Updated 30 Sept. 2024
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Glass Knifefishes
Subfamily EIGENMANNIINAE Mago-Leccia 1978
Archolaemus Korringa 1970 archós (Gr. ἀρχός), anus; laimós (Gr. λαιμός ), throat, referring to location of vent under eye
Archolaemus blax Korringa 1970 Latin for doltish, “in reference to the fish’s general appearance”
Archolaemus ferreirai Vari, de Santana & Wosiacki 2012 in honor of Brazilian ichthyologist Efrem J. G. Ferreira (b. 1954), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), who helped collect the type series, for his many contributions to our understanding of Amazonian fishes
Archolaemus janeae Vari, de Santana & Wosiacki 2012i n honor of Jane Mertens, Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, for her assistance to the second author
Archolaemus luciae Vari, de Santana & Wosiacki 2012 in honor of Lucia Rapp Py-Daniel, Curator of Fishes, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, for her many contributions to the knowledge of Amazonian fishes and her assistance to the authors over the years
Archolaemus orientalis Stewart, Vari, de Santana & Wosiacki 2012 Latin for eastern, referring to its presence in the rio São Francisco (Minas Gerais, Brazil), the easternmost known occurrence in the genus
Archolaemus santosi Vari, de Santana & Wosiacki 2012 in honor of Brazilian aquatic biologist Geraldo Mendes dos Santos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Manaus), who collected holotype, for his many contributions to our knowledge of Amazonian fishes
Distocyclus Mago-Leccia 1978 disto (L.), stand apart (i.e., be different); cyclus, from kýklos (Gr. κύκλος), ring or circle, different from Eigenmannia (original genus) in having a long and conical snout
Distocyclus conirostris (Eigenmann & Allen 1942) conus, from kṓnos (Gr. κῶνος), cone; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, referring to its conical head (including snout)
Eigenmannia Jordan & Evermann 1896 –ia (L. suffix), belonging to: German-born American ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann (1863–1927), for his “excellent work” on the freshwater fishes of South America [replacement name for Cryptops Eigenmann 1894, preoccupied by Cryptops Leach 1814 in Myriopoda, Cryptops Schoenherr 1823 and Cryptops Solier 1851 in Coleoptera]
Eigenmannia antonioi Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki 2015 in memory of Antônio da Silva Wanderley, grandfather of the first author
Eigenmannia besouro Peixoto & Wosiacki 2016 Portuguese for beetle, in honor of Manoel Henrique Pereira (1895–1924), known as Besouro Mangangá (The Mangangá Beetle), a native of the Recôncavo region of Bahia, Brazil (where this knifefish occurs), and a legendary figure in the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira [see also Hypostomus bimbai and H. pastinhai, Loricariidae: Hypostominae]
Eigenmannia camposi Herrera-Collazos, Galindo-Cuervo, Maldonado-Ocampo & Rincón-Sandoval 2020 in honor of Brazilian biologist Ricardo Campos-da-Paz, Universidade de São Paulo, for contributions to our knowledge of gymnotiform fishes
Eigenmannia catira Cardoso & Dutra 2023 catira, a popular dance in Brazilian folklore performed by herdsmen and farmers in the areas of influence of the sertaneja culture in São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul states, Brazil, where this knifefish occurs
Eigenmannia correntes Campos-da-Paz & Queiroz 2017 named for the rio Correntes (main river of the rio Piquiri system, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil), where all type specimens were collected
Eigenmannia desantanai Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki 2015 in honor of Brazilian ichthyologist Carlos David de Santana, for his contributions to our knowledge of gymnotiform fishes
Eigenmannia dutrai Peixoto, Pastana & Ballen 2021 in honor of Brazilian zoologist Guilherme M. Dutra, Universidade de São Paulo, for his contribution to ichthyology, particularly the taxonomy of Eigenmannia
Eigenmannia guchereauae (Meunier, Jégu & Keith 2014) in honor of Corinne Guchereau, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), who facilitated the technical aspects of the authors’ work for 15 years
Eigenmannia guairaca Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki 2015 named for the legendary Guairacá, a brave Indian chief who protected the Guaraní people and their land
Eigenmannia humboldtii (Steindachner 1878) in honor of Prussian geographer-naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), one of the first ichthyological explorers of the Río Magdalena, Colombia, type locality (also occurs in Brazil and Venezuela)
Eigenmannia limbata (Schreiner & Miranda Ribeiro 1903) Latin for edged or bordered, referring to white anal fin bordered in black
Eigenmannia loretana Waltz & Albert 2018 –ana (L.), belonging to: in honor of the residents and inhabitants of Loreto, Peru, where type locality (Lago Tomana, southwest of Iquitos) is situated
Eigenmannia macrops (Boulenger 1897) macro-, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large; ṓps (Gr. ὦψ), eye, referring to its “much larger” eye compared with presumed congeners in Sternopygus
Eigenmannia macuxi Dutra, Peixoto, Donin, de Santana & Menezes 2024 named for the Macuxi indigenous people whose home territory is near the type locality in Roraima, Brazil
Eigenmannia magoi Herrera-Collazos, Galindo-Cuervo, Maldonado-Ocampo & Rincón-Sandoval 2020 in honor of Venezuelan ichthyologist Francisco Mago-Leccia (1931-2004), for his contributions to our knowledge of gymnotiform fishes
Eigenmannia matintapereira Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki 2015 named for Matinta Pereira, a mythical figure that haunts people in search of tobacco and coffee in northern Brazil; according to reports, its appearance is marked by a blackened aspect, alluding to the color pattern of this species
Eigenmannia meeki Dutra, de Santana & Wosiacki 2017 in honor of American ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek (1859–1914), who made many contributions to the knowledge of the diversity of the fishes of Panama (where this knifefish occurs)
Eigenmannia microstoma (Reinhardt 1852) small-mouthed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its “extremely small” mouth (translation)
Eigenmannia muirapinima Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki 2015 named for the indigenous people of the Muirapinima tribe, who inhabit region near type locality in Pará, Brazil
Eigenmannia nigra Mago-Leccia 1994 Latin for dark or black, referring to its “peculiar black phase coloration”
Eigenmannia oradens Dutra, Peixoto, de Santana & Wosiacki 2018 ora (L.), edge; dens (L.), tooth, referring to bony dorsolateral flange on dentary in which teeth are attached
Eigenmannia pavulagem Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki 2015 named for Arraial do Pavulagem, a cultural movement created in Pará, Brazil, characterized by music of a unique traditional style that originated in Amazon region
Eigenmannia sayona Peixoto & Waltz 2017 named for La Sayona, a spirit of “philanderous vengeance” in Venezuelan lore (this species occurs in the río Orinoco basin, Venezuela); name is intended as an homage to the Venezuelan people with no meaning or significance to the fish itself (Luiz Peixoto, pers. comm.)
Eigenmannia sirius Peixoto & Ohara 2019 Sirius, brightest star in night sky (Canis Major constellation), representing state of Mato Grosso (where this species is probably endemic) in Brazilian national flag
Eigenmannia trilineata López & Castello 1966 tri– (L.), three; lineata (L.), lined, referring to three dark horizontal stripes, one across middle of body, one along bottom, and one along base of anal fin
Eigenmannia vicentespelaea Triques 1996 spelaeum (L.), cave; vicente, referring to Cave São Vicentie II, Tocantins River basin, Goiás, Brazil, only known area of occurrence
Eigenmannia virescens (Valenciennes 1836) viridis (L.), green; –escens (L.), becoming, i.e., greenish, name dates to a plate, allusion not explained in subsequent written description (1847) but likely referring to green-tinted transparent body in life
Eigenmannia waiwai Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki 2015 named for the Waiwai, indigenous people whose home territory is near type locality in Pará, Brazil
Eigenmannia zenuensis Herrera-Collazos, Galindo-Cuervo, Maldonado-Ocampo & Rincón-Sandoval 2020 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place but in this case in honor of the Amerindian Colombian tribe Zenú, who historically occurred throughout the San Jorge River basin of Colombia, where this knifefish occurs
Japigny Meunier, Jégu & Keith 2011 named for Japigny, a tributary of Approuague River, French Guiana, where J. kirschbaum was first found
Japigny kirschbaum Meunier, Jégu & Keith 2011 in honor of Frank Kirschbaum, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, a specialist in gymnotiform fishes who has spawned and bred several species in the laboratory [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i” (although spelled kirschbaumi in the photo captions)]
Rhabdolichops Eigenmann & Allen 1942 rhábdos (Gr. ῥάβδος), rod, wand or staff; lichanós (Gr. λιχανός), forefinger; ṓps (Gr. ὦψ), eye or face (i.e., appearance), allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “enormously exaggerated” and “tumid” tails on some specimens of R. longicaudatus (=R. troscheli), which, on one specimen, exceeded length of body
Rhabdolichops caviceps (Fernández-Yépez 1968) cavus (L.), hollow or hole; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to a series of cavities around the eyes
Rhabdolichops eastwardi Lundberg & Mago-Leccia 1986 of the research vessel Eastward, formerly of the Duke University Oceanographic Program, the ship that supported two productive ichthyological expeditions to the lower Orinoco of Venezuela, where this knifefish occurs
Rhabdolichops electrogrammus Lundberg & Mago-Leccia 1986 electro-, combining form of electricus, Neo-Latin for “of amber,” referring to amber’s attractive properties, later applied to objects capable of attracting “light bodies” (e.g., bits of paper) when excited by friction, and then applied even later to the cause (electricity) rather than the property of the attraction; grammus, scientific Neo-Latin derived from grammḗ (Gr. γραμμή), line or stroke of the pen, referring to narrow transparent electric organ usually visible with transmitted light above posterior part of anal fin
Rhabdolichops jegui Keith & Meunier 2000 in honor of ichthyologist Michael Jégu, ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer), who collected holotype
Rhabdolichops lundbergi Correa, Crampton & Albert 2006 in honor of American ichthyologist John G. Lundberg (b. 1942), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for his contributions to the study of gymnotiform and other Neotropical fishes
Rhabdolichops navalha Correa, Crampton & Albert 2006 Portuguese word for razor, referring to its highly laterally compressed body
Rhabdolichops nigrimans Correa, Crampton & Albert 2006 nigri, from nigra (L.), dark or black; mans, from manus (L.), hand (homologous to the pectoral fin,) referring to diagnostic black pectoral fin
Rhabdolichops stewarti Lundberg & Mago-Leccia 1986 in honor of ichthyologist Donald J. Stewart (b. 1946), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, friend and colleague who brought this knifefish to the authors’ attention
Rhabdolichops troscheli (Kaup 1856) in honor of German zoologist Franz Hermann Troschel (1810–1882), who, with Johann Müller, recognized this knifefish as Sternopygus (=Eigenmannia) virescens in 1849
Rhabdolichops zareti Lundberg & Mago-Leccia 1986 in honor of the late Thomas M. Zaret (1945–1984), University of Washington (Seattle, USA), the authors’ “close friend, who contributed much to our knowledge of Rhabdolichops, planktivorous fishes and fish ecology”
Rhinosternarchus Dutra, Peixoto, Abrahão, Wosiacki, Menezes & de Santana 2021 rhinós (Gr. ῥινός), genitive of rhís (ῥίς), snout, referring to its elongated snout; sternarchus, a common suffix in knifefish taxonomy, from Sternarchus Bloch & Schneider 1801 (=Apteronotus, Apteronotidae), stérnon (Gr. στέρνον), breast or chest (especially of men), and archós (Gr. ἀρχός), anus, referring to placement of anal opening near breast of Apteronotus albifrons
Rhinosternarchus goajira (Schultz 1949) referring to area inhabited by the Goajira Indians in Venezuela, where holotype was collected
Rattail Knifefishes
Subfamily STERNOPYGINAE Cope 1871
Sternopygus Müller & Troschel 1846 stérnon (Gr. στέρνον), breast or chest (especially of men); pygus, from pygḗ (Gr. πυγή), rump or buttock, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to placement of anal opening near breast of S. aequilabiatus
Sternopygus aequilabiatus (Humboldt 1805) aequalis (L.), equal; labiatus (L.), lipped, referring to how lower jaw does not project beyond upper jaw as in Gymnotus carapo (Gymnotidae), its presumed congener at the time
Sternopygus arenatus (Eydoux & Souleyet 1850) Latin for sandy or sanded, referring to its brown-yellow coloration, “very finely dotted with black” (translation)
Sternopygus astrabes Mago-Leccia 1994 astrábē (Gr. ἀστράβη), a mule’s saddle, or a padded saddle, referring to 2–4 black, wide and saddle-like vertical bands on body
Sternopygus branco Crampton, Hulen & Albert 2004 Portuguese for white, referring to characteristic pale color of freshly netted live specimens
Sternopygus dariensis Meek & Hildebrand 1916 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Darién, Atlantic slope of Panama, where type locality (Río Tuyra at Marriganti) is situated
Sternopygus macrurus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) large-tailed, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large, and urus, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to its long (but finless) tail
Sternopygus obtusirostris Steindachner 1881 obtusus (L.), blunt; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, referring to its shorter, more rounded snout compared with Gymnotus carapo (Gymnotidae), its presumed congener at the time
Sternopygus sabaji Torgersen & Albert 2022 in honor of American ichthyologist Mark Henry Sabaj (b. 1969), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for his “many contributions to the exploration and understanding of Neotropical aquatic diversity,” and his “role in collecting and photographing the specimens of the type series and his help to the authors in obtaining specimen loans for this study”
Sternopygus sarae Torgersen, Galindo-Cuervo, Reis & Albert 2023 in honor of Sara Holmberg Albert, the fourth author’s wife, for her “perennial support”
Sternopygus pejeraton Schultz 1949 from peje ratón (mouse fish), its local name in the Lake Maracaibo region of Venezuela, probably referring to its mouse- or rat-like tail
Sternopygus xingu Albert & Fink 1996 named for the río Xingú basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil, type locality