Updated 23 May 2024
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Irvineia Trewavas 1943 –ia (L. suffix), belonging to: in honor of British botanist Frederick Robert Irvine (1898–1962), former biology master at Achimota College, Gold Coast (now Ghana), who presented local fishes to the British Museum, including holotype of I. voltae

Irvineia orientalis Trewavas 1964 Latin for eastern, referring to its East African distribution compared with the West African I. voltae

Irvineia voltae Trewavas 1943 of the Volta River, Ghana, type locality

Parailia Boulenger 1899 pará (Gr. παρά), near, similar to Ailia (now in Ailiidae), from which it differs in the absence of vomerine teeth and adipose fin

Parailia congica Boulenger 1899 –ica (L.), belonging to: Congo River basin, central Africa, type locality

Parailia occidentalis (Pellegrin 1901) Latin for western, referring to Cap Lopez, Gabon, west coast of Africa, type locality

Parailia pellucida (Boulenger 1901) Latin for translucently clear, referring to its colorless, almost translucent body in life

Parailia somalensis (Vinciguerra 1897) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Somalia, where type locality (Ganana River) is situated

Parailia spiniserrata Svensson 1933 spinus, from spinus (L.), thorn; serrata (L.), toothed like a saw, referring to pectoral fin “rather strongly serrated in its inner side”

Pareutropius Regan 1920 pará (Gr. παρά), similar to Eutropius but with a smaller dorsal fin consisting of a slender spine and three branched rays

Pareutropius buffei (Gras 1961) in honor of J. Buffe, Director, Eaux et Forêts (Waters and Forests) Service, Dahomey (now Benin), “who witnessed the discovery” of this species (translation)

Pareutropius debauwi (Boulenger 1900) in honor of Lieut. Guillaume De Bauw (1865–1914), Belgian Army officer, who collected holotype

Pareutropius longifilis (Steindachner 1914) longus (L.), long; filis (scientific Neo-Latin), thread-like or filiform thread, referring to thin but long barbels

Pareutropius mandevillei Poll 1959 in honor of J. Th. Mandeville, fisheries agent, government of Leopoldville (now Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo), who collected holotype

Schilbe Oken 1817 from “Les Schilbé,” used by Cuvier in 1816, based on a local name for S. mystus along the Nile River

Schilbe angolensis (De Vos 1984) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Angola, where it is endemic to the upper Quanza River

Schilbe ansorgii (Boulenger 1910) in honor of English explorer and collector William John Ansorge (1850–1913), who collected holotype, who provided the British Museum a collection of over 1100 “excellently preserved” fishes from Angola, including holotype of this species, and who “deserves the highest praise for this new achievement”

Schilbe banguelensis (Boulenger 1911) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Bangwelu, Zambia, type locality

Schilbe bocagii (Guimarães 1884) in honor of José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage (1823–1907), curator of zoology, Museum of Natural History (Lisbon, Portugal), as a “public testimony of our esteem and recognition” (translation)

Schilbe brevianalis (Pellegrin 1929) brevis (L.), short; analis (L.), anal, referring to short anal fin and low number of anal-fin rays

Schilbe congensis (Leach 1818) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Congo River, central Africa, type locality (also endemic to the Congo River system)

Schilbe depressirostris (Peters 1852) depressus (L.), pressed down; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, referring to its depressed snout (“rostro depresso”)

Schilbe djeremi (Thys van den Audenaerde & De Vos 1982) of the Djerem River, Sanaga River basin, Cameroon, type locality

Schilbe durinii (Gianferrari 1932) patronym not identified, probably in honor of Count Hercules Luchino Durini di Monza (1876–1968), co-leader of the 1930 Beragiola-Durini expedition, driving across Africa in motorcars looking for land to colonize; Gianferrari credits the Countess Maria Teresa Camozzi Durini di Monza (1892–1943) with collecting holotype, so maybe the name (with incorrect use of masculine genitive) honors both of them or just her

Schilbe grenfelli (Boulenger 1900) in honor of Protestant missionary and explorer George Grenfell (1849–1906), who collected holotype

Schilbe intermedius Rüppell 1832 Latin or intermediate, described as intermediate in certain characters between S. uranoscopus and Siluranodon auritus (then placed in Schilbe)

Schilbe laticeps (Boulenger 1899) latus (L.), wide or broad; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to its large and broad head, wider than head of S. congensis

Schilbe mandibularis (Günther 1867) Latin for of or pertaining to a jaw, etymology not explained, possibly referring to rather well-developed outer mandibular barbels, “not extending to the base of the pectoral, but beyond the orbit”

Schilbe marmoratus Boulenger 1911 Latin or marbled, referring to irregularly marbled color pattern

Schilbe micropogon (Trewavas 1943) micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; pṓgōn (Gr. πώγων), beard, referring to its short (sometimes rudimentary) barbels

Schilbe moebiusii (Pfeffer 1896) in honor of German zoologist Karl August Möbius (1825–1908), who edited the publication in which the description appeared

Schilbe multitaeniatus (Pellegrin 1913) multi– (L.), many; taeniatus (L.), banded, referring to lateral stripes on sides and along anal fin

Schilbe mystus (Linnaeus 1758) latinization of mýstax (Gr. μύσταξ), upper lip or moustache, dating to at least Belon’s De Aquatilibus (1553) to describe all fishes with whiskers, presumably used here in reference to its four pairs of barbels

Schilbe nyongensis (De Vos 1981) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nyong River, Cameroon, where it is endemic

Schilbe tumbanus (Pellegrin 1926) –anus (L.), belonging to: Tumba Lake, Tondu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, type locality

Schilbe uranoscopus Rüppell 1832 ouranós (Gr. οὐρανός), heaven or sky; skopós (Gr. σκοπός), looker, contemplator or viewer, referring to the supero-lateral position of its eyes

Schilbe yangambianus (Poll 1954) –anus (L.), belonging to: Yangambi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, type locality

Schilbe zairensis De Vos 1995 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), where type locality (Lemfu, Inkisi River, lower Congo River basin) is situated

Siluranodon Bleeker 1858 Silurus, referring to previous placement of S. auritus in that genus; án– (Gr. ἄν-), without, and odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to what Bleeker mistakenly believed was a lack of teeth (teeth are very reduced; those on upper jaw tend to be lost due to damage, while those on lower jaw are overgrown by surrounding bone)

Siluranodon auritus (Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1809) Latin for eared, from the local Arabic name Wadi Denne (“provided with ears”), referring to large, rounded pectoral fins just behind head, which resemble two big ears