Updated 16 Sept. 2024
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Bumblebee Catfishes
Subfamily PSEUDOPIMELODINAE Fernández-Yépez & Antón 1966
Cruciglanis Ortega-Lara & Lehmann A. 2006 cruci-, from crux (L.), cross (wooden frame for execution), referring to crucifix shape of second basibranchial in the branchial arch; glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish
Cruciglanis pacifici Ortega-Lara & Lehmann A. 2006 of the Pacific, referring to its endemic distribution in coastal rivers draining western (Pacific) slope of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia
Pseudopimelodus Bleeker 1858 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, referring to previous placement of most species in Pimelodus (Pimelodidae)
Pseudopimelodus atricaudus Restrepo-Gómez, Rangel-Medrano, Márquez & Ortega-Lara 2020 atri-, from ater (L.), black; caudus (L.), tail, referring to diagnostic black caudal fin
Pseudopimelodus bufonius (Valenciennes 1840) Latin for toad-like, its “large head and color giving it the appearance of a brown toad” (translation)
Pseudopimelodus charus (Valenciennes 1840) Latinization of charu, local Portuguese name for this catfish in Brazil
Pseudopimelodus magnus Restrepo-Gómez, Rangel-Medrano, Márquez & Ortega-Lara 2020 Latin for great, reaching 531.7 mm SL, the largest known species of the genus
Pseudopimelodus mangurus (Valenciennes 1835) derived from manguruyu-carape and manguruyu court, both of which are Guaraní names for this catfish in Paraguay and/or Brazil
Pseudopimelodus schultzi (Dahl 1955) in honor of American ichthyologist Leonard P. Schultz (1901–1986), Curator of Fishes at the U.S. National Museum
Rhyacoglanis Shibatta & Vari 2017 rhyaco, from rhýax (Gr. ῥύαξ), rushing stream or mountain torrent, referring to its rheophilic habits (strongly associated with rapids and other swift-flowing waters); glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish
Rhyacoglanis annulatus Shibatta & Vari 2017 Latin for ringed, referring to caudal-peduncle band with a light inner region
Rhyacoglanis epiblepsis Shibatta & Vari 2017 epí– (Gr. ἐπί) or epi– (ἐπι), on top of (i.e., up); blépsis (Gr. βλέψις), sight, referring to the dorsal position of its eyes
Rhyacoglanis paranensis Shibatta & Vari 2017 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: known only from the upper rio Paraná basin of Brazil
Rhyacoglanis pulcher (Boulenger 1887) Latin for beautiful, referring to what Boulenger apparently believed was an attractive color pattern consisting of a dark brown band encircling body, white-edged dorsal and caudal fins, and two large whitish spots on tail
Rhyacoglanis rapppydanielae Shibatta, Rocha & Oliveira 2021 in honor of Brazilian ichthyologist Lúcia H. Rapp Py-Daniel, for her “outstanding” contribution to Neotropical fishes’ systematics; she is the founder and current curator of the fish collection at Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), whose “scientific importance is recognized by the national and international communities”
Rhyacoglanis seminiger Shibatta & Vari 2017 semi-, from semis (L.), a half or moiety; niger (L.), dark or black, referring to its dramatically contrasting light vs. dark coloration pattern
Rhyacoglanis varii Shibatta & Souza-Shibatta 2023 in honor of Richard P. Vari (1949–2016), National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C., USA), for his “outstanding” contributions to the systematics of Neotropical fishes
Rhyacoglanis variolosus (Miranda Ribeiro 1914) of or relating to variola (L.), smallpox, referring to granulations coating the skin, said to resemble smallpox pustules
Frog Catfishes
Subfamily BATROCHOGLANINAE Shibatta & Silva 2021
Batrochoglanis Gill 1858 bátrachos (Gr. βάτραχος), frog, referring to frog- or toad-like shape of B. raninus (but applicable to all included species); glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish [Gill and others “corrected” spelling to Batrachoglanis but original spelling must stand]
Batrochoglanis acanthochiroides (Güntert 1942) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: referring to close similarity with Pseudopimelodus acanthochirus (=Batrochoglanis raninus)
Batrochoglanis castaneus Shibatta 2019 Latin for chestnut-brown, referring brownish body color of analyzed specimens and to the Brazil nut, for which type locality (Igarapé do Castanhal, Aripuanã River basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil) is named
Batrochoglanis labrosus Shibatta 2024 Latin for large-lipped, referring to its “conspicuously developed” lips
Batrochoglanis melanurus Shibatta & Pavanelli 2005 black-tailed, from mélanos (Gr. μέλανος), genitive of mélas (μέλας), black, and urus, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to dark coloration of caudal fin
Batrochoglanis raninus (Valenciennes 1840) Latin for frog-like, referring to its frog-like shape or appearance, particularly its wide mouth and head
Batrochoglanis transmontanus (Regan 1913) trans (L.), over or beyond; montanus (L.), pertaining to mountains, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its occurrence in the Andean valleys of Colombia and Ecuador
Batrochoglanis villosus (Eigenmann 1912) Latin for hairy or shaggy, referring to fine hair-like filaments over entire body, especially abundant above the pectoral fin
Lophiosilurus Steindachner 1876 lophio-, referring to striking resemblance to the chacid catfish Chaca lophioides (=C. chaca), both of which resemble the Monkfish Lophius piscatorius (Lophiidae); silurus, from sílouros (Gr. σίλουρος), a word of uncertain origin historically applied to catfishes
Lophiosilurus albomarginatus (Eigenmann 1912) albus (L.), white; marginatus (L.), edged or bordered, referring to white margin on anal, ventral, pectoral and caudal fins
Lophiosilurus alexandri Steindachner 1876 in honor of Swiss-born American mining magnate and zoologist Alexander Agassiz (1835–1910), Curator, Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard), as a token of Steindachner’s admiration
Lophiosilurus apurensis (Mees 1978) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Apure River drainage and/or Apure, Venezuela, type locality
Lophiosilurus fowleri (Haseman 1911) in honor of American ichthyologist Henry Weed Fowler (1878–1965), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
Lophiosilurus nigricauda (Mees 1974) nigri-, from niger (L.), dark or black; cauda (L.), tail, referring to its entirely black caudal fin [often misspelled nigricaudus]
Microglanis Eigenmann 1912 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, i.e., “Small Pimelodines, reaching a maximum length of 110 mm”; glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish
Microglanis ater Ahl 1936 Latin for black, referring to black ground color in alcohol and/or color of all fins
Microglanis berbixae Tobes, Falconí-López, Valdiviezo-Rivera & Provenzano 2020 in honor of María Resurección Sesma Lizari, nicknamed “Berbixe,” mother of the first author, for her “unconditional support and infinite love”
Microglanis carlae Vera Alcaraz, da Graça & Shibatta 2008 in honor of Carla Simone Pavanelli (b. 1967), curator, Center for Research in Limnology, Ichthyology and Aquaculture, Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Paraná, Brazil), for her contributions to Neotropical ichthyology
Microglanis cibelae Malabarba & Mahler 1998 in honor of Cibele Barros Indrusiak, environmental analyst, Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources
Microglanis cottoides (Boulenger 1891) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: Cottus, sculpin genus (Cottidae), presumably referring to sculpin-like combination of big head and wide mouth with relatively short body
Microglanis eurystoma Malabarba & Mahler 1998 eurýs (Gr. εὐρύς), wide or broad; stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to wide mouth of adults compared to congeners
Microglanis garavelloi Shibatta & Benine 2005 in honor of Brazilian ichthyologist Julio Cesar Garavello, Universidade Federale de São Carlos
Microglanis iheringi Gomes 194 6in honor of Gomes’ former teacher, the “late distinguished” Rodolpho von Ihering (1883–1939), German-Brazilian zoologist, geologist and fish culturist
Microglanis leniceae Shibatta 2016 in honor of Shibatta’s wife, Lenice Souza-Shibatta, also an ichthyologist, for her dedication to the study of the biogeography and evolution of Neotropical fishes
Microglanis leptostriatus Mori & Shibatta 2006 leptós (Gr. λεπτός), thin or slender; striatus (L.), grooved or furrowed (i.e., striped), referring to “thin and sinuous” but distinct light transverse stripe in nuchal region
Microglanis lucenai Lehmann A., Bartzen & Malabarba 2024 in honor of Carlos Alberto Santos Lucena, ichthyologist and curator of fish collection from Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia; his “work and support to several researchers have largely contributed to the increasing knowledge of the Neotropical ichthyofauna”
Microglanis lundbergi Jarduli & Shibatta 2013 in honor of American ichthyologist John G. Lundberg (b. 1942), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, coordinator of the Calhamazon project, who provided specimens of this species, and for his great contributions to the systematics of Neotropical catfishes
Microglanis maculatus Shibatta 2014 Latin for spotted, referring to dark brown spots on trunk
Microglanis malabarbai Bertaco & Cardoso 2005 in honor of Luiz Roberto Malabarba, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil), for his “active” contribution to the knowledge of Neotropical fishes
Microglanis minutus Ottoni, Mattos & Barbosa 2010 Latin for small, referring to its size compared with congeners (up to 29.7 mm SL)
Microglanis nigrolineatus Terán, Jarduli, Alonso, Mirande & Shibatta 2016 nigro-, from niger (L.), dark or black; lineatus (L.), lined, referring to dark stripes running along side
Microglanis nigripinnis Bizerril & Perez-Neto 1992 niger (L.), dark or black; pinnis, scientific Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, i.e., finned, referring to its dark-pigmented fins
Microglanis oliveirai Ruiz & Shibatta 2011 in honor of Claudio de Oliveira, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (campus Botucatu), for in his extensive contribution to the knowledge of Neotropical fish evolution
Microglanis parahybae (Steindachner 1880) of the Rio Parahyba, or Paraíba do Sul, Brazil, type locality
Microglanis pataxo Sarmento-Soares, Martins-Pinheiro, Aranda & Chamon 2006 named for the Pataxó indigenous people of northeastern Brazil, who live in the areas where this catfish occurs
Microglanis pellopterygius Mees 1978 pellós (Gr. πελλός), dark-colored or dusky; pterygius, from pterygion, diminutive of ptéryx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing or fin, referring to broad brown bands on all fins
Microglanis pleriqueater Mattos, Ottoni & Barbosa 2013 plerique (L.), mostly; ater (L.), black, referring to “almost black or dark brown” body and dorsal fin
Microglanis poecilus Eigenmann 1912 from poikílos (Gr. ποικίλος), varicolored or mottled, described as having three light wavy cross-bands, one over the nape, one behind dorsal, and one across caudal peduncle (much like the pattern of a bumblebee, hence the vernacular name for the family)
Microglanis reikoae Ruiz 2016 in memory of Ruiz’ grandmother Reiko Sugizaki Matsushima, “in deep appreciation for the wonderful person she was”
Microglanis robustus Ruiz & Shibatta 2010 Latin for of oak or oaken and, by extension, hard, firm or solid (but often used by ichthyologists to mean stout or strong), referring to “truncated body and high caudal peduncle, giving a strong format to this catfish”
Microglanis secundus Mees 1974 Latin for following or second, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how its is similar to and “likely to be found together” with M. poecilus
Microglanis sparsus Ruiz 2016 Latin for sprayed or scattered, referring to its mottled color pattern
Microglanis variegatus Eigenmann & Henn 1914 Latin for “of different sorts,” particularly colors, referring to variegated color pattern of adults
Microglanis xerente Ruiz 2016 named for the Xerente ethnic group, the native indigenous people who live along the rio Tocantins basin (Tocantins, Brazil), where this catfish occurs
Microglanis xylographicus Ruiz & Shibatta 2011 xýlon (Gr. ξύλον), wood; graphikós, γραφικός, of or belonging to writing, drawing or painting (i.e., graphic), referring to its horizontally striated color pattern, like that of a tree bark
Microglanis zonatus Eigenmann & Allen 1942 Latin for banded, referring to five bars or bands across body