Revised 28 Feb. 2023
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Osteoglossum Cuvier 1829 osteus (Neo-Latin), bony, from ostéon (Gr. ὀστέον), bone; glossum, from glṓssa (Gr. γλῶσσα), tongue, referring to toothed tongue of O. bicirrhosum, which bites against similarly toothed bones in roof of mouth
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum (Cuvier 1829) bi-, from bis (L.), two; cirrhosum (L.), curled, referring to forked barbel at tip of bottom jaw
Osteoglossum ferreirai Kanazawa 1966 in honor of Brazilian-born Portuguese naturalist Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira (1756–1815), the first to collect and document osteoglossids; the “many new species he brought back from Brazil gave recognition to others, but not to him. Through unfortunate circumstances his work has been ignored; therefore, I take this opportunity to honor him.”
Scleropages Günther 1864 sclero-, from sklērós (Gr. σκληρός), tough or hard; pages, from págios (Gr. πᾰ́γῐος), firm or solid, i.e., presumably referring to bodies of all osteoglossids known at the time, which Günther later (1868) described as “covered with large hard scales, composed of pieces like mosaic”
Subgenus Scleropages
Scleropages jardinii (Saville-Kent 1892) in honor of Francis Lascelles (Frank) Jardine (1841–1919), Australian colonist and explorer, who collected holotype
Scleropages leichardti Günther 1864 in honor of Ludwig Leichhardt (1813–1848), Prussian explorer and naturalist, famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia, who collected holotype [Günther apparently misspelled the explorer’s name, leaving out an “h”]
Subgenus Scleropages Fowler 1934 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: fisheries biologist Hendricus Christoffel Delsman (1886–1969), Director of the Laboratorium voor het Onderzoek der Zee, Batavia (Jakarta), for his “excellent” studies on the larval fishes of the Java Sea
Scleropages formosus (Müller & Schlegel 1840) Latin for beautiful, referring to its “beautifully green” (translation) body color and orange-yellow fins
Scleropages inscriptus Roberts 2012 Latin for inscribed, referring to the complex, maze-like markings on its scales and facial bones