COMMENTS
v. 19.0 – 14 Dec. 2024  view/download PDF

Family POLYNEMIDAE Threadfins or Tasselfishes
8 genera · 43 species/subspecies

Eleutheronema Bleeker 1862    eleutherus, free; nema, thread, referring to free (separate from rest of fin) filamentous rays of pectoral fin

Eleutheronema rhadinum (Jordan & Evermann 1902)    slender or tapering, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “long and slender” body, “very long and slender” maxillary, and/or “long and slender” caudal peduncle

Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw 1804)    tetra-, four; dactylos, finger, referring to four pectoral filaments

Eleutheronema tridactylum (Bleeker 1849)    twi-, three; dactylos, finger, referring to three pectoral filaments

Filimanus Myers 1936    fila-, filamentous; manus, hand, referring to free (separate from rest of fin) filamentous rays of pectoral fin

Filimanus heptadactyla (Cuvier 1829)    hepta-, seven; dactylos, finger, referring to seven pectoral filaments

Filimanus hexanema (Cuvier 1829)    hexa-, six; nema, thread, referring to six pectoral filaments

Filimanus perplexa Feltes 1991    confused, referring to “confused state of identification that has existed for this species” (based on a specimen that Myers misidentified as Polynemus melanochir in 1936)

Filimanus sealei (Jordan & Richardson 1910)    in honor of ichthyologist Alvin Seale (1871-1958), Stanford University, who described this threadfin in 1907 but used a preoccupied name (Polydactylus opercularis, junior secondary homonym of Trichidion opercularis Gill 1863)

Filimanus similis Feltes 1991    similar, referring to “considerable similarity” to F. heptadactyla and other congeners with shorter pectoral filaments

Filimanus xanthonema (Valenciennes 1831)    xanthus, yellow; nema, thread, referring to yellowish pectoral filaments

Galeoides Günther 1860    –oides, having the form of: etymology not explained, perhaps referring to galeus, shark, although we see nothing shark-like about it

Galeoides decadactylus (Bloch 1795)    deca-, ten; nema, thread, referring to 10 (sometimes 9) pectoral filaments

Leptomelanosoma Motomura & Iwatsuki 2001    leptos, slender; melanos, black; soma, body, referring to “slender body tinged with black”

Leptomelanosoma indicum (Shaw 1804)    Indian, described from an illustration of a specimen from Vizagapatam, India (widely occurs in Indo-West Pacific)

Parapolynemus Feltes 1993    para-, near, referring to similarity to Polynemus

Parapolynemus verekeri (Saville-Kent 1889)    in honor of Capt. Foley Charles Prendergast Vereker (1850-1900), British naval officer on HMS Myrmidon during a surveying expedition in northwest Australia, for “facilities afforded” the author during collection of this species and others

Pentanemus Günther 1860    penta-, five; nemus, thread, referring to five pectoral filaments

Pentanemus quinquarius (Linnaeus 1758)    of five, referring to five pectoral filaments

Polydactylus Lacepède 1803    poly, many; dactylos, finger, referring to seven pectoral filaments of P. plumierii (=virginicus)

Polydactylus approximans (Lay & Bennett 1839)    approximated (i.e., close or similar), referring to how its “two dorsal fins are more nearly approximated than is usual” in Polynemus (its presumed genus at the time)

Polydactylus bifurcus Motomura, Kimura & Iwatsuki 2001    bi-, two; furcatus, forked, referring to bifurcated lateral line on caudal-fin base, extending to posterior margins on upper and lower caudal-fin lobes

Polydactylus longipes Motomura, Okamoto & Iwatsuki 2001    longus, long; pes, foot, referring to upper two pectoral filaments extending beyond midpoint of caudal peduncle

Polydactylus luparensis Lim, Motomura & Gambang 2010    –ensis, suffix denoting place: mouth of Batang Lupar River, Sarawak, Malaysia, type locality

Polydactylus macrochir (Günther 1867)    macro-, long; cheiros, hand, presumably referring to pectoral fin “nearly as long as the head”

Polydactylus macrophthalmus (Bleeker 1858)    macro-, large; ophthalmos, eye, referring to its rather large eyes, larger than its presumed closest relative, Polynemus dubius

Polydactylus malagasyensis Motomura & Iwatsuki 2001    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Malagasy, old name for Madagascar, type locality (occurs along South and East Africa in western Indian Ocean)

Polydactylus microstoma (Bleeker 1851)    micro-, small; stoma, mouthed, allusion not explained nor evident (mouth is rather large, reaching beyond eye)

Polydactylus mullani (Hora 1926)    in honor of entomologist Jai Phirozshah Mullan (d. 1957), St. Xavier’s College (Bombay, India), who discovered this species and sent specimens to Hora for study

Polydactylus multiradiatus (Günther 1860)    multi-, many; radiatus, rayed, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to more anal-fin rays (17) compared to most other presumed congeners in Polynemus (11-16, with one species having 16-17 rays)

Polydactylus nigripinnis Munro 1964    nigri-, black; pinnis, fin, referring to “intensely black” pectoral fins (except for uppermost ray and free filaments)

Polydactylus octonemus (Girard 1858)    octo-, eight; nemus, thread, referring to eight pectoral filaments

Polydactylus oligodon (Günther 1860)    oligos, few; odon, tooth, allusion not explained, presumably referring to “narrow bands” of “minute and villiform” teeth

Polydactylus opercularis (Gill 1863)    opercular, allusion not explained, probably referring to dusky blotch on operculum (also seen on most congeners)

Polydactylus persicus Motomura & Iwatsuki 2001    Persian, referring to Persian Gulf, where it is endemic

Polydactylus plebeius (Broussonet 1782)    commonplace, allusion unexplained, perhaps referring to its abundance in the near-shore waters of Tahiti (type locality)

Polydactylus quadrifilis (Cuvier 1829)    quadri-, four; filum, thread, referring to four pectoral filaments

Polydactylus sexfilis (Valenciennes 1831)    sex, six; filum, thread, referring to six pectoral filaments

Polydactylus sextarius (Bloch & Schneider 1801)    of six, referring to six pectoral filaments

Polydactylus siamensis Motomura, Iwatsuki & Yoshino 2001    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Siam, old name for Thailand, referring to type locality (a fish market in Bangkok, but occurs in Indo-Pacific from Andaman Sea to Gulf of Thailand)

Polydactylus virginicus (Linnaeus 1758)    –icus, belonging to: presumably Virginia, USA (Linnaeus described habitat as “America,” but species only occurs as far north as North Carolina)

Polynemus Linnaeus 1758    poly, many; nemus, thread, referring to multiple pectoral filaments of P. paradiseus (7) and its presumed congeners at the time, Pentanemus quinquarius (5) and Polydactylus virginicus (7)

Polynemus aquilonaris Motomura 2003    northern, referring to its northern distribution (Indochina) compared to that of a related species, P. dubius (Malaysia and Indonesia)

Polynemus bidentatus Motomura & Tsukawaki 2006    bi-, two; dentatus, toothed, referring two tooth patches of teeth on vomer (vs. one patch in congeners)

Polynemus dubius Bleeker 1853    doubtful or uncertain, allusion not explained, perhaps reflecting Bleeker’s changing his mind about the uniqueness of this species, which he initially thought was the same as Polynemus longifilis Cuvier 1829 (=P. paradiseus)

Polynemus hornadayi Myers 1936    in honor of William Temple Hornaday (1854-1937), who collected type in 1877 while collecting natural history specimens for a scientific supply company

Polynemus kapuasensis Motomura & van Oijen 2003    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kapuas River basin, Kalimantan, Indonesia, only known area of occurrence

Polynemus melanochir melanochir Valenciennes 1831    melanos, black; cheiros, hand, referring to “very black” (translation) pectoral fins

Polynemus melanochir dulcis Motomura & Sabaj Pérez 2002    freshwater, known only from Lake Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Polynemus multifilis Temminck & Schlegel 1843    multi-, many; filum, thread, referring to 14 (but ranging from 13-16) pectoral filaments

Polynemus paradiseus Linnaeus 1758    etymology not explained, perhaps referring to extremely long pectoral filaments, reminiscent of the elongate feathers of birds-of-paradise, Paradisaea, a genus that also dates to Linnaeus 1758

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Family PSETTODIDAE Spiny Turbots

Psettodes Bennett 1831    –oides, having the form of: allusion not explained, perhaps psetta, Greek for flatfish, i.e., like other flatfishes but with spines in dorsal and anal fins

Psettodes belcheri Bennett 1831    in honor of Edward Belcher (1799-1877), British naval officer, hydrographer and explorer, who presented type to the Zoological Society of London

Psettodes bennettii Steindachner 1870    in honor of zoologist Edward Turner Bennett (1797-1836), who proposed the genus in 1831

Psettodes erumei (Bloch & Schneider 1801)    from Erumie naku, local name for this fish in Tharangambadi, India, type locality (but widely occurs in Indo-West Pacific, Persian Gulf and Red Sea)

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Family CITHARIDAE Largescale Flounders
6 genera · 5 species

Citharoides Hubbs 1915    –oides, having the form of: Citharus, a closely related genus from Europe

Citharoides macrolepidotus Hubbs 1915    macro-, long or large; lepidotus, scaled, referring to “very large, weakly ctenoid” scales, 40 along lateral line

Citharoides orbitalis Hoshino 2000    of the orbit, referring to longer orbit compared to C. macrolepidotus

Citharus Artedi 1793    harp, lyre or lute, a name dating to Pliny (“citharus, the least esteemed of all the turbots”), possibly referring to vaguely lyre-like shape of this or related species [authorship sometimes attributed to Röse, who reprinted Artedi’s 1738 publication]

Citharus linguatula (Linnaeus 1758)    of the tongue, name dating to Belon (1553) and Willughby (1686), presumably referring to its round and long tongue

Laiopteryx Weber 1913   laios, left; pteryx, fin, allusion not explained, probably referring to dorsal fin commencing on left (blind) side of body [replacement name for Brachypleura Günther 1862, preoccupied by Brachypleura Angelin 1854 in trilobites]

Laiopteryx novaezeelandiae (Günther 1862)    of New Zealand, type locality (although not currently known to occur there; occurs in Indo-West Pacific from Maldives east to Philippines, north to northern Viet Nâm and southern China)

Lepidoblepharon Weber 1913    lepidus, scaled; blepharon, eyelid, referring to upper parts of eye covered with scales

Lepidoblepharon ophthalmolepis Weber 1913    ophthalmos, eye; lepis, scale, referring to upper parts of eye covered with scales

Paracitharus Regan 1920    para-, near, presumably referring to similarity to and/or close relationship with Citharus [often treated as a junior synonym of Citharoides]

Paracitharus macrolepis (Gilchrist 1904)    macro-, long or large; lepis, scale, presumably referring to their size, 47 along lateral line)

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Family SCOPHTHALMIDAE Turbots
3 genera · 9 species

Lepidorhombus Günther 1862    proposed as a scaled (lepido-) subgenus of Rhombus (=Scophthalmus), referring to ciliated scales of Rhombus megastoma (=Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis)

Lepidorhombus boscii (Risso 1810)    in honor of the “modest” (translation) French naturalist Louis-Augustin Bosc d’Antic (1759-1828)

Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis (Walbaum 1792)    –is, genitive singular of: iago, latinization of jago, referring to Rev. George Jago (d. 1726), minister of Looe in Cornwall, England; he researched and illustrated Cornish fishes wherein he noted that the local name for this species is whiff (literally, “Jago’s whiff”)

Scophthalmus Rafinesque 1810    etymology not explained, perhaps scop[us], watcher and opthalmus, eye, referring to upwardly pointed eyes of adult S. rhombus (and of all adult flatfishes in general)

Scophthalmus aquosus (Mitchill 1815)    watery, referring to its pellucid or semi-transparent body, for which it is sometimes called the “watery flounder”

Scophthalmus maeoticus (Pallas 1814)    –ica, belonging to: Maeotis, ancient name for Sea of Azov, type locality (also occurs in Black Sea)

Scophthalmus maximus (Linnaeus 1758)    largest, presumably referring to its size (type specimen is 190 cm SL and 240 cm TL, which is far smaller than the largest flatfish, Hippoglossus hippoglossus, which can reach 470 cm TL)

Scophthalmus rhombus (Linnaeus 1758)    diamond-shaped, presumably referring to shape of body

Zeugopterus Gottsche 1835    zeugos, pair or team; pterus, fin, referring to ventral fins united with anal fin

Zeugopterus norvegicus (Günther 1862)    Norwegian, referring to type locality off west coast of Norway

Zeugopterus punctatus (Bloch 1787)    spotted, referring to dark spots or round blotches on brownish body

Zeugopterus regius (Bonnaterre 1788)    royal, based on “Le Calimande Royale” of Duhamel (1781), who said this fish “would be esteemed, both for its beauty and its good taste, if it were larger and less rare” (calimande is a French word for sole or plaice, derived from limanda, old name for the pleuronectid Limanda limanda, which may be derived from the French lime and/or the Latin lima, meaning file [tool used to smooth metal], referring to rough ctenoid scales on eyed side; another explanation is that name is derived from the Latin limus, meaning mud)

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Family BOTHIDAE Lefteye Flounders
20 genera · 170 species

Arnoglossus Bleeker 1862    tautonymous with Pleuronectes arnoglossus (=laterna): arnos, lamb and glossa, tongue, i.e., lamb’s tounge, the name of a plant (Broadleaf Plantain, Plantago major) with smooth leaves, which Rondelet (1554) reapplied to a Mediterranean flatfish with a smooth body, presumed by Willughby (1686) and Ray (1713) to be the same species known by fishermen in Cornwall, England, as the “Lantern” (see A. laterna)

Arnoglossus andrewsi Kurth 1954    in honor of Ernest E. Andrews, Chief Inspector of Fisheries for Tasmania, who “whilst examining material brought up in the dredges noticed a small flat fish of unusual appearance which he preserved and sent to the author for identification”

Arnoglossus arabicus Norman 1939    Arabian, described from the “South Arabian Coast” (occurs in southern Red Sea and in Indian Ocean from Gulf of Aden to southern Oman)

Arnoglossus armstrongi Scott 1975    in honor of Philip Armstrong (no other information available), who collected type

Arnoglossus aspilos (Bleeker 1851)    unspotted or spotless, referring to unspotted fins and eyed side of body

Arnoglossus bassensis Norman 1926    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bass Strait, Australia, type locality

Arnoglossus blachei Stauch 1965    in honor of French ichthyologist Jacques Blache (1922–1994), friend, Research Director of O.R.S.T.O.M. (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer), and ichthyologist at Centre d’océanographie de Pointe Noire

Arnoglossus brunneus (Fowler 1934)    brown, referring to nearly uniform brown color of eyed side of body

Arnoglossus capensis Boulenger 1898    –ensis, suffix denoting place: False Bay, Cape Colony (or Cape of Good Hope), South Africa, type locality

Arnoglossus coeruleosticta (Steindachner 1898)    coerulea, blue; sticta, spotted or speckled, referring to numerous small, usually dot-shaped blue speckles on head and trunk of eyed side of body, between much larger dark-brown blotches

Arnoglossus dalgleishi (von Bonde 1922)    patronym not identified but certainly in honor of Lieut. James Dalgleish (1891-?), captain of the survey ship Pickle, from which type was collected

Arnoglossus debilis (Gilbert 1905)    weak, presumably referring to “slender, thin, and fragile [body], semitransparent, with deciduous smooth scales, and fragile fin rays”

Arnoglossus elongatus Weber 1913    elongate, referring to low body height compared to Psettina profunda, described in same publication and presumed congener at the time

Arnoglossus fisoni Ogilby 1898    in honor of Ogilby’s friend Cecil S. Fison (1840-1899), Inspector of Fisheries for Queensland (Australia), from whom he “received much kindness and useful information” during a recent trip to Brisbane

Arnoglossus grohmanni (Bonaparte 1837)    in honor of Francesco (Franz) Grohmann, Austrian collector of natural history specimens, who supplied type and many other “beautiful objects” (translation)

Arnoglossus imperialis (Rafinesque 1810)    of the empire or emperor (i.e., majestic), referring to Tappa Impiriali and Linguata Impiriali, its common names in Sicily, presumably referring to what Rafinesque described as its edibility, “even better than Linguata [sole] for eating” (translation)

Arnoglossus japonicus Hubbs 1915    Japanese, referring to Vincennes Strait, south of Kiusiu, Japan, type locality (occurs in western Pacific from southern Japan to northern Australia)

Arnoglossus kotthausi Klausewitz & Schneider 1986    in honor of German ichthyologist Adolf Kotthaus, who described this flatfish in 1977 but used a preoccupied name

Arnoglossus laterna (Walbaum 1792)    latinization of Lantern, local name for this flatfish used by fishermen in Cornwall, England, referring (per Borlase, Natural History of Cornwall, 1758) to its transparent skin

Arnoglossus macrolophus Alcock 1889    macro-, long or large; lophus, crest, referring to first six dorsal-fin rays of males, which are prolonged, forming a plume-like crest

Arnoglossus marisrubri Klausewitz & Schneider 1986    maris, sea; rubrus, red, referring to the Red Sea, where it is endemic

Arnoglossus micrommatus Amaoka, Arai & Gomon 1997    micro-, small; ommatus, eyed, referring to its smaller eyes relative to body size compared to congeners

Arnoglossus muelleri (Klunzinger 1872)    in honor of physician, geographer and botanist Ferdinand von Mueller (1825-1896), who donated his extensive collection of Australian plant and animal specimens, including type of this species, to what is now the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart (Baden-Württemberg, Germany)

Arnoglossus multirastris Parin 1983    multi-, many; rastris, raker, referring to more gill rakers (29-34, including 8-10 on upper limb) compared to congeners

Arnoglossus nigrifrons Amaoka & Mihara 2000    nigri-, black; frons, forehead, referring to darkened areas on head and anterior dorsal-fin rays

Arnoglossus nigrofilamentosus Fricke, Golani & Appelbaum-Golani 2017    nigro-, black; filamentosus, filamentous, referring to black filamentous anterior dorsal-fin rays

Arnoglossus oxyrhynchus Amaoka 1969    oxys, sharp; rhynchus, snout, referring to “sharp and rather long” snout

Arnoglossus polyspilus (Günther 1880)    poly, many; spilos, mark or spot, referring to “some small black spots regularly disposed, but not constantly present” on otherwise transparent eyed side of body, forming a “series of three or four near the dorsal and ventral outlines,” another along lateral line, a pair of spots on basal portion of caudal fin, and similar but larger spots along dorsal and anal fins

Arnoglossus rueppelii (Cocco 1844)    in honor of explorer-naturalist Eduard Rüppell (1794-1884), Cocco’s “excellent friend” (translation), then famous for his travels on the Nile and in Ethiopia

Arnoglossus sayaensis Amaoka & Imamura 1990    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Saya de Malha Bank, western Indian Ocean, type locality (also occurs off Madagascar)

Arnoglossus scapha (Forster 1801)    etymology not explained, perhaps scapha, light boat or skiff, or scapho-, scoop or shovel, in either case allusion not evident

Arnoglossus septemventralis Amaoka & Mihara 2000    septem, seven; ventralis, ventral, referring to seven pelvic (or ventral) fin rays, the “most important diagnostic character of this species”

Arnoglossus tapeinosoma (Bleeker 1865)    tapeinos, lowly; soma, body, allusion not explained, perhaps meaning drab (as reflected in the common name Drab Flounder), referring to green body color (on eyed side) in alcohol, the “described specimen having lost its body color” (translation)

Arnoglossus tenuis Günther 1880    thin, presumably referring to its scales, “very thin and deciduous”

Arnoglossus thori Kyle 1913    in honor of Thor, the first Danish research ship specially equipped for scientific work on the oceans; it investigated Mediterranean and neighboring waters, during which type was collected

Arnoglossus waitei Norman 1926    in honor of Australian zoologist and museum director Edgar R. Waite (1866-1928), for supplying Norman with South Australian specimens, and for “generously placing in [Norman’s] hands” his notes on flatfishes

Arnoglossus yamanakai Fukui, Yamada & Ozawa 1988    in honor of Kan’ichi Yamanaka, former captain of the research vessel Yoko-maru, for facilities and collecting specimens

Asterorhombus Tanaka 1915    aster, star, allusion not explained, clearly reflecting type species, A. stellifer (i.e., star-bearer, now a junior synonym of A. intermedius), perhaps referring to palmate rakers (a key diagnostic character), which could be said to be vaguely star-shaped; rhombus, perhaps referring to Pseudorhombus (Paralichthyidae), which Tanaka regarded as a similar genus

Asterorhombus cocosensis (Bleeker 1855)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean, type locality

Asterorhombus filifer Hensley & Randall 2003    filum, filament; fero, to bear, referring to long first dorsal-fin ray, especially as it appears in small specimens and when membrane is folded around the ray

Asterorhombus intermedius (Bleeker 1865)    intermediate, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how this species, which Bleeker provisionally placed in Arnoglossus, a subgenus of Platophrys (=Bothus), is intermediate in form between the two nominal subgenera or between Platophrys and the similar Pseudorhombus

Bothus Rafinesque 1810    according to Rafinesque, name for flatfishes dating back to Aristotle, but name does not appear in any of Aristotle’s known works; however, from 1200 on, the roots bot, both and bott appear in several European languages indicating flatfishes

Bothus assimilis (Günther 1862)    similar, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its similarity to and/or close relationship with Chinese congeners then placed in Rhomboidichthys (=Bothus)

Bothus constellatus (Jordan 1889)    with star-like spots, referring to “numerous stellate white spots” on eyed side of body

Bothus ellipticus (Poey 1860)    elliptical, referring to body shape, forming a “regular oval, somewhat elongated” (translation)

Bothus guibei Stauch 1966    in honor of herpetologist Jean Marius René Guibé (1910-1999), chair of reptiles and fishes, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), who has always welcomed Stauch during his holidays in France, putting at his disposal the museum’s equipment and library

Bothus leopardinus (Günther 1862)    leopard-like, presumably referring to “numerous ocellated spots” on eyed side

Bothus lunatus (Linnaeus 1758)    lunate, presumably referring to small crescent-shaped spots on eyed side

Bothus maculiferus (Poey 1860)    macula, spot; fero, to bear, referring to whitish round spots bordered with black and/or dark blotch on lateral line on eyed side

Bothus mancus (Broussonet 1782)    maimed or crippled, referring to atrophied pectoral fin on blind side

Bothus mellissi Norman 1931    in honor of John Charles Melliss (1835-1911), amateur naturalist and government surveyor on St. Helena (island in the South Atlantic, type locality), who wrote about this flatfish but did not name it in 1875

Bothus myriaster (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    myrio-, numberless; aster, star, presumably referring to eyed side covered with small round blue and yellowish spots

Bothus ocellatus (Agassiz 1831)    with eye-like spots, referring to irregular pale rings or rosettes, some of which are dark-edged, on eyed side

Bothus pantherinus (Rüppell 1830)    like a panther, referring to “fairly regular maroon spots” (translation) on eyed side (color of spots is highly variable)

Bothus podas (Delaroche 1809)    local name for this flatfish along the Mediterranean coast and islands of Spain, meaning unknown, perhaps derived from pedis, foot, Latin equivalent of the Greek solea, sole or sandal, applied to some flatfishes for their resemblance to a flat shoe

Bothus robinsi Topp & Hoff 1972    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist C. Richard Robins (1928-2020), University of Miami (name coined by one of Robins’ students, Thelma Jutare, in an unpublished master’s thesis)

Bothus swio Hensley 1997    acronym for southwestern Indian Ocean, where it occurs

Bothus thompsoni (Fowler 1923)    in honor of John W. Thompson, artist and modeler at the Bishop Museum (Honolulu, Hawai‘i), who obtained type

Bothus tricirrhitus Kotthaus 1977    tri-, three; cirrhitus, curled, referring to three slender appendages on posterior margin of both eyes

Bothus ypsigrammus Kotthaus 1977    ypsilon, Greek letter Y; grammus, line, referring to prominent white Y-shaped pigmentation in center of dark blotch on lateral line in posterior two thirds of eyed side of body

Chascanopsetta Alcock 1894    chaskanon, a mask with a gaping or wide-open mouth, referring to “very wide” mouth of C. lugubris; psetta, Greek for flatfish

Chascanopsetta crumenalis (Gilbert & Cramer 1897)    –alis, adjectival suffix: crumena, purse or leather money bag, referring to distinct gular poach formed by mandibular membrane

Chascanopsetta danae Bruun 1937    in honor of the Danish fishery research vessel Dana, from which type was collected

Chascanopsetta elski Foroshchuk 1991    named for the research vessel El’sk, from which type was collected

Chascanopsetta kenyaensis Hensley & Smale 1998    –ensis, suffix denoting place: off coast of Kenya, type locality (also occurs off Somalia)

Chascanopsetta lugubris Alcock 1894    mournful or dark, presumably referring to “dull dusky brown” color, the “peritoneum showing through as a black patch,” with black iris and fins black and “dusky brown” tongue

Chascanopsetta megagnatha Amaoka & Parin 1990    mega-, large; gnatha, jawed, referring to lower jaw much longer than head, projecting anterior to upper-jaw symphysis, and with a well-developed gular pouch

Chascanopsetta micrognatha Amaoka & Yamamoto 1984    micro-, small; gnatha, jawed, referring to short maxillary, not extending beyond posterior margin of lower eye

Chascanopsetta novaeguineae Tongboonkua, Lee & Chen 2018    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Papua New Guinea, where it appears to be endemic

Chascanopsetta prognatha Norman 1939    pro-, in front of; gnathus, jaw, referring to protruding lower jaw, about ⅕ of which projects beyond upper jaw

Chascanopsetta prorigera Gilbert 1905    prora, prow or bow of a ship; –iger, to bear, presumably referring to “dentigerous portion” of lower jaw “protruding beyond snout”

Crossorhombus Regan 1920    crosso, fringe, referring to strongly ciliated scales on eyed side of C. dimorphus (=valderostratus); Rhombus (=Scophthalmus, Scophthalmidae), presumed related genus with ciliated scales on both sides of body

Crossorhombus azureus (Alcock 1889)    latinization of the French l’azure (blue), referring to 10-11 “small brilliant azure spots” arranged in two rows on snout and in front of interorbital space on males

Crossorhombus howensis Hensley & Randall 1993    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lord Howe Island, type locality (also occurs off Taiwan)

Crossorhombus kanekonis (Tanaka 1918)    –is, genitive suffix: in honor of Ichiro Kaneko, who provided Tanaka with fishes from Nagasaki, Japan, including type of this one

Crossorhombus kobensis (Jordan & Starks 1906)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kobe, Japan, type locality

Crossorhombus valderostratus (Alcock 1890)    valde, exceedingly; rostratus, beaked, referring to “abruptly prominent” snout

Engyophrys Jordan & Bollman 1890    engys, near; ophrys, eyebrow, referring to very narrow interorbital space of E. sanctilaurentii (i.e., eyes are close together)

Engyophrys sanctilaurentii Jordan & Bollman 1890    of St. Lawrence (225-258), one of the seven deacons of Rome, Italy, under Pope Sixtus II, who was burned to death on a gridiron by Roman Emporer Valerian for defending the Christian faith; name refers to gridiron-like markings on this flounder’s blind side

Engyophrys senta Ginsburg 1933    thorny, presumably referring to having four spines on interorbital, compared to just one spine on E. sanctilaurentii and/or “well-developed spinous processes” on ocular shelves compared to “mere protuberances” in the older species

Engyprosopon Günther 1862    engys, near; prosopon, face or front, proposed as a subgenus of Rhomboidichthys (=Bothus) with a narrow interorbital space

Engyprosopon annulatum (Weber 1913)    ringed, presumably referring to numerous bright, dark-rimmed roundish spots on eyed side of body

Engyprosopon arenicola Jordan & Evermann 1903    arena, sand; colere, to inhabit, allusion not explained, presumably referring to sandy substrate habitat in shallow water of surf zone

Engyprosopon bellonaense Amaoka, Mihara & Rivaton 1993    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bellona Plateau, west of New Caledonia, type locality

Engyprosopon bleekeri (Macleay 1881)    in honor of Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878), who proposed Arnoglossus (original genus) in 1862

Engyprosopon brevifrontale Amaoka & Ho 2018    brevis, short; frontalis, pertaining to front or forehead, presumably referring to smaller head compared to two similar congeners, E. xenandrus and E. vanuatsuense

Engyprosopon filimanus (Regan 1908)    fila-, filamentous; manus, hand, referring to elongate upper ray of pectoral fin (longer than head) on eyed side of male

Engyprosopon filipennis Wu & Tang 1935    fila-, filamentous; pennis, fin, referring to 2-3 elongate rays of pectoral fin on eyed side

Engyprosopon grandisquama (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    grand, large; squama, scaled, referring to larger scales (their diameter nearly half diameter of its eyes) compared to Pseudorhombus cinnamoneus (Paralichthyidae), its presumed congener at the time

Engyprosopon hawaiiense Jordan & Evermann 1903    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hawaiian Islands, where it is endemic

Engyprosopon hensleyi Amaoka & Imamura 1990    in honor of the flatfish systematist Dannie Alan Hensley (1944-2008), “who resembles this species in having a slim body”

Engyprosopon hureaui Quéro & Golani 1990    in honor of ichthyologist Jean-Claude Hureau (b. 1935), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)

Engyprosopon keliaoense Amaoka & Ho 2022    –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ke Liao, Chinese for oyster hut, referring to type locality, a small village in southwestern Taiwan where residents have fished and raised oysters for 100 years

Engyprosopon kushimotoense Amaoka, Kaga & Misaki 2008    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture (washed ashore by typhoon), Kii Peninsula, Japan, type locality

Engyprosopon latifrons (Regan 1908)    latus, wide; frons, forehead, referring to broader interorbital space (of males) compared to congeners described in same publication (filimanus, macrolepis, maldivense, sechellense)

Engyprosopon longipelvis Amaoka 1969    longus, long; pelvis, pelvic, referring to “exceedingly long” pelvic (or ventral) fin of males

Engyprosopon longipterum Amaoka, Mihara & Rivaton 1993    longus, long; pterum, finned, referring to greatly prolonged pectoral fin on eyed side

Engyprosopon macrolepis (Regan 1908)    macro-, large; lepis, scale, referring to moderately large scales (40 along lateral line), a feature of the genus

Engyprosopon maldivense (Regan 1908)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Maldives, Indian Ocean, type locality (occurs in Red Sea and in Indo-West Pacific from Madagascar and Maldives east to Philippines, north to Japan, south to Western Australia and Chesterfield Islands of New Caledonia)

Engyprosopon marquisense Amaoka & Séret 2005    –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia), type locality

Engyprosopon mogkii (Bleeker 1854)    in honor of C. W. F. Mogk, military health officer in the Dutch East Indies, who discovered this species

Engyprosopon mozambiquense Hensley 2003    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Mozambique, type locality (occurs in Coral Sea, in Indo-West Pacific off Taiwan and Philippines, and Indian Ocean off Mozambique, northern Madagascar, India, Myanmar, Nicobar and Cocos Islands)

Engyprosopon multisquama Amaoka 1963    multi-, many; squama, scaled, presumably referring to more scales along lateral line (45-50) compared to the similar E. grandisquama (37-43)

Engyprosopon natalense Regan 1920    –ensis, suffix denoting place: off mouth of Amatikulu River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, type locality

Engyprosopon obliquioculatum (Fowler 1934)    obliquus, oblique; oculatus, eyed, referring to lower eye far in advance of upper eye in large specimens

Engyprosopon osculus (Amaoka & Arai 1998)    diminutive of os, mouth, i.e., little mouth, referring to very small mouth, maxillary scarcely extending to below anterior margin of lower eye

Engyprosopon parvipectorale Amaoka & Ho 2018    parvus, small; pectoralis, pectoral, referring to “distinctly short” pectoral fin on eyed side

Engyprosopon praeteritus (Whitley 1950)    gone by or past, allusion not explained nor evident; proposed as a subspecies of Arnoglossus aspilos with “lower eye more in advance of upper,” so perhaps referring to placement of eyes (actually, there is overlap in the placement of the eyes, but the interorbital of the lower eye is wider, which makes it appear more in advance; D. Hoese, pers. comm.)

Engyprosopon raoulense Amaoka & Mihara 1995    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Raoul Island, Kermadec Island group, New Zealand, type locality (also occurs off Norfolk Island)

Engyprosopon regani Hensley & Suzumoto 1990    in honor of ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan (1878-1943), Natural History Museum (London), for his contributions to the systematics of flatfishes

Engyprosopon rostratum Amaoka, Mihara & Rivaton 1993    beaked, referring to its “distinctly protruded” snout

Engyprosopon sechellense (Regan 1908)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Seychelles, Indian Ocean, type locality

Engyprosopon septempes Amaoka, Mihara & Rivaton 1993    septem, seven; pes, foot, referring to seven rays in pelvic fin on eyed side

Engyprosopon vanuatuense Amaoka & Séret 2005    –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Vanuatu Island, southwestern Pacific, only known area of occurrence

Engyprosopon xenandrus Gilbert 1905    xenos, strange or foreign (i.e., different); andros, male, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to semi-circular fringed membrane on eyes of male (absent in females)

Engyprosopon xystrias Hubbs 1915    xyster, raker, referring to more gill rakers compared to E. grandisquama and E. (now Crossorhombus) kobensis, also known from Japan

Grammatobothus Norman 1926    grammatos, lined, referring to well-developed lateral line on both sides of body; bothus, a bothid flatfish

Grammatobothus krempfi Chabanaud 1929    in honor of marine biologist Armand Krempf (1879-?), who collected type (and as a token of his friendship with Chabanaud)

Grammatobothus pennatus (Ogilby 1913)    feathered, referring to expanded and pinniform (feather-like) third ray of dorsal fin

Grammatobothus polyophthalmus (Bleeker 1865)    poly, many; ophthalmus, eye, referring to three large, conspicuous black blotches or eyespots forming a triangle on eyed side, and smaller eyespots forming parallel rows along dorsal and ventral profiles also on eyed side

Japonolaeops Amaoka 1969    Japan, referring to Miya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, type locality of J. dentatus (=gracilis); Laeops, “closely allied” to this genus in general physiognomy

Japonolaeops gracilis (Fowler 1934)    slender, presumably referring to slender, moderately elongate body

Kamoharaia Kuronuma 1940    –ia, belonging to: ichthyologist Toshiji Kamohara (1901-1972), Kochi Higher School (Kochi, Japan, and later Kochi University), who described K. megastoma in 1936

Kamoharaia megastoma (Kamohara 1936)    mega-, large; stoma, mouth, referring to its extremely large mouth, maxillary longer than head

Laeops Günther 1880    laios, left; ops, eye, referring to eyes on left side of body

Laeops clarus Fowler 1934    clear, referring nearly transparent interradial areas

Laeops guentheri Alcock 1890    in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830-1914), who proposed the genus in 1880

Laeops lanceolata Franz 1910    lance-like, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how end of body tapers to a lance- or lancet-like point

Laeops macrophthalmus (Alcock 1889)    macro-, large; ophthalmus, eye, referring to its large eyes, their diameter 3⅞ in length of head

Laeops natalensis Norman 1931    –ensis, suffix denoting place: coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, type locality

Laeops nigrescens Lloyd 1907    blackish, referring to eyed side of body, “dark sepia, with irregular patches of a darker sooty tone, fins nearly black”

Laeops nigromaculatus von Bonde 1922    nigro-, black; maculatus, spotted, referring to series of black spots scattered irregularly over body

Laeops parviceps Günther 1880    parvus, small; ceps, head, referring to small head, its length 5⅓ times in length of body

Laeops pectoralis (von Bonde 1922)    pectoral, referring to very long pectoral fin on eyed side, four times longer than on blind side

Lophonectes Günther 1880    lophus, crest, presumably referring to produced anterior rays of dorsal fin (beginning above nostrils) of L. gallus; nectes, swimmer, possibly an abridgement of Pleuronectes (Pleuronectidae), the first proposed genus of flatfishes

Lophonectes gallus Günther 1880    chicken-cock, allusion not explained, probably referring to produced anterior rays of dorsal fin (beginning above nostrils), reminiscent of a rooster’s comb

Lophonectes mongonuiensis (Regan 1914)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: presumably referring to Mangonui, a fishing village near North Cape, New Zealand (Regan identified type locality only as “Cape North”)

Monolene Goode 1880    mono-, one; olene, arm, referring to absence of pectoral fin on blind side

Monolene antillarum Norman 1933    of the Antilles, referring to type locality south of Tortugas Islands, West Indies

Monolene asaedae Clark 1936    in honor of Toshio Asaeda, the “clever and accomplished artist” of expedition during which type was collected [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]

Monolene atrimana Goode & Bean 1886    atri-, black; manus, hand, referring to black pectoral fin on eyed side

Monolene danae Bruun 1937    in honor of the Danish fishery research vessel Dana, from which type was collected

Monolene dubiosa Garman 1899    doubtful, allusion not explained; since description is based on a “young” specimen, perhaps Garman had some doubts about whether it could still be distinguished from previously described taxa as an adult

Monolene helenensis Amaoka & Imamura 2000    –ensis, suffix denoting place: north of Saint Helena Island, southern central Atlantic, type locality

Monolene maculipinna Garman 1899    macula, spot; pinna, fin, presumably referring to “several obliquely placed more or less elongate spots of white” on pectoral fin of eyed side

Monolene megalepis Woods 1961    mega-, large; lepis, scale, referring to fewer and therefore larger lateral-line scales (56-63) compared to western Atlantic congeners

Monolene mertensi (Poll 1959)    in honor of Mrs. P. Mertens, who created “very accurate and very meticulous” (translation) illustrations for Poll’s monographs of the fishes of the Belgian oceanographic expedition to the South Atlantic coastal waters of Africa [preferably spelled mertensae since name honors a woman, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]

Monolene microstoma Cadenat 1937    micro-, small; stoma, mouth, referring to its “excessivement petite” mouth (italics in original), the maxillary length barely measuring ⅔ of diameter of eye

Monolene sessilicauda Goode 1880    sessilis, sessile; cauda, tail, referring to caudal fin almost confluent with dorsal and anal fins

Neolaeops Amaoka 1969    neo-, new, i.e., a new genus of Laeops, original genus of N. microphthalmus

Neolaeops microphthalmus (von Bonde 1922)    micro-, small; ophthalmus, referring to very small eyes, about half length of maxillary

Parabothus Norman 1931    para-, near, referring to similarity to Bothus

Parabothus amaokai Parin 1983    in honor of ichthyologist Kunio Amaoka, Hokkaido University, who authored the taxonomic framework of the bothid flatfishes of Japan

Parabothus budkeri (Chabanaud 1943)    in honor of marine biologist Paul Budker (1900-1992), who trawled type from the Red Sea of Egypt

Parabothus chlorospilus (Gilbert 1905)    chloros, green; spilos, mark or spot, presumably referring to “olive-green” spots on eyed side and/or “bright greenish yellow” spots on rostrum of male

Parabothus coarctatus (Gilbert 1905)    pressed together or shortened, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to shorter, more elliptical body compared to P. chlorospilus, described in same publication

Parabothus filipes Amaoka, Mihara & Rivaton 1997    filum, thread; pes, foot, referring to elongated pelvic fin on eyed side of males

Parabothus kiensis (Tanaka 1918)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Kii Province (now Wakayama Prefecture), Japan, where type locality (Tanabe) is situated

Parabothus malhensis (Regan 1908)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Saya de Malha Bank, Indian Ocean, type locality

Parabothus polylepis (Alcock 1889)    poly, many; lepis, scale, allusion not explained, presumably referring to “very small” (and therefore more numerous) scales along lateral line (90-100)

Parabothus rotundifrons Voronina, Pruvost & Causse 2017    rotund, rounded; frons, forehead, referring to rounded dorsal profile of head

Parabothus taiwanensis Amaoka & Shen 1993    –ensis, suffix denoting place: off southwestern Taiwan, type locality (occurs in western central Pacific from Taiwan to Vanuatu Archipelago and Coral Sea)

Perissias Jordan & Evermann 1898    strange (i.e., different), allusion not explained, possibly referring to absence of lateral line on blind side

Perissias taeniopterus (Gilbert 1890)    taenia, ribbon; pterus, fin, referring to “ribbon shaped prolongations” of second dorsal- and ventral-fin rays on eyed side

Psettina Hubbs 1915    presumably a diminutive of psettos, Greek for flatfish, perhaps referring to small size of type species Psettina iijimae, described at 65 mm

Psettina brevirictis (Alcock 1890)    brevis, short; rictis, open mouth, referring to small mouth, ⅓ head length, maxillary barely reaching behind anterior limit of lower eye

Psettina filimana Li & Wang 1982    fila-, filamentous; mana, handed, referring to elongate third ray of pectoral fin on eyed side

Psettina gigantea Amaoka 1963    large, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to larger maxillary compared to P. tosana, described in the same paper (name does not seem to refer to overall size since P. gigantea, at 114 mm SL, is smaller than P. tosana, which reaches 183 mm SL)

Psettina hainanensis (Wu & Tang 1935)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hainan Island, China, type locality

Psettina iijimae (Jordan & Starks 1904)    in honor of zoologist Isao lijima (also spelled Ijima, 1861-1921), Science College, Imperial University of Tokyo [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]

Psettina multisquamea Fedorov & Foroshchuk 1988    multi-, many; squamea, scaled, referring to smaller and therefore more numerous scales compared to congeners

Psettina profunda (Weber 1913)    deep, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to deeper body compared to Arnoglossus elongata, described in same publication and presumed congener at the time

Psettina senta Amaoka & Larson 1999    thorny or rough, referring to characteristic long-spined scales on body

Psettina tosana Amaoka 1963    –ana, belonging to: Tosa Province, former name of Kochi Prefecture, Japan, where type locality (Mimase) is situated

Psettina variegata (Fowler 1934)    variegated, referring to its fins, “all more or less variegated, dorsal and anal with irregular dark blotches, somewhat as invasions from dark transverse bands and terminally small dark spots sprinkled on rays”

Taeniopsetta Gilbert 1905    taenio-, ribbon, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to anterior dorsal- and anal-fin rays of T. radula (longer in males) prolonged into a ribbon-like streamer

Taeniopsetta ocellata (Günther 1880)    having eye-like spots, referring to “more or less whitish ocelli” scattered over brown eyed side

Taeniopsetta radula Gilbert 1905    a tool used for scraping, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to ctenoid scales on eyed side, compared to cycloid scales on T. ocellata

Tosarhombus Amaoka 1969    Tosa, referring to Tosa Province, former name of Kochi Prefecture, Japan, where type locality (Urado) of type species, T. octoculatus, is situated; rhombus, perhaps referring to Crossorhombus, to which it is “closely allied”

Tosarhombus brevis Amaoka, Mihara & Rivaton 1997    short, referring to its stocky body

Tosarhombus longimanus Amaoka, Mihara & Rivaton 1997    longus, long; manus, hand, referring to prolonged pectoral fin on eyed side of males

Tosarhombus neocaledonicus Amaoka & Rivaton 1991    –icus, belonging to: known only from Chesterfield Plateau, Nova Bank and Capel Bank, west of New Caledonia

Tosarhombus nielseni Amaoka & Rivaton 1991    in honor of Jørgen G. Nielsen (b. 1932), Zoological Museum of Copenhagen, who described Tosarhombus smithi in 1964

Tosarhombus octoculatus Amaoka 1969    octo-, eight; oculatus, eyed, allusion not explained nor evident (although males are described as having six, not eight, horizontal dark blackish bands between eyes)

Tosarhombus smithi (Nielsen 1964)    in honor of ichthyologist J. L. B. Smith (1897-1968) of South Africa, type locality

Trichopsetta Gill 1889    trichos, hair or rays, referring to enlarged ventral-fin rays on blind side of male T. ventralis; psetta, Greek for flatfish but in this case probably referring to what Gill referred to as the “psettine” group of flatfishes

Trichopsetta caribbaea Anderson & Gutherz 1967    named for the Caribbean Sea, where most of the type series were collected

Trichopsetta melasma Anderson & Gutherz 1967    black spot, referring to black spot on anterior rays of anal fin of males

Trichopsetta orbisulcus Anderson & Gutherz 1967    orbis, orbit; sulcus, furrow, referring to furrows on head, above and in front of upper eye

Trichopsetta ventralis (Goode & Bean 1885)    ventral, referring to enlarged ventral-fin rays on blind side of males

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Family PARALICHTHYIDAE Sand Flounders
10 genera · 64 species

Ancylopsetta Gill 1864    ankylos, bent, hooked or crooked, probably referring to “falciform arch” (italics in original) of lateral line of A. quadrocellata (=ommata); psetta, Greek for flatfish

Ancylopsetta antillarum Gutherz 1966    of the Antilles, referring to type locality in the north Bahamas

Ancylopsetta cycloidea Tyler 1959    named for cycloid scales on both sides of body (not just blind side)

Ancylopsetta dendritica Gilbert 1890    branched (like a tree), referring to “branched” lateral-line tubes

Ancylopsetta dilecta (Goode & Bean 1883)    per Goode & Bean (1896), admired or beloved, “in allusion to the beauty of the species”

Ancylopsetta kumperae Tyler 1959    in honor of Tyler’s wife at the time, Helga O. Kumpera

Ancylopsetta microctenus Gutherz 1966    micro-, small; ctenos, comb, referring to microscopic ctenii on scales of eyed side

Ancylopsetta quadrocellata Gill 1864    quadri-, four; ocellata, with eye-like spots, referring to four ocellated spots larger than eye on body

Cephalopsetta Dutt & Rao 1965    cephalo-, head, described as having a larger head than any other genus in the family; psetta, Greek for flatfish

Cephalopsetta ventrocellatus Dutt & Rao 1965    ventro-, ventral or pelvic; ocellatus, with eye-like spots, referring to distinct ocellus (black spot enclosed by creamy ring) between 3rd and 5th rays of pelvic fin on eyed side

Gastropsetta Bean 1895    gaster, belly, allusion not explained, presumably referring to produced ventral fin of eyed side, ending in a long filamentous ray in the young; psetta, Greek for flatfish

Gastropsetta frontalis Bean 1895    pertaining to forehead, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to dorsal fin beginning in front of eyes

Hippoglossina Steindachner 1876    diminutive of Hippoglossus, i.e., a small halibut, possibly referring to small size (35 cm TL) of H. macrops compared to H. hippoglossus (470 cm TL)

Hippoglossina bollmani Gilbert 1890    in honor of naturalist Charles Harvey Bollman (1868-1889), who reported this flounder (with his mentor David Starr Jordan) as H. macrops in 1889

Hippoglossina macrops Steindachner 1876    macro-, large; ops, eye, referring to its very large eyes (“Augen sehr gross”)

Hippoglossina montemaris de Buen 1961    –is, genitive singular of: near Montemar, Chile, type locality

Hippoglossina mystacium Ginsburg 1936    mustachioed, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to three embedded cycloid scales on maxillary

Hippoglossina stomata Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1890    large mouthed, maxillary extending to posterior margin of eye, as long as or longer than pectoral fin

Hippoglossina tetrophthalma (Gilbert 1890)    tetra, four; ophthalmus, eye, referring to two pairs of eye-like spots on eyed side of body

Paralichthys Girard 1858    parallens, parallel, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to oblong body of P. maculosus (=californicus)

Paralichthys adspersus (Steindachner 1867)    besprinkled, referring to “numerous black points, spots, and rings on the whole body” (translation)

Paralichthys aestuarius Gilbert & Scofield 1898    occurring in estuarine (brackish) waters, referring to type locality, Shoal Point, Gulf of California, at mouth of Colorado River, Sonora, México

Paralichthys albigutta Jordan & Gilbert 1882    albus, white; gutta, spot, referring to “very small pale spots” on dark greenish body (eyed side)

Paralichthys brasiliensis (Ranzani 1842)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Bahia, Brazil, type locality

Paralichthys californicus (Ayres 1859)    Californian, referring to San Francisco Bay, California, USA, type locality (occurs along eastern Pacific from Washington south to México)

Paralichthys delfini Pequeño & Plaza 1987    in honor of Federico T. Delfin, Museo de Valparaiso, “just over 80 years after his death” (translation), for his contributions to Chilean ichthyology

Paralichthys dentatus (Linnaeus 1766)    toothed, referring to large canine teeth

Paralichthys fernandezianus Steindachner 1903 –ianus, belonging to: of Juan Fernández Islands, Chile, type locality (also occurs at Desventuradas Islands)

Paralichthys isosceles Jordan 1891    named for three black eyespots or ocelli on eyed side, “in the form of an isosceles triangle”

Paralichthys lethostigma Jordan & Gilbert 1884    lethos, to forget; stigma, mark or spot, referring to absence of spots compared to the spotted P. dentatus, which it otherwise resembles

Paralichthys microps (Günther 1881)    micro-, small; ops, eyes, referring to smaller eyes compared to Hippoglossina macrops, its presumed congener at the time

Paralichthys oblongus (Mitchill 1815)    oblong, allusion not explained, presumably referring to four oblong blackish ocelli or eyespots on eyed side

Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    olive-colored, referring to olive-green color of eyed side, “a little grayish, and dotted with black spots” (translation)

Paralichthys orbignyanus (Valenciennes 1839)    –anus, belonging to: naturalist Alcide d’Orbigny (1802-1857), who collected type

Paralichthys patagonicus Jordan 1889    Patagonian, referring to eastern coast of Patagonia, type locality

Paralichthys squamilentus Jordan & Gilbert 1882    scaly, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to small scales compared to the similar P. albigutta, described in the same publication

Paralichthys triocellatus Miranda Ribeiro 1903    tri-, three; ocellatus, with eye-like spots, referring to three large ocelli or eyespots on eyed side of body

Paralichthys tropicus Ginsburg 1933    tropical, presumably referring to type locality off Trinidad in the West Indies

Paralichthys woolmani Jordan & Williams 1897    in honor of Albert J. Woolman (1861-1918), science teacher in Duluth, Minnesota, for his “work on the fresh-water fishes of Mexico and Florida” [biographical footnote: his son founded Delta Airlines]

Pseudorhombus Bleeker 1862    pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may resemble Rhombus (=Scophthalmus, Scophthalmidae), with three of its species previously placed in it, such an appearance is false

Pseudorhombus annulatus Norman 1927    ringed, referring to numerous dark rings on eyed side

Pseudorhombus argus Weber 1913    Argus, mythical hundred-eyed guardian of Io, whose eyes after death where transformed into the feathers of a peacock, referring to five peacock-like ocelli or eyespots on eyed side

Pseudorhombus arsius (Hamilton 1822)    latinization of arsi, local name for this flatfish in Calcutta, India (but widely occurs in Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific from east Africa and Persian Gulf east to Marshall Islands and Fiji, north to southern Japan, south to Australia)

Pseudorhombus binii Tortonese 1955    in honor of Giorgio Bini (1906-?), Laboratorio Centrale di Pesca, Piscicoltura e Idrobiologia (Rome), who collected type

Pseudorhombus cinnamoneus (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    cinnamon colored, referring to cinnamon brown (“brun de canelle”), predominant color of eyed side

Pseudorhombus ctenosquamis (Oshima 1927)    cteno-, ctenoid; squamis, scale, referring to ctenoid scales on eyed side (cycloid scales on blind side)

Pseudorhombus diplospilus Norman 1926    diplo-, double; spilos, mark or spot, referring to four double eyespots (two ocelli in one ring) on eyed side

Pseudorhombus dupliciocellatus Regan 1905    duplico-, double; ocellatus, having eye-like spots, referring to 3-5 double eyespots (two ocelli in one ring) on eyed side of body

Pseudorhombus elevatus Ogilby 1912    raised, referring to “exceptional depth of the body”

Pseudorhombus javanicus (Bleeker 1853)    Javanese, referring to Jakarta, Java, Indonesia, type locality (but widely occurring in Indo-West Pacific from eastern India east to New Guinea, north to Viet Nâm and China)

Pseudorhombus jenynsii (Bleeker 1855)    in honor of English clergyman and naturalist Leonard Jenyns (1800-1893), who provisionally described but did not name this species in 1842

Pseudorhombus levisquamis (Oshima 1927)    laevis, smooth; squamis, scale, referring to cycloid scales on both eyed and blind sides

Pseudorhombus malayanus Bleeker 1865    –anus, belonging to: Malay, presumably referring to its occurrence throughout the Malay Archipelago

Pseudorhombus megalops Fowler 1934    mega-, large; ops, eye, referring to its “very large and conspicuous eyes, not like those of any related species”

Pseudorhombus micrognathus Norman 1927    micro-, small; gnathus, jaw, referring to shorter maxillary compared to P. elevatus, “scarcely reaching middle of eye”

Pseudorhombus natalensis Gilchrist 1904    –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Cape Natal, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, type locality

Pseudorhombus neglectus Bleeker 1865    neglected or unnoticed, referring to how Bleeker initially overlooked this species, preserved in the same jar as P. malayanus and P. russellii (=arsius)

Pseudorhombus oculocirris Amaoka 1969    oculus, eye; cirris, tendril, referring to dermal tentacle usually present on lower eye

Pseudorhombus oligodon (Bleeker 1854)    oligos, few; odon, tooth, referring to fewer teeth in lower jaw (6) compared to P. cinnamoneus (>20)

Pseudorhombus pentophthalmus Günther 1862    pento-, five; ophthalmus, eye, referring to five violet, white-edged eyespots on eyed side

Pseudorhombus quinquocellatus Weber & de Beaufort 1929    quinque, five; ocellatus, having eye-like spots, referring to five black blotches surrounded by a brown ring on eyed side

Pseudorhombus spinosus McCulloch 1914    thorny, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to 4-6 “projecting spinules” on free margins of palmate gill rakers and/or strong preanal spine (actually tip of large interhaemal spine that perforates skin)

Pseudorhombus tenuirastrum (Waite 1899)    tenuis, thin; rostrum, rake, referring to narrow gill rakers in contrast to broad gill rakers of P. arsius and Paralichthys novaecambriae (a taxon of uncertain status)

Pseudorhombus triocellatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)    tri-, three; ocellatus, with eye-like spots, referring to three eyepots or ocelli on eyed side of body

Tarphops Jordan & Thompson 1914    tarphys, close; ops, eye, referring to eyes of T. oligolepis “very close together”

Tarphops elegans Amaoka 1969    fine or well proportioned, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to slender, rather elongate body compared to the ovate T. oligolepis

Tarphops oligolepis (Bleeker 1858)    oligo-, few; lepis, scales, referring to larger and therefore smaller number of scales (40-45) in lateral line compared to presumed congeners (60-80) at the time

Tephrinectes Günther 1862    tephritis, an ash-colored stone, presumably referring to brownish color scattered with black or blue dots; nectes, swimmer [replacement name for Tephritis Günther 1862, preoccupied in Diptera]

Tephrinectes sinensis (Lacepède 1802)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), referring to occurrence in western Pacific off China (and Taiwan)

Thysanopsetta Günther 1880    thysanos, fringe or tassel, referring to fringed margin of gill opening on eyed side; psetta, Greek for flatfish

Thysanopsetta naresi Günther 1880    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of George Strong Nares (1831-1915), British naval officer and member of Challenger expedition (1872-1876), during which type was collected

Xystreurys Jordan & Gilbert 1880    xyster, raker; eurys, broad, referring to very short but broad gill rakers of X. liolepis

Xystreurys liolepis Jordan & Gilbert 1880    leios, smooth; lepis, scale, referring to small, smooth (cycloid) scales on body

Xystreurys rasilis (Jordan 1891)    polished or made smooth, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its smooth cycloid scales, by which it differs from the related Hippoglossina and Lyopsetta [often incorrectly spelled rasile; rasilis agrees with masculine gender of Xystreurys]

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Family CYCLOPSETTIDAE
4 genera · 46 species/subspecies

Citharichthys Bleeker 1862    Citharus (Citharidae), presumably referring to similarity to this genus; ichthys, fish

Citharichthys abbotti Dawson 1969    in honor of Walter Abbott, colleague at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, who collected type with Dawson

Citharichthys amblybregmatus Gutherz & Blackman 1970    ambly, blunt; bregmatos, front of head, referring to its very blunt head, more so in males than females

Citharichthys arctifrons Goode 1880    arctus, narrow; frons, forehead, probably referring to “very narrow” interorbital space

Citharichthys arenaceus Evermann & Marsh 1900    sandy, presumably referring to color pattern, “light-gray, thickly spotted with olive, giving it a granitic appearance”

Citharichthys cornutus (Günther 1880)    horned, presumably referring “three pointed projections” on snout in front of upper eye (at least in adults)

Citharichthys darwini Victor & Wellington 2013    in honor of English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), who spent an “overpoweringly hot” October 1, 1835 exploring Tagus Cove of the Galápagos Islands (type locality); name also “serves as a somewhat belated recognition of the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species in London in October 1860, mitigated to some small degree by the knowledge that the dilatory nature of the endeavor would not be particularly foreign to Darwin’s sensibilities”

Citharichthys dinoceros Goode & Bean 1886    dino-, fearfully great (as in dinosaur); ceros, horn, referring to strong spine on snout overhanging upper lip

Citharichthys fragilis Gilbert 1890    fragile, presumably referring to its deciduous scales

Citharichthys gilberti Jenkins & Evermann 1889    in honor of ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles H. Gilbert (1859-1928), “whose collection, and notes on fishes from Mazatlan [México], containing undescribed species, this among them, was destroyed by fire in 1883”

Citharichthys gnathus Hoshino & Amaoka 1999    jaw, referring to bony knob at anterior tip of lower jaw

Citharichthys gordae Beebe & Tee-Van 1938    of Gorda Bank, Baja California, México, type locality

Citharichthys gymnorhinus Gutherz & Blackman 1970    gymnos, bare or naked; rhinus, snout, referring to absence of scales on snout (from anterior edge of head to vertical through posterior margin of pupil of lower eye)

Citharichthys macrops Dresel 1885    macro-, long or large; ops, eye, referring to “much larger” eyes compared to C. spilopterus

Citharichthys mariajorisae van der Heiden & Mussot-Pérez 1995    in honor of Maria Joris (1917-1995), maiden name of the senior author’s mother, for her “teaching and perpetual support”; unable to continue her own education during and after World War II, she nevertheless encouraged her six children to study foreign languages, learn music, play an instrument, earn a university degree, and follow one’s dreams (Albert van der Heiden, pers. comm.)

Citharichthys minutus Cervigón 1982    small, allusion not explained but clearly referring to its size, reaching just 5.2 cm TL

Citharichthys platophrys Gilbert 1891    platys, wide or broad; phrys, brow, referring to interorbital space, “very wide for a Citharichthys”

Citharichthys sordidus (Girard 1854)    dirty, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its fins, which “appear as if covered with a coating of dust” and/or to its overall dull coloration

Citharichthys spilopterus Günther 1862    spilos, spot; pterus, fin, referring to series of “distant” blackish spots along basal portions of anal and dorsal fins

Citharichthys stampflii (Steindachner 1894)    patron not identified but probably in honor of naturalist Franz Xavier Stampfli (1847-1903), who had worked in Liberia (type locality)

Citharichthys stigmaeus Jordan & Gilbert 1882    speckled, presumably referring to “very small but conspicuous black spot” in middle of each 7th-10th ray of its vertical fins

Citharichthys surinamensis (Bloch & Schneider 1801)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: coast of Suriname, type locality

Citharichthys uhleri Jordan 1889    in honor of entomologist Philip Reese Uhler (1835-1913), who brought type from Haiti

Citharichthys valdezi Cervigón 1986    in honor of Julio Valdez, Francisco de Miranda Experimental University (Coro, Venezuela), who “generously” (translation) made available all the specimens used in the description

Citharichthys xanthostigma Gilbert 1890    xanthos, yellow; stigma, mark or spot, referring to numerous bright-yellow spots along and above lateral lines, “broadly ocellated with brownish black”

Cyclopsetta Gill 1889    cyclo-, circle, referring to “regularly” cycloid scales (some weakly ctenoid) on eyed side of C. fimbriata

Cyclopsetta chittendeni Bean 1895    in honor of English physician and medical officer John F. Chittenden (1843-1895), Victoria Institute, Port of Spain, Trinidad, who provided type

Cyclopsetta fimbriata (Goode & Bean 1885)    fringed, allusion not explained, presumably referring to produced rays of dorsal fin

Cyclopsetta panamensis (Steindachner 1875)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Panama, type locality (occurs in eastern Pacific from Baja California south to Ecuador)

Cyclopsetta querna (Jordan & Bollman 1890)    oaken, i.e., tanned, presumably referring to color, described as “plain brown, unspotted”

Etropus Jordan & Gilbert 1882    etron, abdomen; pous, foot, referring to ventral fin of E. crossotus on ridge of abdomen

Etropus ciadi van der Heiden & Plascencia González 2005    named for CIAD, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo (Mazatlan, Sonora, México), where both authors have held research positions since 1994 and 1999, respectively

Etropus crossotus Jordan & Gilbert 1882    fringed, referring to row of “conspicuous” white cilia on edge of opercle on blind side

Etropus cyclosquamus Leslie & Stewart 1986    cyclo-, circle; squama, scale, referring to cycloid scales on blind side, which distinguishes it from E. rimosus

Etropus delsmani delsmani Chabanaud 1940    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of fisheries biologist Hendricus Christoffel Delsman (1886-1969), who studied and described many fishes collected by the Dutch ship Mercator, and perhaps supplied Chabanaud with the type of this one

Etropus delsmani pacificus Nielsen 1963    –icus, belonging to: Pacific Ocean, i.e., a subspecies of E. delsmani occurring on Pacific side of Central America

Etropus ectenes Jordan 1889    stretched, referring to its “elongate form” compared to E. crossotus

Etropus longimanus Norman 1933    longus, long; manus, hand, referring to longer pectoral fin (on eyed side) compared to E. microstomus

Etropus microstomus (Gill 1864)    micro-, small; stomus, mouth, referring to “rather small” mouth, “length of the upper jaw only equalling a quarter of the length, and that of the lower two-fifths of the head’s length”

Etropus peruvianus Hildebrand 1946    Peruvian, referring to Sechura Bay, Peru, type locality (occurs in eastern Pacific from Panama Bay to northern Peru)

Etropus rimosus Goode & Bean 1885    per Goode & Bean (1896), rough-looking, full of cracks and fissures, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “strongly pectinated” scales on both sides of body (Jordan & Evermann [1898] state, apparently incorrectly, that name means “frosted”]

Syacium Ranzani 1842    latinization of Syacia, ancient Greek name for flatfishes according to Gesner (1558)

Syacium guineense (Bleeker 1862)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: coast of Guinea, type locality (occurs in eastern Atlantic from western Sahara to Namibia and Cape Verde Islands) [often incorrectly spelled guineensis; guineense agrees with neuter gender of Syacium]

Syacium gunteri Ginsburg 1933    in honor of marine biologist Gordon Gunter (1909-1998), then a staff investigator for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, for the aid he rendered in Ginsburg’s studies of Gulf Coast fishes in 1931 and for “other courtesies shown” (e.g., he collected type and sent specimens to Ginsburg)

Syacium latifrons (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    latus, broad; frons, forehead, referring to much broader interorbital space in adult males compared to S. ovale

Syacium longidorsale Murakami & Amaoka 1992    longus, long; dorsalis, of the back, referring to extended anterior dorsal-fin rays of mature males

Syacium maculiferum (Garman 1899)    macula, spot; fero, to bear, presumably referring to “numerous ocellate spots on bluish and of brownish on body and fins”

Syacium micrurum Ranzani 1842    micro-, small; [o]ura, tailed, referring to short caudal fin, possibly in comparison with two other species mentioned by Ranzani, S. soleaeformis (=papillosum) and S. ocellatum (=micrurum)

Syacium ovale (Günther 1864)    oval, allusion not explained but clearly referring to elliptic-ovate body shape

Syacium papillosum (Linnaeus 1758)    having papillae, described as having a papillous body

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Family PLEURONECTIDAE Righteye Flounders
24 genera · 64 species/subspecies

Subfamily ATHERESTHINAE

Atheresthes Jordan & Gilbert 1880    ather, beard or spike of an ear of corn; esthio, to eat, referring to sharp, arrow-shaped teeth

Atheresthes evermanni Jordan & Starks 1904    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of ichthyologist Barton Warren Evermann (1853-1932), United States Fish Commission, whose steamer Albatross collected type

Atheresthes stomias (Jordan & Gilbert 1880)    large-mouthed, referring to its mouth, described as “extremely large and oblique, the lower jaw included”

Subfamily PLEURONICHTHYINAE

Pleuronichthys Girard 1854    pleuro, side; ichthys, fish, i.e., a fish that swims on its side

Pleuronichthys coenosus Girard 1854    muddy, presumably referring to “deep brown” color of body and fins; Pietsch & Orr (2019) suggest that name also “sounds out” eyed-side color pattern of caudal fin, which appears as a reverse “C” at base of caudal followed by an “O”-like spot (hence the common name C-O Sole), but since Girard did not mention these markings we suspect any similarity between “coenosus” and “C-O” is coincidental

Pleuronichthys cornutus (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    horned, presumably referring to sharp, backward-projecting spine on posterior end of interorbital ridge

Pleuronichthys decurrens Jordan & Gilbert 1881    running down, allusion not explained, possibly referring to how dorsal fin extends (or “runs down,” our term) to blind side

Pleuronichthys guttulatus Girard 1856    diminutive of guttata, dotted, referring to “scattered light spots appearing like as many drops irregularly dispersed” on grayish-black body

Pleuronichthys lighti Wu 1929    in honor of zoologist Sol Felty Light (1886-1947), University of California, who collected fishes from Amoy (now called Xiamen) Island, China (presumably type locality of this flounder), from 1922-1928, and who had “always been incentive to the author’s interest in zoology during his three years association with him at the University of Amoy [now Xiamen]”

Pleuronichthys macrocephalus (Breder 1936)    macro-, long or large; cephala, head, referring to large head, 4.0 in length

Pleuronichthys ocellatus Starks & Thompson 1910    with eye-like spots, referring to “very conspicuous spot ocellated with milk white midway on the lateral line”

Pleuronichthys ritteri Starks & Morris 1907    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of marine biologist William Emerson Ritter (1856-1944), Marine Biological Association of San Diego (now Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

Pleuronichthys verticalis Jordan & Gilbert 1880    pertaining to the vertex (crown of head), probably referring to spiny ridge between eyes

Subfamily MICROSTOMINAE Smallmouth Flounders

Glyptocephalus Gottsche 1835    glyptos, engraved or sculpted; cephalus, head, referring to numerous excavations and muscous cavities in skull on blind side

Glyptocephalus cynoglossus (Linnaeus 1758)    cyno-, dog; glossus, tongue, i.e., shaped like the tongue of a dog (elliptical)

Glyptocephalus kitaharae (Jordan & Starks 1904)    in honor of zoologist Tasaku Kitahara (1870-1922), Imperial Fisheries Bureau, Department of Agriculture and Commerce (Tokyo), “author of a paper on the Scombridae of Japan” [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]

Glyptocephalus stelleri (Schmidt 1904)    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746), German physician-naturalist who worked in Russia and explored the Kamchatka Peninsula and what is now Alaska; Schmidt discussed the importance of Steller’s contributions in the opening sections of his monograph

Glyptocephalus zachirus Lockington 1879    za-, very; cheiros, hand, referring to “exceedingly long and lanceolate” pectoral fin on eyed side

Microstomus Gottsche 1835    micro-, small; stomus, mouth, referring to “very small” mouth of M. latidens (=kitt)

Microstomus achne (Jordan & Starks 1904)    a “whiff of foam” according to Jordan & Starks, allusion not explained nor evident (achne can also mean “any light substance, chaff or down,” none of which seem to apply)

Microstomus bathybius (Gilbert 1890)    bathys, deep; bios, life, referring to type locality in the Santa Barbara Channel off southern California (USA), at a depth of 1100 m

Microstomus kitt (Walbaum 1792)    local name for this flatfish in Cornwall, England, according to Rev. George Jago (see Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis in Scophthalmidae, above)

Microstomus pacificus (Lockington 1879)    –icus, belonging to: Pacific Ocean (specifically, North Pacific from Bering Sea to southern Baja California)

Microstomus shuntovi Borets 1983    patronym not identified, probably in honor of Vyacheslav P. Shuntov (b. 1937), chief scientist of the Pacific Institute of Scientific Fisheries and Oceanography Center (Vladivostok), where Borets was working at the time

Subfamily HIPPOGLOSSINAE Halibuts

Clidoderma Bleeker 1862    clido-, from kleidos (Gr. κλειδός), genitive singular of kleís (κλείς), a key or hook; dérma (Gr. δέρμα), skin, presumably referring to rough, bony tubercles on eyed side of adults, most of them bearing small spines (i.e., hooks)

Clidoderma asperrimum (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    very rough, referring to rough, bony tubercles on eyed side of adults, most of them bearing small spines [may belong in a new or different subfamily]

Eopsetta Jordan & Goss 1885    eos, meaning “excellent” per Jordan & Goss (original description) and “morning” per Jordan & Evermann (1898), neither allusion explained nor evident (Pietsch & Orr 2019 posits that name refers to its more primitive appearance); psetta, Greek for flatfish

Eopsetta grigorjewi (Herzenstein 1890)    in honor of Russian botanist and ethnographer Alexander Vasilevich Grigoriev (1848-1908), who collected type

Eopsetta jordani (Lockington 1879)    in honor of the “distinguished” ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1851-1931), “who has done more than any other American to increase our knowledge of the fresh-water fishes of the United States”

Hippoglossus Cuvier 1816    tautonymous with Pleuronectes hippoglossus

Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Linnaeus 1758)    ancient name for halibut, from hippo, horse, and glossus, tongue, referring to its large, flat, tongue-like shape

Hippoglossus stenolepis Schmidt 1904    stenos, narrow (i.e., reduced in size); lepis, scale, referring to minute scales that cover both eyed and blind sides

Lyopsetta Jordan & Goss 1885    lyo, loose, referring to its “large, loose” scales; psetta, Greek for flatfish [may belong in a new or different subfamily]

Lyopsetta exilis (Jordan & Gilbert 1880)    slender, referring to more elongate body compared to Hippoglossoides platessoides and Eopsetta jordani, its presumed congeners at the time

Reinhardtius Gill 1861    –ius, pertaining to: Norwegian zoologist Johannes Christopher Hagemann Reinhardt (1778-1845), whose works on the fishes of Greenland are cited many times by Gill

Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum 1792)    –oides, having the form of: hippoglossus, ancient name for halibut, referring to its oblong, halibut-like shape

Verasper Jordan & Gilbert 1898    verus, true; asper, rough, presumably referring to “extremely spinous” scales

Verasper moseri Jordan & Gilbert 1898    in honor of Jefferson Franklin Moser (1848-1934), U.S. Navy, Lieutenant-Commander in charge of the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross, from which type was collected

Verasper variegatus (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    variegated, referring to combination of colors and markings, including orange-red on lower eyed side, uniform dark brownish upper body sometimes variegated with paler patches behind head and upper and lower edges of body, and large black or dark-brown spots near bases of dorsal and anal fins (plus small scattered brown spots on blind side)

Subfamily PLEURONECTINAE True Flounders

Acanthopsetta Schmidt 1904    acanthus, thorn or spine, probably referring to anal spine, which Schmidt used to distinguish this genus from Verasper and Hippoglossina (Paralichthyidae); psetta, Greek for flatfish

Acanthopsetta nadeshnyi Schmidt 1904    of Nadeshny (which means “one to be depended upon”), an icebreaker based in Vladivostok, Russia, from which “many works of expedition were provided” (translation)

Cleisthenes Jordan & Starks 1904    named for Cleisthenes, “the effeminate,” a prominent Athenian delegate during the Peloponnesian War (431 BC) frequently used by the comedian Aristophanes as the butt of jokes and as a character in his plays because Cleisthenes was apparently well known in Athens for being effeminate and/or homosexual; why Jordan & Starks selected this name is not explained nor evident

Cleisthenes pinetorum Jordan & Starks 1904    of pine woods, presumably referring to Kinkwazan Island, Japan, type locality, one of the “Thousand Pine-clad Islands” of Matsushima Bay

Dexistes Jordan & Starks 1904    etymology not explained, presumably dextra-, right and –istes, adjectival suffix, i.e., one who is right-handed, referring to color and eyes on right side of body

Dexistes rikuzenius Jordan & Starks 1904    –ius, pertaining to: Rikuzen, former province in Miyagi Prefecture of Japan, where Matsushima Bay, type locality, was situated

Hippoglossoides Gottsche 1835    –oides, having the form of: presumably referring to resemblance with Hippoglossus

Hippoglossoides dubius Schmidt 1904    doubtful or uncertain, allusion not explained, probably referring to Schmidt’s initial plan to place this species in a new genus (Cynopsetta, proposed in 1903 but not formally described) before he decided on the current genus based on examination of other Hippoglossoides specimens

Hippoglossoides elassodon Jordan & Gilbert 1880    elasson, reduced; odon, tooth, referring to its small teeth, “much smaller” than in Eopsetta jordani and “not larger than” in Lyopsetta exilis, its presumed congeners at the time

Hippoglossoides platessoides platessoides (Fabricius 1780)    –oides, having the form of: referring to its spots, like that of Pleuronectes platessa

Hippoglossoides platessoides limandoides (Bloch 1787)    –oides, having the form of: Limanda limanda, comparison not explained, perhaps referring to similarly rough ctenoid scales on eyed side

Hippoglossoides robustus Gill & Townsend 1897    stout or robust, presumably referring to its “thick” body

Isopsetta Lockington 1883    isos, equal, allusion not explained, presumably referring to strongly ctenoid scales “almost uniform” over head and body of eyed side, or to ctenoid scales on both eyed and blind sides; psetta, Greek for flatfish

Isopsetta isolepis (Lockington 1880)    isos, equal; lepis, scale, allusion not explained, presumably referring to strongly ctenoid scales “almost uniform” over head and body of eyed side, or to ctenoid scales on both eyed and blind sides

Lepidopsetta Gill 1862    lepido-, scale, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to ctenoid scales covering entire body of L. umbrosa (=bilineata), some of which have prickles or small asperities; psetta, Greek for flatfish

Lepidopsetta bilineata (Ayres 1855)    bi-, two; lineata, lined, referring to double or bifurcated lateral line, with a high arch and a short accessory dorsal branch

Lepidopsetta mochigarei Snyder 1911    Japanese for “rice-cake flounder,” presumably referring to its bright-white blind side, similar to white rice-cake common in Japan

Lepidopsetta polyxystra Orr & Matarese 2000    poly, many; xystrus, raker, referring to more numerous gill rakers compared to congeners

Limanda Gottsche 1835    tautonymous with Pleuronectes limanda Linnaeus 1758 (see L. limanda, below), which Gottsche unnecessarily renamed L. vulgaris

Limanda aspera (Pallas 1814)    rough, referring to ctenoid scales on both eyed and blind sides

Limanda limanda (Linnaeus 1758)    old name for this species, possibly derived from the French lime (and the Latin lima), meaning file (tool used to smooth metal), referring to rough ctenoid scales on eyed side; another explanation is that name is derived from the Latin limus, meaning mud

Limanda sakhalinensis Hubbs 1915    –ensis, Sakhalin Island, North Pacific Ocean, type locality

Liopsetta Gill 1864    leios, smooth, referring to “perfectly smooth” (i.e., scaleless) body, a misnomer based on females, which have cycloid scales whereas males have ctenoid; psetta, Greek for flatfish

Liopsetta glacialis (Pallas 1776)    icy or frozen, described from the Arctic Ocean

Liopsetta pinnifasciata (Kner 1870)    pinnis, fin; fasciata, banded, referring to short blackish bars on dorsal and anal fins

Liopsetta putnami (Gill 1864)    in honor of Gill’s friend Frederic Ward Putnam (1839-1915), curator of ichthyology, Boston Society of Natural History, who supplied a small collection of fishes, including type of this one

Myzopsetta Gill 1861    myzon, sucker, allusion not explained but clearly referring to mouth of M. ferruginea, described by Storer as having “tumid” lips that “appear somewhat like” the mouth of the sucker, Catostomus catostomus (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae)

Myzopsetta ferruginea (Storer 1839)    rusty red, referring to “reddish slate-color” on eyed side of body, “covered with a great number of ferruginous spots”

Myzopsetta proboscidea (Gilbert 1896)    having a long snout or proboscis, referring to long snout, with jaws converging almost to a point

Myzopsetta punctatissima (Steindachner 1879)    very spotted, referring to eyed side of body “brown and very densely covered with darker spots and dots, between which less numerous and partly but not insignificantly larger milk-white spots are irregularly scattered” (translation)

Parophrys Girard 1854    para-, near; ophrys, eyebrow, allusion not explained; according to Jordan & Evermann (1898), referring to narrow interorbital space, which, with upper eye pointing obliquely upwards, gives the fish a “peculiar physiognomy”

Parophrys vetulus Girard 1854    old man, allusion not explained nor evident

Platichthys Girard 1854    platy, flat; ichthys, fish, literally a “flatfish”

Platichthys bicoloratus (Basilewsky 1855)    bi-, two; coloratus, colored, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to dark or dusky eyed side and white blind side

Platichthys flesus flesus (Linnaeus 1758)    presumably latinization of flez, local name for this flounder in France, dating to Rondelet (1558) [often but incorrectly spelled flessus]

Platichthys flesus luscus (Pallas 1814)    one-eyed or half-blind, referring to how this flatfish, like all adult flatfishes, is eyed on one side and blind on the other [treated as a full species by some workers]

Platichthys solemdali Momigliano, Denys, Jokinen & Merilä 2018    in honor of Per Solemdal (1941-2016), Institute of Marine Research (Bergen, Norway), the first to study this flounder’s eggs and sperm in connection to salinity, discovering that the specific gravity of its eggs is a fixed (or nearly so) population characteristic, “laying the foundations on which many subsequent studies on local adaptation and speciation of Baltic Sea marine fishes were built”

Platichthys stellatus (Pallas 1787)    starry, referring to rough, stellate (star-shaped) scales on both eyed and blind sides

Pleuronectes Linnaeus 1758    pleuro-, side; nectes, swimmer, i.e., a fish that swims on its side

Pleuronectes platessa Linnaeus 1758    Latin for flounder, probably derived from the Greek platus, flat, and precursor of the Middle English plaice

Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus Pallas 1814    quadri-, four; tuberculatus, with tubercles, referring to four (sometimes five) bony tubercles along postocular ridge

Psettichthys Girard 1854    psetta, Greek for flatfish; ichthys, fish

Psettichthys melanostictus Girard 1854    melanos, black; stictus, spotted, referring to “crowded black dots” on eyed side of body

Pseudopleuronectes Bleeker 1862    pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may resemble Pleuronectes, with its type species P. planus (=americanus) previously placed in it, such an appearance is false

Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum 1792)    American, based on Schöpf’s 1788 account of a flounder from Rhode Island, USA

Pseudopleuronectes herzensteini (Jordan & Snyder 1901)    in honor of Russian ichthyologist Solomon Markovich Herzenstein (1854-1894), who described this species in 1890 but used a preoccupied name

Pseudopleuronectes obscurus (Herzenstein 1890)    dark, referring to “very dark” (translation) color of fins and eyed side of body

Pseudopleuronectes schrenki (Schmidt 1904)    in memory of Leopold von Schrenck (1826-1894), Baltic-German Russian zoologist, geographer, ethnographer, and “well-known investigator of the mollusk fauna of the northern Sea of Japan” (translation)

Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae (Günther 1877)    of Yokohama Bay, Japan, type locality