Updated 20 Oct. 2025
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Arctogadus Dryagin 1932 arcto-, from árktos (ἄρκτος) north, referring to type locality in northeastern Siberia and/or distribution in Arctic and North Atlantic and North Pacific waters; gadus, from gádos (γάδος), a hake, cod or similar gadiform fish

Arctogadus glacialis (Peters 1874) Latin for icy or frozen, presumably referring to its type locality, Sabine Island, Greenland, and/or its distribution in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans [often dated 1872]

Boreogadus Günther 1862 borealis (L.), northern, proposed as a northern subgenus of Gadus, referring to distribution of Gadus fabricii (=B. saida) in Arctic seas and the North Pacific and North Atlantic

Boreogadus saida (Lepechin 1774) Russian name for this species

Eleginus Fischer 1813 elegí̄nos (ἑλεγῖνος), a shoaling fish mentioned by Aristotle, species unknown, possibly referring to how E. nawaga forms large breeding shoals under the ice

Eleginus gracilis (Tilesius 1810) Latin for thin or slender, allusion not explained, presumably referring to thinner body compared with E. nawaga

Eleginus nawaga (Walbaum 1792) Russian name for this species (sometimes spelled navaga)

Gadiculus Guichenot 1850 diminutive of Gadus, referring to its affinity with other gadoid fishes, particularly Gadus barbatus (=Trisopterus luscus) and G. (now Merluccius) merluccius

Gadiculus argenteus Guichenot 1850 Latin for silvery, referring to its uniformly silver body

Gadiculus argenteus thori Schmidt 1913 “in memory” of Thor, the first Danish research ship specially equipped for scientific work on the oceans, on the cruises of which Schmidt was able study the postlarval development of both forms of this species

Gadus Linnaeus 1758 Latinization of gádos (γάδος), a hake, cod or similar gadiform fish

Gadus chalcogrammus Pallas 1814 chalkós (χαλκός), brass or copper; grammus, scientific Neo-Latin derived from grammḗ (γραμμή), line or stroke of the pen, referring to two interrupted golden-brown longitudinal bands on sides

Gadus macrocephalus Tilesius 1810 big-headed, from makrós (μακρός), long or large, and kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to its large head (>⅓ TL) with a wide gaping mouth (“rictu oris amplissimo”)

Gadus morhua Linnaeus 1758 Neo-Latin for codfish, perhaps derived from the Old French vernacular morlue

Gadus morhua callarias Linnaeus 1758 from kallarías (καλλαρίας), a kind of cod

Gadus morhua kildinensis Derjugin 1920 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Kildin Island, Barents Sea, Russia, type locality

Gadus morhua marisalbi Derjugin 1920 maris, genitive of mare (L.), sea; albi-, from albus (L.), white, referring to the White Sea of Russia, where it is endemic

Gadus ogac Richardson 1836 local name for this species in Greenland (also known as Owak)

Melanogrammus Gill 1862 mélanos (μέλανος), genitive of mélas (μέλας), black; grammus, scientific Neo-Latin derived from grammḗ (γραμμή), line or stroke of the pen, referring to its black lateral line

Melanogrammus aeglefinus (Linnaeus 1758) apparently a Latinization of “Eglefin,” its vernacular name in England according to Pierre Belon, De aquatilibus (1553)

Merlangius Garsault 1764 a variation of merlangus (note added “i”), nearly tautonymous with Gadus merlangus Linnaeus 1758

Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus 1758) etymology uncertain, possibly a variation of the French vernacular merlan, presumably from the Latin merula, blackbird, a name also used for Merluccius merluccius (Merlucciidae, see that entry for details), its presumed congener at the time

Merlangius merlangus euxinus (Nordmann 1840) named for Pontus Euxinus, archaic name of Black Sea, where type locality (Balaclava, Crimea, Ukraine) is situated

Microgadus Gill 1865 micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small, referring to small size of M. proximus (<15.25 cm), i.e., a small Gadus

Microgadus proximus (Girard 1854) Latin for nearest or next, allusion not explained; Jordan & Evermann (1898) say name refers to its affinity with M. tomcod

Microgadus tomcod (Walbaum 1792) Tom Cod, its local name in 18th-century New York (USA), from where it was described

Micromesistius Gill 1863 micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small; mes-, middle; istius, from histíon (ἱστίον), sail (i.e., dorsal fin), referring to its three dorsal fins, the middle one described by Gill as “short” (although it appears no smaller than the first, or anterior, dorsal fin)

Micromesistius australis Norman 1937 Latin southern, referring to its distribution in the Southern Hemisphere (contrasted with M. poutassou from the Northern Hemisphere)

Micromesistius poutassou (Risso 1827) presumably from gros poutassou, French name for this species

Pollachius Nilsson 1832 tautonymous with Gadus pollachius Linnaeus 1758

Pollachius pollachius (Linnaeus 1758) apparently a Latinization of its Anglo-Saxon common name, pollack, dating to Willughby, De historia piscium (1686)

Pollachius virens (Linnaeus 1758) Latin for green, referring to its greenish back (“dorso virescente”)

Trisopterus Rafinesque 1814 trissós (τρισσός), threefold; pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to three dorsal fins and three anal fins opposite each other (species have only two anal fins); Rafinesque may have been fooled by a drawing in Willughby, De historia piscium (1686) that appears to show three anal fins

Trisopterus capelanus (Lacepède 1800) apparently a Latinization of capelan, French vernacular for this species dating to Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis (1554)

Trisopterus esmarkii (Nilsson 1855) in honor of Laurent Esmark (1806– 1884), Conservator of the Zoological Museum of the University of Christiana, who was the first to notice that this cod represented a separate species, an “equally excellent astute researcher, amiable and honorable man, and sincere friend” (translation) who made valuable contributions to Scandinavian ichthyology

Trisopterus luscus (Linnaeus 1758) name coined by Willughby, De historia piscium (1686), meaning one-eyed or half-blind, probably alluding to “blind,” a vernacular name in Cornwall, England, which, per Day, Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland (1880), refers to a double layer of skin that partially or entirely crosses the front surface of its eye, with a “sort of hollow bag” between the layers that becomes “bal[l]oon-shaped” when a specimen is pulled from great depths; this “bag” takes on an “opaque or white sodden character” seen in both living and dead specimens

Trisopterus minutus (Linnaeus 1758) Latin for small, a name that dates to Willughby, De historia piscium (1686), who called it Asellus mollis minor or Asellus omnium minimus and described it as the “smallest known of its kind” (translation); reaches up to 40 cm TL compared with most presumed congeners at the time (typically 70–200 cm TL)