Updated 29 March 2024
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Anodontiglanis Rendahl 1922 án– (Gr. ἄν-), without, and odonti, from odontos, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to lack of teeth on jaws and vomer (but pharyngeal teeth well developed); (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis), now used as a general term for catfish

Anodontiglanis dahli Rendahl 1922 in honor of Norwegian zoologist and explorer Knut Dahl (1871–1951), who collected holotype

Cnidoglanis Günther 1864 cnido-, from knídē (Gr. κνίδη), stinging nettle, allusion not explained, probably referring to venomous dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines, which inflict very painful wounds analogous to those of a sea nettle; glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis), now used as a general term for catfish

Cnidoglanis macrocephalus (Valenciennes 1840) big-headed, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, “distinguished easily by its big head” (translation), comprising ¼ of its total length

Euristhmus Ogilby 1899 eurýs (Gr. εὐρύς), wide or broad; isthmós (Gr. ἰσθμός), narrow passage of the body, referring to gill membranes separated by a wide isthmus

Euristhmus lepturus (Günther 1864) thin-tailed, from leptós (Gr. λεπτός), fine or thin, and urus, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, described as “long, much produced and pointed behind”

Euristhmus microceps (Richardson 1845) micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; –ceps (Neo-Latin) headed, “remarkable for the smallness of its head, which does not exceed the eighth part of the entire length of the fish”

Euristhmus microphthalmus Murdy & Ferraris 2006 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; ophthalmós (Gr. ὀφθαλμός), eye, referring to small eye compared to congeners

Euristhmus nudiceps (Günther 1880) nudus (L.), bare or naked; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to osseous occipital region, “not covered with loose skin” unlike E. lepturus and E. microcephalus

Euristhmus sandrae Murdy & Ferraris 2006 in honor of Sandra J. Raredon (b. 1954), Museum Specialist, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C., USA), who contributed greatly to the revision of this genus and other studies undertaken by the authors

Neosiluroides Allen & Feinberg 1998 -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: referring to superficial resemblance to Neosilurus

Neosiluroides cooperensis Allen & Feinberg 1998 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Cooper Creek and its tributaries, South Australia, where it is endemic

Neosilurus Steindachner 1867 néos (Gr. νέος), new; silurus, from sílouros (Gr. σίλουρος), catfish, i.e., a new catfish (referring to N. hyrtlii)

Neosilurus ater (Perugia 1894) Latin for black, referring to uniform black color of body and fins (throat whitish)

Neosilurus brevidorsalis (Günther 1867) brevis (L.), short; dorsalis (L.), of the back, presumably referring to small, short anterior dorsal fin (a character not mentioned by Günther; instead, he described anterior half of second dorsal fin, confluent with caudal fin, as “replaced by a pad of fat, from which the rays gradually emerge behind”)

Neosilurus coatesi (Allen 1985) in honor of biologist David Coates, Fisheries Research Laboratory of the Papua New Guinea Department of Primary Industry, who helped collect type series

Neosilurus equinus (Weber 1913) Latin for equine, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its elongate, horse-like face

Neosilurus gjellerupi (Weber 1913) in honor of Danish health officer and botanist Knud Gjellerup (1876–1950), who collected holotype

Neosilurus gloveri Allen & Feinberg 1998 in honor of the late John Glover (1935–1992), former Curator of Fishes, South Australian Museum, who collected many of the type specimens and made valuable contributions to our knowledge of fishes from the central Australian desert [note: three species from Dalhousie Springs are named after Glover: this catfish, the goby Chlamydogobius gloveri, and the silverside Craterocephalus gloveri]

Neosilurus hyrtlii Steindachner 1867 patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Steindachner’s Austrian colleague, anatomist Josef Hyrtl (1810–1894)

Neosilurus idenburgi (Nichols 1940) of the Idenburg River, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, type locality

Neosilurus mollespiculum Allen & Feinberg 1998 molle, from mollis (L.), soft; spiculum (L.), a sharp little point, referring to its weak and flexible dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines, unlike the stiff spines of most congeners

Neosilurus novaeguineae (Weber 1907) of New Guinea, specifically Irian Jaya of Western New Guinea (now West Papua, Indonesia), type locality

Neosilurus pseudospinosus Allen & Feinberg 1998 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false; spinosus (L.), thorny, referring to its weak and flexible (and therefore “false”) dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines, unlike the stiff spines of most congeners

Oloplotosus Weber 1913 olṓ (Gr. ὀλῶ), to be lost, i.e., Plotosus with lost (i.e., absent) maxillary teeth

Oloplotosus luteus Gomon & Roberts 1978 Latin for yellow, presumably referring to bright orange barbels and ventral surface of head, and pale orange ventral surface of abdomen

Oloplotosus mariae Weber 1913 in honor of the Baroness Maria van Nagell (1885–1981), wife of Dutch explorer who collected holotype, Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz (1871–1944)

Oloplotosus torobo Allen 1985 local name for this catfish in Papua New Guinea

Paraplotosus Bleeker 1863 para– (Gr. παρά), near; Plotosus, original genus of P. albilabris

Paraplotosus albilabris (Valenciennes 1840) albus (L.), white; labris, plural of labrum (L.), lip, referring to all-black color in alcohol, except for lips, which are white (or yellow or tan)

Paraplotosus butleri Allen 1998 in honor of Australian naturalist and environmental consultant William Henry “Harry” Butler (1930–2015), who helped collect many of the paratypes; he also offered “generous financial support over the years” to the Western Australian Museum for field work via his Butler Fund

Paraplotosus muelleri (Klunzinger 1879) in honor of German-Australian physician, geographer and botanist Ferdinand von Müller (1825–1896), who collected and/or provided holotype

Plotosus Lacepède 1803 from plōtós (Gr. πλωτός), swimming or floating, presumably referring to long tail of P. lineatus, confluent with second dorsal and anal fins, which makes it a strong anguilliform swimmer

Plotosus abbreviatus Boulenger 1895 Latin for shortened, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to body depth eight times in total length

Plotosus canius Hamilton 1822 latinization of Kani, from Kani magur, local Bengali name for this catfish in India

Plotosus fisadoha Ng & Sparks 2002 Malagasy contraction of fisaka, flat, and loha, head, referring to flattened head especially when compared with the sympatric P. lineatus

Plotosus japonicus Yoshino & Kishimoto 2008 –icus (L.), belonging to: Japan, referring to distribution in southern Japan, from Honshu Island to the Ryukyu Islands

Plotosus limbatus Valenciennes 1840 Latin for edged or bordered, referring to fins edged in black

Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg 1787) Latin for lined, referring to striped color pattern (distinct in juveniles, less so in adults)

Plotosus nhatrangensis Prokofiev 2008 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: fish market at Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam, type locality

Plotosus nkunga Gomon & Taylor 1982 local Zulu name for this species in South Africa

Plotosus papuensis Weber 1910 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Papua, i.e., West Papua or Western New Guinea, where Lorentz River (type locality) is situated

Porochilus Weber 1913 poro, hole or passage; cheilos, lip, referring to interior of upper lip border perforated by the anterior nostrils

Porochilus argenteus (Zietz 1896) Latin for silvery, referring to its pale, silvery white color

Porochilus meraukensis (Weber 1913) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Merauke, Papua, Indonesia, type locality

Porochilus obbesi Weber 1913 in honor of Dutch artist Joan François Obbes (1869–1963), who illustrated the figures in Weber’s monograph

Porochilus rendahli (Whitley 1928) in honor of Swedish zoologist and artist Hialmar Rendahl (1891–1969), who described this catfish in 1922 as Copidoglanis obscurus, preoccupied by C. obscurus Günther 1864 (=Plotosus limbatus)

Tandanus Mitchell 1838 tautonymous with T. tandanus, latinization of Tandan, aboriginal name for this catfish in New South Wales, Australia

Tandanus bellingerensis Welsh, Jerry, Burrows & Rourke 2017 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bellinger River drainage (New South Wales, Australia) where this catfish was first recognized as an undescribed species based on genetic evidence

Tandanus bostocki Whitley 1944 in honor of Rev. George James Bostock (1833–1881), Anglican Church minister and naturalist, who collected fishes for Castelnau in western Australia, including holotype of this one [replacement name for Plotosus unicolor Castelnau 1873, preoccupied by P. unicolor Valenciennes 1840 (=P. canius)]

Tandanus tandanus (Mitchell 1838) latinization of Tandan, aboriginal name for this catfish in New South Wales, Australia

Tandanus tropicanus Welsh, Jerry & Burrows 2014 –anus (L.), belonging to: the tropics, referring to the wet, tropical region of northeast Queensland, Australia, where it occurs