Updated 4 Oct. 2023
PDF version (with illustrations)

Curimata Bosc 1817 Portuguese or local Brazilian name for curimatid-like fishes, apparently introduced in scientific literature by Markgraf von Liebstadt (Historiæ rerum naturalium brasiliæ libri octo, 1648) for Prochilodus argenteus (Prochilodontidae)

Curimata acutirostris Vari & Reis 1995 acutus (L.), sharp or pointed; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, referring to its distinctly pointed snout

Curimata aspera Günther 1868 Latin for rough, referring to its “conspicuously serrated” scales

Curimata cerasina Vari 1984 Latin for cherry-colored, referring to red color of ventral surface in life

Curimata cisandina (Allen 1942) cis (L.), on the same side as; andinus (L.), belonging to the Andes, i.e., Cisandean, referring to its distribution in western South America

Curimata cyprinoides (Linnaeus 1766) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), having the form of: presumably referring to its cyprinoid-like appearance (“facie Cyprini Rutili”), specifically the Roach Rutilus rutilus

Curimata incompta Vari 1984 Latin for unadorned, referring to absence of any marked pigmentation pattern

Curimata inornata Vari 1989 Latin for unadorned, referring to plain body, head and fin pigmentation

Curimata knerii Steindachner 1876 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Rudolf Kner (1810–1869), who was Steindachner’s teacher and friend (and who studied curimatid fishes)

Curimata macrops Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889 macro-, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large; ṓps (Gr. ὦψ), eye, referring to its large eye, longer than snout

Curimata mivartii Steindachner 1878 patronym not identified but probably in honor of English zoologist St. George Jackson Mivart (1827–1900)

Curimata ocellata Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889 Latin for having little eyes (ocelli), presumably referring to “oval blackish spot near the fortieth scale of the lateral line”

Curimata roseni Vari 1989 in honor of American ichthyologist Donn E. Rosen (1929–1986), American Museum of Natural History, “teacher, friend, colleague,” who introduced Vari to systematic research and the study of characiform fishes

Curimata vittata (Kner 1858) Latin for banded, referring to 8–10 vertical or nearly vertical dark bars on dorsal portion of body

Curimatella Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889 –ella (L.), a diminutive suffix, proposed as a subgenus of Curimatus with scaled caudal-fin lobes

Curimatella alburnus (Müller & Troschel 1844) Latin for whitefish (e.g., Common Bleak Alburnus alburnus), presumably referring to its silvery coloration [often misspelled alburna]

Curimatella dorsalis (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) Latin for of the back, presumably referring to indistinct median keel anterior to dorsal fin

Curimatella immaculata (Fernández-Yépez 1948) im-, from in (L.), not; maculatus (L.), spotted, presumably referring to lack of dark or black pigmentation

Curimatella lepidura (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) scaly-tailed, from lepídos (Gr. λεπίδος), genitive of lepίs (λεπίς), scale, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to its thickly scaled caudal-fin lobes

Curimatella meyeri (Steindachner 1882) in honor of German zoologist-anthropologist Adolf Bernhard Meyer (1840–1911), for the transfer of specimens from the Vienna Museum

Curimatopsis Steindachner 1876 ópsis (Gr. ὄψις), appearance, proposed as a subgenus of Curimatus, i.e., Curimatus-like

Curimatopsis crypticus Vari 1982 Latin for hidden or secret, i.e., “hidden from science” as a result of its long-term misidentification as C. microlepis

Curimatopsis evelynae Géry 1964 in honor of Evelyn Axelrod (1928–2020), wife of pet-book publisher Herbert R. Axelrod (1927–2017), whose Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine published this description and several others by Géry

Curimatopsis guaporensis Melo & Oliveira 2017 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Rio Guaporé, a tributary of the Rio Madeira, Mato Grosso, Brazil, type locality

Curimatopsis jaci Melo & Oliveira 2017 from the Tupí Yacy, referring to the lunar goddess Jaci, “one of the most adored divinities of nature for indigenous people” in Amazonia, honoring Melo’s mother, Maria Jaci Petrini de Melo, who always encouraged him to study fishes

Curimatopsis macrolepis (Steindachner 1876) macro-, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to its large scales, ~31 in a longitudinal series between head and tail

Curimatopsis maculosa Melo, Vari & Oliveira 2016 Latin for dappled or spotted, referring to prominent small posteriorly placed dark spot on middle of caudal peduncle, a unique pigmentation pattern in the genus

Curimatopsis melanura Dutra, Melo & Netto-Ferreira 2018 black-tailed, from mélanos (Gr. μέλανος), genitive of mélas (μέλας), black, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to distinct concentration of dark pigmentation on entire lower lobe of caudal fin

Curimatopsis microlepis Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to its scales “all small, entire”

Curimatopsis myersi Vari 1982 in honor of American ichthyologist George S. Myers (1905–1985), Stanford University, for his contributions to the knowledge of Neotropical characiforms

Curimatopsis pallida Melo & Oliveira 2017 Latin for pale or pallid, referring to complete absence of a dark blotch of pigmentation over caudal peduncle (all congeners possess a variably conspicuous dark blotch on caudal peduncle or, at least, a faint dark blotch below its midline)

Curimatopsis sabana Melo 2020 named for the Gran Sabana, a major ecoregion in the western Guiana Shield of southeastern Venezuela, which encompasses the Río Caroni basin, where this species occurs

Cyphocharax Fowler 1906 cypho-, from kyphós (Gr. κυφός), bent forwards or hunchbacked, referring to “well elevated” back of C. spilurus, “hunched, anteriorly”; Charax, typical genus of the Characiformes, from chárax (Gr. χάραξ), a pointed stake of a palisade, referring to densely packed sharp teeth, now a common root-name formation in the order

Cyphocharax abramoides (Kner 1858) –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), having the form of: the leuciscid Abramis brama, referring to its very deep, laterally flattened body

Cyphocharax albula (Lütken 1874) Latin for whitish, allusion not explained, possibly referring to bright silver sides of belly (“laterum ventrisque argyreo-splendens”)

Cyphocharax aninha Wosiacki & da Silva Miranda 2014 nickname of Ana Prudente, wife of senior author, for her contributions toward the understanding of the Neotropical fauna, specifically the systematics of snakes

Cyphocharax aspilos Vari 1992 aspilos (Gr. ἄσπιλος), unspotted or spotless, referring to absence of any pronounced pigmentation on head and body

Cyphocharax biocellatus Vari, Sidlauskas & Le Bail 2012 bi-, from bis (L.), twice; ocellatus (L.), having little eyes (ocelli), referring to two small dark spots, one under dorsal fin and one on middle of caudal peduncle

Cyphocharax boiadeiro Melo 2017 named for the Rio Boiadeiro, one of the paratype localities near Alto Araguaia, Mato Grosso, Brazil; name also honors the boiadeiros (cowboys) of central Brazil, who preserve their classic traditions and influenced regional lifestyles, food and music

Cyphocharax caboclo Melo, Tencatt & Oliveira 2022 presumably a Tupí word meaning “the one removed from the woods,” a term widely used in Brazil to designate a person born and raised in rural areas, generally connoting simplicity and kindness; its use here honors the caboclos from all over Brazil

Cyphocharax cramptoni Bortolo & Lima 2020 in honor of British ichthyologist William Crampton (b. 1969), University of Central Florida, for his “important” contributions to the knowledge of fishes from the Amazon basin

Cyphocharax derhami Vari & Chang 2006 in honor of Swiss ichthyologist and aquarist Patrick de Rham (1936–2022), who helped junior author collect paratype series and other fishes in Peru

Cyphocharax festivus Vari 1992 Latin for pleasing, referring to its “pleasing aspect” (which aspect Vari found pleasing is not indicated)

Cyphocharax gangamon Vari 1992 gángamon (Gr. γάγγαμον), a kind of fishing net, referring to reticulate pattern on dorsal and lateral surfaces of body

Cyphocharax gilbert (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) in memory of M. (Monsieur?) Gilbert, French naval surgeon who died of yellow fever in the Antilles [presumably a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]

Cyphocharax gillii (Eigenmann & Kennedy 1903) in honor of American zoologist Theodore Gill (1837–1914), Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), for his “valuable contributions” to the knowledge of characiform fishes

Cyphocharax gouldingi Vari 1992 in honor of conservation ecologist Michael Goulding (b. 1950), who collected holotype and large series of other valuable specimens, and who has “contributed greatly to our knowledge of the life history of many Amazonian species”

Cyphocharax helleri (Steindachner 1910) patronym not identified but probably in honor of Austrian botanist Karl Bartholomaeus Heller (1824–1880)

Cyphocharax jagunco Dutra, Penido, Mello & Pessali 2016 jagunço, Portuguese equivalent of “roughneck,” in honor of the 1956 modernist Brazilian novel Grande Sertão: Veredas by João Guimarães Rosa, which is narrated by a jagunço, and which takes place in the northern portion of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a region that includes type locality

Cyphocharax laticlavius Vari & Blackledge 1996 Latin for broad-striped, referring to dark midlateral stripe on body

Cyphocharax leucostictus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) leuco-, from leukós (Gr. λευκός) white; stictus, from stiktós (Gr. στικτός) spotted, referring to white spot at base of each caudal lobe

Cyphocharax magdalenae (Steindachner 1878) of the Río Magdalena, northwestern Colombia, type locality

Cyphocharax meniscaprorus Vari 1992 menískos (Gr. μηνίσκος), crescent; prorus, from próra (Gr. πρώρα), prow, referring to rounded anterior portion of head

Cyphocharax mestomyllon Vari 1992 mestós (Gr. μεστός), full; myllon (Gr.), lip, referring to fleshy upper lip

Cyphocharax microcephalus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) small-headed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, allusion not explained (head does not appear to be conspicuously smaller compared with congeners), perhaps referring to “slightly depressed [profile] at occiput”

Cyphocharax modestus (Fernández-Yépez 1948) Latin for modest or unassuming, perhaps referring to yellowish-brown color in alcohol

Cyphocharax multilineatus (Myers 1927) multi– (L.), many; lineatus (L.), lined, referring to narrow, longitudinal, wavy and dark stripes across dorsal and lateral surfaces

Cyphocharax muyrakytan Bortolo, Lima & Melo 2018 muyrakytã, Tupí word (muiraquitã in Portuguese) for an amulet worn by Indians of the Amazon valley, especially those belonging to the extinct Tapajó culture (who lived in the lower Rio Tapajós basin, Pará, Brazil, type locality), typically carved as a sitting frog from a green jade stone

Cyphocharax naegelii (Steindachner 1881) patronym not identified, possibly in honor of Swiss botanist Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli (1817–1891) [often but incorrectly spelled nagelii]

Cyphocharax nigripinnis Vari 1992 niger (L.), dark or black; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, i.e., finned, referring to black pigmentation on distal portion of adipose fin

Cyphocharax notatus (Steindachner 1908) Latin for marked, perhaps, per Steindachner’s description, referring to dense covering of dark dots on scales on upper half of body when viewed under microscope

Cyphocharax oenas Vari 1992 from oinás (Gr. οἰνάς), wild pigeon or dove, referring to name of type locality, Paloma (a caño in Venezuela), which is Castilian for pigeon or dove

Cyphocharax pantostictos Vari & Barriga S. 1990 pantós (Gr. παντός), genitive of pā́s (πᾶς), all; stiktós (Gr. στικτός), spotted, i.e., spotted all over, referring to prominent dark spots on lateral and dorsal surfaces

Cyphocharax pinnilepis Vari, Zanata & Camelier 2010 pinna (L.), fin; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to patch of scales over basal portions of caudal-fin lobes

Cyphocharax platanus (Günther 1880) –anus (L.), belonging to: Río de la Plata, Argentina, type locality (also occurs in Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay)

Cyphocharax plumbeus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) Latin for “of lead,” i.e., lead-colored, referring body coloration with silver and blue reflections

Cyphocharax punctatus (Vari & Nijssen 1986) Latin for spotted, referring to 3–6 spots on body

Cyphocharax saladensis (Meinken 1933) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Río Salado, Argentina, type locality

Cyphocharax sanctigabrielis Melo & Vari 2014 Latinization of São Gabriel, referring to São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas State, Brazil, near type locality

Cyphocharax santacatarinae (Fernández-Yépez 1948) of Santa Catarina, Brazil, type locality

Cyphocharax signatus Vari 1992 Latin for marked or stamped, referring to distinct spot on midlateral surface of caudal peduncle

Cyphocharax spilotus (Vari 1987) from spilōtós (Gr. σπιλωτός), marked or stained, referring to midlateral spot on caudal peduncle

Cyphocharax spiluropsis (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) ópsis (Gr. ὄψις), appearance, similar to C. spilurus

Cyphocharax spilurus (Günther 1864) spot-tailed, from spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to black spot at caudal peduncle

Cyphocharax stilbolepis Vari 1992 stílbō (Gr. στίλβω), glitter or shine; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to its bright silvery coloration

Cyphocharax tamuya Dutra, Vita, Gentile, Ochoa & Netto-Ferreira 2022 named for the indigenous Tamuya people, who lived in the area where this species occurs until they were driven extinct during the colonization of the Brazilian coast in the 1600s; the word, from the Tupinambá language, means “grandfather” or “the oldest”

Cyphocharax vanderi (Britski 1980) in honor of Vander M. Britski, the author’s brother, who helped collect holotype

Cyphocharax vexillapinnus Vari 1992 vexillum (L.), flag; pinnus (L.), fin, referring to prominent black spot on dorsal fin

Cyphocharax voga (Hensel 1870) local Brazilian name for this species

Potamorhina Cope 1878 etymology not explained, perhaps, potamós (Gr. ποταμός), river, referring to occurrence of P. altamazonica the Amazon River; rhina, from rhínē (Gr. ῥίνη), rasp, referring to “acute recurved spiniform scales” on keel of P. pristigaster

Potamorhina altamazonica (Cope 1878) –ica (L.), belonging to: alta-, from altus (L.), high or upper, referring to its occurrence in the upper Amazon River basin of Peru

Potamorhina laticeps (Valenciennes 1850) latus (L.), broad or wide; –ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to large, wide head compared with other curimatids known to Valenciennes

Potamorhina latior (Spix & Agassiz 1829) Latin for broader, referring to its thick, wide head

Potamorhina pristigaster (Steindachner 1876) pristis, from prístēs (Gr. πρίστης), sawyer; gastḗr (Gr. γαστήρ), belly or stomach, referring to highly serrate postpelvic median keel

Potamorhina squamoralevis (Braga & Azpelicueta 1983) squama (L.), scale; ora (L.), edge or margin; levis (L.), smooth, referring to smooth-edged postventral scales on keel

Psectrogaster Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889 psectro-, saw-like; gastḗr (Gr. γαστήρ), belly or stomach, referring to trenchant scales on ventral ridge

Psectrogaster amazonica Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889 –ica (L.), belonging to: Amazon River basin, where it is widely distributed [originally spelled amozonica, presumably a typographical error, one of many in the description]

Psectrogaster ciliata (Müller & Troschel 1844) Neo-Latin for fringed with hairlike appendages (ciliate), referring to comb-like ctenii on margin of ctenoid scales

Psectrogaster curviventris Eigenmann & Kennedy 1903 curvis, properly spelled curvus (L.), curved; ventris, genitive of venter (L.), belly, referring to “regularly arched” ventral outline

Psectrogaster essequibensis (Günther 1864) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Essequibo River, Guyana, type locality

Psectrogaster falcata (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) Latin for sickle-shaped, referring to long, falcate anal fin

Psectrogaster rhomboides Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), having the form of: a rhomboid, referring to its compressed, rhomboidal body shape

Psectrogaster rutiloides (Kner 1858) –oides, Neo-Latin from eí̄dos (Gr. εἶδος), having the form of: presumably referring to its superficial resemblance to the European leuciscid Rutilus rutilus

Psectrogaster saguiru (Fowler 1941) Saguirú, local name for this species in Brazil

Pseudocurimata Fernández-Yépez 1948 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this genus may superficially resemble Curimata, such an appearance is false

Pseudocurimata boehlkei Vari 1989 in honor of the late James E. Böhlke (1930–1982), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who first recognized this species as undescribed, and who made many contributions to the knowledge of South American freshwater fishes

Pseudocurimata boulengeri (Eigenmann 1907) in honor of Belgian-born British ichthyologist-herpetologist George A. Boulenger (1858–1937), British Museum (Natural History), who described this species in 1898 but used a preoccupied name

Pseudocurimata lineopunctata (Boulenger 1911) lineo– (L.), line; punctata (L.), spotted, referring to round black spots on lateral scales, which form a “regular longitudinal series”

Pseudocurimata patiae (Eigenmann 1914) of the Patia River basin, Colombia, where it is endemic

Pseudocurimata peruana (Eigenmann 1922) –ana (L.), belonging to: Peru, where type locality (Río Chira at Sullana) is situated

Pseudocurimata troschelii (Günther 1860) in honor of German zoologist Franz Hermann Troschel (1810–1882), who, with Johann Müller, published an important early study of characiform fishes in 1844

Steindachnerina Fowler 1906 –ina (L.), belonging to: Austrian ichthyologist-herpetologist Franz Steindachner (1834–1919), for his “thoroughly excellent” contributions to ichthyology

Steindachnerina amazonica (Steindachner 1911) –ica (L.), belonging to: Amazonas, Brazil, where type locality (Rio Tocantins) is situated

Steindachnerina argentea (Gill 1858) Latin for silvery, referring to its “uniform silvery” coloration

Steindachnerina atratoensis (Eigenmann 1912) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Atrato River basin, Colombia, where it is endemic

Steindachnerina bimaculata (Steindachner 1876) bi-, from bis (L.), twice; maculata (L.), spotted, referring to black spots at base of middle caudal- and dorsal-fin rays

Steindachnerina binotata (Pearson 1924) bi-, from bis (L.), twice; notata (L.), marked, referring to dark spot along dorsal midline immediately anterior of dorsal fin, and elongate spot along dorsal midline immediately posterior of tip of supraoccipital spine

Steindachnerina biornata (Braga & Azpelicueta 1987) bi-, from bis (L.), twice; ornata (L.), adorned or decorated, referring to double pigmentation pattern, i.e., spots on lateral-line scales and on back and sides

Steindachnerina brevipinna (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) brevis (L.), short; pinna (L.), fin, allusion not explained; proposed as a subspecies of Cyphocharax gilbert, so perhaps referring to its marginally smaller number of dorsal- and anal-fin rays

Steindachnerina conspersa (Holmberg 1891) Latin for spewn or besprinkled, referring to black dots scattered on body and fins, covering edges of each scale

Steindachnerina corumbae Pavanelli & Britski 1999 of Rio Corumbá, upper Rio Paraná basin, Goiás, Brazil, type locality

Steindachnerina dobula (Günther 1868) Latinization of Döbel, German name for Squalius cephalus (Leuciscidae), which this species apparently resembles

Steindachnerina elegans (Steindachner 1875) Latin for elegant, fine or select, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to coloration in life: bright silver head and body, yellowish fins, black spot at base of dorsal fin, and yellow band on sides

Steindachnerina fasciata (Vari & Géry 1985) Latin for banded, referring to longitudinal stripes on body

Steindachnerina gracilis Vari & Williams Vari 1989 Latin for thin or slender, referring to its relatively elongate body

Steindachnerina guentheri (Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1889) in honor of German-born British ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830–1914)

Steindachnerina hypostoma (Boulenger 1887) under-mouthed, from hypó (Gr. ὑπό), less than, under or beneath, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its inferior mouth

Steindachnerina insculpta (Fernández-Yépez 1948) Latin for carved or engraved, referring to sculptural (“escultórica”) or very corrugated (“muy corrugadas”) form (i.e., texture) of the scales

Steindachnerina leuciscus (Günther 1868) from leukískos (Gr. λευκίσκος), a “white mullet,” apparently referring to its resemblance to the European leuciscid Leuciscus leuciscus [often incorrectly spelled as if it were an adjective, leucisca]

Steindachnerina nigrotaenia (Boulenger 1902) nigro-, from niger (L.), dark or black; taenia, from tainía (Gr. ταινία), band or ribbon, referring to black band along lateral line, extending on to middle rays of caudal fin

Steindachnerina notograptos Lucinda & Vari 2009 nṓtos (Gr. νῶτος), back; graptós (Gr. γραπτός), marked (usually with letter), referring to dark brown spots on dorsolateral portion of body

Steindachnerina notonota (Miranda Ribeiro 1937) noto, from nota (L.), mark; nota, from nṓtos (Gr. νῶτος), back, referring to black eyespot at the middle of dorsal-fin base [originally spelled notonotus so presumed to be an adjective]

Steindachnerina planiventris Vari & Williams Vari 1989 planus (L.), flat or smooth; ventris, genitive of venter (L.), belly or abdomen, referring to its flattened ventral surface

Steindachnerina pupula Vari 1991 Latin for pupil of the eye, referring to dark, pupil-like spot at base of dorsal fin

Steindachnerina quasimodoi Vari & Williams Vari 1989 of Quasimodo, hunchbacked bellringer in Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, Notre-Dame de Paris, referring to the pronounced dorsal profile of larger specimens

Steindachnerina seriata Netto-Ferreira & Vari 2011 Latin for in a row or arranged in a series, referring to multiple series of narrow dark stripes along scale-row margins on lateral and dorsolateral surfaces of body

Steindachnerina varii Géry, Planquette & Le Bail 1991 in honor of Richard P. Vari (1949–2016), National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C., USA), who revised most of the curimatids as well as many other groups of characiform fishes