Updated 19 April 2026
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Mudskippers
Subfamily OXUDERCINAE Günther 1861 

Apocryptes Valenciennes 1837 apó– (aπό), away, and crypt-, from kryptόs (κρυπτός), hidden, i.e., hidden away, referring to its fossorial habits, burrowing in the mud of ponds and rivers; -ítēs (-ίτης), a typical ending in Greek names

Apocryptes bato (Hamilton 1822) from bhato, local Gangetic name for this goby in Luckipore, India, per Hora (1934)

Apocryptodon Bleeker 1874 odon, from odoús (ὀδούς), tooth, presumably referring to prominent teeth of type species, A. madurensis, previously placed in the closely related Apocryptes

Apocryptodon madurensis (Bleeker 1849) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Madura Straits near Surabaya and Bangcallang, Java, Indonesia, type locality

Apocryptodon punctatus Tomiyama 1934 Latin for spotted, referring to small round dark spot on scales of head and upper body and/or five vertical oblong dark spots on sides of body

Apocryptodon wirzi Koumans 1937 in honor of “Dr. Wirz,” probably Russian-born Swiss anthropologist Paul Wirz (1892–1955), who studied the peoples of Papua New Guinea, and where he collected holotype

Boleophthalmus Valenciennes 1837 bolē (βολή), throw or cast; ophthalmós (ὀφθαλμός), eye, referring to the ability to rapidly raise their eyes above the level of their orbital cavities, as if the eyes were being ejected

Boleophthalmus birdsongi Murdy 1989 in honor of American ichthyologist Ray S. Birdsong (1935–1995), for his contributions towards a better understanding of gobioid osteology and systematics

Boleophthalmus boddarti (Pallas 1770) in honor of Dutch physician-naturalist Pieter Boddaert (1730–1796), who confirmed Pallas’ belief that this species, which he first saw in the museum of pharmacist L. Juliaans, represented an undescribed species

Boleophthalmus caeruleomaculatus McCulloch & Waite 1918 caeruleus (L.), dark blue (but used here to mean blue in general); maculatus (L.), spotted, presumably referring to bluish center of each scale

Boleophthalmus dussumieri Valenciennes 1837 in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792–1883), French voyager and merchant, who collected holotype in Bombay and provided notes and observations on other gobies

Boleophthalmus pectinirostris (Linnaeus 1758) pectinatus (L.), comb-toothed; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to incised teeth of mandible

Boleophthalmus poti Polgar, Jaafar & Konstantinidis 2013 local name for this mudskipper among the indigenous people of the Wapi villages of Purutu Island, Papua New Guinea (type locality), meaning “spotted,” referring to numerous tiny whitish spots on head

Oxuderces Eydoux & Souleyet 1850 from oxuderkḗs (ὀξυδερκής), sharp-sighted, referring to prominent, protruding eyes with membranous eyelids

Oxuderces dentatus Eydoux & Souleyet 1850 Latin for toothed, referring to large canine teeth of upper jaw

Oxuderces nexipinnis (Cantor 1849) nexilis (L.), tied up or interwoven; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, i.e., finned, referring to its united dorsal fins

Parapocryptes Bleeker 1874 pará (παρά), near, referring to similarity with and/or close affinity to Apocryptes

Parapocryptes rictuosus (Valenciennes 1837) Latin for grinning or open-mouthed, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its wide gape

Parapocryptes serperaster (Richardson 1846) serpens (L.), snake or creeping thing; –aster (L.), a diminutive or pejorative suffix, alluding to its Chinese name, Pih-shay (“White snake”), and/or to its slithering or creeping movement across mudflats (although Richardson did not mention this behavior)

Periophthalmodon Bleeker 1874 Periophthalmus, referring to superficial similarity to and/or close affinity with that genus; odon, from odoús (ὀδούς), tooth, presumably referring to prominent teeth of P. schlosseri

Periophthalmodon freycineti (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) in honor of French navigator Louis de Freycinet (1779–1841), who led expedition during which holotype was collected

Periophthalmodon schlosseri (Pallas 1770) in honor of Dutch physician-naturalist Johann Albert Schlosser (1733-1769), “celebrated man” and Pallas’ “very close friend” (translations), who received this goby from Indonesia and sent them to Pallas [the first eponym in ichthyology]

Periophthalmodon septemradiatus (Hamilton 1822) septem (L.), seven; radiatus (L.), rayed, referring to seven short rays in first dorsal fin

Periophthalmus Bloch & Schneider 1801 perí (περί), around; ophthalmós (ὀφθαλμός), eye, the periophthalmum, a thin skin (common in birds) that draws over eyes to protect them without shutting the eyelids, referring to mudskippers’ lower eyelid fold (some references say name refers to mudskippers’ wide visual field, but this is incorrect; Bloch & Schneider use just five words to diagnose the genus, “Pinnae pectorales manuformes, oculi palpebrati” [pectoral fins like hands, eyes with eyelids], and did not mention their vision)

Periophthalmus argentilineatus Valenciennes 1837 argentum (L.), silver; lineatus (L.), lined, referring to 20 silver vertical lines on sides

Periophthalmus barbarus (Linnaeus 1766) Latin for strange or foreign, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its unusual appearance (e.g., eyes close together on top of head) compared with other gobioid fishes then placed in the catch-all genus Gobius

Periophthalmus chrysospilos Bleeker 1853 chrysós (χρυσός), gold or golden; spílos (σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to small, gold-orange spots irregularly scattered across entire body

Periophthalmus darwini Larson & Takita 2004 in honor of English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882), for whom type locality, Darwin Harbor (Northern Territory, Australia), was named

Periophthalmus gracilis Eggert 1935 Latin for thin or slender, presumably referring to a slightly slenderer body compared with known congeners at the time

Periophthalmus kallopterus Bleeker 1854 kállos (κάλλος), beauty; pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to colorful bands and margins on both dorsal fins

Periophthalmus kalolo Lesson 1831 native name for this mudskipper in Waigeo, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, type locality

Periophthalmus magnuspinnatus Lee, Choi & Ryu 1995 magnus (L.), great or large; pinnatus (L.), finned, referring to enlarged shape of first dorsal fin

Periophthalmus malaccensis Eggert 1935 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: presumably Malacca Strait near Singapore, type locality

Periophthalmus minutus Eggert 1935 Latin for small, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its size (based on one specimen, 4.0–4.5 cm TL, the smallest mudskipper Eggert studied) and/or its very small scales

Periophthalmus modestus Cantor 1842 Latin for moderate, modest or unassuming, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to lack of striking coloration compared with congeners known at the time

Periophthalmus novaeguineaensis Eggert 1935 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: New Guinea (the Indonesian side), type locality

Periophthalmus novemradiatus (Hamilton 1822) novem (L.), nine; radiatus (L.), rayed, referring to nine spiny rays in first dorsal fin

Periophthalmus pusing Jaafar, Polgar & Zamroni 2016 from Ikan Pusing, local name among coastal Indonesians; Pusing means giddy, referring to headaches and giddiness the locals suffer when they eat this mudskipper; Ikan means fish

Periophthalmus spilotus Murdy & Takita 1999 from spilōtós (σπιλωτός), marked or stained, referring to small, brilliant whitish-blue spots on head and body

Periophthalmus takita Jaafar & Larson 2008 in honor of Korean ichthyologist an colleague Toru Takita (1936–2014), Nagasaki University, for contributions to the knowledge of mudskipper ecology [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “i”]

Periophthalmus variabilis Eggert 1935 Latin for variable, referring to strong variability in markings and shape of first dorsal fin

Periophthalmus walailakae Darumas & Tantichodok 2002 in honor of Walailak University (Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand), where both authors work, on the occasion of its 10th anniversary

Periophthalmus waltoni Koumans 1941 in honor of Capt. Herbert James Walton (1869–1938), surgeon and naturalist, who collected holotype

Periophthalmus weberi Eggert 1935 in honor of German-born Dutch physician and zoologist Max Weber (1852–1937), who reported this mudskipper as Periophthalmus (now Periophthalmodon) schlosseri in 1913

Pseudapocryptes Bleeker 1874 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this genus may superficially resemble Apocryptes, such an appearance is false

Pseudapocryptes borneensis (Bleeker 1855) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Borneo, type locality

Pseudapocryptes elongatus (Cuvier 1816) Latin for prolonged, referring to its elongated form and pointed caudal fin [treated by some workers as P. lanceolatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801), secondarily preoccupied when placed in Gobius by G. lanceolatus Bloch 1783; named for its pointed or lance-like caudal fin]

Scartelaos Swainson 1839 etymology not explained, probably skarthmos, leap or skip; laos, rock or crag; Swainson did not describe its behavior and habitat, but name most likely refers to how it “skips” over tidal mud flats and over rocks between rock pools

Scartelaos cantoris (Day 1871) -is (L.), genitive singular of: patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Danish naturalist Theodor Edvard Cantor (1809–1860), who explored of the fauna of the Andaman Islands, where this goby is endemic

Scartelaos gigas Chu & Wu 1963 gígas (γίγας), giant, at 17.2 cm SL the largest species of the genus (and reflecting its Chinese vernacular, translated as “Big Green Mudskipper”)

Scartelaos histophorus (Valenciennes 1837) histo, from histíon (ἱστίον), sail (i.e., dorsal fin); phorus, from phoreús (φορεύς), bearer or carrier, referring to height of first dorsal fin “on a narrow base, resembling a mast” (translation)

Scartelaos tenuis (Day 1876) Latin for thin or slender, referring to its slender body, its height 10 times in TL

Zappa Murdy 1989 in honor of American musician and composer Frank Zappa (1940–1993), for his “articulate and sagacious defense of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution”

Zappa confluentus (Roberts 1978) Latin for flowing together, referring to distal ends of fin rays of first dorsal, second dorsal, caudal, and anal fins joined by a single continuous fin membrane

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Worm or Eel Gobies
Subfamily AMBLYOPINAE Günther 1861

Subfamily name from Amblyopus Valenciennes 1837, an unneeded replacement name for Taenioides. From amblýōpós (ἀμβλύωπός), dim-sighted, referring to eyes of T. hermannii (=T. angullaris), described as “so small that, unless the skin is removed, they are difficult to distinguish” (translation).

Amblyotrypauchen Hora 1924 etymology not explained, probably referring to how this genus is related to and/or combines characters of two groups of gobioid fishes recognized at the time, Amblyopina and Trypaucheninae

Amblyotrypauchen arctocephalus (Alcock 1890) arctatus (L.), pressed or compressed; cephalus, from kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, presumably referring to angular head, “its opercular region somewhat inflated, its vertex compressed into a sharp carina”

Biendongella Prokofiev 2015 -ella (L.), a diminutive suffix, named for Bien Dong, Vietnamese name of South China Sea, where both species occur

Biendongella hemilissa Prokofiev 2015 hemi-, from hḗmisys (ἥμισυς), half; lissa, unnecessary feminization of lissós (λισσός), smooth (English translation of description says “naked”), referring to partial absence of scales on precaudal part of body

Biendongella iljini Prokofiev 2015 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Boris Sergeevich Iljin (1889–1958), author of “classic works” (translation) on systematics of gobies from Azov Black Sea and Caspian Sea basins

Brachyamblyopus Bleeker 1874 brachýs (βραχύς), short, presumably referring to short (in depth) body of B. brachysoma; Amblyopus previously placed in that genus (now Taenioides)

Brachyamblyopus brachysoma (Bleeker 1854) brachýs (βραχύς), short; sṓma (σῶμα), body, presumably referring to its short body depth, 9-9½ times in its length

Brachyamblyopus burmanicus Hora 1926 -icus (L.), belonging to: Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), type locality

Caragobius Smith & Seale 1906 cara-, from kára (κάρα), head, presumably referring to “large, oblong, quadrilateral” head of C. typhlops (=urolepis); gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Caragobius rubristriatus (Saville-Kent 1889) rubri, from ruber (L.), red; striatus, striped (L.), grooved or furrowed (i.e., striped), referring to a “longitudinal carmine streak, indicating the contour of the lateral line”

Caragobius urolepis (Bleeker 1852) uro, from ourá (οὐρά), tail; lepís (λεπίς), scale, referring to scaleless body except for posterior third (i.e., caudal peduncle)

Ctenotrypauchen Steindachner 1867 cteno, from ktenós (κτενός), comb, presumably referring to high, comb-like keel, or sharp ridge, along median line of back part of head; Trypauchen, a similar genus

Ctenotrypauchen chinensis Steindachner 1867 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: China, type locality

Gymnoamblyopus Murdy & Ferraris 2003 gymnós (γυμνός), bare or naked, referring to absence of scales; Amblyopus (=Taenioides), type genus of Amblyopinae

Gymnoamblyopus novaeguineae Murdy & Ferraris 2003 of Papua New Guinea, where it is known only from the Lower Fly River

Karsten Murdy 2002 named for Karsten E. Hartel (b. 1944), curator of the fish collection at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, who “greatly assisted” the author’s study as well as others through the years

Karsten totoyensis (Garman 1903) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Totoya, Fiji Islands, type locality

Odontamblyopus Bleeker 1874 odonto, Neo-Latin combining form of odoús (ὀδούς), tooth, presumably referring to multiple rows of teeth on each jaw and/or long, curved canines of O. rubicundus; Amblyopus (=Taenioides), type genus of Amblyopinae

Odontamblyopus lacepedii (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) in honor of Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de [count of] La Cepède (also spelled as La Cépède, Lacépède, or Lacepède, 1756–1825), who published an illustration of a Chinese specimen said to be this goby under the name “Taenioïde Herrmannien” in 1800 (Histoire Naturelle des Poissons, v. 2), but perhaps is actually Taenioides anguillaris

Odontamblyopus rebecca Murdy & Shibukawa 2003 in honor of Rebecca Rootes (1951–2021), Murdy’s “life partner and spouse” [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “ae”]

Odontamblyopus roseus (Valenciennes 1837) Latin for rosy or pink, referring to its primary body color

Odontamblyopus rubicundus (Hamilton 1822) Latin for red or ruddy, described as “dirty brown above, and red below”

Odontamblyopus tenuis (Day 1876) Latin for thin or slender, referring to its “very compressed” body

Paratrypauchen Murdy 2008 pará (παρά), near, a member of the “Trypauchen” group but differing in having a scaleless abdomen, no serrated frontal crest, and a slightly emarginate interradial membrane on pelvic fins

Paratrypauchen microcephalus (Bleeker 1860) small-headed, from mikrós (μικρός), small, and kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to small, slightly compressed head, 8½ times in TL

Pseudobrachyamblyopus UNAVAILABLE Ba 2023 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this genus may resemble Brachyamblyopus, such an appearance is false

Pseudobrachyamblyopus odontamblyopsis UNAVAILABLE Ba 2023 ópsis (ὄψις), appearance: similar to Odontamblyopus

Pseudotrypauchen Hardenberg 1931 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this genus “very much” resembles Trypauchen, such an appearance is false

Pseudotrypauchen multiradiatus Hardenberg 1931 multi- (L.), many; radiatus (L.), rayed, referring to numerous rays (40) of pectoral fin

Sovvityazius Prokofiev 2015 Sov, Soviet; –ius, belonging to: Vityaz, Soviet research vessel that collected type specimens in 1973

Sovvityazius acer Prokofiev 2015 Latin for sharp, i.e., sharp-sighted, referring to its better-developed eyes compared with others in Amblyopinae

Taenioides Lacepède 1800 -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (εἶδος), form or shape: taenia (L.), from tainía (ταινία), band or ribbon, referring to ribbon- or banner-like shape of T. hermannii (=anguillaris)

Taenioides anguillaris (Linnaeus 1758) Latin for eel-like, with the body of a “slippery eel” (translation)

Taenioides buchanani (Day 1873) in honor of Francis Hamilton-Buchanan (1762–1829, later known as Hamilton), Scottish physician and naturalist, who published an influential account of Indo-Gangetic fishes in 1822 (Day noted that this goby resembles Odontamblyopus rubicundus, described by Hamilton)

Taenioides caniscapulus Roxas & Ablan 1938 said to mean “dog-head,” from canis (L.), dog, and capulus, presumably a corruption of caput (L.), head, referring to its profile from chin to lower jaw, described as “bulldoglike”

Taenioides cirratus (Blyth 1860) Latin for curly or fringed, referring to seven “flat and pointed cirrhi” near symphysis of lower jaw

Taenioides eruptionis (Bleeker 1849) Latin for of an eruption; this species was collected in Indonesia on 19 May 1848, during the eruption of the stratovolcano Klut (now known as Kelud), with ashes raining down upon the river, killing most of its fish

Taenioides esquivel Smith 1947 etymology not explained, possibly a member of Smith’s staff or a Portuguese East African (now Mozambican) authority who assisted Smith during the June/July 1946 expedition during which holotype was collected (Smith named several new species in honor of these individuals but “Esquivel” is not included in his acknowledgment) [presumably a noun in apposition, without the genitive “i”]

Taenioides gracilis (Valenciennes 1837) Latin for thin or slender, its height nearly 20 times in its total length

Taenioides kentalleni Murdy & Randall 2002 in honor of marine biologist Kent “Trig” Allen (b. 1952), Aramco (Saudi Arabian Oil Company), who collected and photographed holotype (and only known specimen) while conducting environmental surveys along the nearshore and intertidal systems of the western Arabian (Persian) Gulf

Taenioides mordax (De Vis 1883) Latin for biting, referring to “strong” canine teeth, protruding on the edge of the jaws

Taenioides nigrimarginatus Hora 1924 nigri-, from niger (L.), dark or black; marginatus (L.), edged or bordered, referring to black margins on vertical fins

Taenioides purpurascens (De Vis 1884) variant spelling of purpurescens (L.), purplish or purple-tinged, referring to “deep purple red” color in life

Taenioides snyderi Jordan & Hubbs 1925 in honor of American ichthyologist John Otterbein Snyder (1867–1943), who (along with Jordan) identified this goby as T. (now Odontamblyopus) lacepedii in 1901

Taenioides tonkinensis Chabanaud 1927 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Tonkin, French spelling of the Sino-Vietnamese Đông Kinh, referring to northern region of Vietnam (although type locality is in southern Vietnam)

Trypauchen Valenciennes 1837 trýpa (τρύπα), hole; auchḗn (αὐχήν), nape, referring to oval-shaped opening (actually a pouch-like structure) on dorsal edge of operculum (its function not known)

Trypauchen pelaeos Murdy 2006 pēlaī́os (πηλαῖος), muddy or muddied (Murdy says “mud-dweller”), referring to its typical habitat

Trypauchen vagina (Bloch & Schneider 1801) Latin for sheath or scabbard, referring to oval-shaped opening (actually a pouch-like structure) on dorsal edge of operculum (its function not known)

Trypauchenichthys Bleeker 1860 Trypauchen, referring to similarity to and close affinity with that genus; ichthýs (ἰχθύς), fish

Trypauchenichthys larsonae Murdy 2008 in honor of Helen Larson, Curator of Fishes, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Darwin, Australia), who has “devoted much of her time and energy” to the study of gobioid fishes and who has helped Murdy on many occasions in his gobioid studies

Trypauchenichthys sumatrensis Hardenberg 1931 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sumatra, Indonesia, type locality

Trypauchenichthys typus Bleeker 1860 serving as type of the genus

Trypauchenopsis Volz 1903 ópsis (ὄψις), appearance, referring to its eel-like shape, like that of Trypauchen

Trypauchenopsis intermedia Volz 1903 Latin for intermediate, allusion not explained, probably referring to its being intermediate in form between other eel-shaped and related genera, Amblyopus (=Taenioides), Trypauchen and Trypauchenichthys

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Estuarine Gobies
Subfamily GOBIONELLINAE Bleeker 1874

Acanthogobius Gill 1859 acanthus (L.), from ákantha (ἄκανθα), thorn or spine, allusion not explained, probably referring to 8–9 spines on first dorsal fin of A. flavimanus; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Acanthogobius donghaiensis (Prokofiev 2012) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Donghai, Chinese name of the East China Sea, where this species was originally described from off the coast of Nanhui, Shanghai, China [replacement name for A. elongatus (Ni & Wu 1985), preoccupied by A. elongatus (Fang 1942)]

Acanthogobius elongatus (Fang 1942) Latin for prolonged, referring to its more elongate body compared with congeners (then placed in Aboma) in China and Japan

Acanthogobius flavimanus (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) flavus (L.), yellow; manus (L.), hand (homologous to the pectoral fin), referring to its yellow pectoral fins

Acanthogobius hasta (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) Latin for a thrusting spear used by Roman infantry, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its very elongate, tapered body and/or lanceolate caudal fin

Acanthogobius insularis Shibukawa & Taki 1996 Latin for of islands, referring to its only being known from island habitats

Acanthogobius lactipes (Hilgendorf 1879) lacteus (L.), milky; pes (L.), foot (homologous to the ventral fin), referring to milky white stripe in middle of fused ventral fins

Acanthogobius luridus Ni & Wu 1985 Latin for pale yellow, salllow or wan, allusion not explained, described as having a grayish-brown dorsal surface, gray dorsal, anal, pectoral and ventral fins, and a yellowish-brown dorsal fin

Acanthogobius stigmothonus (Richardson 1845) etymology not explained, presumably from stigmosus (L.), full of marks, and –onus, perhaps an adjectival coinage, referring to any or all of the following: series of six “very irregular” marks on middle of sides, “some freckling” on back, round black mark at caudal-fin base, “velvet-black” mark on upper half of first dorsal fin, 5–6 rows of dark specks on second dorsal fin

Amblychaeturichthys Bleeker 1874 amblýs (ἀμβλύς), blunt, presumably referring to blunt head and snout of A. hexanema, previously placed in the closely related Chaeturichthys

Amblychaeturichthys hexanema (Bleeker 1853) héx (ἕξ), six; nḗma (νῆμα), thread, referring to three pairs of slender barbels on lower jaw

Amblychaeturichthys sciistius (Jordan & Snyder 1901) scio, from skiā́ (σκιά), shade or shadow; istius, from histion (ἱστίον), sail (i.e., dorsal fin), referring to conspicuous black spot on first dorsal fin

Astrabe Jordan & Snyder 1901 astrábē (ἀστράβη), a mule’s saddle, referring to white saddle-like markings on A. lactisella

Astrabe fasciata Akihito & Meguro 1988 Latin for banded, referring to white bands on body

Astrabe flavimaculata Akihito & Meguro 1988 flavus (L.), yellow; maculata (L.), spotted, referring to yellow blotches on body and fins

Astrabe lactisella Jordan & Snyder 1901 lactis (L.), milk; sella (L.), saddle, referring to white saddle-like bands, one passing over pack part and anterior region of body, and another narrower, shorter band between the dorsal fins

Awaouichthys Chatterjee & Mishra 2013 Awaous, referring to its close similarities with that genus; ichthýs (ἰχθύς), fish

Awaouichthys menoni Chatterjee & Mishra 2013 in honor of the late Ambat Gopalan Kutty Menon (1921–2002), “eminent” ichthyologist of the Zoological Survey of India, who confirmed the status of the specimens

Awaous Valenciennes 1837 Latinization of awao or awaou, local name of A. ocellaris in Tahiti

Awaous acritosus Watson 1994 scientific Neo-Latin from ákrĭtos (ἄκριτος), confused, referring to its misidentification for more than 125 years

Awaous aeneofuscus (Peters 1852) aeneus (L.) brazen; fuscus (L.), dark or dusky, referring to its coloration, bronzy on sides, olive-brown above

Awaous bustamantei (Greeff 1882) in honor of Brazilian slave trader Gabriel de Bustamenté, who collected holotype, and the “hospitable and intelligent” (translation) owner of the farm situated on São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea, type locality [in 1884, Greeff renamed smaller specimens originally identified as this goby as a separate species, Sicydium bustamantei]

Awaous commersoni (Schneider 1801) in honor of French naturalist Philibert Commerçon (also spelled Commerson, 1727–1773); replacement name for Gobius niger Lacepède 1800 (based on Commerçon’s manuscript description, “Gobius totus niger”), preoccupied by G. niger Linnaeus 1758 (Gobiidae)

Awaous dayi Keith & Mennesson 2026 in honor of Francis Day (1830–1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, for his “huge” work on the fishes of India, Myanmar and Andaman Islands

Awaous grammepomus (Bleeker 1849) grammḗ (γραμμή), line or stroke of the pen; pomus, from pṓma (πῶμα), lid or cover, i.e., opercle, presumably referring to two oblique blackish streaks from eye to maxilla

Awaous guamensis (Valenciennes 1837) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Guam, Mariana Islands, type locality

Awaous gutum (Hamilton 1822) from Gutum baliya, its local name (per Hora 19341 ) along the lower Padma River (now in Bangladesh)

Awaous jayakari (Boulenger 1888) in honor of Atmaram Sadashiva Grandin Jayakar (1844–1911), surgeon, Indian Medical Service, and collector of natural history, who presented holotype to the British Museum (Natural History)

Awaous keralaensis Keith & Mennesson 2026 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Kerala, Indian region where several specimens were caught

Awaous litturatus (Steindachner 1861) scientific Neo-Latin for branded or marked with letters, presumably referring to head and upper sides irregularly marked with spots and lines

Awaous macrorhynchus (Bleeker 1867) macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; rhynchus, from rhýnchos (ῥύγχος), snout, referring to its wide and elongate snout

Awaous melanocephalus (Bleeker 1849) melanos, genitive of mélas (μέλας), black; kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to its dusky head and/or black snout

Awaous myanmarensis Keith & Mennesson 2026 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Myanmar, country where the main specimens were caught (also occurs in India)

Awaous ocellaris (Broussonet 1782) -is, Latin genitive singular of: ocellus, diminutive of oculus (L.), eye (but here meaning eyespot, referring to black spot on first dorsal fin

Awaous personatus (Bleeker 1849) Latin for masked, referring to black stripes and spots on cheeks

Awaous stamineus (Eydoux & Souleyet 1850) Latin for thready, referring to thread-like rays that extend beyond membrane of first dorsal fin

Awaous stoliczkae (Day 1871) in honor of “esteemed friend” Ferdinand Stoliczka (1838–1874), Moravian paleontologist who collected many of the fishes that Day described [although named after a man, ae” is an acceptable way to form a genitive from a masculine noun that ends in “a”]

Awaous striatus (Day 1868) Latin for furrowed or grooved (i.e., striped or barred), allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “irregular bands” that “pass down from the back towards the middle of the body”

Awaous transandeanus (Günther 1861) trans (L.), over and beyond; –anus (L.), belonging to: the Andes, referring to its distribution west of the Andes in freshwater and brackish streams along the Pacific Slope from Mexico to Peru

Awaous (subgenus Chonophorus) Poey 1860 chonío (χωνίο), funnel; phorus, from phoreús (φορεύς), bearer or carrier, probably referring to how pelvic fins are fused to form an adhesive funnel-shaped hole, a goby characteristic that Poey used to distinguish this taxon from eleotrids

Awaous banana (Valenciennes 1837) Latinization of banane, its local name in the Dominican Republic

Awaous lateristriga (Duméril 1861) lateralis (L.), of the side; striga (L.), furrow or groove (i.e., streak), referring to 8–9 parallel whitish streaks on sides, obliquely directed from top to bottom and front to back

Awaous tajasica (Lichtenstein 1822) from taiasica, presumably a Portuguese or local Brazilian name reported in Marcgrave (or Markgraf, Historia Naturalis Brasiliae, 1648)

Awaous (subgenus Euctenogobius) Gill 1859 eū́– (εὖ), well or very; cteno-, from ktenós (κτενός), comb, referring to ctenoid (rather than cycloid) scales extending along back to within a short distance of eyes; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Awaous flavus (Valenciennes 1837) Latin for yellow, referring to yellowish body coloration

Brachygobius Bleeker 1874 brachýs (βραχύς), short, referring to short, oblong body of B. doriae; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby but possibly used here to reflect Bleeker’s classification of this taxon in a phalanx he called Gobiini

Brachygobius aggregatus Herre 1940 Latin for crowded together, referring to its habit of forming schools (unusual in gobies) of 100–150+ individuals

Brachygobius doriae (Günther 1868) in honor of Italian zoologist Giacoma Doria (1840–1913), president of the Italian Geographic Society, who collected fishes in Borneo and sent them to the British Museum (Natural History), including holotype of this one [although named after a man, ae” is an acceptable way to form a genitive from a masculine noun that ends in “a”]

Brachygobius kabiliensis Inger 1958 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Kabili River, Sandakan District, northern Borneo, type locality

Brachygobius mekongensis Larson & Vidthayanon 2000 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mekong River system, where it occurs in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia

Brachygobius nunus (Hamilton 1822) Latinization of Nuni from Nuni bele, one of its local names in India (per Hora 1934)

Brachygobius sabanus Inger 1958 -anus (L.), belonging to: Sabah, local name for North Borneo, where it is endemic

Brachygobius xanthomelas Herre 1937 xanthós (ξανθός), yellow; mélas (μέλας), black, referring to clear yellow body with 5–6 black crossbands

Brachygobius xanthozona (Bleeker 1849) xanthós (ξανθός), yellow; zona (L.), band, referring to yellow spaces between four black crossbands

Buenia Iljin 1930 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: Iljin’s “eminent colleague” (translation) in the study of gobies, Spanish ichthyologist and oceanographer Fernando de Buen y Lozano (1895–1962)

Buenia affinis Iljin 1930 Latin for related, originally referring to Gobius affinis Kolombatovi´c 1891, which Iljin misidentified when he established it as the type species of Buenia; furthermore, G. affinis is preoccupied by G. affinis Eichwald 1831, but no one has established a new type species nor a replacement name, so Buenia affinis is retained until name and authorship are clarified

Buenia jeffreysii (Günther 1867) in honor of British conchologist and malacologist John Gwyn Jeffreys (1809–1885), who collected holotype while dredging for invertebrates

Buenia lombartei Kovačić, Ordines & Schliewen 2018 in honor of fisheries biologist Antoni Lombarte, Institut de Ciències del Mar-CSIC (Barcelona), who collected the first specimen (paratype) among trawl debris despite its small size

Buenia massutii Kovačić, Ordines & Schliewen 2017 in honor of Spanish marine biologist Enric Massutí (b. 1964), Instituto Español de Oceanografía in the Centre Oceanogràfic de les Balears, for his dedication to the study of benthic habitats in the circalittoral bottoms of the Balearic Islands

Caecogobius Berti & Ercolini 1991 caecus (L.), blind, with no external trace of eyes; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Caecogobius cryptophthalmus Berti & Ercolini 1991 crypto-, from kryptόs (κρυπτός), hidden; ophthalmós (ὀφθαλμός), eye, referring to its “very reduced [and] deeply embedded” eye

Caecogobius personatus Larson & Husana 2018 Latin for masked, referring to fleshy area covering the orbits, masking where the eyes should be

Chaenogobius Gill 1859 chaeno-, from chaínō (χαίνω), yawn or gape, referring to large mouth of C. annularis; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Chaenogobius annularis Gill 1859 Latin for ring-shaped, referring to several ocellate spots near vent

Chaenogobius gulosus (Sauvage 1882) Latin for greedy or gluttonous, referring to its large, gaping mouth

Chaeturichthys Richardson 1844 chaeto-, from chaítē (χαίτη), long hair or mane but often meaning bristle in biology, and ourá (οὐρά), tail, referring to short marginal rays of caudal fin of C. stigmatias; ichthýs (ἰχθύς), fish

Chaeturichthys jeoni Shibukawa & Iwata 2013 in honor of Sang-Rin Jeon, Sang Myung University (Seoul), who “very kindly” assisted the authors’ research of Korean fishes and gave them the opportunity to examine many specimens, including holotype of this one

Chaeturichthys stigmatias Richardson 1844 Latin for a branded person (e.g., a slave), allusion not explained, probably referring to large black spot on posterior border of first dorsal fin

Chlamydogobius Whitley 1930 chlamydos, from chlamýs (χλαμύς), cloak or mantle, allusion not explained, perhaps used as a verb (hide) instead of a noun (garment), referring to isolated desert-spring habitat of C. eremius; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Chlamydogobius eremius (Zietz 1896) from érēmos (ἔρημος), solitary or lonely, referring to its desert-spring habitat

Chlamydogobius gloveri Larson 1995 in honor of the late John Glover (1935–1992), former Curator of Fishes, South Australian Museum, for his considerable work on desert gobies and other arid-zone fishes of Australia; he was convinced this goby was distinct from C. eremius but never got around to describing it (note: three species from Dalhousie Springs are named after Glover: this goby, the catfish Neosilurus gloveri, and the silverside Craterocephalus gloveri)

Chlamydogobius japalpa Larson 1995 Western Arnada name for part of the Finke River (Northern Territory, Australia) that extends through what is now called Helen Gorge; the main waterhole in this gorge is just downstream from Ormiston Cree, type locality

Chlamydogobius micropterus Larson 1995 micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small; pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to reduced (in size and number of rays) first dorsal fin compared with congeners

Chlamydogobius ranunculus Larson 1995 Latin for tadpole, a “resemblance to which this rather frog-headed goby displayed to the author upon their first encounter, at the edge of a drying-up water buffalo wallow”

Chlamydogobius squamigenus Larson 1995 squama (L.), scale; genus, from génys (γένυς), chin, referring to cycloid scales on preopercular region (absent from congeners)

Clariger Jordan & Snyder 1901 clarus (L.), bright or distinct (i.e., clear); –iger (L.), to have or bear, referring to white back of C. cosmurus

Clariger chionomaculatus Shiogaki 1988 chiṓn (χιών), snow; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to white patches on back

Clariger cosmurus Jordan & Snyder 1901 cosm-, from kosméō (κοσμέω), to adorn; urus, from ourá (οὐρά), tail, referring to white, fan-shaped pattern on caudal fin

Clariger exilis Snyder 1911 Latin for slim or slender, referring to its slenderer body compared with C. cosmurus

Clariger papillosus Ebina 1935 Latin for papillose, referring to five well-developed fleshy papillous barbels below eye

Clariger sirahamaensis Sakamoto 1932 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sirahama, Bôsyû Province, Japan, type locality

Clariger taiwanensis Jang-Liaw, Gong & Chen 2012 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: coastal rocky shores of northern Taiwan, where it likely is endemic

Clevelandia Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1888 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: attorney Daniel Cleveland (1838–1929), founding partner and president, San Diego Society of Natural History, who has “done much towards making known the fauna and flora of Southern California”

Clevelandia ios (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) iós (ἰός), dart or arrow, referring to its long and slender body

Crystallogobius Gill 1863 krýstallos (κρύσταλλος), rock crystal or quartz, referring to its translucency; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Crystallogobius linearis (Düben 1845) Latin for linear, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its sublinear (i.e., nearly straight as a line) body shape

Ctenogobius Gill 1858 cteno-, from ktenós (κτενός), comb, referring to its “pectinated” scales; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Ctenogobius apogonus Pezold 2022 apógonos (ἀπόγονος), offspring or progeny, recognizing Pezold’s children, Nicole Pezold Hancock, Blaise Pezold and Michael Pezold, for their “support, patience and sometimes assistance throughout my career from its start in graduate school to finish”

Ctenogobius boleosoma (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) bole, from bolís (βολίς), dart; sṓma (σῶμα), body, but here referring to its “remarkable resemblance” to the North American percid Etheostoma (Boleosoma) olmstedi

Ctenogobius claytonii (Meek 1902) in honor of Powell Clayton (1833–1914), U.S. Minister (ambassador) to Mexico, for “many courtesies” during Meek’s field work in that country in 1901 and 1903 (per Meek 1904)

Ctenogobius fasciatus Gill 1858 Latin for banded, presumably referring to five “zigzag linear bands of black” on caudal fin

Ctenogobius lepturus (Pfaff 1933) thin-tailed, from leptós (λεπτός), fine or thin, and urus, from ourá (οὐρά), tail, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to pointed caudal fin, as long as head, or to combination of slender body and pointed caudal fin

Ctenogobius manglicola (Jordan & Starks 1895) -cola L.), dweller or inhabitant: mangle, referring to roots of mangrove bushes, Rhizophora mangle, where holotype was found

Ctenogobius phenacus (Pezold & Lasala S. 1987) scientific Neo-Latin from phénax (φέναξ), cheat or imposter, referring to how this species, originally described in Gobionellus, is easily mistaken for darter gobies (the genus in which it now resides)

Ctenogobius pseudofasciatus (Gilbert & Randall 1971) pseudo-, from pseúdēs (ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this goby may resemble the closely related C. fasciatus, such an appearance is false

Ctenogobius saepepallens (Gilbert & Randall 1968) saepe (L.), often or frequently; pallens (L.), pale or wan, referring to its “usually” pallid appearance

Ctenogobius sagittula (Günther 1862) diminutive of sagitta (L.), arrow, probably referring to its slender, tapering body with elongate caudal fin

Ctenogobius shufeldti (Jordan & Eigenmann 1887) in honor of American surgeon-zoologist (and later outspoken white supremacist) Robert Wilson Shufeldt (1850–1934), who collected holotype

Ctenogobius smaragdus (Valenciennes 1837) Latin for emerald, based on emeralda, one if its local names in Cuba, perhaps referring to its greenish-brown body and fins

Ctenogobius stigmaticus (Poey 1860) Latin for branded or marked, presumably referring to four black vertical bands, three on cheek and one on operculum

Ctenogobius stigmaturus (Goode & Bean 1882) spot-tailed, from stígma (στίγμα), mark or spot, and ourá (οὐρά), tail, referring to round black spot at base of caudal fin

Ctenogobius thoropsis (Pezold & Gilbert 1987) thorós (θορός), semen or sperm (the “male seed,” per the authors); ópsis (ὄψις), appearance, referring to sperm-like appearance of body when viewed from above (broad head and narrow, attenuated body with a long, trailing caudal fin)

Deltentosteus Gill 1863 délta (δέλτα), shaped like ∆,fourth letter of Greek alphabet; entós (ἐντός), inside or within; osteus (Neo-Latin), bony, from ostéon (ὀστέον), bone, referring to triangular shape of lower pharyngeal bones of D. quadrimaculatus

Deltentosteus collonianus (Risso 1820) -anus (L.), belonging to: etymology not explained; per Valenciennes (1837), in honor of M. [Monsieur] Coulon of Neufchâtel, Switzerland, “an enlightened amateur of natural history” (translation), probably Paul-Louis-Auguste Coulon (1777–1855), a business and civic leader (note: Risso provided a different spelling, colonianus, in 1827)

Deltentosteus quadrimaculatus (Valenciennes 1837) quadri-, from quattuor (L.), four; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to four round spots distributed at equal distances along the sides

Economidichthys Bianco, Bullock, Miller & Roubal 1987 in honor of Panos Economidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, for his contributions to Greek ichthyology (he co-described E. trichonis in 1990)

Economidichthys mornosensis Freyhof, Geiger & Zogaris 2026 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mornos River delta, southwestern Greece, comprising type locality and its entire known distributional range

Economidichthys pygmaeus (Holly 1929) Latin for dwarfish, at up to 35 mm TL, one of the smallest members of Gobius (original genus) known at the time

Economidichthys trichonis Economidis & Miller 1990 named for Lake Trichonis and its streams, Greece, where it is endemic

Eucyclogobius Gill 1862 eū́– (εὖ), well or very; cyclo-, from kýklos (κύκλος), ring or circle, referring to its all-cycloid scales (many gobies also have ctenoid scales); gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Eucyclogobius kristinae Swift, Spies, Ellingson & Jacobs 2016 in honor of Kristina D. Y. Louie (1974–2004), whose untimely death from encephalitis cut short a promising career dedicated to conservation genetics; her Ph.D. dissertation and associated work contributed to the authors’ studies of eastern Pacific phylogeography, as well as to a novel re-interpretation of the placement of Wallace’s Line across the islands of Indonesia

Eucyclogobius newberryi (Girard 1856) in honor of John Strong Newberry (1822–1892), American geologist, physician and explorer, who collected fishes for Girard (but not this one)

Eugnathogobius Smith 1931 eu-, well or very and gnathus, jaw, referring to “enormous” mouth of E. microps, its maxillary more than 2/3 length of head; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Eugnathogobius ganuensis Koreeda, Seah & Motomura 2025 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ganu, local dialectal name for Terengganu, Malaysia, type locality

Eugnathogobius illotus (Larson 1999) Latin for unwashed or dirty, referring to blotchy dark brown lines and mottling on snout and cheeks, giving it the appearance of having an unwashed, smudged face

Eugnathogobius indicus Larson 2009 -icus (L.), belonging to: Indian Ocean, where it is endemic

Eugnathogobius kabilia (Herre 1940) -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: Kabili River, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, type locality

Eugnathogobius mas (Hora 1923) etymology not explained, perhaps a local word or name at Chilika Lake, Odisha, India, type locality

Eugnathogobius mindora (Herre 1945) named for Mindoro, Philippines, type locality

Eugnathogobius siamensis (Fowler 1934) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bangkok, Siam (Thailand), type locality

Eugnathogobius stictos Larson 2009 stiktós (στικτός), spotted or dappled, referring to fine black spots on body

Eugnathogobius taiwanensis (Chen, Shao & Huang 2024) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: known only from brackish water habitats of northern Taiwan

Eugnathogobius umbra (Herre 1827) Latin for shade or shadow, referring to dark-brown color in alcohol

Eugnathogobius variegatus (Peters 1868) Latin for “of different sorts,” particularly colors, presumably referring to yellowish-brown body “irregularly spotted with black” (translation)

Eutaeniichthys Jordan & Snyder 1901 Eutaenia (=Thamnopsis), garter snake genus [eū́– (εὖ), well or very; taenia (L.), from tainía (ταινία), band or ribbon], presumably referring to its “very long and slender” body; ichthýs (ἰχθύς), fish

Eutaeniichthys gilli Jordan & Snyder 1901 in honor of American zoologist Theodore Gill (1837–1914), Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), for his studies of Japanese gobies

Evermannia Jordan 1895 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: Jordan’s former student and later scientific associate, Barton Warren Evermann (1853–1932), United States Fish Commission, for his work on the fishes of the Gulf of California

Evermannia erici Bussing 1983 in honor of Eric A. Bussing, the author’s son, “who first called attention to these inconspicuous fishes and captured several by hand to convince me they were not really the young of other goby species stranded by the outgoing tide”

Evermannia longipinnis (Steindachner 1879) longus (L.), long; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, i.e., finned, referring to filamentous first dorsal-fin spine of males

Evermannia panamensis Gilbert & Starks 1904 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Panama Bay, Panama, type locality

Evermannia zosterura (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) zōstḗr (ζωστήρ), belt or girdle; uro, from ourá (οὐρά), tail, referring to two distinct black bands on caudal fin

Evorthodus Gill 1859 eū́– (εὖ), well or very; orthós (ὀρθός), straight; odon, from odoús (ὀδούς), tooth, allusion not explained, possibly referring to nearly horizontal teeth on lower jaw of E. breviceps (=lyricus)

Evorthodus lyricus (Girard 1858) Latin for pertaining to a lute or lyre, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to filiform middle rays of first dorsal fin

Evorthodus minutus Meek & Hildebrand 1928 Latin for small, type specimens ranging in length from 27–30 mm

Gillichthys Cooper 1864 in honor of American zoologist Theodore Gill (1837–1914), Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), “author of various learned treatises on fishes”; ichthýs (ἰχθύς), fish

Gillichthys detrusus Gilbert & Scofield 1898 Latin for expelled or dislodged, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to type locality, near mouth of (i.e., expelled from) Colorado River, Mexico

Gillichthys mirabilis Cooper 1864 Latin for wonderful or strange, a “remarkable” fish, with a “strange” upper maxillary (prolonged backward to the base of the pectorals, its posterior part a cartilaginous expansion, connected to an expansion of the skin of the lower jaw, thus forming a channel running back from the mouth entirely free from the side of head), “nothing analogous being known in other fishes”

Gillichthys seta (Ginsburg 1938) Latin for bristle, allusion not explained nor evident

Gnatholepis Bleeker 1874 gnáthos (γνάθος), jaw; lepís (λεπίς), scale, allusion not explained, presumably referring to scales on head and cheek of G. anjerensis

Gnatholepis anjerensis (Bleeker 1851) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Anjer (also spelled Anyer and Angier), a coastal town in Banten (formerly West Java, Indonesia), type locality (holotype now lost)

Gnatholepis argus Larson & Buckle 2005 named for Argus, mythical hundred-eyed guardian of Io, whose eyes after death where transformed into the feathers of a peacock, referring to eye-like blue-spotted pattern along sides of males

Gnatholepis caudimaculata Larson & Buckle 2012 cauda (L.), tail; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to distinctive vertical oval blackish-to-dark-gray blotch across caudal-fin base

Gnatholepis cauerensis (Bleeker 1853) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Cauer, a village on the southwestern coast of Sumatra (now Bengkulu, Indonesia), type locality

Gnatholepis gymnocara Randall & Greenfield 2001 gymnós (γυμνός), bare or naked; cara, from kára (κάρα), head, referring to absence of scales on cheek and opercle

Gnatholepis knighti Jordan & Evermann 1903 in honor of Jordan’s son, Knight Starr Jordan (1888–1947), who first noticed this goby in a pond at Moana Hotel at Waikiki Beach, near Honolulu, Hawai‘i

Gnatholepis ophthalmotaenia (Bleeker 1854) ophthalmós (ὀφθαλμός), eye; taenia (L.), from tainía (ταινία), band or ribbon, referring to black to very dark brown line from above middle of iris running obliquely back over top of eye

Gnatholepis pascuensis Randall & Greenfield 2001 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Isla de Pascua, Spanish name of Easter Island, where it is endemic

Gnatholepis thompsoni Jordan 1904 in honor of Joseph Cheesman Thompson (1874–1943), U.S. Navy medical officer (neurosurgeon), amateur zoologist-archaeologist, co-founder of the Zoological Society of San Diego, psychoanalyst, and Burmese cat breeder, who collected holotype

Gnatholepis yoshinoi Suzuki & Randall 2009 in honor of Japanese ichthyologist Tetsuo Yoshino, University of the Ryukyus, for his “extensive” taxonomic research on the fishes of Japan

Gobioides Lacepède 1800 -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (εἶδος), form or shape: resembling Gobius but differing in having one dorsal fin instead of two

Gobioides africanus (Giltay 1935) -anus (L.), belonging to: Africa, being what Giltay believed was an African relative of the eastern Pacific Tyntlastes (now Akko) brevis (Gobiidae)

Gobioides broussonnetii Lacepède 1800 in honor of physician-naturalist Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet (1761–1807), for his contributions to natural history, particularly his studies of the flora and fauna of Morocco [Lacepède apparently misspelled Broussonet’s name, with an extra “n”]

Gobioides grahamae Palmer & Wheeler 1955 in honor of botanist Violet Graham (ca.1911–1991), who presented a large number of British Guiana fishes to the British Museum (Natural History), including holotype of this one, along with extensive field notes and color sketches of most of the fishes collected

Gobioides peruanus (Steindachner 1880) -anus (L.), belonging to: Peru, described from specimens collected off the coasts of both Ecuador and Peru

Gobioides sagitta (Günther 1862) Latin for arrow, referring to its compressed, elongate body shape

Gobionellus Girard 1858 diminutive of Gobius, probably referring to previous placement of its originally included species in that genus (and not referring to their size since these gobies are relatively large, 96–215 mm SL)

Gobionellus daguae (Eigenmann 1918) of Dagua, referring to mouth of Río Dagua, Colombia, type locality

Gobionellus hastatus Girard 1858 Latin for armed with a spear, presumably referring to elongate body with elongate and pointed caudal fin

Gobionellus liolepis (Meek & Hildebrand 1928) leī́os (λεῖος) smooth; lepίs (λεπίς), scale, referring to its cycloid scales, compared with ctenoid scales of Euctenogobius panamensis (=G. daguae)

Gobionellus microdon (Gilbert 1892) micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small; odon, from odoús (ὀδούς), tooth, referring to its “minute teeth, scarcely visible without the use of a lens”

Gobionellus occidentalis (Boulenger 1909) Latin for western, referring to distribution in West Africa, compared to East African and Indian distribution of presumed congeners in Oxyurichthys

Gobionellus oceanicus (Pallas 1770) -icus (L.), belonging to: the ocean, based on nonbinominal name published by Gronovius (1763), type locality unknown, possibly from the western Atlantic

Gobionellus stomatus Starks 1913 stómatos (στόματος), genitive of stóma (στόμα), mouth, a “large-mouthed” goby, the maxillary reaching posterior margin of eye in the smallest specimens, and to beyond eye the length of one eye diameter in the largest ones

Gobiopterus Bleeker 1874 gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby; pterus, allusion not explained, probably referring to G. brachypterus, presumably named for its short second (soft) dorsal and anal fins and/or truncate caudal fin

Gobiopterus birtwistlei (Herre 1935) in honor of William Birtwistle (1890–1953), Director, Fisheries Department, Singapore, type locality, who, per Herre’s 1940 description of the cyprinid Puntius (now Hypsibarbus) birtwistlei, “greatly” aided Herre’s study of Malayan fishes

Gobiopterus brachypterus (Bleeker 1855) brachýs (βραχύς), short; pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), wing or fin, presumably referring to short second (soft) dorsal and anal fins and/or truncate caudal fin

Gobiopterus chuno (Hamilton 1822) apparent Latinization of Chaˇno, its local name near Calcutta, India (per Hora 1934)

Gobiopterus lacustris (Herre 1927) Latin for of or belonging to a lake (lacustrine), “caught in large quantities in Laguna de Bay near Calamba, Los Banos, Lumbang, Santa Cruz [Philippines], and in fact all around the lake shore during the rainy season”

Gobiopterus macrolepis Cheng 1965 macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; lepίs (λεπίς), scale referring to its “rather large” ctenoid scales, larger than those of G. brachypterus, G. chuno and G. (=Eugnathogobius) variegatus

Gobiopterus mindanensis (Herre 1944) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mindanao, Philippines, type locality

Gobiopterus panayensis (Herre 1944) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Panay, Philippines, type locality (also occurs in Singapore)

Gobiopterus semivestitus (Munro 1949) semi-, from semis (L.), a half or moiety; vestitus (L.), clothing, dress or attire, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to less than 20 series of scales, not extending beyond first dorsal fin (i.e., partially clothed with scales)

Gobiopterus smithi Menon & Talwar 1972 in honor of J. L. B. Smith (1897–1968), South African ichthyologist-chemist, who confirmed its identity [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]

Gobiopterus stellatus (Herre 1927) Latin for studded with stars, “more or less thickly spattered over sides and dorsally with small black stellate or dendritic spots”

Gymnogobius Gill 1863 gymnós (γυμνός), bare or naked, referring to absence of scales on G. macrognathos; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Gymnogobius cylindricus (Tomiyama 1936) Latin for cylindrical, referring to cylindrical anterior part of body

Gymnogobius macrognathos (Bleeker 1860) macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; gnáthos (γνάθος), jaw, referring to wide cleft of mouth, extending beyond orbit

Gymnogobius scrobiculatus (Takagi 1957) Neo-Latin adjective derived from scrobiculus, diminutive of scrobis (L.), trench or ditch, referring to a “small trench occur[ing] just behind chin, furnished with a pair of rather developed pit-organs in it”

Gymnogobius uchidai (Takagi 1957) in honor of Japanese ichthyologist Keitaro Uchida (1896–1982), Kyushu University, who recommended that Takagi study the gobies of Japan based on the sensory (lateral) line system as a taxonomic character

Gymnogobius (subgenus Chloea) Jordan & Snyder 1901 [-i]a (L.suffix), belonging to: Chloe Lesley Starks (1866-1952), artist and naturalist, Hopkins Biological Laboratory, Stanford University, who provided many of the illustrations in the authors’ monograph of Japanese gobies [not preoccupied by Chloeia Savigny 1818 in Polychaeta since the spellings differ; Chloeichthys Whitley 1940 is an unneeded replacement name]

Gymnogobius castaneus (O’Shaughnessy 1875) Latin for chestnut-brown, referring to light-brown coloration, deeper on the back

Gymnogobius breunigii (Steindachner 1879) in honor of Ferdinand Breunig, professor of natural history, Imperial Gymnasium at Schotten (Vienna), as a token of Steindachner’s “special veneration” (translation)

Gymnogobius heptacanthus (Hilgendorf 1879) heptá (ἑπτά), seven; acanthus (L.), from ákantha (ἄκανθα), thorn or spine, referring to seven spines of first dorsal fin (compared with 5–6 spines in most other Japanese gobies that Hilgendorf examined)

Gymnogobius mororanus (Jordan & Snyder 1901) -anus (L.), belonging to: Mororan, Hokkaido, Japan, type locality

Gymnogobius nakamurae (Jordan & Richardson 1907) in honor of Japanese naturalist and teacher Masao Nakamura, who provided a small collection of fishes, including holotype of this one (possibly a synonym of G. castaneus) [although named after a man, “ae” is an acceptable way to form a genitive from a masculine noun that ends in “a”]

Gymnogobius nigrimembranis (Wu & Wang 1931) nigri, from niger (L.), dark or black; membranis (L.), membranes, referring to bluish-black gill membranes [species inquirenda, provisionally included here; placed in Chaenogobius by some workers]

Gymnogobius taranetzi (Pinchuk 1978) in honor of Russian ichthyologist Anatoly Yakovlevich Taranetz (1910–1941), for his contributions to the study of animals and systematics of fishes from the Russian Far East, where this goby occurs

Gymnogobius (subgenus Taranetziola) Shedko & Chereshnev 2005 -iola, presumably a diminutive and feminine suffix connoting endearment: named after Russian ichthyologist Anatoly Yakovlevich Taranetz (1910–1941), for his contributions to the fishes the Russian Far East, particularly the gobies

Gymnogobius isaza (Tanaka 1916) local name for this goby at Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, type locality

Gymnogobius opperiens Stevenson 2002 Latin for waiting, referring to how this species, although recognized as new for more than 20 years, had long awaited formal description

Gymnogobius petschiliensis (Rendahl 1924) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Petschili (also spelled Beˇizhílì, i.e., North Zhili), a northern province in China until 1928, now in Hebei Province, type locality

Gymnogobius urotaenia (Hilgendorf 1879) ourá (οὐρά), tail; taenia (L.), from tainía (ταινία), band or ribbon, described as having a well-developed transverse band in the middle of the caudal fin followed by an indistinct band towards the margin

Gymnogobius transversefasciatus (Wu & Zhou 1990) transversus (L.), crosswise or transverse; fasciatus (L.), banded, referring to 10 irregular dark transverse bands on sides

Gymnogobius zhoushanensis Zhao, Wu & Zhong 2007 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Zhoushan Island, Zhejiang Province, China, where it is endemic

Hemigobius Bleeker 1874 hemi-, from hḗmisys (ἥμισυς), half, referring to previous placement of H. melanurus in Gobius and/or reflecting Bleeker’s classification of this taxon in a phalanx he called Gobiini

Hemigobius crassus (Herre 1945) Latin for stout or thick, referring to its “thick, plump” body, only the posterior third being laterally compressed

Hemigobius hoevenii (Bleeker 1851) patronym not identified but almost certinaly in honor of Bleeker’s Dutch colleague, zoologist Jan van der Hoeven (1801–1868), whom he had honored in several other names

Hemigobius melanurus (Bleeker 1849) mélanos (μέλανος), genitive of mélas (μέλας), black; urus, from ourá (οὐρά), tail, described as having a black caudal fin (later accounts and contemporary photos indicate that tail is not black but contains black spots)

Hemigobius mingi (Herre 1936) in honor of Mr. Ming (forename not given), chemist in the Department of Fisheries, Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States, who was of “much assistance” during Herre’s stay in Singapore

Hyrcanogobius Iljin 1928 named for the Hyrcanian Ocean, ancient name of the Caspian Sea, in whose basin H. bergi occurs; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Hyrcanogobius bergi Iljin 1928 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Lev (or Leo) Semyonovich Berg (1876–1950), who described several gobies from the Caspian Sea, where this one occurs

Ilogton Endruweit 2024 combination of ilog, Tagalog word for river, and nēkton (νηκτόν), swimming, referring to occurrence in freshwater and its nektonic (able to swim and move independently of currents) mode of swimming

Ilogton ilogton Endruweit 2024 as for genus

Ilypnus Jordan & Evermann 1896 ilýs (ἰλύς ), mud; hýpnos (ὕπνος), sleep or slumber, holotype of I. gilberti obtained when digging for “crawfish” in the mud flats between Roseville and La Playa, San Diego Bay, California (USA)

Ilypnus gilberti (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) in honor of American ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles H. Gilbert (1859–1928), the Eigenmanns’ colleague at Indiana University

Ilypnus luculentus (Ginsburg 1938) Latin for bright or full of light, lighter in color than presumed congeners in Lepidogobius

Inu Snyder 1909 Japanese word meaning dog, referring to “voracious-looking” appearance I. ama and I. koma

Inu ama Snyder 1909 Japanese name for this goby, from Ama-inu, a “temple image resembling a dog,” referring to its voracious appearance

Inu koma Snyder 1909 a Japanese word, from Koma-inu, “name of one of the two ever-present, dog-like images found in the Shinto temple grounds,” referring to its voracious appearance

Inu saikaiensis (Dôtu 1957) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Saikai or Seikai, Japanese name for northern part of East China Sea, type locality

Knipowitschia Iljin 1927 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: eponym not explained but almost certainly named for Nikolai Mikhailovich Knipowitsch (1862–1939, often spelled Knipovich in English), Russian oceanographer and zoologist who led several Caspian Sea expeditions (1904–1915)

Knipowitschia byblisia Ahnelt 2011 –ia (L. suffix), belonging to: mythological figure Byblis, twin sister of Caunos, who founded the ancient city Caunos on the southwest Anatolian coast; the ruins of this city are located close to Lake Köycegiz, Turkey, type locality

Knipowitschia caucasica (Berg 1916) –ica (L.), belonging to: Caucasus region of Russia, referring to its occurrence in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea

Knipowitschia caunosi Ahnelt 2011 of Caunos, mythological figure, twin brother of Byblis and founder of the ancient city Caunos; the ruins of this city are located close to Lake Köycegiz, Turkey, type locality

Knipowitschia iljini Berg 1931 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Boris Sergeevich Iljin (1889–1958), who investigated the gobioid fishes of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea (this goby occurs in the latter)

Knipowitschia longecaudata (Kessler 1877) longus (L.), long; caudata (L.), tailed, presumably referring to length of caudal peduncle, 1/5 to ¼ of total body length

Knipowitschia mermere Ahnelt 1995 named for Lake Marmare (also known as Mermere), western Anatolia, Turkey, type locality

Knipowitschia milleri (Ahnelt & Bianco 1990) in honor of friend and colleague (and goby specialist) Peter J. Miller, University of Bristol (England), who brought this species to the authors’ attention

Knipowitschia montenegrina Kovačić & Šanda 2007 –ina (L.), pertaining to: Montenegro, type locality (and where it appears to be endemic)

Knipowitschia panizzae (Verga 1841) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Italian anatomist Bartolomeo Panizza (1785–1867), who, among other things, studied post-reproductive mortality in male Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus

Knipowitschia radovici Kovačić 2005 in honor of friend and ornithologist Dragan Radović (1959–2017), who encouraged and helped Kovačić to collect samples along rivers and lakes of the Adriatic Sea

Knipowitschia ricasolii (Di Caporiacco 1935) in honor of the baron Aloisio Ricasoli, who accompanied Italian biologist Nello Beccari (1883– 1957) during Beccari’s 1932 trip to Turkey, when holotype was collected

Knipowitschia thessala (Vinciguerra 1921) of Thessaly, Greece, where type locality (Kefalovriso spring, Monte Kissavo, near the village of Chasabali) is situated

Lebetus Winther 1877 etymology not explained, perhaps derived from lebias, Greek name (λεβίας) for a kind of small fish, referring to small size of L. scorpioides (up to 4 cm), the smallest goby in the northeast Atlantic

Lebetus guilleti (Le Danois 1913) “This goby’s color invites us to dedicate it to our friend, the excellent artist P. Guillet” (translation), presumably Pierre Guillet (1866–1918)

Lebetus patzneri Schliewen, Kovačić & Ordines 2019 in honor of Austrian marine biologist Robert (“Bobby”) Patzner (b. 1945), University of Salzburg, for his dedication to the study of gobies in the Mediterranean, including the Balearic Islands (where this one occurs)

Lebetus scorpioides (Collett 1874) -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (εἶδος), form or shape: etymology not explanied, presumably referring to scorpaena (σκόρπαινα), a sea scorpion, antecedent to the Anglo-Saxon sculpin, referring to its Cottus-like appearance

Lepidogobius Gill 1859 lepidōtós (λεπιδωτός), scaly, presumably referring to head and body covered with small cycloid scales; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Lepidogobius lepidus (Girard 1858) Latin for pleasant, elegant or fine, allusion not explained; since it is a replacement name for Girard’s 1854 Gobius gracilis, preoccupied by Gobius gracilis Jenyns 1835 (=Pomatoschistus minutus), with gracilis Latin for thin or slender, perhaps referring to its slender, compressed and tapering body

Lethops Hubbs 1926 lḗthē (λήθη), forgetfulness; ṓps (ὦψ), eye, referring to its poorly developed eyes

Lethops connectens Hubbs 1926 Latin for connecting or linking, “apparently much more closely related to the well known blind goby of the California reefs, Typhlogobius californiensis, than is any described genus”

Leucopsarion Hilgendorf 1880 leuco-, from leukós (λευκός), white, referring to translucent color in life, yellowish white in spirits; opsárion (ὀψάριον), a little fish used as a relish that complements the staple of a meal (translation of its Japanese name Shiri-uwo, white fish)

Leucopsarion petersii Hilgendorf 1880 in honor of Wilhelm C. H. Peters (1815–1883), German naturalist and explorer who submitted Hilgendorf’s description for publication

Lophiogobius Günther 1873 etymology not explained, probably Lophius, similar in appearance (e.g., wide, depressed head) to the Monkfish Lophius piscatorius (Lophiiformes: Lophiidae); gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby [not to be confused with Lophogobius in Gobiidae]

Lophiogobius ocellicauda Günther 1873 ocellus, diminutive of oculus (L.), eye (but here meaning eyespot); cauda (L.), tail, referring to black, white-edged ocellus at base of caudal-fin rays

Luciogobius Gill 1859 lucius, Latin for pike (Esocidae), referring to “esociform position” of dorsal and anal fins of L. guttatus; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Luciogobius adapel Okiyama 2001 á– (ἄ), privative, i.e., without; dapel, acronym of three fins, dorsal (d), anal (a), pelvic (pel), referring to the absence of these fins

Luciogobius albus Regan 1940 Latin for white, referring to its unpigmented (white) coloration

Luciogobius brevipterus Chen 1932 brevis (L.), short; pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to shorter pectoral fins compared with L. guttatus

Luciogobius chaojinensis Chen, Ren, Jiang, Wang & Chang 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chaojin Park, a “famous” marine conservation zone in Keelung City, northern Taiwan, type locality

Luciogobius delicatus Chang, Shen & Chen 2025 Latin for delicate, referring to “delicate” tiny black spots on second dorsal fin and pectoral-fin base

Luciogobius dongyinensis Chen, Shao, Chou, Chen & Chan 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Dongyin Island, Matsu Islands, Taiwan, type locality

Luciogobius dormitoris Shiogaki & Dotsu 1976 -is, Latin genitive singular of: dormitor (L.), “one who sleeps,” reflecting its Japanese name Nemuri-mimizuhaze (sleeping worm-like goby), probably referring to its very small, subcutaneous eyes

Luciogobius elongatus Regan 1905 Latin for prolonged, referring to its elongate body (a characteristic of the genus)

Luciogobius fluvialis Kanagawa, Itai & Senou 2011 Latin for riverine, referring to its occurrence in the middle reaches of a river

Luciogobius fonticola Kanagawa, Itai & Senou 2011 fontis (L.), of a spring; –cola (L.), dweller or inhabitant, referring to its habitat, springwater flowing up through gaps between the pebbles at the bottom of a river

Luciogobius grandis Arai 1970 Latin for large, reaching 93.6 mm, the largest species in the genus

Luciogobius griseus Koreeda, Maeda & Motomura 2023 Medieval Latin for gray, referring to gray dorsal body color in living specimens

Luciogobius guttatus Gill 1859 Latin for speckled or spotted, referring to brown body “thickly punctured with black” and/or caudal, dorsal and pectoral fins dotted with black

Luciogobius huatungensis Chen, Ren, Jiang, Wang & Chang 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Huatung, a Mandarin collective name for both Hualien and Taitung counties in eastern Taiwan, where this goby occurs

Luciogobius martellii Di Caporiacco 1948 in honor of A. Martelli, a technician at La Specolo, Museum of Zoology and Natural History (Florence, Italy)

Luciogobius matsuensis Chen, Shao, Chou, Chen & Chan 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Matsu Islands, Taiwan, type locality

Luciogobius newtaipeiensis Chen, Ren, Jiang, Wang & Chang 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: New Taipei City, Taiwan, type locality

Luciogobius opisthoproctus Chen & Liao 2024 opistho-, from ópisthen (Gr. ὄπισθεν), behind; prōktós (Gr. πρωκτός), anus, referring to its posteriorly positioned anus

Luciogobius pallidus Regan 1940 Latin for pale or pallid, described as “pale, apparently lightly pigmented”

Luciogobius parvulus (Snyder 1909) diminutive of parvus (L.), small, i.e., very small, described at 37-43 mm

Luciogobius platycephalus Shiogaki & Dotsu 1976 platýs (πλατύς), flat; cephalus, from kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to its broad, depressed head, wider than body

Luciogobius punctilineatus Koreeda & Motomura 2022 punctum (L.) dot or small point; lineatus (L.), lined, referring to single longitudinal dotted line along middle of body

Luciogobius ryukyuensis Chen, Suzuki & Senou 2008 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, type locality

Luciogobius yubai Ikeda, Tamada & Hirashima 2019 in honor of Takeo Yuba (Tanabe City, Japan), who first found this species in Wakayama Prefecture and collected many specimens

Mistichthys Smith 1902 meī́stos (μεῖστος), least or smallest, believed to be the world’s smallest (13.5 mm) vertebrate at the time; ichthýs (ἰχθύς), fish

Mistichthys luzonensis Smith 1902 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Luzon Island, Philippines, type locality

Mugilogobius Smitt 1900 proposed as a subgenus of Gobius, etymology not explained, perhaps Mugil, a genus of mullets, referring to wide and arguably mullet-like head of M. abei (which Smitt named as the type species in a 1903 letter to David Starr Jordan)

Mugilogobius abei (Jordan & Snyder 1901) in honor of Kakichi Abe, of Tokyo, a former student of Jordan’s at Stanford University, who accompanied the authors in their travels throughout southern Japan, to the “great advantage” of their work

Mugilogobius adeia Larson & Kottelat 1992 ádeia (ἄδεια), safety or security, which this goby acquires by concealing itself among stones or in empty gastropod shells, particularly those of Brotia gemmifera

Mugilogobius amadi (Weber 1913) in honor of Javanese surgeon Raden Mas Amad, who helped Dutch mining engineer and geologist Edward C. Abendanon collect fishes and mollusks in Sulawesi, Indonesia (presumably including type of this goby); Amad also sketched fishes and recorded their native names

Mugilogobius arguellesi Roxas & Ablan 1940 in honor of soil chemist Angel S. Arguelles (1888–1952), Director, Philippine Bureau of Science (described from the Philippines)

Mugilogobius cagayanensis (Aurich 1938) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Cagayan Sulu, Philippines, type locality

Mugilogobius cavifrons (Weber 1909) cavus (L.), curved inwards; frons (L.), forehead, referring to its flat or concave forehead

Mugilogobius chulae (Smith 1932) in honor of Luang Chula Cachanagupta, Director of the Department of Fisheries of Siam (described from Thailand)

Mugilogobius fasciatus Larson 2001 Latin for banded or striped, referring to black bands encircling body

Mugilogobius filifer Larson 2001 filum (L.), thread or filament; –fer, from fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to elongate first dorsal fin in adult males

Mugilogobius flavomaculatus Huang, Chen, Yung & Shao 2016 flavus (L.), yellow; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to 5–7 rounded, bright yellow spots on cheek and operculum

Mugilogobius fuscus (Herre 1940) Latin for dark or dusky, referring to blackish-brown color in life, dark-brown in alcohol

Mugilogobius fusculus (Nichols 1951) diminutive of fuscus (L.), dark or dusky, referring to its “more or less dusky or paler” coloration

Mugilogobius hitam Larson, Geiger, Hadiaty & Herder 2014 Bahasa Indonesia word for black, referring to overall blackish color on head, body and fins

Mugilogobius latifrons (Boulenger 1897) latus (L.), wide or broad; frons (L.), forehead, presumably referring to its head, “broader than deep”

Mugilogobius lepidotus Larson 2001 lepidōtós (λεπιδωτός), scaly, referring to its scaled preoperculum, unique in the genus

Mugilogobius littoralis Larson 2001 Latin for of the seashore, referring to its rock-pool habitat

Mugilogobius mertoni (Weber 1911) in honor of German zoologist Hugo Merton (1879–1940), who collected many fishes among the Aru Islands of Indonesia, including type of this one

Mugilogobius myxodermus (Herre 1935) myxo, from mýxa (μύξα), slime; dermus, from dérma (δέρμα), skin, referring to the “great quantity of slime with which it is covered and which often conceals its colors”

Mugilogobius notospilus (Günther 1877) back-spotted, from nṓtos (νῶτος), back, and spílos (σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to black spot on posterior part of first dorsal fin

Mugilogobius platynotus (Günther 1861) platýs (πλατύς), flat; nṓtos (νῶτος), back, presumably referring to its “broad back”

Mugilogobius platystoma (Günther 1872) platýs (πλατύς), wide or broad; stóma (στόμα), presumably referring to any or all of the following: “broad” head, “broad rounded” snout, “large” mouth

Mugilogobius rambaiae (Smith 1945) in honor of Her Majesty Rambai Barni (1904–1984), former Queen of Siam; a water-color painting showing several life-size renderings of this goby in its natural habitat was given to Her Majesty in 1934

Mugilogobius rexi Larson 2001 in honor of Rex Williams, technical officer, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Darwin, Australia), for his “careful work and commitment” to the museum’s fish collection

Mugilogobius rivulus Larson 2001 Latin for a rill or small brook, referring to its habitat

Mugilogobius sarasinorum (Boulenger 1897) -orum (L.), commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Swiss naturalist-ethnologist Paul Sarasin (1856–1929) and his second cousin, naturalist Fritz Sarasin (1859–1942), who collected type

Mugilogobius stigmaticus (De Vis 1884) Latin for branded or marked, presumably referring to any or all of the following: median line of dark spots posteriorly, sometimes with blotches beneath base of second dorsal fin; dark curved line on each side of occiput, touching orbit and descending on operculum to join a line descending from lower edge of orbit; a third line from front edge of orbit to maxillary, continuing on preopercle from angle of mouth, sometimes forming a brown patch on cheek; median row of black spots on second dorsal fin

Mugilogobius tigrinus Larson 2001 Latin for tiger-like, referring to narrow bands or stripes across body

Mugilogobius villa (Herre 1927) named for Villa, Iloilo Province, Panay, Philippines, type locality [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]

Mugilogobius wilsoni Larson 2001 in honor of David Wilson, Territory Wildlife Park, Berry Springs (Northern Territory, Australia), for his continuing help and enthusiasm in collecting gobies and for promoting the aquarium care and appreciation of native Australian freshwater fishes

Nesogobius Whitley 1929 nêsos (νῆσος), island, probably referring to occurrence of N. hinsbyi off Tasmania, an island state of Australia; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Nesogobius greeni Hoese & Larson 2006 in honor of Tasmanian farmer and naturalist Robert “Bob” H. Green (1925–2013), formerly of the Queen Victoria Museum (Launceston, Tasmania), who collected much of the material used in the authors’ study

Nesogobius hinsbyi (McCulloch & Ogilby 1919) named but not described by Johnston (1903); per Whitley (1929), quoting a newspaper clipping found in Johnston’s notebook, in honor of George Hinsby, who contributed many “natural history novelties” to the Tasmanian Museum

Nesogobius maccullochi Hoese & Larson 2006 in honor of Allan Riverstone McCulloch (1885–1925), former Curator of Fishes, Australian Museum, for his work but also recognizing the fact that McCulloch and his collaborator James Douglas Ogilby confused this goby under the name Gobius (now Nesogobius) hinsbyi

Nesogobius pulchellus (Castelnau 1872) diminutive of pulcher (L.), beautiful, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its attractive coloration and small size (6 cm), i.e., a beautiful little goby

Nesogobius tigrinus Hammer, Hoese & Bertozii 2015 Latin for tiger-like, referring to four prominent vertical black bars on males

Ninnigobius Whitley 1951 replacement name for Ninnia de Buen 1930 (preoccupied by Ninnia Westerlund 1903 in Mollusca), named for zoologist Alessandro Pericle Ninni (1837-1892), who described N. canestrinii in 1883; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Ninnigobius canestrinii (Ninni 1883) in honor of Ninni’s friend, Italian biologist Giovanni Canestrini (1835–1900), who described the similar-looking Gobius pusillus (=Pomatoschistus knerii) in 1862

Ninnigobius montenegrensis (Miller & Šanda 2008) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Montenegro, where type locality (Morača River) is situated

Oligolepis Bleeker 1874 olígos (ὀλίγος), few or scanty; lepís (λεπίς), scale, proposed as a subgenus of Stenogobius with fewer scale rows running along body (tautonymous with O. oligolepis but Gobius melanostigma [=O. acutipennis] is type species)

Oligolepis acutipennis (Valenciennes 1837) acutus (L.), sharp or pointed; pennis, Neo-Latin adjective of penna, fin, referring to extended (filamentous) first five rays of first dorsal fin and lanceolate (tapered to a point) caudal fin

Oligolepis cylindriceps (Hora 1923) cylindricus (L.), cylindrical; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to its “sub-cylindrical” head

Oligolepis formosanus (Nichols 1958) -anus (L.), belonging to: Formosa (Taiwan), where it is endemic

Oligolepis jaarmani (Weber 1913) in honor of Raden Jaarman Soemintral Zeerban, Javanese physician for the Second South New Guinea Expedition (1909–1910), during which holotype was collected

Oligolepis nijsseni (Menon & Govindan 1977) in honor of Dutch ichthyologist Han Nijssen (1935–2013), Zoölogisch Museum, Amsterdam, for his “valuable help” is allowing the authors to examine the type of O. jaarmani

Oligolepis oligolepis (Bleeker 1854) olígos (ὀλίγος), few or scanty; lepís (λεπίς), scale, referring to larger (and therefore fewer) scales

Oligolepis stomias (Smith 1941) stomías (στομίας), a hard-mouthed horse but often used for any large-mouthed animal, referring to its large, oblique mouth, the maxillary extending to posterior edge of preopercle

Orsinigobius Gandolfi, Marconato & Torricelli 1986 in honor of friend and colleague Primo Orsini, whose career in ichthyology was cut short by an accident at sea; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Orsinigobius croaticus (Mrakovčić, Kerovec, Misetic & Schneider 1996) Croatian, referring to type locality in Dalmatia, Croatia (also occurs in Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Orsinigobius punctatissimus (Canestrini 1864) superlative of punctatus (L.), spotted, i.e., very spotted, referring to numerous brown dots scattered throughout the body

Oxyurichthys Bleeker 1857 oxýs (ὀξύς), sharp or pointed, and ourá (οὐρά), tail, presumably referring to lanceolate caudal fin of O. belosso (=papuensus); ichthýs (ἰχθύς), fish

Oxyurichthys auchenolepis Bleeker 1876 auchḗn (αὐχήν), nape; lepís (λεπίς), scale, referring to scales on low median crest of nape

Oxyurichthys chinensis Pezold & Larson 2015 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Hainan Island, China, type locality

Oxyurichthys cornutus McCulloch & Waite 1918 Latin for horned, presumably referring to stout tentacle above each eye

Oxyurichthys heisei Pezold 1998 Japanese for “peace succeeds” or “realized peace,” the name of the era of Emporer Akihito (b. 1933), for his many contributions to gobioid systematics and members of the Laboratory of Ichthyology, Akasaka Imperial Palace, working under his direction

Oxyurichthys limophilus Pezold & Larson 2015 limus (L.), mud or silt; phílos (φίλος), fond of, referring to its habitat, mud substrates in a protected harbor

Oxyurichthys lonchotus (Jenkins 1903) scientific Neo-Latin for furnished with a point, from lónchos (λόγχος), lance; or spear, presumably referring to its “long and pointed” caudal fin

Oxyurichthys longicauda (Steindachner 1893) longus (L.), long; cauda (L.), tail, referring to its long and pointed caudal fin

Oxyurichthys microlepis (Bleeker 1849) micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small; lepís (λεπίς), scale, referring to its small scales, 50 along lateral line

Oxyurichthys notonema (Weber 1909) nṓtos (νῶτος), back; nḗma (νῆμα), thread or yarn, referring to elongate and filamentous first 4–5 spines in first dorsal fin of both sexes

Oxyurichthys nuchalis (Barnard 1927) Latin for of the neck or nape, referring to its “abruptly descending” profile

Oxyurichthys omanensis Zarei, Al Jufaili & Esmaeili 2022 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Muscat Area, northern Oman, type locality

Oxyurichthys ophthalmonema (Bleeker 1856) ophthalmós (ὀφθαλμός), eye; nḗma (νῆμα), thread or yarn, referring to slender, pointed tentacle on posterior half of eye, an outgrowth of the sclerotic coat, just above the margin

Oxyurichthys papuensis (Valenciennes 1837) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Papua New Guinea, type locality

Oxyurichthys paulae Pezold 1998 in honor of Paula Arledge Pezold, the author’s “academic companion and spouse”

Oxyurichthys petersii (Klunzinger 1871) in honor of Wilhelm C. H. Peters (1815-1883), German naturalist, explorer and curator, Berlin Zoological Museum, for the “extremely liberal way” (translation) he allowed Klunzinger to use the Museum’s collection

Oxyurichthys rapa Pezold & Larson 2015 named for Haurei Bay, Rapa, French Polynesia, only known area of occurrence

Oxyurichthys stigmalophius (Mead & Böhlke 1958) stígma (στίγμα), mark or spot; lophius, Neo-Latin adjective derived from lóphos (λόφος), mane or crest, i.e., crested, presumably referring to jet-black blotch at posterior end of first dorsal fin

Oxyurichthys takagi Pezold 1998 in honor of Kazunori Takagi, Tokyo University of Fisheries, whose studies of gobioid oculoscapular canals revealed their significance to gobioid systematics [presumably a noun in apposition, without the genitive “i”]

Oxyurichthys tentacularis (Valenciennes 1837) scientific Neo-Latin for tentacled, referring to slender, pointed tentacle on posterior half of eye, an outgrowth of the sclerotic coat, just above the margin

Oxyurichthys zeta Pezold & Larson 2015 zéta (ζήτα), sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, which gave rise to the last letter of the Roman alphabet, referring to its being the last species in the authors’ revision of the genus but “unlikely to be the last species described for this genus”

Oxyurichthys (subgenus Ctenoxylepis) Pezold & Larson 2015 derived from Ctenogobius, Oxyurichthys and Oligolepis, recognizing the phylogenetic link between these genera suggested by O. keiensis

Oxyurichthys keiensis (Smith 1938) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: mouth of the Great Kei River, South Africa, type locality

Paedogobius Iwata, Hosoya & Larson 2001 paídeios (παίδειος), boyish or childish, referring to its larval-like (paedomorphic) body; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Paedogobius kimurai Iwata, Hosoya & Larson 2001 in honor of Motofumi Kimura, Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries Experiment Station, who discovered this goby in Japan

Pandaka Herre 1927 a kind of dwarf in several Filipino languages, referring to their small size

Pandaka bipunctata Chen, Wu, Zhong & Zhao 2008 bi-, from bis (L.), twice; punctata (L.), spotted, referring to two black spots on pectoral-fin base

Pandaka lidwilli (McCulloch 1917) in honor of Mark C. Lidwill (1878–1969), English-born Australian anesthesiologist, cardiologist, co-inventor of the pacemaker, and a pioneering rod-and-reel saltwater angler, who observed this minute (15.25 mm) goby “while in the quest of somewhat larger game” and brought it to McCulloch’s attention

Pandaka pusilla Herre 1927 Latin for very small, described at an average length of 14.6 mm

Pandaka pygmaea Herre 1927 from pygmaī́os (πυγμαῖος), small or dwarfish, averaging 2.5 or 3 mm, “unquestionably the smallest fish yet described” (at the time)

Pandaka rouxi (Weber 1911) in honor of Swiss herpetologist Jean Roux (1876–1939), a member of the expedition that collected type

Pandaka silvana (Barnard 1943) -ana (L.), pertaining to: sylva (L.), wood or forest, alluding to tree-themed names its two collectors (C. W. Thorne and H. G. Wood) and the “appearance of sylvan light and shade on the body”

Pandaka trimaculata Akihito & Meguro 1975 tri- (L.), three; maculata (L.), spotted, referring to three spots on ventral side between anal fin and spiny part of caudal fin

Papuligobius Chen & Kottelat 2003 papula (L.), a small rounded tumor on skin, i.e., postule, referring to white spots on cheeks of both species; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby [treated as a synonym of Tridentiger by some workers]

Papuligobius ocellatus (Fowler 1937) Latin for having little eyes (ocelli), referring to small, black, white-bordered ocellus at pectoral-fin origin

Papuligobius uniporus Chen & Kottelat 2003 uni-, from unus (L.), one; porus, from póros (πόρος), pore, referring to “unusual” fusion of pores p and θ into a large pore p

Paragobiopsis Koumans 1941 pará (παρά), near, referring to similarity to and/or close relationship with Gobiopsis

Paragobiopsis orbicularis Visweswara Rao 1971 Latin for circular or disc-shaped, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “anteriorly cylindrical” body and/or its “rounded” tongue (compared with bilobate tongue of P. ostreicola)

Paragobiopsis ostreicola (Chaudhuri 1916) ostrea (L.), oyster; –cola (L.), dweller or inhabitant, referring to its breeding over oyster beds

Parawaous Watson 1993 pará (παρά), near, referring to its very close relationship with Awaous

Parawaous megacephalus (Fowler 1905) mégas (μέγας), large or great; cephalus, from kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to its large, depressed head, 3½ times in TL

Polyspondylogobius Kimura & Wu 1994 polý- (πολύ-), many, and spondylos, vertebrae, referring to its “uniquely numerous” (52–55) vertebrae for a goby; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Polyspondylogobius sinensis Kimura & Wu 1994 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), where it is endemic

Pomatoschistus Gill 1863 pṓmatos (πώματος), genitive of pṓma (πῶμα), lid or cover, i.e., opercle; schistos, split or divided, presumably referring to “extension of branchial aperture above, (a character hitherto unnoticed)” of P. minutus

Pomatoschistus adriaticus Miller 1973 -ica (L.), belonging to: Adriatic Sea of Croatia, type locality

Pomatoschistus anatoliae Engin & Innal 2017 of Anatolia, geographic and historical term denoting westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising most of the Republic of Turkey, type locality

Pomatoschistus bathi Miller 1982 in honor of German ichthyologist Hans Walter Bath (1924–2015), who collected holotype, for his “valuable” work on the systematics of Mediterranean gobies

Pomatoschistus flavescens (Fabricius 1779) Latin for golden yellow, referring to its body color (which can range from reddish to greenish brown)

Pomatoschistus knerii (Steindachner 1861) eponym not identified but certainly in honor of Steindachner’s Vienna colleague, ichthyologist Rudolf Kner (1810–1869)

Pomatoschistus lozanoi (de Buen 1923) in honor of Spanish zoologist Luis Lozano Rey (1878-1958), University of Madrid, for his “hard work” contributing to the knowledge of the freshwater fishes of Spain, where this goby occurs

Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Risso 1810) Latin for marbled, referring to a marbling of orange spots and black dots covering its diaphanous body

Pomatoschistus microps (Krøyer 1838) micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small; ṓps (ὦψ), eye, described as having small eyes, about five times in length of head

Pomatoschistus minutus (Pallas 1770) Latin for small; Pallas named this goby based on a description given by Gronow (1763), who said it was “scarcely” (translation) 1½ inches (3.81 cm) long

Pomatoschistus nanus Engin & Sayhan 2017 Latin for dwarf (a noun, but authors treat it as an adjective, “pygmaean”); at 14.63 mm SL, the smallest marine fish in the Mediterranean

Pomatoschistus norvegicus (Collett 1902) -icus (L.), belonging to: Norvegiae (Norway), referring to type locality off Breviksfjord, Norway

Pomatoschistus pictus (Malm 1865) Latin for painted, presumably referring to its dorsal fins, with rows of dark brown-black spots interspersed with bands of iridescent blue and pink

Pomatoschistus quagga (Heckel 1839) etymology not explained, possibly referring to seven dark, vertical bars, similar to those of the zebra, Equus quagga

Pomatoschistus tortonesei Miller 1969 in honor of Italian zoologist Enrico Tortonése (1911–1987), Museum of Natural History (Genoa), a “leading authority” on Mediterranean fishes

Pseudaphya Iljin 1930 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this genus may superficially resemble the gobiid genus Aphia (with its one species previously assigned to that genus, sometimes spelled Aphya), such an appearance is false

Pseudaphya ferreri (de Buen & Fage 1908) in honor of pharmacist and amateur ichthyologist Jaume Ferrer Aledo (1854–1956), who studied the fishes of the Balearic Islands and sent specimens to the authors, including holotype of this goby

Pseudogobiopsis Koumans 1935 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (ψεύδης), false, although this genus may superficially resemble Gobiopsis (Gobiidae), such an appearance is false

Pseudogobiopsis festiva Larson 2009 Latin for cheerful, delightful or humorous, referring to elongate “smiling” jaws of mature males [originally spelled festivus; emended to agree with feminine genus]

Pseudogobiopsis lumbantobing Larson, Hadiaty & Hubert 2017 in honor of Indonesian ichthyologist Daniel Lumbantobing, Florida Museum of Natural History, who collected the first specimens and showed them to Larson in 2012, solving the mystery of an orange-spotted goby in the European aquarium trade that aquarists had asked Larson to identify [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “i”]

Pseudogobiopsis oligactis (Bleeker 1875) olígos (ὀλίγος), few or scanty; aktís (ἀκτίς), ray, referring to 6–7 second dorsal- and anal-fin rays, presumably fewer than presumed congeners in Gobiopsis (Gobiidae) known at the time

Pseudogobiopsis paludosa (Herre 1940) Latin for marshy, presumably referring to its habitat (which Herre did not describe)

Pseudogobiopsis rubrimaculosa Allen & Larson 2020 rubri-, from ruber (L.), red; maculosa (L.), dappled or spotted, referring to reddish markings on fins and body [originally spelled rubrimaculosus; emended to agree with feminine genus]

Pseudogobiopsis tigrellus (Nichols 1951) diminutive of tigris (L.), tiger, i.e., little tiger,, a “very small, delicate” goby with tiger-like black vertical bands crossing body and caudal fin

Pseudogobius Popta 1922 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (ψεύδης), false, i.e., not a true Gobius (Gobiidae), in which P. javanicus (=poicilosoma) had been placed

Pseudogobius aquilonius Larson & Hammer 2021 Latin for north or northerly, referring to its distribution around the north coast of Australia

Pseudogobius avicennia (Herre 1940) named for its association with the mangrove genus Avicennia

Pseudogobius cinctus Larson & Hammer 2021 Latin for belted or girdled (but treated as a noun by the authors), referring to distinctive vertical dark bars or bands on body

Pseudogobius eos Larson & Hammer 2021 named for Ēṓs (Ἠώς), goddess of dawn, who brings up light from the east, referring to eastern Australia, where it is endemic

Pseudogobius fulvicaudus Huang, Shao & Chen 2014 fulvus (L.), tawny or reddish-brown (but often used to mean yellow); caudus (L.), caudal fin, referring to brilliant yellow mark on caudal-fin base in adult males

Pseudogobius hoesei Larson & Hammer 2021 in honor of American-born Australian ichthyologist Douglass F. Hoese (b. 1942), Australian Museum (Sydney), “goby-friend and colleague,” for his years of collection and photography of many poorly known gobies, and “because he took a wonderful photo of the holotype”

Pseudogobius jeffi Larson & Hammer 2021 in honor of the first author’s husband Jeff, “who has inadvertently learned much about gobioid fishes over 50-something years, so it is high time that he had a Queensland goby named for him”

Pseudogobius masago (Tomiyama 1936) from its Japanese name, masago-haze (haze = goby)

Pseudogobius minimus (Hora 1923) Latin for least, the smallest of Chilka Lake’s (Orissa, India) gobies, not exceeding 20 mm SL

Pseudogobius olorum (Sauvage 1880) genitive plural of olor (L.), swan, i.e., of the swans, referring to Swan River, Western Australia, type locality

Pseudogobius poicilosoma (Bleeker 1849) poikilos (ποικίλος), mottled or varicolored; sṓma (σῶμα), body, referring to irregular dark-brown spots on greenish body

Pseudogobius rhizophora Larson & Hammer 2021 named for its preference for mangrove habitats, especially Rhizophora stylosa, the mangrove species found over a wide range of conditions in northern Australia

Pseudogobius taijiangensis Chen, Huang & Huang 2014 -ensis, Latinsuffix denoting place: Taijiang National Park, Taiwan, where it is mainly distributed in brackish water habitats and mangroves (also occurs in southern China)

Pseudogobius verticalis Larson & Hammer 2021 Latin for overhead or straight up and down, referring to distinctive vertical line through middle of first dorsal fin

Pterogobius Gill 1863 pterón (πτερόν), wing or fin, referring to long second dorsal and anal fins of P. virgo; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Pterogobius elapoides (Günther 1872) -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (εἶδος), form or shape: Elaps, the coral snake, referring to seven narrow dark-brown rings edged with red

Pterogobius virgo (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) Latin for maiden or virgin, allusion not explained; per Jordan & Snyder (1901), “in allusion to [its] gay coloration”

Pterogobius zacalles Jordan & Snyder 1901 zá- (ζά), particle, i.e., well or very; calles, from kállos (κάλλος), beauty, i.e., very beautiful, presumably referring to its color pattern, with four dark, broad, vertical bands across body and one at base of tail

Pterogobius zonoleucus Jordan & Snyder 1901 zona (L.), band; leukós (λευκός), white, presumably referring to eight “narrow, indistinct, light, vertical bands” across body

Quietula Jordan & Evermann 1895 per Jordan & Evermann (1898), diminutive of quies (L.), quiet, allusion not explained nor evident

Quietula guaymasiae (Jenkins & Evermann 1889) of Guaymas, Sonora, western Mexico, type locality

Quietula y-cauda (Jenkins & Evermann 1889) cauda (L.), tail, referring to y-like mark just before caudal fin

Redigobius Herre 1927 redigo (L.), to reduce, referring to reduced number of dorsal-fin spines of R. sternbergi (=dispar) compared with Gnatholepis; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Redigobius balteatus (Herre 1935) Latin for belted or girdled, referring to single black band extending down body from tip of first dorsal fin

Redigobius bikolanus (Herre 1927) -anus (L.), belonging to: Bicol region of the Philippines, where type locality is situated

Redigobius chrysosoma (Bleeker 1875) chrysós (χρυσός), gold or golden; sṓma (σῶμα), body, referring to pink-gold body in alcohol (pale gray in life)

Redigobius dewaali (Weber 1897) in honor of B. H. de Waal, General Consul of the Netherlands in Capetown, South Africa, near type locality (later, during the Boer War, he acted on behalf of pro-Boer organizations in the Netherlands)

Redigobius dispar (Peters 1868) Latin for dissimilar, presumably referring to its “very peculiar” body, which “at first glance resembles [the cardinalfish] Apogon” (translations)

Redigobius fotuno Kobayashi, Sumarto, Mokodongan, Lawelle, Masengi & Yamahira 2024 named for Fotuno Fountain (a limestone sinkhole), Muna Island, Indonesia, type locality<

Redigobius lekutu Larson 2010 named for the Lekutu river system of Fiji, type locality

Redigobius leveri (Fowler 1943) in honor of British entomologist Robert A. Lever (1905–1969), who collected two specimens and sent them to Fowler for identification

Redigobius macrostoma (Günther 1861) macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; stóma (στόμα), mouth, referring to large mouth, reaching well beyond eye in large males

Redigobius nanus Larson 2010 Latin for dwarf (a noun, but Larson treats it as an adjective), referring to its small size (up to 27 mm SL) compared with congeners

Redigobius oyensi (de Beaufort 1913) in honor of Dutch paleontologist Ferdinand August Hendrik Weckherlin de Marez Oyens (1883–1941), who collected one of the three specimens (but not the holotype) that de Beaufort examined

Redigobius penango (Popta 1922) named for Penango, a village in Tenggara, Sulawesi, Indonesia, type locality

Redigobius samberanoensis (Bleeker 1867) -ensis, Latinsuffix denoting place: Samberano River, Madagascar, type locality

Redigobius tambujon (Bleeker 1854) from Ikan Tambujon, Sundanese name for this goby in Java, Indonesia, type locality (Ikan = fish)

Redigobius vergeri (Bleeker 1867) in honor of Jules Verger, who helped Dutch naturalists Douwe Casparus van Dam (1827–1898) and François Pollen (1842–1888) as they explored Madagascar and collected holotype

Reptiliceps Prokofiev 2007 reptilis (L.), a creeping thing, i.e., a reptile; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to greatly depressed head with swollen cheeks, similar to that of reptiles

Reptiliceps scarlatoi Prokofiev 2007 in honor of the “eminent” Russian malacologist Orest Alexandrovich Scarlato (1920–1994), who collected holotype in 1957

Rhinogobius Gill 1859 rhinós (ῥινός), genitive of rhís (ῥίς), snout, presumably referring to “elongated” head of R. similis; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Rhinogobius albimaculatus Chen, Kottelat & Miller 1999 albus (L.), white; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to diagnostic white spots on cheek of adult males

Rhinogobius allornatus (Endruweit 2024) állos (ἄλλος), other or different; ornatus (L.), decorated, referring to subbasal blackish spot on first dorsal fin of females [placed in Sinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius amoniceps (Endruweit 2024) amóni (αμόνι), anvil; -ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to strongly depressed head in males [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius aonumai Suzuki, Oseko, Yamasaki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2022 in honor of Yoshimasa Aonuma, a “pioneer” in the taxonomic study of Rhinogobius in the Ryukyu Islands; in his 1992 master’s thesis, he was the first to suggest that the number of vertebrae of this species was higher than those from other islands of the Ryukyu Islands

Rhinogobius aonumai ishigakiensis Suzuki, Oseko, Yamasaki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2022 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ishigaki-jima Island, Yaeyama Group of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, type locality

Rhinogobius baborinisanensis Chen & Yeh 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Babo Rinisan (“mountain where we cry farewell”), Atayal tribal name for Dar-Shue-Shan mountain ridge, northern Taiwan, type locality

Rhinogobius biwaensis Takahashi & Okasaki 2017 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Biwa, Japan, where it is endemic

Rhinogobius boa Chen & Kottelat 2005 Latin for measles, derived from bos (cattle), :because Romans used cow-dung to cure measles,” referring to red spots on cheeks and branchiostegal membrane

Rhinogobius brunneus (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) Medieval Latin for brown, referring to its dark-brown dominant coloration

Rhinogobius bucculentus (Herre 1927) Latin for full-cheeked, referring to its “bulging” cheeks [placed in Tukugobius by Endruweit (2024), treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius bufonius Endruweit 2024 Latin for toad-like, referring to its large mouth resembling that of a toad

Rhinogobius candidianus (Regan 1908) -anus (L.), belonging to: Lake Candidius, Taiwan, type locality

Rhinogobius carpenteri Seale 1910 in honor of American naturalist William Dorr Carpenter (1879–1958), who helped collect holotype (and other Filipino fishes for Seale) [placed in Tukugobius by Endruweit (2024), treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius cervicosquamus (Wu, Lu & Ni 1986) cervico-, from cervix (L.), nape or neck; squamus, scientific Neo-Latin adjective from squama (L.), scale, referring to presence of nuchal scales vs. their absence in R. cliffordpopei [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius changjiangensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Changhwajiang River, Hainan Island, China, type locality [placed in Zhuquella by Endruweit (2024), treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius changtinensis Huang & Chen 2007 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chang-Ting County, Fujian Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius cheni (Nichols 1931) in honor of tiger hunter Ch’en Ti-Ti, widely known under the name “Da-Da,” who collected holotype under the direction of Clifford H. Pope (see R. cliffordpopei)

Rhinogobius chiengmaiensis Fowler 1934 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chieng Mai, northern Thailand, type locality

Rhinogobius chongkangensis Chen 2025 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chong-Kong River basin, Miaoli County, Taiwan, type locality

Rhinogobius cliffordpopei (Nichols 1925) in honor of American herpetologist Clifford H. Pope (1899–1974), the “thoroughness of whose field work in China has brought to light many species of fishes previously overlooked”

Rhinogobius coccinella Endruweit 2018 named for Coccinella, a genus of ladybugs, referring to large dark spots on cheek and operculum in males, reminiscent of the elytron coloration of some ladybug species

Rhinogobius davidi (Sauvage & Dabry de Thiersant 1874) in honor of Armand David (1826–1900), Lazarist missionary Catholic priest and biologist, who collected many specimens in China, including holotype of this one

Rhinogobius delicatus Chen & Shao 1996 Latin for delicate, referring to the many “delicate” dark spots on cheeks of both sexes

Rhinogobius dongfongensis Chen & Wei 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Dongfong township, Jian-Ou City, Fujian Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius duospilus (Herre 1935) duo (L.), two; spílos (σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to two prominent spots on pectoral-fin base

Rhinogobius epikalymma (Endruweit 2024) epikályma (ἐπικάλυμα), veil and covering, referring to brown-grayish overlay on coloration of nuptial males [placed in Sinogobius (subgenus Epikalymma Endruweit 20240) by Endruweit, both treated here as synonyms of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius estrellae Maeda, Kunishima & Palla 2021 of Estrella Falls in Barangay Estrella Village, Narra, Palawan Islands, Philippines, type locality

Rhinogobius fasciata (Endruweit 2024) Latin for banded or striped, referring to 5–6 “swarthy” longitudinal stripes on body [placed in Zhuquella by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius filamentosus (Wu 1939) Latin for filamentous, referring to filamentous fourth and fifth spines on first dorsal fin

Rhinogobius flumineus (Mizuno 1960) Latin for of a river, referring to its occurrence in the mountain streams of southwestern Japan, including the Ryukyu Islands

Rhinogobius fluviatilis Tanaka 1925 Latin for riverine or of a river, referring to its freshwater habitat

Rhinogobius formosanus Oshima 1919 -anus (L.), belonging to: Formosa (Taiwan), where it is endemic

Rhinogobius fukushimai Mori 1934 in honor of Tsunekichi Fukushima, one of Mori’s “military guards” for “most faithful services” rendered during his expedition to Jehol (now called Chengde), Hebei Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius genanematus Zhong & Tzeng 1998 génys (γένυς), jaw (usually the cheek or lower jaw in ichthyology); nḗmatos (νήματος), threaded (i.e., something very thin, like a thread), referring to 1–5 thin stripes on cheek

Rhinogobius gigas Aonuma & Chen 1996 gígas (γίγας), giant, referring to larger size (>10 mm SL) of adult males compared with congeners in Taiwan

Rhinogobius gladius (Endruweit 2024) Latin for sword, referring to projecting anterior edge of nuchal squamation [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius henchuenensis Chen & Shao 1996 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Hengchuen Peninsula, southern Taiwan, type locality

Rhinogobius henryi (Herre 1938) in honor of James McClure Henry (1880-1958), Presbyterian missionary in China and Provost of Lingnan University, for his “continued interest in, and warm support of” Herre’s studies of Chinese fishes

Rhinogobius honghensis Chen, Yang & Chen 1999 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Honghe River basin, Yunnan Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius houheensis Wanghe, Hu, Chen & Luan 2020 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Houhe National Nature Reserve, Hubei Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius imfasciocaudatus Nguyen & Vo 2006 im-, from in (L.), not; fascia (L.), band; caudatus (L.), tailed, referring to absence of vertical dark lines or rows of dark spots on caudal fin

Rhinogobius immaculatus Li, Li & Chen 2018 im-, from in (L.), not; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to absence of black blotch on anterior part of dorsal fin of adult males, unlike congeners, in which this blotch is present

Rhinogobius instabilis (Endruweit 2024) Latin for unstable or unsteady, referring to “irregularities” within the cephalic lateralis system of many specimens [placed in Zhuquella by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius jangshiensis Chen, Chen & Wang 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: small tributary in the Jangshi, Janpu County, Janchou City, Fujian Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius jingae (Endruweit 2024) in honor of Mrs. Wang Jing (Qingdao, China), who collected type series with Endruweit in 2011 [placed in Zhuquella by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius juno (Endruweit 2024) in honor of Endruweit’s daughter Juno [a noun in apposition without the genitive “ae”; placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius kurodai (Tanaka 1908) in honor of Japanese ornithologist-ichthyologist Nagamichi Kuroda (1889–1978), who discovered this goby

Rhinogobius lanyuensis Chen, Miller & Fang 1998 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lanyu (Orchid Island), Taiwan, where it is endemic

Rhinogobius leavelli (Herre 1935) in honor of American medical missionary George Leavell (1882–1957), Baptist Hospital, Wuchow, Kwangsi Province, China, near type locality

Rhinogobius lentiginis (Wu & Zheng 1985) -is (L.), genitive singular of: lentigo (L.), freckle or lentil-shaped spot, referring to numerous black spots on head [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit (2024), treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius lianchengensis Wang & Chen 2022 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Liancheng County, Fujian Province, China, where type locality (Shen-Shiu-Tang) is situated

Rhinogobius lindbergi Berg 1933 in honor of ichthyologist Georgii Ustinovich Lindberg (1894–1976), Russian Academy of Sciences; proposed as a subspecies of R. similis, Lindberg had re-identified the specimens at his museum as the nominate form

Rhinogobius lineatus Chen, Kottelat & Miller 1999 Latin for lined, referring to 6–7 longitudinal brown lines on its body, a diagnostic feature

Rhinogobius lingtongyanensis Chen, Wang, Chen & Shao 2022 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lingtongyan Mountain, near where type locality (Shar village, Darshi township, Shaoan County, Janchou City, Fujian Province, China) is situated

Rhinogobius lingjiangensis Chen 2025 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lingjiang, a small tributary of Xijiang River, Guanxi Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius linshuiensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Linshui River, Hainan Island, China, type locality

Rhinogobius lithopolychroma Li, Li, Shao, Fu & Zhou 2024 líthos (λῐ́θος), stone; polý- (πολύ-), many, and chrṓma (χρῶμα), color, i.e., rich in color, referring to the colorful cobble substrate where it was discovered

Rhinogobius liui Chen & Wu 2008 in honor of C. K. Liu, who described this goby in 1940 but used a preoccupied name (szechuanensis) when placed in Rhinogobius

Rhinogobius longipinnis Nguyen & Vo 2006 longus (L.), long; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, i.e., finned, probably referring to its extended second dorsal and anal fins [treated as a synonym of R. similis by some workers]

Rhinogobius longyanensis Chen, Cheng & Shao 2008 -ensis, Latin suffix denotng place: Long-Yan City, Fujian Province, China, type locality [treated as a synonym of R. changtinensis by some workers]

Rhinogobius lungwoensis Huang & Chen 2007 -ensis, Latin denoting place: Lung-Wo County, Guangdong Province, China, type locality [placed in Zhuquella by some workers, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius macromaculatus Chen & Yeh 2024 macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to large spot of bluish-black pigmentation on dorsal fin

Rhinogobius macroura (Endruweit 2024) macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; ourá (οὐρά), tail, referring to its extended caudal peduncle [placed in Tukugobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius maculafasciatus Chen & Shao 1996 macula (L.), spot; fasciatus (L.), banded, referring to spots and bands on sides of body of both sexes

Rhinogobius maculagenys Wu, Deng, Wang & Liu 2018 macula (L.), spot or blotch; génys (γένυς), jaw (usually the cheek or lower jaw in ichthyology), referring to diagnostic feature of round orange spots on cheek

Rhinogobius maculicervix Chen & Kottelat 2000 macula (L.), spot or blotch; cervix (L.), nape or neck, referring to large, conspicuous blackish-brown mark on posterior nape of female

Rhinogobius magnificus (Endruweit 2024) Latin for magnificent or splendid, referring to the “striking” color of males in life [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius margaritatus (Endruweit 2024) Latin for adorned with pearls, referring to 10–15 light-gray spots on operculum of females [placed in Zhuquella by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius maxillivirgatus Xia, Wu & Li 2018 maxilla (L.), jaw; virgatus (L.), striped or made of twigs (i.e., branched) but said by authors to be a noun derived from virgas, meaning “stripes” (actually, it means rods), referring to two distinctive stripes behind upper jaw of both sexes

Rhinogobius mekongianus (Pellegrin & Fang 1940) -anus (L.), belonging to: Mekong River basin, Laos, type locality

Rhinogobius milleri Chen & Kottelat 2003 in honor of goby taxonomist Peter J. Miller, University of Bristol (England), for his “very kind support to the studies and researches” of the first author

Rhinogobius mizunoi Suzuki, Shibukawa & Aizawa 2017 in honor of Nobuhiko Mizuno, former professor at Ehime University (Japan), for his “great” contribution to our knowledge of the ecology of freshwater fishes in Japan, particularly Rhinogobius

Rhinogobius multimaculatus (Wu & Zheng 1985) multi- (L.), many; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to numerous small black spots at the base of each scale on head and body

Rhinogobius nami Maeda, Kobayashi, Iida & Tran 2024 in honor of the late Chu Hoang Nam, Hanoi National University of Education, who helped the authors’ surveys in Vietnam during 2018 and 2019

Rhinogobius nammaensis Chen & Kottelat 2003 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nam Ma basin, northeastern Laos, only known area of occurrence

Rhinogobius nandujiangensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nandujiang River, Hainan Island, China

Rhinogobius nanophyllum Endruweit 2018 nano, scientific Neo-Latin adjective derived from nánnos, dwarf, meaning very small or minute; phýllon (φύλλον), leaf, referring to enlarged second dorsal and anal fins in males, which are fully stretched during courtship, somewhat resembling a small leaf floating over substratum

Rhinogobius nantaiensis Aonuma & Chen 1996 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nan-tai, Chinese for southern Taiwan, where it is endemic

Rhinogobius ngutinhoceps Endruweit 2018 Ngu Tinh, a mythical creature in Vietnam with the head of a fish; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to this Vietnamese goby’s large gape

Rhinogobius niger Huang, Chen & Shao 2016 Latin for dark or black, referring to dusky to blackish head and body in adult males

Rhinogobius occidentalis (Endruweit 2024) Latin for western, the westernmost natural occurrence of gobies Endruweit places in Sinogobius (treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius) \

Rhinogobius ogasawaraensis Suzuki, Chen & Senou 2012 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ogasawara Group, Bonin Islands, Japan, type locality

Rhinogobius parvus (Luo 1989) Latin for small, presumably referring to its size, described at 28–32 mm SL

Rhinogobius philippinus (Herre 1927) -inus (L.), pertaining to: the Philippines, where it appears to be endemic to the Irid River, Luzon Island [placed in Tukugobius by Endruweit (2024), treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius phuocbinhensis Chen, Nguyen & Huynh 2024 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: a hill stream in Phuoc Binh National Park, Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, type locality

Rhinogobius phuongae Endruweit 2018 in honor of Thi Dieu Phuong Nguyen (b. 1975), Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1 (Bac Ninh, Vietnam), for her enthusiastic interest in Vietnamese fishes

Rhinogobius pulcher (Endruweit 2024) Latin for beautiful, referring to the coloration of males [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius qilin (Endruweit 2024) named for Qilin, a scaled beast in Chinese mythology, referring to this goby’s overall appearance [placed in Sinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius reticulatus Li, Zhong & Wu 2007 Latin for net-like or netted, referring to mesh pattern of intertwined stripes on gill covers of males

Rhinogobius retigena (Endruweit 2024) reti, from reticulatus (L.), net-like or netted; gena, from génys (γένυς), jaw (usually the cheek or lower jaw in ichthyology), referring to reticulate pattern of pores in cephalic lateralis system of females [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius rong Maeda, Kobayashi, Iida & Tran 2024 named for its pointed appearance, reminiscent of rồng, the Vietnamese dragon of folklore and myth

Rhinogobius rubrolineatus Chen & Miller 2008 rubro, from ruber (L.), red; lineatus (L.), lined, referring to bright red lines on snout and anterior region of cheek

Rhinogobius rubromaculatus Lee & Chang 1996 rubro, from ruber (L.), red; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to red spots scattered over body

Rhinogobius sagittus Chen & Miller 2008 unnecessary masculinization of saggita (L.), arrow, referring to deep-brown arrow-like shape on anterior region of cheek of males

Rhinogobius sangenloensis Chen & Miller 2014 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sangenlo Township, Wang-Ning County, Hainan Island, China, type locality

Rhinogobius sexstriatus Chen & Wang 2025 sex (L.), six; striatus (L.), grooved or furrowed (i.e., striped), referring to six parallel black stripes on cheek in male, a diagnostic character

Rhinogobius shennongensis (Yang & Xie 1983) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mount Shennong, Hubei Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius similis Gill 1859 Latin for like or resembling, referring to its “great superficial resemblance” to Acanthogobius flavimanus

Rhinogobius sowerbyi Ginsburg 1917 in honor of British naturalist and explorer in China, Arthur de Carle Sowerby (1885–1954), who collected holotype

Rhinogobius splendens (Endruweit 2024) Latin for bright or shining, referring to the predominance of white in its coloration, particularly its basally white pectoral fin, “strikingly shiny in life” [placed in Zhuquella by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius sudoccidentalis Li, Li, Shao, Fu & Zhou 2024 sud, French for south (authors say Latin); occidentalis (L.) western, referring to its occurrence in the southwestern region of China

Rhinogobius sulcatus Chen & Kottelat 2005 Latin for furrowed or grooved, (authors say scarred), presumably referring to three (rarely four) oblique brownish-black bands and 1–2 stripes on cheek and opercle, respectively

Rhinogobius szechuanensis (Tchang 1939) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Szechuan (now Sichuan) Province (Yangtze River basin), China, type locality

Rhinogobius taenigena Chen, Kottelat & Miller 1999 taenia (L.), from tainía (ταινία), band or ribbon; gena, from génys (γένυς), jaw (usually the cheek or lower jaw in ichthyology), referring to diagnostic horizontal band on cheek

Rhinogobius tandikan Maeda, Kunishima & Palla 2021 local name of the Palawan peacock-pheasant Polyplectron napoleonis, a symbol of Puerto Princesa City (Palawan Islands, the Philippines), type locality, and, with blue markings on the body, similar to the bird’s plumage

Rhinogobius telma Suzuki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2019 télma (τέλμα), standing water or marsh, referring to its typical habitat

Rhinogobius tyoni Suzuki, Kimura & Shibukawa 2019 in honor of the late Darsu Tyon (Sanyo Techno Marine, Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan), who discovered this goby and “kindly informed” the authors for their study

Rhinogobius valentulus (Endruweit 2024) Latin for strong, referring to overall compact appearance of the type specimens [placed in Pseudorhinogobius by Endruweit, treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius variolatus Chen & Kottelat 2005 -atus (L.), provided with: variola (L.), pustule or pox i.e., “spotted disease” or smallpox, referring to spots on cheek and opercle

Rhinogobius vermiculatus Chen & Kottelat 2001 Latin for vermiculate (with wavy lines and marks), referring to vermiculate lines against brown background on opercle of males

Rhinogobius virgigena Chen & Kottelat 2005 virga (L.), twig or branch (but sometimes meaning stripe), said by authors to mean “coloured band on cloth”; gena, from génys (γένυς), jaw (usually the cheek or lower jaw in ichthyology), referring to long, conspicuous brownish black stripe on cheek, extending forward to upper lip

Rhinogobius wangchuangensis Chen, Miller, Wu & Fang 2002 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Wangchuang River, Hainan Island, China, type locality

Rhinogobius wangi Chen & Fang 2006 in honor of postgraduate student J. W. Wang, for his “valuable” assistance in the field trip of Fujian and Guangdong provinces (China) in September 2002, during which holotype was collected

Rhinogobius wui (Liu 1940) in honor of Chinese zoologist Wu Hsien-Wen (1900–1985, also known as Xian-Wen Wu), Biological Laboratory of the Science Society of China, who collected holotype [placed in Zhuquella by Endruweit (2024), treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius]

Rhinogobius wuyanlingensis Yang, Wu & Chen 2008 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Wuyanling National Natural Conservation Area, Zhejiang Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius wuyiensis Li & Zhong 2007 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Wuyi River, Zhejiang Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius xianshuiensis Chen, Wu & Shao 1999 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: tributary of Xianshui Brook, Xianyou County, Fujian Province, China, type locality

Rhinogobius yaoshanensis (Luo 1989) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Da Yao Shan (a mountain), Jinxiu, Guangxi, China, type locality

Rhinogobius yaima Suzuki, Oseko, Kimura & Shibukawa 2020 named for the Yaeyama Group, Ryuku Islands, Japan, where type locality (Iriomote-jima Island) is situated

Rhinogobius yangminshanensis Chen, Wang & Shao 2022 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Yangminshan National Park, where type locality (Tanshuei River basin, northern Taiwan) is situated

Rhinogobius yonezawai Suzuki, Oseko, Kimura & Shibukawa 2020 in honor of Japanese ichthyologist Toshihiko Yonezawa, Foundation of Kagoshima Environmental Research and Service, who “offered much information and specimens” for the authors to study

Rhinogobius zhoui Li & Zhong 2009 in honor of Zhou Hang (Shenzen, Guandong Province, China), who supplied holotype and photographs of it

Rhinogobius zhuquella (Endruweit 2024) named for Zhūquè, the Vermilion Bird, a red pheasant-like bird in Chinese mythology, alluding to the “often colorful” gobies Endruweit allocated to the genus Zhuquella (treated here as a synonym of Rhinogobius) ; –ella, a Latin diminutive, alluding to their small adult sizes

Sagamia Jordan & Snyder 1901 -ia (L. suffix), belonging to: Sagami Bay, Japan, type locality of S. russula (=geneionema)

Sagamia geneionema (Hilgendorf 1879) géneion (γένειον), cheek or goatee; nḗma (νῆμα), thread or yarn, presumably referring to 24 slender barbels on lower jaw and anterior part of throat

Schismatogobius de Beaufort 1912 schísmatōs (σχίσματος), genitive of schísma (σχίσμα), split, cleft or division, allusion not explained nor evident but here are two possibilities: referring to cracks and crevices in the mountain-stream habitat of the type species (S. bruynisi), or referring to how that species’ scaleless body separates it from other gobies of the Indo-Australian Archipelago; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Schismatogobius alleni Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 in honor of American-born Australian ichthyologist Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), friend and colleague, for his extensive and enthusiastic work on the freshwater fish fauna of Papua New Guinea

Schismatogobius ampluvinculus Chen, Shao & Fang 1995 amplus (L.), of large extent (e.g., wide); vinculus, unnecessary masculinization of vinculum (L.), band, bond or fastener, referring to alternating blackish and whitish (somewhat yellowish) wide bands on body from head to base of caudal fin

Schismatogobius arscuttoli Keith, Lord & Hubert 2017 in honor of the Ars-Cuttoli Foundation, which funded the authors’ research in Indonesia

Schismatogobius baitabag Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for Baitabag village, northern Papua New Guinea, type locality, “as thanks to the Baitabag village men and many small children who cheerfully helped [Larson] collect the holotype and many other interesting fishes”

Schismatogobius bruynisi de Beaufort 1912 in honor of Lt. J. L. Bruynis, commanding officer of the military post at Honitetu, western Ceram, Indonesia (type locality), who helped de Beaufort “in every possible way” (e.g., providing quarters)

Schismatogobius bussoni Keith, Hubert, Limmon & Darhuddin 2017 in honor of Frédéric Busson, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), “for all his work to improve our knowledge on Indonesian freshwater fishes”

Schismatogobius deraniyagalai Kottelat & Pethiyagoda 1989 in honor of the late Paul E. P. Deraniyagala (1900–1976), zoologist and paleontologist, for his “outstanding activity” in Sri Lanka natural history

Schismatogobius essi Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for the non-governmental organization ESSI (Ecological Solution, Solomon Islands), which seeks to improve taxonomic and ecological knowledge of species and ecosystems throughout the Solomon Islands through collaboration with local tribes or communities

Schismatogobius fuligimentus Chen, Séret, Pöllabauer & Shao 2001 fuligo, soot; mentus, chin, referring to entire side of head with deep-black pigmentation in females

Schismatogobius hoesei Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 in honor of American-born Australian ichthyologist Douglass F. Hoese (b. 1942), Australian Museum (Sydney),“eminent gobyologist and good friend,” who first collected this goby in Australia and recognized its significance

Schismatogobius insignum (Herre 1927) said to be derived from insignis (L.), “distinguished,” referring to its “handsome coloration”; since Herre’s spelling does not exist in Latin, name is treated as a noun per ICZN 31.2.2, but often emended to insignus or insignis by other workers

Schismatogobius limmoni Keith & Hubert 2021 in honor of Gino Limmon, Director of Maritime and Marine Science Center of Excellence, Pattimura University (Indonesia), for “all his work to improve our knowledge on Indonesian fishes and its application for the conservation of the Indonesian aquatic fauna”

Schismatogobius marmoratus (Peters 1868) Latin for marbled or mottled, referring to dark mottlings on brown body

Schismatogobius mondo Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for Mondo village, Solomons Islands, type locality, in honor of the Mondo villagers who helped collect the species and warmly welcomed the authors

Schismatogobius risdawatiae Keith, Darhuddin, Sukmono & Hubert 2017 in honor of biologist Renny Risdawati (b. 1967), Padang University, who helped the authors collect freshwater fishes in Padang, Sumatra

Schismatogobius sapoliensis Keith, Darhuddin, Limmon & Hubert 2018 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sapoli, Halmahera, Indonesia, type locality

Schismatogobius saurii Keith, Lord, Hadiaty & Hubert 2017 in honor of zoologist Sopian Sauri, LIPI (Indonesian Institute of Sciences), who helped the authors collect freshwater fishes all around Indonesia

Schismatogobius tiola Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 named for Tiola, the protecting spirit of war canoes in the Solomon Islands and their prow figurehead; according to legend, Tiola came from Kolombangara, type locality

Schismatogobius tuimanua Keith, Lord & Larson 2017 derived from Tuimanu’a, king of all the kings in the Samoan myth of creation, in honor of the people of Samoa, where this goby occurs

Schismatogobius vanuatuensis Keith, Marquet & Watson 2004 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Vanuatu, South Pacific, where it is endemic

Schismatogobius vitiensis Jenkins & Boseto 2005 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Vity (Fijian language for Fiji), where it is endemic

Siphonogobius Shibukawa & Iwata 1998 síphōn (σίφων), pipe or tube, referring to tube-like infraorbital canal extending below eyes; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Siphonogobius nue Shibukawa & Iwata 1998 nue (pronounced nu-e), Japanese word for an imaginary chimera-like animal, referring to its specialized characters (e.g., well-developed infraorbital canal, continuous oculoscapular canal, many free rays on pectoral fin, thickened and highly branched pelvic-fin rays, anterior nostril with a minute skin flap)

Speleogobius Zander & Jelinek 1976 spḗlaion (σπήλαιον), cave, referring to grotto habitat of S. trigloides; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Speleogobius llorisi Kovačić, Ordines & Schliewen 2016 in honor of Spanish ichthyologist Domenec Lloris, Institut de Ciències del Mar (Barcelona), for his “outstanding” contribution to the knowledge of fishes

Speleogobius trigloides Zander & Jelinek 1976 -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (εἶδος), form or shape: referring to its chiseled profile, like that of a gurnard (Triglidae: Trigla)

Stenogobius Bleeker 1874 sténos (στένος), narrow, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to compressed body of S. gymnopomus; Gobius, referring to previous placement of S. gymnopomus in that genus and/or reflecting Bleeker’s classification of this taxon in a phalanx he called Gobiini

Subgenus Stenogobius

Stenogobius gymnopomus (Bleeker 1853) gymnós (γυμνός), bare or naked; pṓma (πῶμα), lid or cover, referring to scaleless operculum

Stenogobius ingeri Watson 1991 in honor of American biologist Robert F. Inger (1920–2019), Field Museum of Natural History, who collected holotype

Stenogobius kenyae Smith 1959 of Kenya, where type locality (Sabaki River) is situated

Stenogobius lachneri Allen 1991 per Watson (1994), in honor of Ernest A. Lachner (1916–1996), curator of fishes at the U.S. National Museum, for his many contributions to gobioid systematics and his “continuous support and encouragement” to Watson (Watson coined the name, which Allen made available in 1991, crediting “Watson 1990” as the author; however, Watson’s description was not published until 1994)

Stenogobius laterisquamatus (Weber 1907) lateralis (L.), of the side; squamatus (L.), scaled, presumably referring to the “conspicuous scaling of the cheeks” (translation)

Stenogobius macropterus (Duncker 1912) macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, presumably referring to elongate, filamentous spines on first dorsal fin and/or long and pointed caudal fin

Stenogobius mekongensis Watson 1991 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mekong River Delta, Viêt Nam, where it appears to be endemic

Stenogobius ophthalmoporus (Bleeker 1853) ophthalmós (ὀφθαλμός), eye; porus, from póros (πόρος), pore, referring to large pore behind eye at beginning of depression between eye and shoulder

Stenogobius psilosinionus Watson 1991 psilós (ψιλός), bare, uncovered or smooth; iníon (ἰνίον), back of head or occiput, referring to predominately scaleless predorsal midline

Stenogobius (subgenus Insularigobius) Watson 1991 insula (L.), island or isle, referring to the fact that all known species are known only from island habitats, whether of continental or volcanic origin; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Stenogobius alleni Watson 1991 in honor of American-born Australian ichthyologist Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), for his contributions to the freshwater ichthyology of Papua New Guinea

Stenogobius beauforti (Weber 1907) in honor of Weber’s colleague, Dutch zoologist Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort (1879–1968), University of Amsterdam, a participant in the Dutch North New Guinea Expedition (1903), during which holotype was collected

Stenogobius blokzeyli (Bleeker 1860) in honor of its discoverer, A. H. G. Blokzeyl, first Dutch governor of Bali (type locality), who collected fishes and reptiles and sent them to the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands)

Stenogobius caudimaculosus Watson 1991 cauda (L.), tail; maculosus (L.), spotted, referring to spot (or spots) on caudal peduncle

Stenogobius fehlmanni Watson 1991 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Herman Adair Fehlmann (1917–2005), Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, for his contributions to ichthyology, as well as collecting most of the type material

Stenogobius genivittatus (Valenciennes 1837) génys (γένυς), jaw (usually the cheek or lower jaw in ichthyology); vittatus (L.), banded, referring to broad brown band descending obliquely from eye and cheek to lower edge of preopercle

Stenogobius hawaiiensis Watson 1991 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Hawaiian Islands, where it is endemic

Stenogobius hoesei Watson 1991 in honor of American-born Australian ichthyologist Douglass F. Hoese (b. 1942), Australian Museum (Sydney), for contributions to gobioid systematics and his encouragement throughout the course of Watson’s review of the genus

Stenogobius keletaona Keith & Marquet 2006 named for keletoana, the “customary authority” of the Kingdom of Sigave on Futuna Island, type locality (also occurs on Wallis Island)

Stenogobius kyphosus Watson 1991 from kyphós (κυφός), hunchbacked, referring to its high back compared with congeners

Stenogobius marinus Watson 1991 Latin for “of the sea,” referring to its apparent habitat preference (brackish and near-marine waters in intertidal streams and estuaries)

Stenogobius marqueti Watson 1991 in honor of aquatic biologist Gérard Marquet (b. 1948), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), for his “extensive” collection efforts in the fresh waters of French Polynesia and the discovering of four new species of Stenogobius (but not this one)

Stenogobius polyzona (Bleeker 1867) polý- (πολύ-), many; zona (L.), band, referring to its “many blackish, slender and well-marked vertical bands, even after the scales have been removed” (translation)

Stenogobius randalli Watson 1991 in honor of American ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924–2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for his many contributions to Indo-Pacific ichthyology

Stenogobius squamosus Watson 1991 Latin for scaly (i.e., with many scales), the Stenogobius with the most scales examined from the Marquesas Islands

Stenogobius watsoni Allen 2004 in honor of American ichthyologist Ronald Watson, for “significant” contributions to our taxonomic knowledge of Stenogobius

Stenogobius yateiensis Keith, Watson & Marquet 2002 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Yaté, New Caledonia, type locality

Stenogobius zurstrasseni (Popta 1911) in honor of German zoologist Otto Karl Ladislaus zur Strassen (1869–1961), Director of the Natural History Museum of Senckenberg (Frankfurt)

Stigmatogobius Bleeker 1874 stigmatus, Latin adjectival form of stígma (στίγμα), mark or spot, presumably referring to lateral black dots of S. pleurostigma; Gobius, referring to previous placement of S. pleurostigma in that genus and/or reflecting Bleeker’s classification of this taxon in a phalanx he called Gobiini

Stigmatogobius borneensis (Bleeker 1850) -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Borneo, type locality (also occurs in Singapore)

Stigmatogobius elegans Larson 2005 Latin for elegant, referring to its “slim and elegant” appearance

Stigmatogobius pleurostigma (Bleeker 1849) pleuro-, from pleurá (πλευρά), side; stígma (στίγμα), mark or spot, referring to longitudinal series of 8 or 10 black dots on sides

Stigmatogobius sadanundio (Hamilton 1822) Latinization of Sadanundi from Sadanundi bele, its local name near Calcutta, India, per Hora (1934)

Stigmatogobius sella (Steindachner 1881) Latin for saddle, referring to brownish saddle-like marking from anterior base of first dorsal fin to middle of side

Stigmatogobius signifer Larson 2005 signum (L.), mark; -fer, from fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to distinctive caudal spot and dark body band

Suruga Jordan & Snyder 1901 named for Suruga Bay, Japan, where S. fundicola was noted as especially abundant (Japanese: suru, stork; ga, good, i.e., the bay of the good stork)

Suruga fundicola Jordan & Snyder 1901 fundus (L.), base or bottom; –cola (L.), dweller or inhabitant, collected from the sandy bottom at a depth of 73–146 m

Tamanka Herre 1927 Tausug (regional language of the Philippines) name for small gobies of Gnatholepis and Rhinogobius

Tamanka siitensis Herre 1927 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Siit, northern coast of Jolo Island, Philippines, type locality

Tasmanogobius Scott 1935 Tasmania, type locality of T. lordi; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Tasmanogobius gloveri Hoese 1991 in honor of John Glover (1935–1992), Curator of Fishes, South Australian Museum, who made material available for study

Tasmanogobius lasti Hoese 1991 in honor of ichthyologist Peter R. Last, CSIRO Division of Fisheries, who supplied much of the Tasmanian material of this species

Tasmanogobius lordi Scott 1935 in honor of the late Clive Errol Lord (1889–1933), former Secretary and then Director of the Tasmanian Museum, the “most notable worker in systematic ichthyology” since Robert M. Johnston (1843–1918)

Tomiyamia Endruweit 2024 -ia (Latin suffix), belonging to: Ichiro Tomiyama, Tokyo University, who described T. nudicervica in 1934 [treated as a synonym of Tridentiger by some workers]

Tomiyamia nudicervica (Tomiyama 1934) nudus (L.), naked or bare; cervica-, scientific Neo-Latin adjective derived from cervix (L.), nape or neck, referring to naked head and nape, i.e., no scales in front of first dorsal fin

Triaenopogon Bleeker 1874 triaeno, from tríaina (τρίαινα), trident (having three points); pṓgōn (πώγων), beard, referring to tricuspid teeth and cephalic barbels of T. barbatus [treated as a synonym of Tridentiger by some workers]

Triaenopogon barbatus (Günther 1861) Latin for bearded, referring to two series of small barbels across cheek, another along mandibula and preopercular margin

Triaenopogon radiatus (Cui, Pan, Yang & Wang 2013) Latin for rayed or radiate (arranged in a radial pattern), referring to radiate arrangement of three dusky bands on infraorbital 

Tridentiger Gill 1859 tri– (L.), three; dens (L.), tooth; -iger (L.), to have or bear, referring to tricuspid outer teeth on upper and lower jaws of T. obscurus

Tridentiger bifasciatus Steindachner 1881 bi-, from bis (L.), twice; fasciatus (L.), banded or striped, referring to dorsal and lateral stripes on many specimens

Tridentiger brevispinis Katsuyama, Arai & Nakamura 1972 brevis (L.), short; spinis, from spinus (L.), thorn, proposed as a subspecies of T. obscurus distinguished by its shorter dorsal-fin spines

Tridentiger kuroiwae Jordan & Tanaka 1927 in honor of botanist Hisashi Kuroiwa (1858–1930), Imperial University of Tokyo, who provided a collection of fishes from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, including this species [although named after a man, “ae” is an acceptable way to form a genitive from a masculine noun that ends in “a”]

Tridentiger obscurus (Temminck & Schlegel 1845) Latin for dark or dusky, referring to dark-brown coloration, dotted with blackish brown, in life

Tridentiger trigonocephalus (Gill 1859) trígōnos (τρίγωνος), triangular; cephalus, from kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to shape of its oblong head

Typhlogobius Steindachner 1879 typhlós (τυφλός), blind, referring to blind adults (juveniles have rudimentary eyes); gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Typhlogobius californiensis Steindachner 1879 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: San Diego, California, type locality

Wuhanlinigobius Huang, Zeehan & Chen 2014 in honor of Chinese ichthyologist Wu Han-lin, Shanghai Ocean University, for his “great” contribution to ichthyological research in China, especially for gobioid fishes; gobius (L.), a fish of small value or a gudgeon, i.e., a goby

Wuhanlinigobius malayensis Huang, Zeehan & Chen 2014 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Malay Peninsula region (Malaysia and Singapore), where it occurs

Wuhanlinigobius polylepis (Wu & Ni 1985) polý- (πολύ-), many; lepís (λεπίς), scale, presumably referring to having more lateral-line scales compared to Mugilogobius obliquifasciatus (=Hemigobius hoevenii), its presumed congener at the time and described in the same paper

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Rock-climbing Gobies
Subfamily SICYDIINAE Gill 1860

Akihito Watson, Keith & Marquet 2007 in honor of Emperor Akihito of Japan (b. 1933), for his many contributions to goby systematics and phylogenetic research

Akihito futuna Keith, Marquet & Watson 2008 named for the Pacific island of Futuna, where it appears to be endemic

Akihito vanuatu Watson, Keith & Marquet 2007 named for the island nation of Vanuatu, only known area of occurrence

Cotylopus Guichenot 1863 cotyle, from kotúlē (κοτύλη), cup or bowl; poús (πούς), foot (homologous to the ventral fins), referring to fifth rays of each ventral fin joined together to form a cup-like disc

Cotylopus acutipinnis Guichenot 1863 acutus (L.), sharp or pointed; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, referring to pointed extremities of its dorsal and anal fins

Cotylopus rubripinnis Keith, Hoareau & Bosc 2005 rubri-, from ruber (L.), red; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, referring to reddish membrane of its dorsal, caudal and pectoral fins

Lentipes Günther 1861 etymology not explained, possibly lentus (L.), sticky; pes (L.), foot (homologous to the ventral fin), referring to ventral fins united to form a semicircular disk adherent to the belly

Lentipes andamanicus (Mukerji 1935) -icus (L.), belonging to: Andaman Islands, Eastern Indian Ocean, only known area of occurrence

Lentipes argenteus Keith, Hadiaty & Lord 2014 Latin for silvery, referring to distinctive grayish-to-silver body color of males

Lentipes armatus Sakai & Nakamura 1979 Latin for armed with a weapon or armored, referring to its body “armored with forked scales”

Lentipes bunagaya Maeda & Kobayashi 2021 named for Bunagaya, a creature in Okinawan mythology, thought to live in forests and/or streams and usually described as a child with red hair or whose whole body is red, referring to this goby’s male color morph, with two broad red bands on posterior part of body

Lentipes caroline Lynch, Keith & Pezold 2013 named for both the first author’s daughter and the “beautiful islands of Micronesia for which she was named,” i.e., the Caroline Islands, where it occurs [a noun in apposition without the genitive “ae” or “i”]

Lentipes concolor (Gill 1860) Latin for colored uniformly, presumably referring to uniform brown, olive or purplish coloration of females; Gill apparently was not aware that nuptial males are strikingly bicolored (black anteriorly, reddish-orange posteriorly)

Lentipes crittersius Watson & Allen 1999 Latinization of the Anglo-Saxon critters, a creature or small animal; a variant spelling, critturs, was used by the late Raymond S. Birdsong (1935–1995) when referring to gobies, his favorite subject

Lentipes dimetrodon Watson & Allen 1999 named for the extinct reptile genus Dimetrodon of the early and middle Permian, referring to erect dorsal fin in males and threatening appearance of false eye on first dorsal fin, making it appear more formidable than it really is

Lentipes ikeae Keith, Hubert, Busson & Hadiaty 2014 in honor of Ike Rachmatika (1982–2010), formerly of the ichthyology lab at Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (Cibinong, Indonesia), for her work and passion for the freshwater fishes of Indonesia

Lentipes kaaea Watson, Keith & Marquet 2002 in honor of Napwé Tribal Chief Kaaea, who kindly permitted collection of freshwater fishes on tribal lands in New Caledonia [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “i”]

Lentipes kijimuna Maeda & Kobayashi 2021 named for Kijimuna, a creature in Okinawan mythology, regarded as a wood spirit and usually described as a child with red hair or a child whose whole body is red, referring to this goby’s male color morph, with a red head and a broad red band connecting bases of posterior half of red second dorsal and anal fins

Lentipes kolobangara Keith, Lord, Boseto & Ebner 2016 named for Kolobongara Island, Solomon Islands, type locality; Kolobongara means “water king,” which is “suited for this colourful species”

Lentipes mekonggaensis Keith & Hadiaty 2014 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mekongga Mountains (Sulawesi, Indonesia), type locality

Lentipes mindanaoensis Chen 2004 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: eastern Mindanao, Philippines, type locality

Lentipes multiradiatus Allen 2001 multi– (L.), many; radiatus (L.), rayed, referring to its higher pectoral-fin ray count (20) compared with known congeners at the time

Lentipes niasensis Harefa & Chen 2022 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nias Island, Indonesia, type locality

Lentipes palawanirufus Maeda & Palla 2021 Palwan, referring to Palawan Island, Philippines, only known area of occurrence; rufus (L.) red or reddish, referring to its male color morph, with a broad, reddish-brown or dark-red band between bases of reddish brown or dark red second dorsal and anal fins (the “i” in the middle is a connecting vowel)

Lentipes ptasan Juang, Nañola, Li & Lao 2025 Truku (an indigenous tribe in Taiwan) word for facial tattoo, referring to its dark facial lines, which resemble the facial tattoo traditions of indigenous peoples in Taiwan and the Philippines

Lentipes rubrofasciatus Maugé, Marquet & Laboute 1992 rubro-, from ruber (L.), red; fasciatus (L.), banded, referring to red posterior half of body

Lentipes solomonensis Jenkins, Allen & Boseto 2008 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Solomon Islands, type locality

Lentipes venustus Allen 2004 Latin for pleasing or beautiful, referring to the “remarkable” coloration of males

Lentipes watsoni Allen 1997 in honor of American ichthyologist Ronald Watson, for his “fine” contributions to our knowledge of the then-recognized subfamily Sicydiinae

Lentipes whittenorum Watson & Kottelat 1994 -orum (L.) commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of wildlife biologists Anthony “Tony” Whitten 1953–2017) and his wife Jane (b. 1954), who assisted Kottelat during various projects in Indonesia, especially the survey of Bali, where this goby occurs

Parasicydium Risch 1980 pará (παρά), near, described as a “Sicydium-like genus”

Parasicydium bandama Risch 1980 named for the Bandama River, Ivory Coast, type locality

Sicydium Valenciennes 1837 sikýdion (σικύδιον), diminutive of sikýā (σικύα), gourd (but here referring to a suction cup, which, in earlier times, was made from a gourd), referring to fused ventral fins forming a cup-shaped disc

Sicydium adelum Bussing 1996 adēlos (ἄδηλος), unseen, unknown or obscure, referring to its similar appearance to the syntopic S. altum

Sicydium altum Meek 1907 Latin for high, allusion not explained, probably referring to the high-altitude rain-forest rivers in which it occurs; type specimen was collected at 600 m but species is known to reach 1,180 m

Sicydium brevifile Ogilvie-Grant 1884 brevis (L.), short; file, unnecessary neuterization of filum (L.), thread, presumably referring to second, third, fourth, and fifth dorsal spines produced into “short slender filaments”

Sicydium buscki Evermann & Clark 1906 in honor of Danish-American entomologist August Busck (1870–1944), who collected holotype

Sicydium bustamantei Greeff 1884 in honor of Brazilian slave trader Gabriel de Bustamenté, who collected holotype, and the “hospitable and intelligent” (translation) owner of the farm situated on São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea, type locality [Greeff recognized that Gobius (now Awaous) bustamanei Greeff 1882 consisted of two species; he retained larger specimens as G. bustamanei and smaller specimens were given this name]

Sicydium cocoense (Heller & Snodgrass 1903) -ense, Latin suffix denoting place: Cocos Island, eastern Pacific, where it appears to be endemic

Sicydium condotense Regan 1914 -ense, Latin suffix denoting place: Río Condoto, southwestern Colombia, type locality

Sicydium crenilabrum Harrison 1993 crenatus (L.), notched or bearing rounded projections (crenate); labrum (L.), lip, referring to distinct crenulations in upper lip

Sicydium fayae Brock 1942 in honor of Fay, middle name of Brock’s wife

Sicydium gilberti Watson 2000 in honor of American ichthyologist Carter R. Gilbert (1930–2022), Florida State Museum of Natural History, who for more than three decades has contributed much to our knowledge of fishes in the northwestern hemisphere, and assisted many, including Watson

Sicydium gymnogaster Ogilvie-Grant 1884 gymnós (γυμνός), bare or naked; gastḗr (γαστήρ), belly or stomach, referring to scaleless belly

Sicydium hildebrandi Eigenmann 1918 in honor of American ichthyologist Samuel F. Hildebrand (1883-1949), for his work with the freshwater fishes of Panama, and his discovery of several new gobies in Panama (although this goby occurs only in Colombia and Ecuador)

Sicydium montanum Hubbs 1920 Latin for pertaining to mountains, collected from a mountain brook at Macuto, Caracas, Venezuela

Sicydium plumieri (Bloch 1786) in honor of Charles Plumier (1646–1704), Franciscan monk and naturalist, who discovered this goby at Martinique, and on whose drawing and manuscript Bloch’s description is based

Sicydium punctatum Perugia 1896 Latin for spotted, referring to numerous small black spots on head and/or brown spot at center of each scale

Sicydium rosenbergii (Boulenger 1899) in honor of William Frederik Henry Rosenberg (1868–1957), English entomologist, ornithologist and natural-history dealer, who provided holotype to the British Museum (Natural History)

Sicydium salvini Ogilvie-Grant 1884 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of English herpetologist-ornithologist Osbert Salvin (1835–1898), best known for co-authoring Biologia Centrali-Americana (1879–1915), a 52-volume work on the natural history of Central America, where this goby occurs

Sicyopterus Gill 1860 sikýā (σικύα), gourd (but here referring to a suction cup, which, in earlier times, was made from a gourd); pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to fused ventral fins forming a cup-shaped disc

Sicyopterus aiensis Keith, Watson & Marquet 2004 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ai River, Efate, Vanuatu, type locality

Sicyopterus calliochromus Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 kállistos (κάλλιστος), most beautiful; chromus, unnecessary masculinization of chrṓma (χρῶμα), color, referring to its “astonishing” color pattern (entire body of both males and females gold, with two ventral black bands from pectoral base to upper hypural, a black mask on front of head below the eyes, and a black spot on ventral part of head)

Sicyopterus cynocephalus (Valenciennes 1837) dog-headed, from kynós (κυνός), genitive of kýōn (κύων), dog, and kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, a manuscript name coined by Quoy & Gaimard, probably referring to straight row of conical teeth on lower jaw

Sicyopterus elomionearum Lord, Keith, Causse & Amick 2020 -arum (L.), commemorative suffix, plural: combination of Eloïse and Hermione, in honor of the first author’s daughters, “for letting her leave on inventory missions for lengthy periods and also wishes to salute their great interest in their mother’s work”

Sicyopterus erythropterus Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 erythrós (ἐρυθρός), red; pterus, from pterón (πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to usually bright-red anal fin

Sicyopterus eudentatus Parenti & Maciolek 1993 eū́- (εὖ), well or very; dentatus (L.), toothed, referring to high number (120) of tricuspid teeth on each premaxilla

Sicyopterus fasciatus (Day 1874) Latin for banded, referring to six or so dark, vertical bands on body

Sicyopterus franouxi (Pellegrin 1935) in honor of Roger Franoux (d. 1947, murdered during the Malagasy Uprising), friend and collaborator of René Catala (1901–1988), coffee planter and amateur (at the time) biologist in Madagascar; together they collected holotype

Sicyopterus garra Hora 1925 named for its “characteristic facies resembling very much” that of the cyprinid genus Garra

Sicyopterus griseus (Day 1877) Medieval Latin for gray, but described as “brownish, with eight or nine rings of a darker tint surrounding the body” and “dark” fins

Sicyopterus japonicus (Tanaka 1909) -icus (L.), belonging to: Japan, referring to type locality in Wakayama, Japan

Sicyopterus lagocephalus (Pallas 1770) rabbit-headed, from lagṓs (λαγώς), hare, and kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to short, snout and hemispherical upper jaw, resembling nose of a rabbit

Sicyopterus lengguru Keith, Lord & Hadiaty 2012 named for the “Lengguru” expedition, which permitted its discovery (Lengguru is also the stream system in Papua Province, Indonesia, where it occurs)

Sicyopterus lividus Parenti & Maciolek 1993 Latin for bluish or black and blue, referring to blue background coloration and black saddle bars in life

Sicyopterus longifilis de Beaufort 1912 longus (L.), long; filis (scientific Neo-Latin), thread-like or filiform, referring to filamentous second, third and fourth rays of first dorsal fin [S. brevis, also described by de Beaufort, is the female of this species]

Sicyopterus macrostetholepis (Bleeker 1853) macro-, from makrós (μακρός), long or large; stḗthos (στῆθος), breast or chest; lepís (λεπίς), scale, referring to larger thoracic scales compared to S. lagocephalus

Sicyopterus marquesensis Fowler 1932 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Marquesas Islands, where it is endemic

Sicyopterus microcephalus (Bleeker 1855) micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small; cephalus, from kephalḗ (κεφαλή), head, referring to its “short and narrow” (translation) head

Sicyopterus micrurus (Bleeker 1854) micro-, from mikrós (μικρός), small; urus, from ourá (οὐρά), tail, referring to shorter tail compared with S. macrostetholepis

Sicyopterus ocellaris Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 -is, Latin genitive singular of: ocellus, diminutive of oculus (L.), i.e., small eye, referring to small black spot on first dorsal fin

Sicyopterus parvei (Bleeker 1853) in honor of H. A. Steijn Parvé, civil servant in Dutch colonial government in western Java, Indonesia, who collected several species for Bleeker in the town of Garut and discovered this goby

Sicyopterus pugnans (Ogilvie-Grant 1884) Latin for fighting, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to pugnacious appearance of bicuspid teeth on upper jaw and/or its “saw-like” edge

Sicyopterus punctissimus Sparks & Nelson 2004 Latin for very spotted, referring to numerous small spots on sides and second dorsal fin

Sicyopterus rapa Parenti & Maciolek 1996 named for Rapa Island, French Polynesia, where it is endemic

Sicyopterus sarasini Weber & de Beaufort 1915 in honor of Swiss naturalist Fritz Sarasin (1859–1942), who, with Swiss herpetologist Jean Roux (1876–1939), collected holotype and co-edited publication in which the description appeared

Sicyopterus squamosissimus Keith, Lord, Busson, Sauri, Hubert & Hadiaty 2015 Latin for very scaly, referring to high numbers of scales compared to congeners having two lateral clefts on crenulated upper lip, a second dorsal fin count of I–10, and filamentous second and third rays of first dorsal fin

Sicyopterus stimpsoni (Gill 1860) in honor of American marine biologist William Stimpson (1832–1872), who collected holotype

Sicyopterus stiphodonoides Keith, Allen & Lord 2012 -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (εἶδος), form or shape: the related genus Stiphodon, referring to the similar color pattern of females

Sicyopus Gill 1863 sikýā (σικύα), gourd (but here referring to a suction cup, which, in earlier times, was made from a gourd); poús (πούς), foot (homologous to the ventral fin), referring to fused ventral fins forming a cup-shaped disc

Sicyopus auxilimentus Watson & Kottelat 1994 auxilium (L.), help, aid or assistance; –mentum (L.), suffix denoting tool, referring to presumed auxiliary reproductive organs at base of urogenital papilla on males

Sicyopus beremeensis Keith, Amick, Toko & Lord 2019 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bereme village, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, thanking the local community for its “warm welcome” during the authors’ field work

Sicyopus discordipinnis Watson 1995 discordis, genitive singular of discors (L.), discordant, disagreeing or at variance; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, referring to different number of spines in first dorsal fin of males (5–6) and females (5)

Sicyopus jonklaasi Klausewitz & Henrich 1986 in honor of Rodney Jonklaas (1925–1989), “well-known” collector and breeder of fishes in Sri Lanka, who first encountered this goby in 1956

Sicyopus lord Keith, Marquet & Taillebois 2011 in honor of the authors’ friend Clara A. Lord, aquatic biologist, Research Unit BOREA, for her “extensive and enthusiastic work on Sicydiinae” [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “ae”]

Sicyopus multisquamatus de Beaufort 1912 multi– (L.), many; squamatus (L.), scaled, referring to greater number of lateral-line scales and scale rows between origin of second dorsal fin and origin of anal fin compared to congeners known at the time

Sicyopus rubicundus Keith, Hadiaty, Busson & Hubert 2014 Latin for red or ruddy, referring to bright red throat and belly in males

Sicyopus zosterophorus (Bleeker 1856) zōstêros (ζωστῆρος), genitive singular of zōstḗr (ζωστήρ), belt or girdle; phorus, from phoreús (φορεύς), bearer or carrier, referring to black bars on sides of males, which look like a belt

Smilosicyopus Watson 1999 smilíon (σμιλίον), diminutive of smílē (σμίλη), carving knife, referring to large canine tooth on both jaws, proposed as a subgenus of Sicyopus

Smilosicyopus bitaeniatus (Maugé, Marquet & Laboute 1992) bi-, from bis (L.), twice; taeniatus (L.), banded, referring to two longitudinal bands on body

Smilosicyopus chloe (Watson, Keith & Marquet 2001) named for the Chloé Expéditions I and II to New Caledonia, during which most of the type specimens were collected

Smilosicyopus fehlmanni (Parenti & Maciolek 1993) in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Herman Adair Fehlmann (1917–2005), who collected and described this goby in his unpublished Ph.D. dissertation in 1960

Smilosicyopus leprurus (Sakai & Nakamura 1979) lepros, scaly; orus, from ourá (οὐρά), tail, referring to scales only on caudal peduncle

Smilosicyopus nigriradiatus (Parenti & Maciolek 1993) nigri, from niger (L.), black; radiatus (L.), rayed, referring to blackened fin rays in both sexes

Smilosicyopus pentecost (Keith, Lord & Taillebois 2010) named for Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, type locality

Smilosicyopus sasali (Keith & Marquet 2005) in honor of French ecologist and scientific diver Pierre Sasal, University of Perpignan, for his “extensive collection effort” in the fresh waters of Futuna, where this goby is endemic

Stiphodon Weber 1895 stiphos (στοῖφος), thick swarm of crowd; odon, from odoús (ὀδούς), tooth, referring to closely packed teeth in upper lip of S. semoni

Stiphodon alcedo Maeda, Mukai & Tachihara 2012 Latin for kingfisher, referring to metallic turquoise on head and body and orange around belly of nuptial males, similar to plumage of the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Stiphodon annieae Keith & Hadiaty 2015 in honor of the first author’s wife Annie, for her patience and unfailing support during field trips in the Pacific islands

Stiphodon astilbos Ryan 1986 a– (ἀ), privative, i.e., not; stilbō (στίλβω), bright or shining, referring to nondescript coloration of the male

Stiphodon atropurpureus (Herre 1927) atro-, from ater (L.), black; purpureus (L.), purple, presumably referring to coloration of nuptial males

Stiphodon aureofuscus Keith, Busson, Sauri, Hubert & Hadiaty 2015 aureus, golden; fuscus, black, referring to “mostly black, sometimes slightly golden” coloration of males

Stiphodon caeruleus Parenti & Maciolek 1993 Latin for dark- or sky-blue, referring to bright cobalt blue color dorsally and laterally of males in life

Stiphodon carisa Watson 2008 Latin for an artful woman, referring to unique patterns and color on females

Stiphodon chlorestes Jhuang, Dimaquibo & Liao 2024 named for Chlorestes, a genus of hummingbirds, referring to this goby’s often quickly flapping its pectoral fins in the mid-layer of water, like a hovering hummingbird with its rapidly flapping wings; also, males have a metallic turquoise head and chartreuse body sides, similar to the plumage of the hummingbird Chlorestes cyanus

Stiphodon discotorquatus Watson 1995 disco-, from discus, any flat or circular plate; torquatus (L.), collared or adorned with a necklace, referring to medial dusky ring on pelvic disk in males

Stiphodon elegans (Steindachner 1879) Latin for fine or select, allusion not explained, presumably referring to beautiful coloration of males

Stiphodon hadiatyae Nurjirana, Gustiano, Haryono & Wibowo 2025 in honor of the late Renny Kurnia Hadiaty (1960–2019), Indonesian Institute of Sciences, a “leading international expert on the systematics of the freshwater fishes of Southeast Asia, especially those from her home country of Indonesia,” with “sincere appreciation for her remarkable contribution to systematic ichthyology,” including the collection of this species

Stiphodon hydoreibatus Watson 1999 hydor, combining form of hýdōr (ὕδωρ), water; oreibátes (ορειβάτης), mountain climber, referring to its ability to ascend waterfalls

Stiphodon imperiorientis Watson & Chen 1998 imperator (L.), emporer; orientis, genitive of oriens, the rising sun, honoring Emperor Akihito (b. 1933) of Japan, himself an ichthyologist specializing in gobies and where this goby is endemic

Stiphodon julieni Keith, Watson & Marquet 2002 in honor of Julien Keith and Julien Marquet, presumably relatives of the authors, for their extensive collection efforts in freshwaters throughout French Polynesia and in particular in Austral Islands [preferably spelled julienorum since multiple people are honored, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]

Stiphodon kalfatak Keith, Marquet & Watson 2007 in honor of Donna Kalfatak, Environment Unit of Vanuatu, for her extensive collection efforts to find Stiphodon in fresh waters throughout Vanuatu [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “ae”]

Stiphodon larson Watson 1996 in honor of Helen Larson, Curator of Fishes, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Darwin, Australia), for her contributions to gobioid systematics, her “good advice and always willing assistance” to Watson [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “ae”]

Stiphodon maculidorsalis Maeda & Tan 2013 maculosus (L.), spotted; dorsalis (L.), of the back, referring to black spots scattering dorsally on head and trunk of both sexes

Stiphodon martenstyni Watson 1998 in memory of “dedicated naturalist” Cedric Martenstyn (1946–1996), “one of the many unfortunate victims of Sri Lanka’s civil war,” whose “interest will be greatly missed” (Martenstyn, a lieutenant commander in the Sri Lankan navy, disappeared when the helicopter he was flying in crashed, possibly shot down by rebels, over the Indian Ocean]

Stiphodon mele Keith, Marquet & Pouilly 2009 named for Mele waterfall, Efate, Vanuatu, type locality

Stiphodon multisquamus Wu & Ni 1986 multi– (L.), many; squamus, scientific Neo-Latin adjective from squama (L.), scale, proposed as a subspecies of S. elegans, referring to higher scale count in lateral series

Stiphodon niraikanaiensis Maeda 2013 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Niraikanai, an Okinawan mythical place “somewhere beyond the ocean” from which all life originates and to which the spirits of dead humans return; “possibly, the main habitat of [this] new species is somewhere over the ocean and the type specimens were brought to Okinawa from there”

Stiphodon oatea Keith, Feunteun & Vigneux 2010 named for Oatea, a mythical religious figure in central Polynesia, who created the Marquesas Islands, where this goby appears to be endemic

Stiphodon ornatus Meinken 1974 Latin for decorated, referring to beautiful body coloration of males

Stiphodon palawanensis Maeda & Palla 2015 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Palawan, Philippines, type locality

Stiphodon pelewensis Herre 1936 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: collected “on the reef at Gorror [Koror], one of the Pelew [Palau] Islands” (although this goby is not a reef inhabitant)

Stiphodon percnopterygionus Watson & Chen 1998 perknós (περκνός), dark or dusky; pterygionus, Latinization of pterygion, diminutive of ptéryx (πτέρυξ), wing or fin, referring to first dorsal fin, which is blackish in males of both (orange and transitional) color phases

Stiphodon pulchellus (Herre 1927) diminutive of pulcher (L.), beautiful, described as a “beautiful little” fish

Stiphodon rubromaculatus Keith & Marquet 2007 rubro-, from ruber (L.), red; maculatus (L.), spotted (authors say “stained”), referring to bright red on side of head and body in males

Stiphodon rutilaureus Watson 1996 rutilus (L.), red, golden red or reddish yellow; aureus (L.), golden, referring to body coloration of males and common name (Red and Gold Goby) used in the Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of New Guinea (1991)

Stiphodon sapphirinus Watson, Keith & Marquet 2005 Latin for like a sapphire, referring to bright-blue coloration and jewel-like appearance of males, especially when viewed in sunlight

Stiphodon semoni Weber 1895 in honor of German zoologist and evolutionary biologist Richard Semon (1859–1918), who collected holotype

Stiphodon surrufus Watson & Kottelat 1995 Latin for somewhat reddish, referring to body coloration of males

Stiphodon tuivi Watson 1995 Polynesian vernacular for Stiphodon or freshwater goby

Stiphodon zebrinus Watson, Allen & Kottelat 1998 scientific Neo-Latin for zebra-like, referring to its bar pattern, especially pronounced in males