Updated 3 Jan. 2024
PDF version (with illustrations)
Subfamily TRIPORTHEINAE Fowler 1940
Triportheus Cope 1872 tri– (L.), three; portheus, from porthéō (Gr. πορθέω), to ravage or destroy, allusion not explained, probably referring to three series of teeth on premaxillary (in 1871, Cope described Portheus, a fossil fish genus from Kansas, USA, noting its “uncommonly powerful offensive dentition”)
Triportheus albus Cope 1872 Latin for white, presumably referring to its “silver-white” sides and belly
Triportheus angulatus (Spix & Agassiz 1829) Latin for with corners or angled, referring to its knife-shaped abdomen (“abdomine angulato”)
Triportheus auritus (Valenciennes 1850) Latin for eared, referring to its larger operculum compared with T. brachipomus, described in the same publication
Triportheus brachipomus (Valenciennes 1850) brachýs (Gr.) βραχύς, short; pṓma (Gr. πῶμα), lid or cover, referring to its smaller operculum compared with T. auritus, described in the same publication
Triportheus culter (Cope 1872) Latin for knife, referring to the knife-like shape of its body
Triportheus curtus (Garman 1890) Latin short, proposed as a subspecies of T. angulatus distinguished by the “shortness of its body”
Triportheus guentheri (Garman 1890) in honor of German-born British ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830–1914), who reported this species as Chalcinus (=Triportheus) brachypomus (note spelling, with a y instead of an i) in 1864
Triportheus magdalenae (Steindachner 1878) of the Río Magdalena, Colombia, type locality (and endemic to the Río Magdalena basin)
Triportheus nematurus (Kner 1858) thread-tailed, from nḗmatos (Gr. νήματος), threaded, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to prolonged middle rays of caudal fin
Triportheus orinocensis Malabarba 2004 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Río Orinoco basin, Venezuela, where it is endemic
Triportheus pantanensis Malabarba 2004 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Pantanal de Mato Grosso, Brazil, where it commonly occurs
Triportheus pictus (Garman 1890) Latin for painted or colored, presumably referring to light bands of color on pectoral fins and/or middle rays of caudal fin
Triportheus rotundatus (Jardine 1841) Latin for rounded, referring to rounded abdomen compared with angular abdomen of T. angulatus
Triportheus signatus (Garman 1890) Latin for marked or stamped, presumably referring to transverse band of light color on caudal fin
Triportheus trifurcatus (Castelnau 1855) tri– (L.), three; furcatus (L.), forked, referring to how prolonged middle rays of caudal fin create a three-pronged tail
Triportheus venezuelensis Malabarba 2004 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Venezuela, country drained by the Río Orinoco basin, where it occurs
Subfamily AGONIATINAE Bleeker 1859
Agoniates Müller & Troschel 1845 ἀ-, Greek privative, i.e., without; gōnía (Gr. γωνία), angle or corner, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to unserrated abdomen of A. halecinus
Agoniates anchovia Eigenmann 1914 –ia (L.), having the quality of: referring to its anchovy-like appearance
Agoniates halecinus Müller & Troschel 1845 halec (L.), herring; formis, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of forma (L.), referring to its herring-like shape
Engraulisoma Castro 1981 engraulís, ancient Greek name (ἐγγραυλίς) of the European Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus, often used a standard suffix for anchovies; sṓma (Gr. σῶμα), body, referring to its anchovy-like shape
Engraulisoma taeniatum Castro 1981 Latin for banded, probably referring to silver band on sides
Lignobrycon Eigenmann & Myers 1929 ligno-, from lignum (L.), gathered wood or firewood, proposed as a genus for a fossil species, Tetragonpterus ligniticus Woodward 1898, described from Tertiary lignite deposits of Sao Paulo, Brazil; brycon, generalized term used in generic names of many characiform fishes, derived from brýchō (Gr. βρύχω), to bite, gnash teeth or eat greedily, originally an allusion to fully toothed maxillae
Lignobrycon myersi (Miranda Ribeiro 1956) in honor of American ichthyologist George S. Myers (1905–1985), Stanford University, Stanford University, California, USA
Herring Characin
Subfamily CLUPEACHARACINAE Fowler 1958
Clupeacharax Pearson 1924 clupea (L.), herring or herring-like fish, referring to its anchovy-like appearance; Charax, typical genus of the Characiformes, from chárax (Gr. χάραξ), a pointed stake of a palisade, referring to densely packed sharp teeth, a common root-name formation in the order
Clupeacharax anchoveoides Pearson 1924 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: an anchovy, referring to its appearance