Revised 7 March 2023
PDF version (with illustrations and additional information)

Dalatias Rafinesque 1810 etymology not explained nor evident [see PDF for more information]

Dalatias licha (Bonnaterre 1788) derived from “La Liche,” an old French name for this shark dating to at least Broussonet (1780), etymology unclear [see PDF for more information]

Euprotomicroides Hulley & Penrith 1966 -oides, Latinized suffix adopted from eí̄dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: referring to its resemblance to Euprotomicrus in general shape

Euprotomicroides zantedeschia Hulley & Penrith 1966 referring to Zantedeschia aethiopica, South African Arum Lily, after which the Arum, Cape Town trawler from which holotype was collected, was named

Euprotomicrus Gill 1865 eū́-, a Greek (εὖ) intensive (i.e., well or very); prṓtos (Gr. πρῶτος), first; micrus, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, referring to very small first dorsal fin

Euprotomicrus bispinatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) bi-, from bis (L.), twice; spinatus (L.) thorny, referring to spiny processes on each pelvic fin (claspers) of the male

Heteroscymnoides Fowler 1934 -oides, Latinized suffix adopted from eí̄dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: similar to Heteroscymnus (=Somniosus, now in Somniosidae)

Heteroscymnoides marleyi Fowler 1934 in honor of Natal fisheries officer Harold Walter Bell-Marley (1872–1945), to whom Fowler was “indebted” for many “interesting” South African fishes,” this shark being “another of his numerous discoveries”

Isistius Gill 1865 etymology not explained, probably is-, from ísos (Gr. ἴσος), equal; istius, from histíon (Gr. ἱστίον), sail (i.e., dorsal fin), referring to its two similarly shaped and sized (and posterior) dorsal fins, a character Gill used to diagnose the genus

Isistius brasiliensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: off the coast of Brazil, type locality

Isistius plutodus Garrick & Springer 1964 ploū́tos (Gr. πλοῦτος), wealth or abundance; odoús (Gr. ὀδούς), tooth, referring to larger size of lower jaw teeth compared with congeners

Mollisquama Dolganov 1984 mollis (L.), soft; squama (L.), scale, referring to its soft scales, apparently unique among sharks

Mollisquama mississippiensis Grace, Doosey, Denton, Naylor, Bart & Maisey 2019 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: the “vast” North American Mississippi River Basin, a “biologically and geographically rich region that nurtures Gulf of Mexico [type locality] fauna and unites diverse cultures”

Mollisquama parini Dolganov 1984 in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932–2012), P. P. Shirov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, an authority on the fauna of the Nazca submarine ridge (east of Chile), where holotype was collected

Squaliolus Smith & Radcliffe 1912 diminutive of squalus (L.), dirty or filthy (i.e., squalid), and an ancient Latin name for marine fishes considered unfit for human consumption, including sharks, referring to small size of S. laticaudus, i.e., a small squalus

Squaliolus aliae Teng 1959 in honor of the Teng’s wife Huang A-li, for her “cordial help and constant encouragement” [originally spelled alii; since name honors a woman, aliae reflects the correct gender]

Squaliolus laticaudus Smith & Radcliffe 1912 latus (L.), wide or broad; cauda (L.), tail, referring to its broad (but short) caudal fin