Revised 18 Sept. 2024
PDF version (with illustrations and additional information)

Bathyclarias Jackson 1959 bathýs (Gr. βαθύς), deep, referring to species flock endemic to Lake Malawi (or Nyasa), “where they occupy a variety of habitats down to the limits of dissolved oxygen”; Clarias, type genus of family

Bathyclarias atribranchus (Greenwood 1961) atri-, from ater (L.), black; branchus, from bránchia (Gr. βράγχια), gills, referring to dark grayish-black gill filaments

Bathyclarias euryodon Jackson 1959 eurýs (Gr. εὐρύς), wide or broad; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to very wide vomerine tooth-band, more than twice relative width of endemic congeners

Bathyclarias filicibarbis Jackson 1959 filicis (L.), fern; barbis (scientific Neo-Latin), barbel, referring to cone-shaped nasal barbels, with frilled bifid top (somewhat resembling the leaves of a fern)

Bathyclarias foveolatus (Jackson 1955) Latin for full of pits, referring to numerous flat-bottomed, circular pits or depressions on skin

Bathyclarias longibarbis (Worthington 1933) longus (L.), long; barbis (scientific Neo-Latin), barbel, referring to its “extremely long barbels”

Bathyclarias nyasensis (Worthington 1933) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Nyasa (also known as Lake Malawi), southeastern Africa, where it is endemic

Bathyclarias rotundifrons Jackson 1959 rotundus (L.), round or circular; frons (L.), face or forehead, referring to “round and chubby” head with “smooth curving contours”

Bathyclarias worthingtoni Jackson 1959 in honor of British zoologist Edward Barton Worthington (1905–2001), pioneer explorer of African lakes and their fisheries, “whose taxonomic studies on the non-cichlid fishes of the Central African region have proved to be such a valuable foundation on which to base future work”

Channallabes Günther 1873 Channa, genus of Asian snakeheads (Channidae), many of which, like species of this genus, lack pelvic fins (Günther also named the galaxiid genus Neochanna, which also lacks pelvic fins); allábēs (Gr. ἀλλάβης), ancient name for a fish from the Nile, believed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire (1809) and other 19th-century naturalists to refer to eel-shaped clariids based on the incorrect assumption that ἀλλάβης means “difficult to catch” (i.e., elusive or slippery), referring to elongated and almost cylindrical shape, and abundant mucus coating, of Heterobranchus (now Clarias) anguillaris

Channallabes alvarezi (Roman 1971) in honor of Mario Álvarez (relationship to author not specified), in “gratitude and friendship” (translation)

Channallabes apus (Günther 1873) ἄ- (Gr. privative), without; pus, from poús (Gr. πούς), foot, referring to “useless” paired fins: pectoral fins “reduced to a minute rudiment” and ventral fins absent

Channallabes longicaudatus (Pappenheim 1911) longus (L.), long; caudatus (L.), tailed, referring to longer tail compared with Clariallabes melas, its presumed congener at the time

Channallabes ogooensis Devaere, Adriaens & Verraes 2007 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ogowe River system, Gabon, where it is endemic

Channallabes sanghaensis Devaere, Adriaens & Verraes 2007 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sangha freshwater region of Africa, where it occurs

Channallabes teugelsi Devaere, Adriaens & Verraes 2007 in honor of the late Guy Teugels (1954–2003), Belgian ichthyologist and curator of fishes at the Musée Royale de l’Afrique Centrale, “as a tribute to his career and his efforts on African catfish taxonomy, especially Clariidae”

Clariallabes Boulenger 1900 combination of Clarias and Gymnallabes, described as intermediate in form between these two genera

Clariallabes attemsi (Holly 1927) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Carl August Graf Attems-Petzenstein (1868–1952), Austrian invertebrate zoologist and Holly’s colleague at the Natural History Museum in Vienna

Clariallabes brevibarbis Pellegrin 1913 brevis (L.), short; barbis (scientific Neo-Latin), barbel, referring to “generally shorter” barbels (translation) compared with C. melas

Clariallabes centralis (Poll & Lambert 1958) Latin for central, probably referring to its occurrence in the Central Congo River system

Clariallabes heterocephalus Poll 1967 héteros (Gr. ἕτερος), different; cephalus, from kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its more elongated head compared with C. variabilis, its presumed closest congener

Clariallabes laticeps (Steindachner 1911) latus (L.), broad or wide; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to wider head compared with C. longicauda

Clariallabes longicauda (Boulenger 1902) longus (L.), long; cauda (L.), tail, presumably referring to length of tail, described as ⅔ length of head

Clariallabes manyangae (Boulenger 1919) of Manyanga, Lower Congo River, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it is endemic

Clariallabes melas (Boulenger 1887) mélas (Gr. μέλας), black, referring to its uniform black-brown coloration (dorsally)

Clariallabes mutsindoziensis Taverne & De Vos 1998 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mutsindozi River, Lake Tanganyika basin, Burundi, type locality

Clariallabes petricola Greenwood 1956 pétra (Gr. πέτρα), rock or stone; –cola (L.), dweller or inhabitant, referring to its presumed habitat consisting of large stones and coarse pebbles, and coarse shingles overlying sandy clay

Clariallabes pietschmanni (Güntert 1938) in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Viktor Pietschmann (1881–1956), for his interest in Güntert’s work and his services to the fish collection of the Natural History Museum in Vienna

Clariallabes platyprosopos Jubb 1965 platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat or broad; prosopos, adjectival form of prósopon (Gr. πρόσωπον), face visage or countenance, referring to its distinctive “broad flat head”

Clariallabes simeonsi Poll 1941 in honor of H. M. Simeons (no other information available), who collected holotype and/or provided the collection of fishes that contained type to the Musée royal d’Histoire naturelle de Bruxelles

Clariallabes teugelsi Ferraris 2007 in honor of Guy Teugels (1954–2003), Belgian ichthyologist and late curator of fishes at the Musée Royale de l’Afrique Centrale and authority on Clarias taxonomy; replacement name for Clarias (Allabenchelys) dumerili longibarbis David & Poll 1937, preoccupied by C. longibarbis Worthington 1933

Clariallabes uelensis (Poll 1941) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Uélé River, Congo River basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, type locality

Clariallabes variabilis Pellegrin 1926 Latin for variable, allusion not explained, possibly referring to variable number (0, 1 or 2) of ventral fins (not fin rays) on specimens Pellegrin examined

Clarias Scopoli 1777 latinization of callarías (Gr. kαλλαρίας), a word of unknown origin and meaning but historically used in reference to cods and the superficially cod-like C. anguillaris; oft-repeated claims that Clarias is derived from chlarós (Gr. χλαρός), said to mean “lively” and referring to the extreme hardiness of clariids and/or their ability to live for a long time out of water (and, in some cases, actually move across land), do not hold up under scrutiny

Subgenus Clarias

Clarias anfractus Ng 1999 Latin for twisted or crooked, referring to irregular outline of pectoral spine

Clarias anguillaris (Linnaeus 1758) Latin for eel-like, referring to its elongate body

Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus 1758) from bátrachos (Gr. βάτραχος), frog, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its frog-like ability to leave the water and move across land

Clarias batu Lim & Ng 1999 Malay word for rock, referring to the rock- and boulder-strewn torrent streams in which it inhabits

Clarias brachysoma Günther 1864 brachýs (Gr. βραχύς),short; sṓma (Gr. σῶμα), body, perhaps referring to length (12.7–15.2 cm), somewhat small for a Clarias

Clarias cataractus (Fowler 1939) from kataráktēs (Gr. καταράκτης), waterfall, where type was collected in Trang, Thailand

Clarias dayi Hora 1936 in honor of Francis Day (1829–1889), Inspector-General of Fisheries in India, who provisionally identified type specimen as C. dussumieri or C. melanoderma (=meladerma) in 1877

Clarias dussumieri Valenciennes 1840 in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792–1883), French voyager and merchant, who observed this catfish in India, noting how it can “live long out of water, and crawl great distances” (translation)

Clarias fuscus (Lacepède 1803) Latin or dark or dusky, referring to its brown, unspotted color

Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) –inus (L.), belonging to: Gariep (meaning “Great Water”) River (now known as Orange River), the longest river in South Africa, type locality

Clarias gracilentus Ng, Hong & Tu 2011 gracilis (L.), thin or slender; –lentus (L.), full of or abounding in, referring to its slender body compared with C. nieuhofii

Clarias insolitus Ng 2003 Latin for unusual or strange, referring to combination of hypertrophied sensory canal pores and a knife-shaped anterior fontanel, not seen in other Southeast Asian Clarias

Clarias intermedius Teugels, Sudarto & Pouyaud 2001 Latin or intermediate, referring to its external morphology, intermediate between C. macrocephalus and C. meladerma

Clarias kapuasensis Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud 2003 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Kapuas River basin, Borneo, Indonesia, where it is endemic

Clarias leiacanthus Bleeker 1851 leī́os (Gr. λεῖος) smooth; acanthus (L.), from ákantha (Gr. ἄκανθα), thorn, referring to smooth pectoral spine

Clarias macrocephalus Günther 1864 big-headed, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to long head, ¼ of TL

Clarias magur (Hamilton 1822) magur and maghur, Assamese and Bengali names, respectively, for this catfish (and for C. batrachus) along the Ganges River in India

Clarias meladerma Bleeker 1846 mélas (Gr. μέλας), black; dérma (Gr. δέρμα), skin, referring to its blackish or dark body coloration, sometimes variegated with irregular, deeply black spots

Clarias microspilus Ng & Hadiaty 2011 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; spilus, from spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to very small white spots arranged in a longitudinal and several transverse series on body

Clarias microstomus Ng 2001 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; stomus, from stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its narrow snout (presumably a noun, not an adjective)

Clarias nebulosus Deraniyagala 1958 Latin for cloudy, described as “blotched or clouded with dark olive brown upon a greenish yellow background” [species inquirenda, provisionally included here]

Clarias nieuhofii Valenciennes 1840 in honor of Johan Nieuhof (1618–1672), Dutch East India Company, who described and illustrated this species in 1682 (but later examination of Nieuhof’s illustration reveals it is a different species)

Clarias nigricans Ng 2003 Latin for blackish, referring to its relatively dark color

Clarias olivaceus Fowler 1904 Latin for olive-colored, referring to its “blackish-olive” vertical fins and upper body

Clarias planiceps Ng 1999 planus (L.) flat or level; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to its flattened head

Clarias pseudoleiacanthus Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud 2003 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although morphologically similar to C. leiacanthus, such an appearance is false

Clarias pseudonieuhofii Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud 2004 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although similar to, and previously reported as, C. nieuhofii, such an appearance is false

Clarias rennyae Low, Ng & Tan 2022 in honor of the late Renny Kurnia Hadiaty (1960–2019), Indonesian Institute of Sciences, a “dear friend and colleague who passed away too soon, and a “leading expert” on the taxonomy of Indonesian freshwater fishes

Clarias serniosus Ng & Kottelat 2014 Latin for scabby, referring to color pattern of small, irregular dark patches

Clarias sulcatus Ng 2004 Latin for grooved or furrowed, referring to its narrow frontal fontanel

Clarias (subgenus Anguilloclarias) Teugels 1982 anguilla (L.), eel, referring to anguilliform body typical of the subgenus, i.e., an anguilliform Clarias

Clarias alluaudi Boulenger 1906 in honor of entomologist and explorer Charles A. Alluaud (1861–1949), who collected some of the type series

Clarias cavernicola Trewavas 1936 caverna (L.), cave; –cola (L.), dweller or inhabitant, referring to Aigamas Cave, Namibia, type locality

Clarias ebriensis Pellegrin 1920 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ebri lagoon, Ivory Coast, type locality

Clarias nigromarmoratus Poll 1967 nigro-, from niger (L.), dark or black; marmoratus (L.), marbled, referring to dense and black marbled color pattern on entire body except belly

Clarias pachynema Boulenger 1903 pachýs (Gr. παχύς), thick or stout; nḗma (Gr. νῆμα), thread or yarn, presumably referring to longer barbels compared with C. laeviceps

Clarias salae Hubrecht 1881 in honor of Dutch sportsman and collector Carolus Franciscus Sala (1839–1881), who helped Swiss zoologist Johann Büttikofer (1850–1927) collect holotype

Clarias submarginatus Peters 1882 sub (L.), under; marginatus (L.), edged or bordered, referring to dark band under light outer band on unpaired fins

Clarias theodorae Weber 1897 matronym not explained and remained unknown until 1979, when Peter B. N. Jackson uncovered that the name honors Theodora Jacoba Sleeswijk (née van Bosse, 1874–1953), a Dutch artist and the niece of Weber’s wife, who accompanied him on his visit to South Africa

Clarias werneri Boulenger 1906 in honor of Dr. F. Werner, probably Austrian herpetologist Franz Werner (1867–1939), who collected holotype

Clarias (subgenus Brevicephaloides) Teugels 1982 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: brevis (L.), short, cephalus, from kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to relatively short head (20–25% of SL) of all species

Clarias camerunensis Lönnberg 1895 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Cameroon, type locality

Clarias dhonti (Boulenger 1920) in honor of G. Dhont-De Bie, Belgian East African Expeditionary Force, who collected holotype

Clarias dialonensis Daget 1962 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Fouta Dialon (also spelled Djallon), highland region in Lower Guinea, type locality

Clarias dumerilii Steindachner 1866 patronym not identified but probably in honor of August Duméril (1812–1870), herpetologist and ichthyologist, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris)

Clarias engelseni (Johnsen 1926) in honor of Norwegian tropical-disease researcher Harald Engelsen (1883–1954), Merchant Services Division of the Norwegian Red Cross, who collected holotype

Clarias hilli Fowler 1936 in honor of Gordon Hill, volunteer assistant in the Department of Fishes and Reptiles, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

Clarias laeviceps Gill 1862 laevis (L.), smooth; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to its smooth surface

Clarias liocephalus Boulenger 1898 smooth-headed, from leī́os (Gr. λεῖος), smooth, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to smooth head, covered with soft skin

Clarias longior Boulenger 1907 Latin for longer, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its relatively long, anguilliform body

Clarias (subgenus Clarioides) Teugels 1982 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: Clarias, i.e., a second subgenus of Clarias; name proposed by David (1937), but since he did not designate a type species, name dates to Teugels, who designated a type species in 1982

Clarias agboyiensis Sydenham 1980 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Agboyi Creek, tributary of Ogun River, Lagos State, Nigeria, type locality

Clarias albopunctatus Nichols & La Monte 1953 albus (L.), white; punctatus (L.), spotted, referring to “numerous scattered, rounded, pale specks”

Clarias angolensis Steindachner 1866 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Angola, where Steindachner bought holotype from a Portuguese merchant for “a not inconsiderable sum of money” (translation)

Clarias angolensis macronema Fowler 1949 macro-, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large; nḗma (Gr. νῆμα), thread or yarn, referring to its longer barbels compared with Congo specimens of the nominate subspecies

Clarias buettikoferi Steindachner 1894 in honor of Swiss zoologist Johann Büttikofer (1850–1927), who collected holotype

Clarias buthupogon Sauvage 1879 buthu, presumably from buthós (Gr. βυθός), depth; pṓgōn (Gr. πώγων), beard, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its long (deep?) barbels (maxillary barbel reaching beyond anal-fin origin) [in 1901, Boulenger changed spelling to bythipogon without explanation but original spelling stands]

Clarias gabonensis Günther 1867 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Gabon, where type locality (Ogowe River) is situated

Clarias macromystax Günther 1864 macro-, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large; mýstax (Gr. μύσταξ), moustache, referring to its long barbels, “those of the nostrils are as long as the head, and those of the maxillaries extend to the twelfth dorsal ray”

Clarias monsembulai Bernt & Stiassny 2022 in honor of Raoul Monsembula Iyaba (University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo), for collecting the type series, and for his “substantial” contributions to central African ichthyology

Clarias (subgenus Dinotopteroides) Fowler 1930 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: Dinotopterus, from which it differs in having fewer gill rakers

Clarias lamottei Daget & Planquette 1967 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of French biologist Maxime Lamotte (1920–2007), who co-founded the biological research station in the Ivory Coast, where this taxon (probably a natural hybrid between C. gariepinus and Heterobranchus isopterus) appears to be endemic

Clarias ngamensis Castelnau 1861 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Ngami, Botswana, type locality

Clarias (subgenus Platycephaloides) Teugels 1982 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat or broad; cephalus, from kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to broad and flat head

Clarias jaensis Boulenger 1909 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ja River at Bitye, Congo system, southern Cameroon, type locality

Clarias maclareni Trewavas 1962 in memory Peter Ian Rupert MacLaren (ca. 1919–1956), who used his position as Fisheries Development Officer of Nigeria to collect fishes for the British Museum, including holotype of this catfish (from Cameroon) in 1948 (he died from wounds inflicted by a crocodile in what is now Zambia)

Clarias platycephalus Boulenger 1902 broad-headed, from platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat or broad, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to long and broad head with a wide interorbital space

Clarias stappersii Boulenger 1915 in honor of Belgian physician-biologist Louis Stappers (1883–1916), head of the Belgian colony in the Congo, who led an expedition to central Africa in 1911–1913 and collected holotype

Dinotopterus Boulenger 1906 di– (Gr. prefix), from dýo (δύο), two; notos, back; pterus, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), wing or fin, referring to dorsal fin divided into rayed and adipose portions

Dinotopterus cunningtoni Boulenger 1906 in honor of William Alfred Cunnington (1877–1958), British zoologist and anthropologist, who led Tanganyika expedition during which holotype

Dolichallabes Poll 1942 dolichós (Gr. δολιχός), long, referring to extreme anguilliform body, the most eel-like clariid catfish; allábēs (Gr. ἀλλάβης), ancient name for a fish from the Nile, believed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire (1809) and other 19th-century naturalists to refer to eel-shaped clariids based on the incorrect assumption that ἀλλάβης means “difficult to catch” (i.e., elusive or slippery)

Dolichallabes microphthalmus Poll 1942 small-eyed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and ophthalmós (Gr. ὀφθαλμός), eye, referring to its small eyes

Encheloclarias Myers 1937 énchelys (Gr. ἔγχελυς), eel, i.e., an eel-like Clarias, referring to shape of E. tapeinopterus

Encheloclarias baculum Ng & Lim 1993 Latin for rod, stick or staff, referring to its shape

Encheloclarias curtisoma Ng & Lim 1993 curtus (L.), short; sṓma (Gr. σῶμα), body, referring to relatively short appearance compared with the more elongate E. tapeinopterus

Encheloclarias kelioides Ng & Lim 1993 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: Ikan Keli (Ikan = fish), Malay name for species in the genus Clarias, which it superficially resembles

Encheloclarias medialis Ng 2012 Latin for middle, referring to possession of characters intermediate between those of E. curtisoma and E. kelioides

Encheloclarias tapeinopterus (Bleeker 1853) low-finned, from tapeinós (Gr. ταπεινός), low, and pterus, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), wing or fin, referring to its adipose fin, lower (but longer) than dorsal fin

Encheloclarias velatus Ng & Tan 2000 Latin for concealed, referring to its being the first species of Encheloclarias found on Sumatra after 150 years of ichthyological exploration, and to its secretive nature

Gymnallabes Günther 1867 gymnós (Gr. γυμνός), bare or naked, allusion not explained (some online references incorrectly state that gymnos means hidden and refers to its secretive habits, a behavior that may not have been known to Günther when he examined his preserved specimen); allábēs (Gr. ἀλλάβης), ancient name for a fish from the Nile, believed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire (1809) and other 19th-century naturalists to refer to eel-shaped clariids based on the incorrect assumption that ἀλλάβης means “difficult to catch” (i.e., elusive or slippery)

Gymnallabes nops Roberts & Stewart 1976 etymology not explained; per Jaeger (1959), nōps (Gr. νωψ), is the genitive of nōpós (νωπός), meaning “wholly blind,” which would refer to this fish’s eyelessness, but neither νωψ nor νωπός are actual Greek words; it’s possible that nops, which appears to have originated with Nops Macleay 1838, a genus of spiders with two instead of eight eyes, is a neologism derived from amblyōpós (ἀμβλυωπός), meaning “dim-sighted”

Gymnallabes typus Günther 1867 serving as type of the genus

Heterobranchus Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1809 héteros (Gr. ἕτερος), different; branchus, from bránchia (Gr. βράγχια), gills, referring to its dendritic gill apparatus, which was quite distinctive among fishes known at the time

Heterobranchus bidorsalis Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1809 bi-, from bis (L.), twice; dorsalis (L.), of the back, referring long dorsal fin divided into rayed and adipose portions

Heterobranchus boulengeri Pellegrin 1922 in honor of Belgian-born British ichthyologist-herpetologist George A. Boulenger (1858–1937), British Museum (Natural History), who described many fishes from Central Africa and the Congo River system

Heterobranchus isopterus Bleeker 1863 equal-finned, from ísos (Gr. ἴσος ), equal, and pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), wing or fin, referring to approximate equal length of dorsal and adipose fins (compared with different lengths among congeners)

Heterobranchus longifilis Valenciennes 1840 longus (L.), long; filis (scientific Neo-Latin), thread-like or filiform thread, referring to its long barbels, longer than the similar Clarias hasselquistii (=C. anguillaris)

Horaglanis Menon 1950 in honor of Indian ichthyologist Sunder Lal Hora (1896–1955), Director, Zoological Survey of India, “under whose inspiring guidance and kind help” Menon’s study was completed; glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish

Horaglanis abdulkalami Subhash Babu 2012 in honor of Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931–2015), physicist, areospance engineer, and 11th president of India (2002–2007), “who ignited young minds towards the real world of Science and Technology”

Horaglanis alikunhii Subhash Babu & Nayar 2004 in honor of “distinguished” Indian aquaculturist Kolliyil Hameed Alikunhi (1918–2010), for his contributions to fishery science in general and Indian fisheries in particular

Horaglanis krishnai Menon 1950 in honor of Mr. N. Krishna Pillay, who collected holotype after draining a well in 1948

Horaglanis populi Raghavan, Sundar, Arjun, Ralf Britz & Dahanukar 2023 of populus (L.), people, honoring the “invaluable contributions made by interested members of the public in the southern Indian state of Kerala, helping to document the biodiversity of subterranean and groundwater systems, including the discovery” of this catfish

Platyallabes Poll 1977 platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat, referring to dorsoventrally flattened head and body; allábēs (Gr. ἀλλάβης), ancient name for a fish from the Nile, believed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire (1809) and other 19th-century naturalists to refer to eel-shaped clariids based on the incorrect assumption that ἀλλάβης means “difficult to catch” (i.e., elusive or slippery)

Platyallabes tihoni (Poll 1944) in honor of Mr. L. Tihon, director, Laboratory of Industry and Commerce (Leopoldville, Belgian Congo), who supplied a photograph of a specimen (discovered at a fish market) from which it was described

Platyclarias Poll 1977 platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat or broad, referring to very flat head and anterior part of body, i.e., a flat Clarias

Platyclarias machadoi Poll 1977 in honor of António de Barros Machado (1912–2002), Portuguese-born zoologist of the Musée de Dundo (Angola), who collected holotype (he relocated from Portugal to Angola because he was unable to find work on account of his anti-Salazar politics)

Pseudotanganikallabes Wright 2017 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this genus superficially resembles Tanganikallabes, such an appearance is false

Pseudotanganikallabes prognatha Wright 2017 pro– (L.), anterior or before; gnatha, from gnáthos (Gr. γνάθος), jawed, referring to distinctive protrusion of lower jaw

Tanganikallabes Poll 1943 Tanganika, referring to Lake Tanganyika, where T. mortiauxi (and all subsequently described congeners) are endemic; allábēs (Gr. ἀλλάβης), ancient name for a fish from the Nile, believed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire (1809) and other 19th-century naturalists to refer to eel-shaped clariids based on the incorrect assumption that ἀλλάβης means “difficult to catch” (i.e., elusive or slippery)

Tanganikallabes alboperca Wright & Bailey 2012 alba, from albus (L.), white; operca, adjective derived from operculum (L.), lid or cover, referring to distinctive depigmented posterior margin of operculum

Tanganikallabes mortiauxi Poll 1943 in honor of T. Mortiaux, a health worker in Albertville (now Kalemie), western shore of Lake Tanganyika, who collected holotype

Tanganikallabes stewarti Wright & Bailey 2012 in honor of American ichthyologist Donald J. Stewart (b. 1946), who collected much of the type series of T. alboperca

Uegitglanis Gianferrari 1923 Uegit, named for Uegit, El Uegit, Somalia, where type locality (an underground pool) is situated; glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish

Uegitglanis zammaranoi Gianferrari 1923 in honor of Vittorio Tedesco Zammarano (1890–1959), Italian Army officer, zoologist, cartographer, geographer and hunter, who collected holotype

Xenoclarias Greenwood 1958 xeno-, from xenikós (Gr. ξενικός), strange or foreign (i.e., different), referring to how it differs from Clarias “in only one major anatomical character” (greatly reduced suprabranchial organs and cavity)

Xenoclarias eupogon (Norman 1928) eū́– (Gr. εὖ), well or very; pṓgōn (Gr. πώγων), beard, referring to much longer nasal and maxillary barbels compared with the similar Clarias alluaudi, its presumed congener at the time

Xenoclarias holobranchus Greenwood 1958 hólos (Gr. ὅλος), whole or entire; branchus, from bránchia (Gr. βράγχια), gills, referring to how entire adult branchial region is dedicated to aquatic respiration, unlike those in Clarias, which contain both aquatic and aerial respiratory areas