Revised 17 Dec. 2022
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Elops Linnaeus 1766 éllops (ἔλλοψ), a Greek word (often spelled helops) variously defined as meaning dumb, scaly, a fish (in general), and a large, rare and precious fish compared to or identified as a sturgeon; the application to this genus remains obscure, but considering that Linnaeus named E. saurus based in part on a 1725 description (“all over scaly,” Sloane, 1725, Natural History of Jamaica) of what appears to be a lizardfish (Synodus), maybe the “scaly” explanation is the best fit

Elops affinis Regan 1909 Latin for related, described as “extremely similar” to E. saurus (18–20 gill rakers on lower part of anterior arch vs. 12–15)

Elops hawaiensis Regan 1909 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Hawaiian Islands, type locality

Elops lacerta Valenciennes 1847 Latin equivalent of the Greek saúra (σαύρα), lizard, alluding to the name of E. saurus

Elops machnata (Fabricius 1775) Latinization of machnat, Arabic vernacular for this species [authorship often given as (Forsskål 1775)]

Elops saurus Linnaeus 1766 from saúra (Gr. σαύρα), lizard, based on Saurus maximus, non maculatus of Sloane 1725 (Natural History of Jamaica), most likely a lizardfish (Synodus), which Linnaeus incorrectly cited instead of the “pounder” described and illustrated in the same book

Elops senegalensis Regan 1909 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: St. Louis, Senegal, type locality

Elops smithi McBride, Rocha, Ruiz-Carus & Bowen 2010 in honor of American ichthyologist David G. Smith, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), “for his thoroughness in examining leptocephali of Elops to reveal that two morphs were present”