Order CENTRARCHIFORMES: Families CENTRARCHIDAE, ELASSOMATIDAE, ENOPLOSIDAE, SINIPERCIDAE, APLODACTYLIDAE, CHEILODACTYLIDAE, CHIRONEMIDAE, CIRRHITIDAE, LATRIDAE, PERCICHTHYIDAE, DICHISTIIDAE, GIRELLIDAE, KUHLIIDAE, KYPHOSIDAE, OPLEGNATHIDAE, TERAPONTIDAE, MICROCANTHIDAE, SCORPIDIDAE, PARASCORPIDIDAE and CAESIOSCORPIDIDAE

COMMENTS
v. 8.1 – 14 June 2024  view/download PDF

20 families · 79 genera/subgenera · 311 species/subspecies

Family CENTRARCHIDAE Freshwater Sunfishes and Black Basses
9 genera/subgenera · 44 species/subspecies

Subfamily CENTRARCHINAE

Ambloplites Rafinesque 1820    amblys, blunt; hoplites, armed, defined by Rafinesque to mean “obtuse weapons,” referring to “two flat, broad and obtuse spines above the opercula” of A. ictheloides (=rupestris)

Ambloplites ariommus Viosca 1936    ari-, very; omma, eye, referring to typically larger eye compared to A. rupestris

Ambloplites cavifrons Cope 1868    cavus, concave; frons, forehead, referring to concave profile over eyes

Ambloplites constellatus Cashner & Suttkus 1977    clustered, referring to “clustered arrangement” of dark spots on side of body

Ambloplites rupestris (Rafinesque 1817)    living among rocks, a “permanent fish living generally in rocky bottoms” (hence the common name Rock Bass)

Archoplites Gill 1861    archos, anus; hoplites, armed, presumably referring to “greater development and different structure” of spinous portion of anal fin compared to Ambloplites

Archoplites interruptus (Girard 1854)    interrupted, referring to “Irregular transverse bands of dark brown or black, interrupted along the lateral line, the portion of the band above it somewhat alternating with the portion beneath it”

Centrarchus Cuvier 1829    kentron, spine; archos, anus, similar to Pomotis (=Lepomis) but with more (7-9 vs. 3) anal-fin spines

Centrarchus macropterus (Lacepède 1801)    macro-, long or large; pterus, fin, presumably referring to long rays of dorsal and anal fins, nearly all of which Lacepède said were “furnished with filaments” (translation), which they are not

Enneacanthus Gill 1864    ennea, nine; acanthus, thorn or spine, referring to nine dorsal-fin spines of E. obesus

Enneacanthus chaetodon (Baird 1855)    etymology not explained, possibly referring to marine butterflyfishes, Chaetodon (Acanthuriformes: Chaetodontidae), some of which have a similarly banded appearance

Enneacanthus gloriosus (Holbrook 1855)    splendid, a “beautiful little fish,” its head, body, and dorsal and anal fins marked with silver-to-blue spots

Enneacanthus obesus (Girard 1854)    plump or fat, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to occasional chubby appearance of adult males

Pomoxis Rafinesque 1818    poma, lid or cover; oxys, sharp, referring to opercles ending in two flat points, as opposed to extended into a flap as in some other sunfishes

Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque 1818    ringed or ring-shaped, presumably referring to “golden ring at the base of the tail”

Pomoxis nigromaculatus (Lesueur 1829)    nigro-, black; maculatus, spotted, referring to blackish speckles and mottles on silver body, and blackish spots between rays of fins 

Subfamily LEPOMINAE   

Lepomis Rafinesque 1819    lepis, scale; poma, lid or cover, referring to scaly operculum (“opercules ecailleux”)

Subgenus Lepomis

Lepomis aquilensis (Baird & Girard 1853)    –ensis, suffix denoting place: aquila, eagle, referring to Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas (USA), type locality

Lepomis auritus (Linnaeus 1758)    eared, referring to long opercular flap, especially in adults

Lepomis cyanellus Rafinesque 1819    diminutive of cyano-, blue, allusion not explained, probably referring to sky-blue spot on each scale and blue flexuous lines on cheek

Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus 1758)    humpbacked, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to steep, convex profile of large males

Lepomis humilis (Girard 1858)    humble, allusion not explained; described as reddish-brown with spots, Girard may have selected a different name had he seen the brilliant coloration of a breeding male

Lepomis macrochirus macrochirus Rafinesque 1819    macro-, long or large; cheiros, hand, referring to long pectoral fins, reaching anal fin

Lepomis macrochirus mystacalis Cope 1877    moustache, presumably referring to how “the dusky [color] of the face is abruptly arrested by a pale band”

Lepomis macrochirus speciosus (Baird & Girard 1854)    beautiful, splendid or showy, allusion not explained; described from a brownish specimen in alcohol with a narrow blackish stripe following curve of back, a black spot on posterior soft portion of dorsal fin, yellowish pectoral fins, and blackish ventral fins

Lepomis marginatus (Holbrook 1855)    bordered, referring to green border on opercular appendix

Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque 1820)    megalo-, large; otus, ear, referring to “very large elliptic” opercular flap on adult males

Lepomis microlophus (Günther 1859)    micro-, small; lophus, crest or nape, allusion not explained; replacement name for Pomotis speciosus Holbrook 1855, preoccupied by P. speciosus Baird & Girard 1854, now a subspecies of L. macrochirus, perhaps referring to “fleshy appendix” of opercle (per Holbrook) or “small” opercular lobe (per Günther) [Pflieger, Fishes of Missouri (1997), says name means “small nape,” an accurate translation, but nape is not mentioned in either description nor does it seem small to us]

Lepomis miniatus Jordan 1877    bright red or scarlet, referring to red spots on sides of male [although proposed in the genus “Lepiopomus,” that is considered an incorrect subsequent spelling or unjustified emendation of “Lepomis”; parentheses are therefore not warranted around author and date]

Lepomis peltastes Cope 1870    Greek soldier armed with small shield, allusion not explained but probably referring to its scales: “A deep stout species of small size, distinguished for its large scales”

Lepomis punctatus (Valenciennes 1831)    spotted, referring to small black (actually black to reddish) spots on cheeks and lower part of body

Lepomis solis (Valenciennes 1831)    Latin for the Sun, referring to its local name, “sunfish,” among Anglo-Americans at Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, USA, type locality; according to DeKay (Zoology of New-York, 1842), “sunfish” refers to the “glittering colors” members of the genus display while “basking in the sun”

Lepomis symmetricus Forbes 1883    symmetrical, referring to “dorsal and ventral outlines about equally curved, giving the fish a distinctively symmetrical appearance” (per Forbes & Richardson, Fishes of Illinois [1908])

Subgenus Chaenobryttus Gill 1864     chaeno, gape, referring to large mouth of Calliurus melanops (=L. gulosus); Bryttus Valenciennes 1831 (presumably derived from bryttus, an unidentified fish mentioned by Aristotle that Valenciennes applied to some sunfishes), now a synonym of Lepomis

Lepomis gulosus (Cuvier 1829)    large-mouthed, alluding to its common name among the French colonists of Louisiana, de grande gueule, referring to its large mouth, the maxillary reaching posterior border of eye

Micropterus Lacepède 1802    micro-, small; pterus, fin, referring to detached posterior rays of damaged dorsal fin on type specimen of M. dolomieu, which Lacepède mistakenly believed was a separate but small fin

Micropterus cahabae Baker, Johnston & Blanton 2013    of the Cahaba River system, Alabama (USA), where it is endemic

Micropterus cataractae Williams & Burgess 1999    of waterfalls, referring to its preferred habitat of waterfalls and shoals

Micropterus chattahoochae Baker, Johnston & Blanton 2013    of the Chattahoochee River system, Georgia (USA), where it is endemic (introduced in Puerto Rico, USA)

Micropterus coosae Hubbs & Bailey 1940    of the Coosa River system, Alabama and Georgia (USA), where it occurs (a separate population in the Savannah River basin of Georgia may represent a separate species known as “Bartram’s Bass”)

Micropterus dolomieu Lacepède 1802    in honor of geologist Déodat de Dolomieu (1750-1801, for whom “dolomite” is named), expressing joy and relief that Dolomieu had just been released by Italy after 21 months in solitary confinement during a France-Italy border dispute (Dolomieu was sick when he was imprisoned, and his health deteriorated in the horrible conditions of his captivity; by the time the description of M. dolomieu appeared in print, he was dead)

Micropterus henshalli Hubbs & Bailey 1940    in honor of angler-naturalist James A. Henshall (1836-1925), for “raising the black basses to their position of high esteem in the minds of sportsmen” and for “determining their proper nomenclature”

Micropterus nigricans (Cuvier 1828)    Latin for swarthy or blackish, referring to its common name, Black Bass, among English speakers along Lake Huron (USA and Canada), type locality; according to Cuvier, the common name refers to its resemblance to what is now identified as the Black Sea Bass, Centropristis striata (Serranidae)     

Micropterus notius Bailey & Hubbs 1949    southern, referring to distribution in Florida, USA (also occurs in Georgia)

Micropterus punctulatus (Rafinesque 1819)    diminutive of punctum, spot, referring to olivaceous body covered with blackish dots (per Rafinesque 1820)

Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède 1802)    oides, having the form of: salmo, salmon; Lacepède based name on a specimen labeled “trout,” reflecting local name for this fish in Charleston, South Carolina (USA), type locality

Micropterus tallapoosae Baker, Johnston & Blanton 2013    of the Tallapoosa River, Alabama (USA), where it is endemic

Micropterus treculii (Vaillant & Bocourt 1874)    in honor of French botanist Auguste Trécul (1818-1896), who visited North America (1848-1850) on a scientific expedition and collected type in Texas

Micropterus velox Hubbs & Bailey 1940    swift, referring to its streamlined form and “fine reputation as a game fish”

Micropterus warriorensis Baker, Johnston & Blanton 2013    ensis, suffix denoting place: Black Warrior River, Alabama (USA), where it is endemic

Subfamily Incertae sedis

Acantharchus Gill 1864    acanthus, thorn or spine; archos, anus, allusion not explained, presumably referring to five anal-fin spines

Acantharchus pomotis (Baird 1855)    poma, lid or gill cover; otos, ear, allusion not explained, possibly referring to scaly operculum common to all centrarchids (Pomotis is also a junior synonym of Lepomis and may have been used here as a generic term for sunfish)                      


Family ELASSOMATIDAE Pygmy Sunfishes
1 genus · 7 species

Elassoma Jordan 1877    elasson, smaller; soma, body, referring to their diminutive size, or “a being reduced or diminished” (per Jordan)

Elassoma alabamae Mayden 1993    of Alabama (USA), where it is endemic to Moss Spring and (historically) adjacent springs in the middle Tennessee River drainage

Elassoma boehlkei Rohde & Arndt 1987    in honor of James E. Böhlke (1930-1982), late Curator of Fishes, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for his contributions to ichthyology and his interest in Elassoma

Elassoma evergladei Jordan 1884    of the Florida Everglades (USA), where type locality (Lake Jessup) is situated (occurs in coastal streams of North Carolina south to the Everglades, west to Alabama)

Elassoma gilberti Snelson, Krabbenhoft & Quattro 2009    in honor of Carter R. Gilbert (1930-2022), Curator of Fishes at the Florida Museum of Natural History from 1961-1998, for his many contributions to the study of North American fishes and as “special thanks” from the first author for “serving as a guide and mentor for many years”

Elassoma okatie Rohde & Arndt 1987    from the local Muskhogean words oka, water, and ateeh, aquatic, a name that also honors the Okeetee Club of Switzerland, Jasper County, North Carolina (USA), which has “stimulated many biologists who have visited the area, and whose property borders most collection sites” of this species

Elassoma okefenokee Böhlke 1956    named for the northern fringe of the Okefenokee Swamp area, where type locality (Kettle Creek, tributary of Satilla River, Ware County, Georgia, USA) is situated (also occurs in Florida)

Elassoma zonatum Jordan 1877    banded, described as having ~11 parallel, vertical- dark olive bands on body                      


Family ENOPLOSIDAE Oldwife

Enoplosus Lacepède 1802    from the Greek enoplos, weapon (or armed with a weapon), referring to both preoperculum and six dorsal-fin spines

Enoplosus armatus (Shaw 1790)    armed with a weapon, referring to six dorsal-fin spines, the third one very long                                                               


Family SINIPERCIDAE Chinese Perches
2 genera · 14 species

Coreoperca Herzenstein 1896     Corea, alternate spelling of Korea, type locality of C. herzi; perca, perch or perch-like fish but here referring to similarity to and/or close relationship with Siniperca

Coreoperca herzi Herzenstein 1896    in honor of German entomologist Alfred Otto Herz (1856-1905), who collected type

Coreoperca kawamebari (Temminck & Schlegel 1843)    from Kawa-mebari, its local name in Japan, from where it was described (also occurs in Korea)

Coreoperca liui Cao & Liang 2013    in honor of the “famous” Chinese ichthyologist-ecologist Liu Jian-Kang (1917-?), for his “outstanding” contributions to the studies of sinipercine fishes

Coreoperca whiteheadi Boulenger 1900    in honor of John Whitehead (1860-1899), English explorer, naturalist and bird collector, who collected type

Siniperca Gill 1862    sini-, Sinica, or China, referring to S. chuatsi, in “allusion to [its] restriction of habitat to the Chinese Empire” (also occurs in Russia); perca, a perch or perch-like fish, and Perca, original genus of S. chuatsi

Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky 1855)    from Chua-tsi, a local name for this species in China

Siniperca fortis (Lin 1932)    strong, powerful or mighty, allusion not explained (but described as having “firm” scales)

Siniperca knerii Garman 1912    in honor of ichthyologist Rudolf Kner (1810-1869), who reported this species as S. chuatsi in 1867

Siniperca liuzhouensis Zhou, Kong & Zhu 1987    ensis, suffix denoting place: Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province, China, where type locality (Lijiang River) is situated

Siniperca loona Wu 1939    “Named after Dr. Y. T. Loo” (no other information available)

Siniperca obscura Nichols 1930    dark, referring to dusky color with “obscure dark blotches” on sides

Siniperca robusta Yu, Kwang & Ni 1986    Latin for robust, referring to its compact body [previously known as S. vietnamensis Mai 1978, a nomen nudum]

Siniperca roulei Wu 1930    in honor of Louis Roule (1861-1942), chair of the ichthyology and herpetology departments, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (Paris), in whose laboratory Wu conducted his studies

Siniperca scherzeri Steindachner 1892    in honor of A. Scherzer, who supplied the Im-perial Court Museum of Natural History (Vienna) with fish specimens collected in Shanghai, including this one

Siniperca undulata Fang & Chong 1932    wavy, referring to sides of body with many “distinct or ill-defined” undulating or wavy whitish longitudinal lines that usually connect with one another at intervals                                             


Family APLODACTYLIDAE Marblefishes
1 genus · 5 species

Aplodactylus Valenciennes 1832    [h]aplo-, single or simple; dactylus, finger, referring to simple (unbranched) lower pectoral-fin rays of A. punctatus

Aplodactylus arctidens Richardson 1839    arctatus, drawn close together; dens, teeth, referring to how “teeth stand in eight or nine crowded ranks in the upper jaw, and five or six in the lower one”

Aplodactylus etheridgii (Ogilby 1889)    in honor of paleontologist-geologist Robert Etheridge, Jr. (1846-1920), the “able leader” of the expedition during which type was collected

Aplodactylus lophodon Günther 1859     lophos, tuft; odon, tooth, referring to each incisor with a terminal lobe and two lateral lobes (on each side)

Aplodactylus punctatus Valenciennes 1832    spotted, the body “spotted with an infinity of small blackish dots” (translation), with dark spots on fins

Aplodactylus westralis Russell 1987    named for its distribution in southwestern Australia                      


Family CHEILODACTYLIDAE Morwongs

Cheilodactylus Lacepède 1803    cheilos, lip, referring to thick of fleshy lips of adults; daktylos, finger, referring to elongate lower pectoral-fin rays

Cheilodactylus fasciatus Lacepède 1803    banded, referring to dark, transverse bands on back and sides

Cheilodactylus pixi Smith 1980    in honor of Pixie John, formerly of Port Alfred, South Africa, who sent type specimen to Smith and “always evinced a lively interest in fish and their habits”              


Family CHIRONEMIDAE Kelpfishes
1 genus · 6 species

Chironemus Cuvier 1829    cheiros, hand; nema, thread, referring to long, unbranched rays of lower pectoral fin extending beyond edge of membrane, some beyond tips of branched rays

Chironemus bicornis (Steindachner 1898)    bi-, two; cornis, horn, presumably referring to horn-like bone projection dorsocaudally on each orbit

Chironemus delfini (Porter 1914)    in honor of Porter’s late friend, Chilean ichthyologist Federico T. Delfin, Museo de Valparaiso

Chironemus georgianus Cuvier 1829    anus, belonging to: King George Sound, Western Australia, type locality

Chironemus maculosus (Richardson 1850)    spotted, referring to body “thickly studded with irregular dark liver-brown spots, most crowded along the back and becoming much smaller and more scattered on the belly”

Chironemus marmoratus Günther 1860    marbled, referring yellowish head and body “largely marbled” with dark brown

Chironemus microlepis Waite 1916    micro-, small; lepis, scale, referring to “much smaller” scales compared to C. marmoratus               


Family CIRRHITIDAE Hawkfishes
12 genera · 36 species

Amblycirrhitus Gill 1862    ambly, blunt, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “abbreviated” head of A. fasciatus (preoccupied by Cirrhitops fasciatus, replaced by A. pinos), and/or its “slightly convex” snout; Cirrhitus, type genus of family

Amblycirrhitus bimacula (Jenkins 1903)    bi-, two; macula, spot, referring to black spots on opercle and on side above lateral line and partly on posterior half of soft dorsal fin

Amblycirrhitus earnshawi Lubbock 1978    in honor of George Earnshaw, former resident of Ascension Island, who provided Lubbock with live specimens of several fish species, including type of this one

Amblycirrhitus oxyrhynchos (Bleeker 1858)    oxy, sharp or pointed; rhynchos, snout, referring to its “considerably pointed snout” (translation)

Amblycirrhitus pinos (Mowbray 1927)    named for Isle de Pinos, south of Cuba, West Indies, type locality (occurs in western Atlantic from southern Florida to Brazil and in southern central Atlantic at Saint Helena Island)

Amblycirrhitus unimacula (Kamohara 1957)    uni-, one; macula, spot, referring to large black spot, as large as eye, on side above lateral line and partly on posterior half of soft dorsal fin

Cirrhitichthys Bleeker 1857    Cirrhitus, similar to that genus but differing in dentition; ichthys, fish

Cirrhitichthys aprinus (Cuvier 1829)    like a wild boar, referring to strong canine tooth on sides of lower jaw

Cirrhitichthys aureus (Temminck & Schlegel 1843)    gold, referring to its “beautiful uniform golden-yellow color” (translation)

Cirrhitichthys bleekeri Day 1874    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878)

Cirrhitichthys calliurus Regan 1905    calli-, beautiful; oura, tail, presumably referring to caudal fin, described as “pale yellowish, sharply separated from the dark colour of the caudal peduncle, with a pink tinge at the base, a dark posterior margin and a few dark spots”

Cirrhitichthys falco Randall 1963    hawk, allusion not explained but probably alluding to hawkfishes, the common name of the family

Cirrhitichthys guichenoti (Sauvage 1880)    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Antoine Alphonse Guichenot (1809-1876), Sauvage’s colleague at Musée du Jardin des Plantes a Paris

Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus (Bleeker 1855)    oxy, sharp or pointed; cephalus, head, referring to its pointed head (“capite acuto”)

Cirrhitichthys randalli Kotthaus 1976    in honor of ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924-2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for his 1963 review of the family

Cirrhitops Smith 1951    ops, appearance, presumably similar to Cirrhitus (type genus of family) and/or Cirritichthys

Cirrhitops fasciatus (Bennett 1828)    banded, referring to four broad, brown bands (actually red) across body

Cirrhitops hubbardi (Schultz 1943)    in honor of Commander H. D. Hubbard, U.S. Navy, for ”cooperation rendered” while on the U.S.S. Bushnell in the South Pacific

Cirrhitops mascarenensis Randall & Schultz 2008    ensis, suffix denoting place: Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion, where it occurs (also occurs off Madagascar)

Cirrhitus Lacepède 1803    from cirrhus, lock of hair or barbel, presumably referring to lower, simple (unbranched) rays of pectoral fin (which Lacepède called barbels [“barbillons”]) of C. maculatus (=pinnulatus), and which appeared to Lacepède as a “false” (translation) pectoral fin (many sources indicate that name refers to cirri projecting from tips of dorsal fin spines; this would be a reasonable explanation for the name, one that more accurately describes and distinguishes the taxon, except for the fact that Lacepède did not mention this character)

Cirrhitus albopunctatus Schultz 1950    albus, white; punctatus, spotted, referring to head and body with numerous tiny white specks or spots, arranged in rows on sides

Cirrhitus atlanticus Osório 1893    icus, belonging to: eastern Atlantic (Ghana and islands in the Gulf of Guinea), the first and only member of the genus known from the Atlantic

Cirrhitus pinnulatus pinnulatus (Forster 1801)    with pinnules, presumably referring to fringe of cirri on hind edge of anterior nostril

Cirrhitus pinnulatus maculosus Bennett 1828    spotted, referring to anal fin and middle six rays of caudal fin spotted with black

Cirrhitus rivulatus Valenciennes 1846    rivulated, i.e., marked by irregular streaks, referring to golden-brown markings on body with black margins narrowly surrounded by cobalt-blue

Cirrhitus spilotoceps Schultz 1950    spilotus, spotted; ceps, head, referring to dark-brown spots on head instead of brown streaks as on the similar C. pinnulatus

Cristacirrhitus Randall 2001    crista, crest, referring to strong supraorbital ridge; Cirrhites, original genus of C. punctatus and type genus of family

Cristacirrhitus punctatus (Cuvier 1829)    spotted, referring to large brown mottles and blackish spots all over body

Cyprinocirrhites Tanaka 1917    cyprinus, carp or minnow, allusion not explained nor evident; Cirrhites, alternate spelling of Cirrhitus, type genus of family

Cyprinocirrhites polyactis (Bleeker 1874)    poly, many; actis, ray, referring to 16-17 rays in soft portion of dorsal fin (the most in the family)

Isocirrhitus Randall 1963    iso-, equal, allusion not explained nor evident; Cirrhitus, type genus of family

Isocirrhitus sexfasciatus (Schultz 1960)    sex, six; fasciata, banded, referring to six dark-brown broad vertical bars on body, separated by pale interspaces

Itycirrhitus Randall 2001    itys, Greek for rim, referring to “striking” bright-red edges on scales; Cirrhitus, type genus of family

Itycirrhitus wilhelmi (Lavenberg & Yañez 1972)    in honor of Ottmar Wilhelm (1898-1974), former Director of the Institute of Biology, Universidad de Concepción, and “outstanding promoter” of the marine sciences in Chile; he collected type in 1956

Neocirrhites Castelnau 1873    neo-, new, i.e., a new genus “very closely allied” to Cirrhites (alternate spelling of Cirrhitus) but having palatine teeth and preopercular spines

Neocirrhites armatus Castelnau 1873    armed with a weapon, referring to preoperculum “armed with spines”

Notocirrhitus Randall 2001    notos, south, referring to southern location of N. splendens (New South Wales to Kermadec Islands); Cirrhitus, original genus of N. splendens and type genus of family

Notocirrhitus splendens (Ogilby 1889)    splendid, a “superb” fish with red to reddish-orange spots and bars on head and pectoral-fin base, larger reddish blotches on anterior part of the body, and dark brownish blotches posteriorly

Oxycirrhites Bleeker 1857    oxy, sharp or pointed, referring to very long snout (~½ HL); Cirrhites, alternate spelling of Cirrhitus, type genus of family

Oxycirrhites typus Bleeker 1857    serving as type of genus

Paracirrhites Bleeker 1874    para-, near, similar to Cirrhites (alternate spelling of Cirrhitus) but distinguished in having, among other characters, larger and regularly imbricated scales on cheek

Paracirrhites amblycephalus (Bleeker 1857)    ambly, blunt; cephalus, head, referring to blunt, convex head (“capite obtuso convexo”)

Paracirrhites arcatus (Cuvier 1829)    arched, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to sideways arch- or U-shaped marking around eye

Paracirrhites bicolor Randall 1963    bi-, two, i.e., two-colored, referring to contrasting dark anterior and pale posterior parts of body

Paracirrhites forsteri (Schneider 1801)    in honor of Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798), naturalist aboard James Cook’s second voyage on HMS Resolution, who described this species as “Perca taeniatus” in an unpublished manuscript

Paracirrhites hemistictus (Günther 1874)    hemi-, partial; stictus, spotted, referring to small dark spots on upper body (this is the “pale” color form; the “dark” color form, which Günther described as polysticta, now a junior synonym, has brown spots along entire body)

Paracirrhites nisus Randall 1963    from the Greek Nisos, a fabled king said to have changed into a hawk, allusion not explained but probably alluding to hawkfishes, the common name of the family

Paracirrhites xanthus Randall 1963    yellow, referring to bright-yellow color in life             


Family LATRIDAE Trumpeters
9 genera · 32 species

Chirodactylus Gill 1862    cheiros, hand; dactylus, finger, referring to long, unbranched rays of lower pectoral fin

Chirodactylus brachydactylus (Cuvier 1830)    brachy, short; dactylus, finger, presumably referring to shorter unbranched pectoral-fin rays compared to the sympatric Cheilodactylus fasciatus (Cheilodactylidae), its presumed congener at the time

Chirodactylus grandis (Günther 1860)    large, allusion not explained, but described from a “Large stuffed specimen”; reaching 18.0 cm TL, it is the largest species of the family

Chirodactylus jessicalenorum Smith 1980    orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Jessica and her husband Len Jones (1935-2017), anglers, divers and artists, who procured specimens for Smith and, “for many years, as records officers of the South African Underwater Union, have skillfully identified fish caught by spearfishermen”

Chirodactylus spectabilis (Hutton 1872)    notable or showy, probably referring to 7-8 evenly spaced, broad, reddish-brown bands on sides

Chirodactylus variegatus (Valenciennes 1833)    variegated, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to variable color pattern (based on a drawing), consisting of six blackish bands originating from base of dorsal fin (which fade into the silver belly) and yellow-orange fins

Dactylophora De Vis 1883    dactylus, finger; phora, to bear or carry, referring to a single elongate simple (unbranched) pectoral-fin ray

Dactylophora nigricans (Richardson 1850)    blackish, described from a drawing showing a dark grayish-black color on back, head and fins (actually grayish to brownish in life)

Goniistius Gill 1862    gonio-, angle; istios, sail, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to deeply notched (between spinous and soft portions) dorsal fin

Goniistius francisi (Burridge 2004)    in honor of Malcolm Francis (b. 1954), New Zealand fisheries scientist and marine ecologist, for contributions to the biogeography of southwest Pacific fishes, and for supplying tissue samples from this “rarely encountered taxon” for Burridge’s genetic research

Goniistius gibbosus (Richardson 1841)    humpbacked, referring to high nape and steeply arched dorsal profile

Goniistius plessisi (Randall 1983)    in honor of French naturalist Yves Plessis (1921-1989), who collected a specimen in 1968, realized it was undescribed, but deferred further research until hearing of Randall’s study of the genus

Goniistius quadricornis (Günther 1860)    quadri-, four; cornis, horn, referring to four horn-like prominences, one pair before the eyes and the other above the snout

Goniistius rubrolabiatus (Allen & Heemstra 1976)    ruber, red; labiatus, lipped, referring to bright-red lips of adults in life, and to the fact that local anglers and spearfishers call it “red-lip morwong” or simply “red-lips”

Goniistius vestitus (Castelnau 1879)    clothed, dressed or covered, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to broad dark stripe running from anterior dorsal-fin spines to lower lobe of caudal fin, and three diagonal dark bands on body in front of dorsal fin

Goniistius vittatus (Garrett 1864)    banded, its body “ornamented with five oblique blackish-brown bands”

Goniistius zebra (Döderlein 1883)    allusion not explained but probably referring to six broad, diagonal black bands on body, superficially like the stripes of a zebra

Goniistius zonatus (Cuvier 1830)    banded, referring to diagonal bars on head and body

Latridopsis Gill 1862    opsis, appearance, similar to Latris but distinguished by the absence of teeth on front of vomer

Latridopsis ciliaris (Forster 1801)    with long lashes, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to 3-4 filaments on upper posterior margin of opercle (Ronald Fricke, pers. comm.)

Latridopsis forsteri (Castelnau 1872)    in honor of Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798), naturalist aboard James Cook’s second voyage on HMS Resolution, whose manuscript description of L. ciliaris was published by Bloch & Schneider in 1801

Latris Richardson 1839    slave or servant, allusion not explained nor evident

Latris lineata (Forster 1801)    lined, referring to distinctive dark lines running longitudinally across body

Latris pacifica Roberts 2003    named for the central South Pacific Ocean, only known area of occurrence (unlike L. lineata, which occurs in temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere)

Mendosoma Guichenot 1848    mendo-, Méndola; soma, body, referring to similar body shape to the Méndola, Spanish name of Spicara maena (Acanthuriformes: Sparidae)

Mendosoma caerulescens Guichenot 1848    bluish, referring to blue color above, gray below

Mendosoma fernandezianum Guichenot 1848    ianus, belonging to: Juan Fernández Islands, Chile, where it is endemic

Mendosoma lineatum Guichenot 1848    lined, referring to green longitudinal lines on back and sides

Morwong Whitley 1957    Australian name of unknown origin for fishes now divided among the families Cheilodactylidae and Latridae

Morwong ephippium (McCulloch & Waite 1916)    saddle, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to dark bar extending from nape to behind operculum

Morwong fuscus (Castelnau 1879)    dusky, described as having a uniform brown coloration, presumably color in spirits (in life, pinkish-red above, silvery-white below)

Nemadactylus Richardson 1839    nema-, thread; dactylus, finger, referring to elongate pectoral-fin rays of N. concinnus (=macroptera)

Nemadactylus bergi (Norman 1937)    in honor of Latvian zoologist Friedrich Wilhelm Karl (“Carlos”) Berg (1843-1902), Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, who reported this species as Chilodactylus (now Nemadactylus) macropterus in 1895

Nemadactylus douglasii (Hector 1875)    in honor of Robert Douglas (1837-1884), army officer, farmer and politician, who provided “kind hospitality” during a “pleasant fishing excursion” at Ngunguru Bay, Auckland, New Zealand (type locality), which afforded Hector “many fine novelties”

Nemadactylus gayi (Kner 1865)    in honor of Claude (Claudio in Spanish texts) Gay (1800-1873), French botanist, illustrator of the first naturalists to explore Chile, where this species is endemic to the Juan Fernandez and Desventuradas islands; his 1848 illustration of this species, presumed to be Cheilodactylus carmichaelis (=N. monodactylus), suggested to Kner that it was a different species, which he provisionally named

Nemadactylus macropterus (Forster 1801)    macro-, long; pterus, finned, referring to greatly elongated 7th pectoral-fin ray

Nemadactylus monodactylus (Carmichael 1819)    mono-, one; dactylus, finger, referring to “uncommon form and length of the fifth [actually 6th from the bottom] pectoral ray,” twice the length of the others

Nemadactylus valenciennesi (Whitley 1937)    in honor of Achille Valenciennes (1794-1865), who described this species as Cheilodactylus carponemus in 1830, but that name is applied to New Zealand specimens of N. macropterus

Nemadactylus vemae (Penrith 1967)    of the Vema Seamount, off South Africa in the southeastern Atlantic, only known area of occurrence

Pseudogoniistius Ludt, Burridge & Chakrabarty 2019    pseudo-, false, referring to its superficial similarity with Goniistius, and for the “confusion that this species has caused with morwong classification in the past”

Pseudogoniistius nigripes (Richardson 1850)    nigro-, black; pes, foot, described from a dried specimen with “pitch-black” ventral fins


Family PERCICHTHYIDAE Temperate Perches
9 genera · 27 species

Bostockia Castelnau 1873    ia, belonging to: Rev. George James Bostock (1833-1881), Anglican Church minister, who collected fishes for Castelnau in western Australia, including type of B. porosa

Bostockia porosa Castelnau 1873    full of holes or pores, referring to large conspicuous open pores around eyes, along upper part of operculum, around preoperculum, and along mandible

Gadopsis Richardson 1848    gados, ancient Greek for cod; opsis, appearance: “The general shape of the body, its rather prominent belly, large head, obtuse snout, projecting conspicuously beyond the lower jaw; and its slender jugular ventrals give it a good deal the aspect of a codfish, whence its generic name”

Gadopsis bispinosa Sanger 1984    bi-, two; spinosus, spined, differing from G. marmorata in having two (rarely one or three) dorsal-fin spines

Gadopsis gracilis McCoy 1879    slender, referring to its more slender body compared to G. marmorata

Gadopsis marmorata Richardson 1848    marbled, described from a dried specimen, its skin “pale brown, marked on the dorsal and caudal fins, head, back and sides, with irregular spots of liver-brown”

Maccullochella Whitley 1929    ella, diminutive connoting endearment: in honor of the late Allan Riverstone McCulloch (1885-1925), Whitley’s predecessor as Curator of Fishes, Australian Museum (Sydney)

Maccullochella ikei Rowland 1986    in honor of Rowland’s late grandfather, Isaac (Ike) Morgan Rowland, a “great admirer” and angler of Australian native inland fishes, particularly Murray Cod, M. peelii (per Rowland 1993)

Maccullochella macquariensis (Cuvier 1829)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Macquarie River, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, type locality

Maccullochella mariensis Rowland 1993    ensis, suffix denoting place: Mary River, Queensland, Australia, where it is endemic

Maccullochella peelii (Mitchell 1838)    etymology not explained, perhaps named for the Peel River, South Wales, Australia, type locality, or, as suggested by Tarma A. Raadik (pers. comm.), in honor of Robert Peel (1788-1850), twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for whom the Peel River was named (although Mitchell did not mention Robert Peel in his account)

Macquaria Cuvier 1830    ia, belonging to: Macquarie River at Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, type locality of M. australasica

Macquaria ambigua (Richardson 1845)    doubtful or uncertain, reflecting Richardson’s doubt about whether to place this species in Datnia (=Mesopristes, Terapontidae) or Dules (Perciformes: Serranidae); he provisionally chose the former

Macquaria australasica Cuvier 1830    icus, belonging to: Australasia, i.e., Australia, where this species is endemic

Macquaria wujalwujalensis (Pusey & Kennard 2001)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Wujal Wujal township at base of Bloomfield Falls, Queensland, Australia, type locality [sometimes placed in its own genus, Guyu Pusey & Kennard 2001, from the Kuku-yalanji language-group word kuyu (the “k” pronounced as a “g”), meaning freshwater fish]

Nannatherina Regan 1906    nanus, dwarf, a “little fish” described at 50 mm TL; atherina, presumed to be a silverside (Atheriniformes)

Nannatherina balstoni Regan 1906    in honor of William Edward Balston (1848-1918), a wealthy English businessman interested in natural history (ornithology in particular); he “presented” type to the British Museum

Nannoperca Günther 1861    nanus, dwarf, referring to small size of N. australis (reaching 10 cm TL); perca, perch, N. australis said to resemble a young perch in general appearance

Nannoperca australis Günther 1861    southern, referring to distribution in southern Australia (now known to include South Australia, Victoria, southern New South Wales, northern Tasmania)

Nannoperca obscura (Klunzinger 1872)    dark, presumably referring to dark-brown coloration in spirits (dusky, pale brownish-gray or olive-green in life)

Nannoperca oxleyana Whitley 1940    ana, belonging to: Oxley faunal region of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, where it is endemic

Nannoperca pygmaea Morgan, Beatty & Adams 2013    dwarf, at 26.8-38.0 mm SL, the smallest member of the genus

Nannoperca variegata Kuiter & Allen 1986    variegated, referring to its “blotchy” color pattern

Nannoperca vittata (Castelnau 1873)    banded, referring to a “broad, straight, longitudinal band of a fine red colour extending from the posterior part of the operculum, at the height of the eye, to the base of the caudal” fin

Percalates Ramsay & Ogilby 1887    perca, perch, presumed to be related to perches, representing a group of “Australian Percoids”; Lates, original genus of P. colonorum [provisionally placed in Percichthyidae; it warrants its own family, yet to be proposed]

Percalates colonorum (Günther 1863)    of the colony, presumably referring to Victoria, South Australia (type locality), then a crown colony of the British Empire; Günther also mentioned that “colonists” call this species “Perch”

Percalates novemaculeatus (Steindachner 1866)    novem, nine; aculeatus, spined, described has having nine dorsal-fin spines (may range from 7-9)

Percichthys Girard 1855    perca, perch, “closely allied to Perca” (per Girard in a concurrent publication); ichthys, fish, i.e., a perch-like fish

Percichthys chilensis Girard 1855    ensis, suffix denoting place: pre-Andean streams of central and southern Chile, where it is endemic

Percichthys colhuapiensis MacDonagh 1955    ensis, suffix denoting place: Colhué Huapí Lake, military facility at Comodoro Rivadavia, Río Senguer basin, Argentina, type locality

Percichthys laevis (Jenyns 1840)    smooth, referring to body scales, “particularly characterized by being so smooth, as hardly to communicate any sensation of roughness when the hand is passed from the tail towards the head, though the head itself is rough”

Percichthys melanops Girard 1855    melano-, black; ops, appearance, referring to white body “minutely and densely spotted with black; [these] dots crowding upon the middle of the scales under the shape of a central blotch, giving the whole fish quite a dark hue”

Percichthys trucha (Valenciennes 1833)    Spanish for trout, its local name along the Río Negro of Argentina (type locality; also occurs in Chile)

Percilia Girard 1855    perca, perch; –ilia, having the nature of, referring to its general percoid physiognomy

Percilia gillissi Girard 1855    in honor of Lieut. James M. Gilliss (1811-1865), U.S. Navy, who led a naval astronomical expedition to Chile (1849-1852), during which type was collected (he also founded the United States Naval Observatory)

Percilia irwini Eigenmann 1928    in honor of William G. Irwin (1866-1943), philanthropist who sponsored Indiana University’s “Irwin Expedition” to Chile in 1919, during which type was collected


Family DICHISTIIDAE Galjoens

Dichistius Gill 1888    dicho-, twofold or double; istion, sail, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to distinctly different rayed and soft portions of dorsal fin of adults, with a deep notch between them; name could also refer to nearly symmetrical soft dorsal and anal fins

Dichistius capensis (Cuvier 1831)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, type locality

Dichistius multifasciatus (Pellegrin 1914)    multi-, many; fasciatus, banded, referring to 15-20 alternately broad and narrow crossbars on body                 


Family GIRELLIDAE Nibblers
2 genera · 21 species

Girella Gray 1835    etymology not explained; according to Jordan & Evermann (1898), from the French girelle, a derivative of Julis applied to small wrasse-like fishes

Girella albostriata Steindachner 1898    albus, white; striata, striped, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to 8-10 crossbars on body, “densely covered with small silver-blue-white spots” (translation)

Girella cyanea Macleay 1881    blue, referring to deep-blue body color

Girella elevata Macleay 1881    raised, allusion not explained nor evident

Girella fasciata (Kner & Steindachner 1867)    banded, referring to 10-14 “weakly pronounced” (translation) dark bands on sides

Girella fimbriata (McCulloch 1920)    fringed, referring to “remarkably fimbriate nostrils”

Girella freminvillii (Valenciennes 1846)    in honor of French naturalist Chrétien Paulin de Fréminville (1787-1848), who collected type

Girella laevifrons (Tschudi 1846)    laevis, smooth; frons, forehead, referring to scaleless forehead

Girella leonina (Richardson 1846)    of lions or lion-like, referring to its Chinese name Shih tze tso (as given by John Reeves, who painted fish while working as a tea inspector in China, 1812-1831) and translated as “Stone lion tso” by Samuel Birch, Assistant Keeper of the Department of Antiquities, British Museum

Girella melanichthys (Richardson 1846)    melanos, black, referring to black and blackish-purple body color as shown in painting by John Reeves, who painted fish while working as a tea inspector in China (1812-1831); ichthys, fish

Girella mezina Jordan & Starks 1907    latinization of Mejina or Mejinadai, vernacular name of G. punctata in Japan

Girella nebulosa Kendall & Radcliffe 1912    cloudy or dark, referring to color in alcohol, brownish gray, “clouded with dark brown”

Girella nigricans (Ayres 1860)    blackish, referring to “plain dark blackish” body color (a “very little lighter below”)

Girella punctata Gray 1835    spotted, described from a painting, probably referring to dark dots on middle or base of each body scale

Girella simplex (Richardson 1848)    single or simple, referring to monocuspid incisiform teeth (entire and undivided) compared to multicuspid teeth of congeners known at the time

Girella simplicidens Osburn & Nichols 1916    simplex, simple; dens, teeth, referring to monocuspid (entire and undivided) incisiform teeth

Girella stuebeli Troschel 1866    in honor of German geologist-vulcanologist Alphons Stübel (1835-1904), who collected type

Girella tephraeops (Richardson 1846)    tephritis, an ash-colored precious stone; ops, appearance, referring to its gray eye, compared to blue or green eyes of presumed congeners at the time

Girella tricuspidata (Quoy & Gaimard 1824)    named for its tricuspid incisiform teeth

Girella zebra (Richardson 1846)    referring to “Zebra-fish,” its name among the sealers of King George Sound, Western Australia, referring to 9-10 stripes on sides

Girella zonata Günther 1859    banded, referring to vertical band descending from middle of spinous dorsal fin to the belly [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]

Graus Philippi 1887    Greek for old woman, referring to its local name in Chile, vieja negra (“black hag”)

Graus nigra Philippi 1887    black, referring to chocolate-brown to dusky color in alcohol and/or its local name in Chile, vieja negra (“old black”)                            


Family KUHLIIDAE Flagtails or Aholeholes
1 genus · 13 species

Kuhlia Gill 1861    ia, belonging to: Heinrich Kuhl (1797-1821), who collected and provided a manuscript description of type species, K. ciliata (=rupestris)

Kuhlia caudavittata (Lacepède 1802)    cauda-, tail; vittata, striped, referring to alternating black-and-white stripes on caudal fin

Kuhlia malo (Valenciennes 1831)    local name for this species on the Society Islands of Tahiti

Kuhlia marginata (Cuvier 1829)    bordered, referring to black submarginal bands on posterior lobes of caudal fin, and anal and soft dorsal fins (these fins are distally edged in white but Cuvier only mentioned the black)

Kuhlia mugil (Forster 1801)    Latin for mullet, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to mullet-like silvery coloration

Kuhlia munda (De Vis 1884)    neat or trim, allusion not explained nor evident

Kuhlia nutabunda Kendall & Radcliffe 1912    tottering, staggering, vacillating or uncertain, allusion not explained nor evident

Kuhlia petiti Schultz 1943    in honor of Arthur Petit, Pharmacist’s Mate, U.S. Navy, who helped Schultz collect fishes on Canton and Enderbury Islands and assisted him in “many other ways”

Kuhlia rupestris (Lacepède 1802)    living among rocks, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its occurrence in rocky freshwater streams or pools of Réunion, western Mascarenes, type locality

Kuhlia salelea Schultz 1943    from Salele, Samoan name of this fish

Kuhlia sandvicensis (Steindachner 1876)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Sandwich Islands (name given to Hawaiian Islands by James Cook in 1778), type locality

Kuhlia sauvagii Regan 1913    in honor of paleontologist-zoologist Henri Émile Sauvage (1842-1917), who reported this species as Dules fuscus (=K. rupestris) in 1891

Kuhlia splendens Regan 1913    Latin for shining, presumably referring to its silvery sides

Kuhlia xenura (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    xenos, strange or foreign (i.e., different); oura, tailed, referring to more deeply forked tail compared to presumed congeners in Xenichthys (Lutjaniformes: Haemulidae)                  


Family KYPHOSIDAE Sea Chubs
2 genera · 13 species

Kyphosus Lacepède 1801    hump-backed, based on an apparently deformed specimen of K. bigibbus, as illustrated by Commerçon, with a “lump on the back of the neck” (translation)

Kyphosus azureus (Jenkins & Evermann 1889)    latinization of the French l’azure (blue), referring to “dark steel blue” color of back and sides

Kyphosus bigibbus Lacepède 1801    bi-, two; gibbus, hump, based on an apparently deformed specimen of K. bigibbus, as illustrated by Commerçon, with a lump on the forehead and another on the back

Kyphosus cinerascens (Forsskål 1775)    ash-colored, referring to greenish-gray body color (varies from bluish-grey to brown or blackish)

Kyphosus cornelii (Whitley 1944)    in honor of Jeronimus Cornelisz (also spelled Cornelius, ca. 1598-1629), Dutch apothecary, East India Company merchant, and “villain” (Whitley’s word) who led a bloody reign of terror after the merchant ship Batavia was shipwrecked and lost at Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia, type locality; while others searched for water, Cornelisz established a brutal personal rule among the survivors, killing 110-124 men, women, and children over a two-month period and forcing seven surviving women into sexual slavery (he was subsequently found guilty of mutiny and hanged along with six of his men)

Kyphosus elegans (Peters 1869)    elegant, fine or tasteful, allusion not explained, probably reflecting Peters’ opinion about its shape and/or color pattern, described as brown with reddish-brown longitudinal lines below the lateral line (possibly color in alcohol; living specimens are silvery-gray with faint brownish stripes between each scale row on sides)

Kyphosus gladius Knudsen & Clements 2013    sword, referring to body shape, which resembles the roman gladius sword, widest towards the point and tapered towards the hilt; the relatively elongate body and shallow caudal peduncle, along with its metallic-bluish coloration, also resembles this sword

Kyphosus hawaiiensis Sakai & Nakabo 2004    ensis, suffix denoting place: referring to distribution around Hawaiian Islands and adjacent waters (e.g., Washington Island of the Line Islands)

Kyphosus ocyurus (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    ocy, swift; oura, tail, referring to extremely long, deeply forked caudal fin, the lobes falcate, the upper rays >4 times length of middle rays

Kyphosus sectatrix (Linnaeus 1758)    feminine of sectator, one who follows, referring to its habit of following vessels, supposedly for the waste food thrown from them (also known to feed on vomit and waste of spinner dolphins) [originally spelled saltatrix, apparently a lapsus that Linnaeus corrected in 1766; corrected spelling is in prevailing usage]

Kyphosus sydneyanus (Günther 1886)    anus, belonging to: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and/or Sydney Harbour, where type locality (Port Jackson) is situated (also occurs in New Zealand)

Kyphosus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1825)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Pulau Waigeo (or Vaigiou), Papua Barat, Indonesia, type locality (but widely occurs in Atlantic Ocean, Red Sea and Indo-Pacific)

Neoscorpis Smith 1931    neo-, new, presumed to be a new genus related to Scorpis (Scorpididae)

Neoscorpis lithophilus (Gilchrist & Thompson 1908)    lithos, stone; philos, fond of, referring to its common occurrence among rocks in shallow water (locally known as “stone-fish” in South Africa)                          


Family OPLEGNATHIDAE Knifejaws
1 genus · 7 species

Oplegnathus Richardson 1840    etymology not explained, presumably [h]oplon, weapon and gnathus, jaw, referring to teeth of adults fused into a strong parrot-like beak like that of parrotfishes (Scarus, Labriformes: Labridae)

Oplegnathus conwayi Richardson 1840    in honor of David Barry Conway (d.1832), surgeon and superintendent of a Royal Navy convict ship, who presented type to the Museum of Haslar Hospital (Hampshire, England), where Richardson studied it after he established the museum in 1838 [originally spelled conwaii, with the “y” latinized as an “i”; although technically incorrect, current spelling with “y” appears to be in prevailing usage]

Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel 1844)    banded, referring to color pattern of alternating light and dark vertical bars

Oplegnathus insignis (Kner 1867)    marked, presumably referring to profuse white spots on black body, the spots frequently joining to form an irregular maze-like pattern

Oplegnathus peaolopesi Smith 1947    in honor of Peão Lopes, Lourenço Marques Museum (Mozambique), a “most able collector [of fishes] and technician,” who collected type

Oplegnathus punctatus (Temminck & Schlegel 1844)    spotted, referring to dark-gray body, head and fins densely covered with black spots

Oplegnathus robinsoni Regan 1916    in honor of John Benjamin Romer Robinson (1869-1949), South African attorney, businessman and recreational angler, who collected type

Oplegnathus woodwardi Waite 1900    in honor of Bernard H. Woodward (1846-1916), Curator, Perth Museum, who provided Waite with a small collection of fishes from the Swan River of Western Australia, including type of this one [Waite gave his middle initial as “B.”]                      


Family TERAPONTIDAE Grunters or Tigerfishes
16 genera · 62 species

Amniataba Whitley 1943    amnis, river, referring to occurrence of A. percoides in freshwater rivers; Ataba, aboriginal name used in Queensland, Australia, for marine Terapon

Amniataba affinis (Mees & Kailola 1977)    related, described as “closely related” to A. percoides

Amniataba caudavittata (Richardson 1845)    cauda-, tail; vittata, striped, referring to prominent black blotch (which Richardson called a “bar”) on each caudal-fin lobe

Amniataba percoides (Günther 1864)    oides, having the form of: Perca, perch, allusion not explained, probably referring to its perch-like appearance

Bidyanus Whitley 1943    latinization of bidyan, Aboriginal name for B. bidyanus in New South Wales, Australia [not strictly a tautonym since Whitley emended Mitchell’s original bidyana to bidyanus]

Bidyanus bidyanus (Mitchell 1838)    latinization of bidyan, Aboriginal name for this species in New South Wales, Australia [Mitchell spelled it bidyana, which Whitley unnecessarily emended to bidyanus in 1943; that spelling appears to be in prevailing usage]

Bidyanus welchi (McCulloch & Waite 1917)    in memory of “old friend” Edwin J. Welch (1838-1916), English naval cadet, surveyor, writer and journalist, who was second in command of the 1861 expedition to discover the fate of the Burke and Wills expedition, an 1860-1861 attempt to cross Australia from south to north plagued by monsoon rains

Hannia Vari 1978    ia, belonging to: Hann River at Moll Gorge, Kimberly region, Western Australia, type locality of H. greenwayi

Hannia greenwayi Vari 1978    in honor of ornithologist James C. Greenway, Jr. (1903-1989), American Museum of Natural History, whose “generous” financial support made possible an expedition to Western Australia, during which type was collected

Hannia wintoni Shelley, Delaval, Le Feuvre, Dempster, Raadik & Swearer 2020    in honor of Tim Winton (b. 1960), Western Australian author and environmentalist, “whose many novels espouse a love of fish and the Australian landscape”

Helotes Cuvier 1829    etymology not explained but probably from the Greek heilotes, referring to the helots, a subjugated population (between slaves and free men), reflecting Cuvier’s common name for the family, “Les Esclaves,” based on Holocentrus servus Bloch 1790 (=T. jarbua), with servus meaning servant or male slave; according to Bloch (1797), a related species, Pelates quadrilineatus, was held in such low esteem among the Japanese that it was considered fit only for slaves and was therefore termed by Europeans the “slave-fish”

Helotes octolineatus Jenyns 1840    octo-, eight; lineatus, lined, referring to eight (ranging from 5-8) narrow dark-brown stripes on sides

Helotes sexlineatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1825)    sex, six; lineatus, lined, referring to six (ranging from 5-8) dark stripes along sides [often confused with Pelates sexlineatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1824), a separate species]

Hephaestus De Vis 1884    etymology not explained, perhaps named for Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths, referring to “uniform blackish” color of H. tulliensis (in life, this grunter varies from gray-brown to a khaki green, but in alcohol it is an overall dark brown, including the fins)

Hephaestus adamsoni (Trewavas 1940)    in honor of Charles Thomas Johnston “Bill” Adamson (1901-1978), English-born Papuan civil servant and member of government party sent to open a region in the upper part of the Kikori River basin; he sent a collection of Papuan fishes to the British Museum, including type of this one

Hephaestus carbo (Ogilby & McCulloch 1916)    Latin for coal (or a “lump of coal,” per the authors), referring to uniform blackish coloration, typical of larger adults

Hephaestus epirrhinos Vari & Hutchins 1978    Greek for long-nosed, referring to its elongate snout

Hephaestus fuliginosus (Macleay 1883)    sooty, presumably referring to its color, “dull black all over”

Hephaestus habbemai (Weber 1910)    in honor of Lieut. Dirk Habbema (1880-1944), Dutch East Indian Army, leader of the 42-man military escort supporting the Lorentz Expedition to northern New Guinea in 1909, during which type was collected [biographical footnote: Habbema died at Natzweiler-Struthof, a Nazi concentration camp in France]

Hephaestus jenkinsi (Whitley 1945)    in honor of Clee Francis Howard Jenkins (1908-1997), Government Entomologist of Western Australia, who collected type

Hephaestus komaensis Allen & Jebb 1993    ensis, suffix denoting place: side branch of Koma River, upper Purari River system of Papua New Guinea, type locality

Hephaestus lineatus Allen 1984    striped or lined, referring to 5-6 longitudinal stripes on sides

Hephaestus obtusifrons (Mees & Kailola 1977)    obtusus, obtuse; frons, front, presumably referring to its “even blunter snout” compared to the similar H. transmontanus (described in the same publication)

Hephaestus raymondi (Mees & Kailola 1977)    in honor of fisheries biologist Raymond Moore, who, in the course of an extensive study of the Barramundi, Lates calcarifer, carried out and directed numerous collecting surveys of the rivers, creeks and swamps of western Papua New Guinea, during which specimens were obtained

Hephaestus roemeri (Weber 1910)    in honor of Lucien Sophie Albert Marie von Römer (1873-1965), physician aboard the 1909 Dutch expedition to New Guinea, during which type was collected

Hephaestus transmontanus (Mees & Kailola 1977)    trans-, over; montanus, mountains, referring to distribution in northeastern Papua New Guinea, north of the central mountain range

Hephaestus trimaculatus (Macleay 1883)    tri-, three; maculatus, spotted, referring to three spots at caudal-fin base of smaller individuals

Hephaestus tulliensis De Vis 1884    ensis, suffix denoting place: Tully River, Queensland, Australia co-type locality (also described from Murray River)

Lagusia Vari 1978    ia, belonging to: Lagusi River, Sulawesi, Indonesia, type locality of L. micracanthus

Lagusia micracanthus (Bleeker 1860)    micro-, small; acanthus, thorn or spine, presumably referring to “relatively short middle anal-fin spine” (translation) compared to presumed congeners in Datnia (=Mesopristes), which have very long anal-fin spines

Leiopotherapon Fowler 1931    proposed as a subgenus of Terapon with leios, smooth and omos (incorrectly spelled opos), shoulder, referring to serrate suprascapular (actually the posttemporal) covered with skin and scales (a trait found in many other terapontid genera)

Leiopotherapon aheneus (Mees 1963)    poetic aspirated form of aeneus, bronze or brassy, referring to “bronzy blackish-brown to dark brown” color in life

Leiopotherapon macrolepis Vari 1978    macro-, large; lepis, scale, referring to relatively large scales compared to congeners

Leiopotherapon plumbeus (Kner 1864)    lead, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to leaden coloration of preserved specimens (silvery in life)

Leiopotherapon unicolor (Günther 1859)    uni-, one, referring to “uniform” grayish color of dried skins on which description was based

Mesopristes Bleeker 1873    mesos-, middle; pristes, saw, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to long and strong middle anal-fin spine of M. macracanthus (=argenteus) [pristes suggests that the spine is serrated but it has not been described as such]

Mesopristes argenteus (Cuvier 1829)    silvery, referring to overall silvery coloration of adults

Mesopristes cancellatus (Cuvier 1829)    latticed or cross-barred, referring to pattern of horizontal stripes on body crossed by 3-4 vertical bars

Mesopristes elongatus (Guichenot 1866)    elongate, referring to what Guichenot believed was a more-elongate body compared to known congeners in Datnia (=Mesopristes)

Mesopristes iravi Yoshino, Yoshigou & Senou 2002    “Vari” in reverse, in honor of Richard P. Vari (1949-2016), Smithsonian Institution, whose contribution to the taxonomy of the family Terapontidae is “greatly appreciated”

Mesopristes kneri (Bleeker 1876)    in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Rudolph Kner (1810-1869), who first distinguished this species as a variety of Therapon (now Mesopristes) argenteus in 1868, which served as the basis for Bleeker’s description

Pelates Cuvier 1829    etymology not explained but probably from the Greek pelates, peon or day laborer, reflecting Cuvier’s common name for the family, “Les Esclaves,” based on Holocentrus servus Bloch 1790 (=T. jarbua), with servus meaning servant or male slave; according to Bloch (1797), a related species, Pelates quadrilineatus, was held in such low esteem among the Japanese that it was considered fit only for slaves and was therefore termed by Europeans the “slave-fish”

Pelates qinglanensis (Sun 1991)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Qinglan Harbour, Hainan, China, type locality [possibly a synonym of P. quadrilineatus]

Pelates quadrilineatus (Bloch 1790)    quadri-, four; lineatus, lined, referring to four (sometimes five or six) dark stripes along sides

Pelates sexlineatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1824)    sex, six; lineatus, lined, referring to six dark stripes along sides [often confused with Helotes sexlineatus (Quoy & Gaimard 1825), a separate species]

Pelsartia Whitley 1943    ia, belonging to: Pelsart Island, Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia, type locality of P. humeralis

Pelsartia humeralis (Ogilby 1899)    of the shoulder, referring to “conspicuous” oval blackish shoulder-spot below lateral line and above pectoral fin

Pingalla Whitley 1955    etymology not explained nor evident

Pingalla gilberti Whitley 1955    in honor of John Gilbert (ca. 1812-1845), a naturalist in Ludwig Leichhardt’s expedition to Port Essington, Northern Territory (1844-1845), who was killed by aborigines near the river (Gilbert River, type locality) that now bears his name

Pingalla lorentzi (Weber 1910)    in honor of Dutch explorer Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz (1871-1944), who led expedition to New Guinea during which type was collected, and for whom the type locality (Lorentz River) is named

Pingalla midgleyi Allen & Merrick 1984    in honor of Stephen Hamar Midgley (1918-2014), amateur ichthyologist and limnologist, Nambour, Queensland, Australia, who collected many of the type specimens

Rhynchopelates Fowler 1931    rhynchos, snout, proposed as a subgenus of Pelates (Terapontidae) with a “somewhat extended” snout

Rhynchopelates oxyrhynchus (Temminck & Schlegel 1843)    oxys, sharp; rhynchus, snout, referring to pointed snout 

Scortum Whitley 1943    Latin for leather or hide, allusion not explained; according to Vari (1978), referring to leathery texture of their flesh

Scortum barcoo (McCulloch & Waite 1917)    named for Barcoo River, alternative name of Cooper Creek, Queensland, South Australia, type locality

Scortum hillii (Castelnau 1878)    in honor of Scottish botanist Walter Hill (1820-1904), “able” Director of the Brisbane Botanical Gardens (Brisbane, Australia)

Scortum neili Allen, Larson & Midgley 1993    in honor of Arthur Neil of Queensland, Australia, for his “generous collecting assistance” to the third author; Neil was “instrumental” in collecting type specimen and has “rendered considerable field assistance in the past”

Scortum ogilbyi Whitley 1951    in honor of ichthyologist James Douglas Ogilby (1853-1925), who originally prepared the description of this species

Scortum parviceps (Macleay 1883)    parvus, small; ceps, head, referring to smaller head compared to Hephaestus fuliginosus, its presumed congener at the time (and described in same publication)

Syncomistes Vari 1978    Greek for gatherer, referring to the algae-cropping habits of this genus

Syncomistes bonapartensis Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2017    ensis, suffix denoting place: confined to drainages that once flowed into the paleolake Lake Bonaparte in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Syncomistes butleri Vari 1978    in honor of William Henry (“Harry”) Butler (1930-2015), environmental consultant and conservationist who helped collect type as a member of the American Museum of Natural History-Australian Expedition of 1969

Syncomistes carcharus Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2017    Latin for sharp teeth, referring to its robust, pointed teeth relative to other Syncomistes

Syncomistes dilliensis Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2017    ensis, suffix denoting place: Dillie Gorge, on the Charnley River, Western Australia, type locality

Syncomistes holsworthi Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2017    in honor of William (Bill) Holsworth, Australian mammalogist and philanthropist, whose Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment financed expedition during which type was collected, as well as providing ongoing support for doctoral research into the ecology, management and natural history of Australian wildlife

Syncomistes kimberleyensis Vari 1978    ensis, suffix denoting place: eastern Kimberley region, Western Australia, where it is endemic

Syncomistes moranensis Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2017    ensis, suffix denoting place: middle Moran River catchment, northern Kimberley region, Western Australia, only known area of occurrence

Syncomistes rastellus Vari & Hutchins 1978    rastellus, rake, referring to its “rakelike dentition” (which, curiously, the authors did not describe)

Syncomistes trigonicus Vari 1978    tri-, three; gonicus, angled, referring to triangular shape of lower jaw when viewed from a ventral aspect

Syncomistes versicolor Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2017    Latin for many-colored, referring to distinct changes in its color at different stages in its ontogeny

Syncomistes wunambal Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2017    named for the Wunambal tribe and language group from the Mitchell River area, northern Kimberley region, Western Australia, where it is endemic

Terapon Cuvier 1816    alternate spelling of therapon, Greek for servant or slave, reflecting Cuvier’s common name for the family, “Les Esclaves,” based on Holocentrus servus Bloch 1790 (=T. jarbua), with servus meaning servant or male slave; according to Bloch (1797), a related species, Pelates quadrilineatus, was held in such low esteem among the Japanese that it was considered fit only for slaves and was therefore termed by Europeans the “slave-fish” [FishBase is clearly wrong in translating the name as tera, -atos = strange thing, monster, wonder, and pontios, marine, pertaining to the sea]

Terapon jarbua (Fabricius 1775)    latinization of Djarbua, Arabic name for this species along the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia

Terapon puta Cuvier 1829    from keel-puta, local name for this species in Visakhapatnam, India, type locality

Terapon theraps Cuvier 1829    from therapon, Greek for servant or slave, reflecting Cuvier’s common name for the family, “Les Esclaves” (see genus for details) [placed by some workers in its own genus, Eutherapon]  

Variichthys Allen 1993    replacement name for Varia Allen 1991, preoccupied in moths, in honor of Richard P. Vari (1949-2016), Smithsonian Institution, for his work on the family Terapontidae; ichthys, fish (in 1978, Vari stated this genus was undescribed but did not name it due to uncertainty regarding its relationships)

Variichthys jamoerensis (Mees 1971)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Jamoer (also known as Lake Yamur), Irian Jaya, Indonesia, where it is endemic

Variichthys lacustris (Mees & Kailola 1977)    lacustrine (belonging to a lake), referring to its occurrence in lakes and swampy areas and not from running water                             


Family MICROCANTHIDAE Stripeys
4 genera · 6 species

Atypichthys Günther 1862    replacement name for Atypus Günther 1860 (preoccupied in arachnids), a-, without; typus, type, “without any distinct affinity to a typical form of a family,” reflecting its having “some affinity” to Percidae and Pristipomatidae (=Haemulinae); ichthys, fish

Atypichthys latus McCulloch & Waite 1916    wide or broad, referring to broader stripes compared to A. strigatus

Atypichthys strigatus (Günther 1860)    striped, referring to 5-6 brown, parallel, longitudinal bands on body

Microcanthus Swainson 1839    micro-, small; acanthus, thorn or spine, allusion not explained, presumably referring to “minutely crenated” operculum of M. strigatus

Microcanthus joyceae Whitley 1931    in honor of Joyce K. Allan (1896-1966), conchologist and scientific illustrator at the Australian Museum (Sydney), to whom Whitley was “indebted for the excellent illustrations of this species”

Microcanthus strigatus (Cuvier 1831)    striped, referring to oblique black stripes along yellow body

Neatypus Waite 1905    neo-, new, i.e., a new genus related to Atypichthys (originally named Atypus)

Neatypus obliquus Waite 1905    oblique, referring to six oblique dark-brown bands, bordered with black, on body

Tilodon Thominot 1881    tilos, thread or fiber; odon, tooth, presumably referring to close-set bands of long and thin (filiform) or brush-like teeth on both jaws of T. australis (=sexfasciatus)

Tilodon sexfasciatus (Richardson 1842)    sex, six; fasciatus, banded, referring to four dark bands on body, a fifth on head encompassing the eye, and a sixth on caudal peduncle                                                                  


Family SCORPIDIDAE Halfmoons
4 genera · 11 species

Bathystethus Gill 1893    bathy, deep; stethus, breast or chest, referring to deep, rounded ventral profile of B. cultratus

Bathystethus cultratus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)    knife-shaped, referring to knife- or razor-like shape

Bathystethus orientalis Regan 1913    eastern, referring to Easter Island, type locality (“eastern” and Easter Sunday, for which island is named, are both derived from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning “dawn”) [originally misspelled as orientale]

Labracoglossa Peters 1866    labraco-, Labrax (=Dicentrarchus, Eupercaria: Moronidae), presumed to be related to that genus but distinguished by its glossa, tongue, which is covered by a large-oval tooth plate, leaving only the front part of the tongue free

Labracoglossa argenteiventris Peters 1866    argenteus, silvery; ventris, belly, referring to its shiny silver belly

Labracoglossa nitida McCulloch & Waite 1916    bright or shining, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its colors in life, with a bright-blue body and a broad yellow stripe along back (described as brown after “long preservation in formaline”)

Medialuna Jordan & Fesler 1893    Spanish for “half moon,” vernacular name of M. californiensis in California, USA

Medialuna ancietae Chirichigno F. 1987    in honor of Felipe Ancieta Calderón, former Scientific Director of Instituto del Mar del Peru, “one of the pioneers of the hydrobiological research in Peru” (translation) [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]

Medialuna californiensis (Steindachner 1875)    ensis, suffix denoting place: San Diego, California (USA), type locality

Scorpis Valenciennes 1832    etymology not explained, perhaps from scorpis, an ancient Greek name for a kind of sea fish, which Valenciennes applied to this genus (continuing the habit of his predecessor, Georges Cuvier)

Scorpis aequipinnis Richardson 1848    aequalis, uniform or equal; pinnis, fin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to opposed dorsal and anal fins and/or to prominent raised lobes on both of them

Scorpis chilensis Guichenot 1848    ensis, suffix denoting place: Juan Fernández Islands, Chile, where it is endemic

Scorpis georgiana Valenciennes 1832    ianus, belonging to: Port King George (now called Albany Port), King Georges Sound, Western Australia, type locality

Scorpis lineolata Kner 1865    lined, referring to how scales, all dark-colored in the middle, form numerous dark longitudinal lines in direction of scale rows

Scorpis violacea (Hutton 1873)    violet-colored, described as violet above, passing into white below, with vertical fins violet at base and a spot of dark violet in axil of pectoral fin (life color of adults varies from deep blue to a mottled dark green)


Family PARASCORPIDIDAE Jutjaw

Parascorpis Bleeker 1875    para-, near, similar to Scorpis (Scorpididae) but easily distinguished by its larger mouth and protruding lower jaw

Parascorpis typus Bleeker 1875    serving as type of genus


Family CAESIOSCORPIDIDAE Blowhole Perch

Caesioscorpis Whitley 1945    Caesio, proposed in the snapper or fusilier family Lutjanidae (Lutjaniformes), presumed to be “nearest” to Caesio; scorpis, ancient Greek name for a kind of sea fish that Valenciennes applied to the halfmoon genus Scorpis (Scorpididae), allusion not explained, perhaps referring its general body form as a combination of Caesio and Scorpis (D. Hoese, pers. comm.)

Caesioscorpis theagenes Whitley 1945    etymology not explained, perhaps theáō, to gaze at or behold, and genes, birth (i.e., born looker), referring to its “large, lateral” eyes (Holger Funk, pers. comm.)