Revised 29 Dec. 2022
PDF version (with illustrations)
Centrophorus Müller & Henle 1837 centro-, from kéntron (Gr. κέντρον), any sharp point; phorus, from phoreús (Gr. φορεύς), bearer or carrier, referring to grooved spines on dorsal fins of C. granulosus
Centrophorus atromarginatus Garman 1913 atro-, from ater (L.), black; marginatus (L)., bordered, referring to black edging on all or most fins
Centrophorus granulosus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) granum (L.), seed or grain; –osus (L.), suffix connoting fullness, referring to its granular brown skin
Centrophorus harrissoni McCulloch 1915 in honor of biologist Charles Turnbull Harrisson (1869–1914), responsible for collecting and preserving many of the “more interesting” fishes during the “fishing experiments” of FIS Endeavour off the coast of Australia, 1909–1914 [he disappeared along with his ship and all hands in December 1914; no distress message had been given and no trace of the ship has been found]
Centrophorus isodon (Chu, Meng & Liu 1981) iso-, from ísos (Gr. ἴσος), equal; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to similarly-shaped teeth on both jaws
Centrophorus lesliei White, Ebert & Naylor 2017 in honor of Robin Leslie, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (South Africa), “who has contributed greatly to our knowledge of southern African chondrichthyans and provided numerous important specimens and tissue samples for various projects”
Centrophorus longipinnis White, Ebert & Naylor 2017 longus (L.), long; pinnis, scientific Neo-Latin adjective of pinna, fin, referring to very distinctive long-based first dorsal fin
Centrophorus lusitanicus Barbosa du Bocage & de Brito Capello 1864 -icus (L.), belonging to: Lusitania, ancient name of Portugal, type locality (although identity of holotype is in dispute, treated as a junior synonym of C. granulosus by some workers)
Centrophorus moluccensis Bleeker 1860 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Moluccas Islands, Indonesia, type locality
Centrophorus seychellorum Baranes 2003 –orum (L.), commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of the “‘seychellois,’ helpful and always smiling inhabitants of the paradise islands” of the Republic of Seychelles, where this shark occurs
Centrophorus squamosus (Bonnaterre 1788) squama (L.), scale; –osus (L.), suffix connoting fullness, i.e., scaly, referring to its large scales
Centrophorus tessellatus Garman 1906 Latin for tessellated, i.e., inlaid with small squares, allusion not explained, probably referring to dermal denticles block-like and widespaced instead of overlapping
Centrophorus uyato (Rafinesque 1810) uyat or uyato, derived from agullats or ahullats, vernacular for dogfish sharks in the Mediterranean, based on a Mediterranean Squalus (Squalidae), now applied to this gulper shark from the eastern Indian Ocean and north Atlantic
Centrophorus westraliensis White, Ebert & Compagno 2008 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Western Australia, only known area of occurrence
Deania Jordan & Snyder 1902 –ia (L. suffix), belonging to: American ichthyologist Bashford Dean (1867–1928), American Museum of Natural History, for his research on selachian fishes
Deania calceus (Lowe 1839) Latin for shoe, from the Portuguese vernacular sapata for this and other squaliform sharks, e.g., Centroselachus crepidater, Somniosidae; also known as sapata branca, white shoe, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how its gray-white body with a long snout resembles a velvet slipper [often misspelled calcea]
Deania hystricosa (Garman 1906) Latin for prickly or thorny, referring to its rough skin formed by large pitchfork-shaped denticles
Deania profundorum (Smith & Radcliffe 1912) Latin for “of the depths,” type specimens collected from 717–1785 m
Deania quadrispinosa (McCulloch 1915) quadri-, from quattuor (L.), four; spinosa (L.), thorny, referring to four-spined dermal denticles