Revised 28 Oct. 2025
PDF version (illustrated and with additional information)

Macruronus Günther 1873 etymology not explained, Macrur-, possibly reflecting original placement of M. novaezelandiae in the macrourid genus Coryphaenoides; onus, presumably a Latinization of onos (ὄνος), donkey or ass (asellus in Latin), a name dating to Aristotle for an unidentified gadiform fish, possibly Phycis blennoides (Gadidae) but often applied to Merluccius merluccius (Merlucciidae) and hence used several times by Günther as a suffix for a hake-like fish

Macruronus maderensis Maul 1951 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: off Madeira, eastern Atlantic, type locality

Macruronus novaezelandiae (Hector 1871) of New Zealand, referring to type locality off Ward Island, Port Nicholson