resemblance to N. gephyra and N. pygmaea

Nettenchelys pygmaea Smith & Böhlke 1981 from pygmaī́os (Gr. πυγμαῖος), small or dwarf, referring to small size (up to 201 mm TL)

Nettenchelys taylori Alcock 1898 in honor of Commander Alfred Dundas Taylor (1825–1898), formerly of the Indian Navy, who was “chiefly responsible” for reviving the Marine Survey of India in 1874

Saurenchelys Peters 1864 saúra (Gr. σαύρα), lizard or reptile, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to snake-like shape of S. cancrivora; énchelys (Gr. nἔγχελυς), eel

Saurenchelys cancrivora Peters 1864 cancer (L.), crab; –voris (L.), eating, referring to holotype, which had a crab in its stomach (and, apparently, also a prawn)

Saurenchelys cognita Smith 1989 Latin for known or proven, only species of genus “identified and defined as a biological entity,” i.e., other putative species do not possess a “single obvious [adult] character to divide them into different species” but are presumed to be distinct based on differences among leptocephali

Saurenchelys elongata (Kotthaus 1968) Latin for prolonged, referring to its very long, strongly tapering body

Saurenchelys fierasfer (Jordan & Snyder 1901) named for the pearlfish (Carapidae) genus Fierasfer (=Carapus), “a fish of similar color” (translucent body with dark-tipped tail); Jordan & Snyder say Fierasfer is derived from phierós (Gr. φιερός), meaning “sleek,” but the OED says the word, a French vernacular for pearlfishes, is derived from the Provençal fieras-fèr, from the Latin filum (thread) and feros (wild)

Saurenchelys finitima (Whitley 1935) Latin for adjoining, bordering or neighboring, presumably referring to it close relationship with S. fierasfer

Saurenchelys gigas Lin, Smith & Shao 2015 gígas (Gr. γίγας), giant, referring to its large size (up to 1155 mm TL)

Saurenchelys halimyon Van Utrecht 1983 hális (Gr. ἅλις), in abundance; myós (Gr. μυός), genitive of mū́s (μῦς), muscle, referring to numerous myomeres of leptocephalus

Saurenchelys lateromaculatus (D’Ancona 1928) lateralis (L.), of the side; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to eight large black spots on side of leptocephalus, alternating with 11 smaller spots

Saurenchelys meteori Klausewitz & Zajonz 2000 named for the German research vessel Meteor, from which holotype was collected

Saurenchelys petersi Day 1878 in honor of Wilhelm C. H. Peters (1815-1883), German naturalist and explorer, who described the “very similar, if not identical” S. cancrivora in 1864

Saurenchelys stylura (Lea 1913) pen-tailed, from stylus (L.), pen, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, presumably referring to pointed tail of leptocephalus

Saurenchelys taiwanensis Karmovskaya 2004 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Taiwan, “named after the occurrence of holotype” (which appears to be a misnomer since type locality is near Luzon Island, Philippines)

Venefica Jordan & Davis 1891 Venefica, a Roman sorceress, from sorcière, vernacular in Nice, France, for Nettastoma melanura (Nettastoma is original genus of the type species V. procera)

Venefica multiporosa Karrer 1982 multi– (L.), many; porosus (L.), full of pores, referring to numerous small, round pores on head

Venefica ocella Garman 1899 diminutive of oculus (L.), eye, referring to small eye, 1/13 length of snout and 1/23 length of head

Venefica proboscidea Vaillant 1888) Latin for having a proboscis, a flat triangular projection half the length of the snout, resembling the snout of the snake Langaha ensifera (=madagascariensis)

Venefica procera (Goode & Bean 1883) Latin for tall, slender of long, referring to its very elongate body