Updated 28 May 2025
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Subfamily PSEUDOCYTTINAE Tyler, O’Toole & Winterbottom 2003
Pseudocyttus Gilchrist 1906 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, presumed to be “closely related” to Cyttosoma (=Oreosoma)
Pseudocyttus maculatus Gilchrist 1906 Latin for spotted, referring to large dark spots on gray body
Subfamily OREOSOMATINAE Bleeker 1859
Allocyttus McCulloch 1914 állos (Gr. ἄλλος), other, i.e., presumed to be another genus closely related to Cyttosoma (=Oreosoma)
Allocyttus folletti Myers 1960 in honor of Wilbur (“Bill”) I. Follett (1901–1992), Curator of Fishes, California Academy of Sciences, “as a token of personal esteem” and for his “deep interest and broad knowledge” of California fishes
Allocyttus guineensis Trunov & Kukuev 1982 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Gulf of Guinea, Southeastern Atlantic, type locality
Allocyttus niger James, Inada & Nakamura 1988 Latin for dark or black, referring to blackish color of freshly caught specimens; also reflects common name “black oreo” widely used in the deepwater fishery of New Zealand
Allocyttus verrucosus (Gilchrist 1906) Latin for covered with verrucae (i.e., warty), presumably referring to a “blunt conical elevation” in the middle of the scales, making its body “rough to the touch”
Neocyttus Gilchrist 1906 néos (Gr. νέος), new, then believed to be a new genus of the family Cyttidae
Neocyttus acanthorhynchus Regan 1908 acantho-, from ákantha (Gr. ἄκανθα), thorn; rhýnchos (Gr. ῥύγχος), snout, referring to strong spines on snout
Neocyttus helgae (Holt & Byrne 1908) of His Majesty’s Yacht Helga (British Royal Navy), which collected holotype
Neocyttus psilorhynchus Yearsley & Last 1998 psilós (Gr. ψιλός), bare; rhýnchos (Gr. ῥύγχος), snout, referring to scaleless snout between lachrymal and supraorbital crest
Neocyttus rhomboidalis Gilchrist 1906 -alis (L.), adjectival suffix: presumably referring to rhomboid-like shape of body
Oreosoma Cuvier 1829 óreos (Gr. ὄρεος), genitive of óros (ὄρος), mountain or hill; sṓma (Gr. σῶμα), body, referring to cone-shaped bony structures on underside of juveniles, which resemble mountain peaks
Oreosoma atlanticum Cuvier 1829 -icum (L.), belonging to: described from a specimen captured in the Atlantic