COMMENTS
v. 5.0 – 31 Aug. 2023 view/download PDF
Family GALAXIIDAE
7 genera · 66 species
Subfamily APLOCHITONINAE Peladillas
Aplochiton Jenyns 1842 ap[heles], smooth; chiton, tunic, referring to “perfectly naked skin” that is “free from scales”
Aplochiton marinus Eigenmann 1928 of the sea, a catadromous species “found along the shores and inland a very short distance”
Aplochiton taeniatus Jenyns 1842 banded, referring to pale silver band along middle of sides
Aplochiton zebra Jenyns 1842 referring to “irregular transverse zebra-like marks” on sides
Lovettia McCulloch 1915 –ia, belonging to Edward Frederick Lovett (1857-1943), Hobart, Australia, from whom McCulloch is “indebted” for “beautifully preserved specimens” of L. sealii, as well as many other “interesting” Tasmanian fishes
Lovettia sealii (Johnston 1883) patronym not identified, probably in honor of Matthew Seal (1834-1897), President of the Tasmanian Fisheries Commission and Chairman of the Fisheries Board
Subfamily GALAXIINAE White Bait and Mudfishes
Brachygalaxias Eigenmann 1928 brachys, short, referring to short body of B. bullocki, “the smallest of the Galaxiidae in Chile”
Brachygalaxias bullocki (Regan 1908) in honor of Dillman Samuel Bullock (1878-1971), an American agronomist who lived in Chile and collected many Chilean fishes, including type of this one
Brachygalaxias gothei Busse 1983 in honor of Busse’s friend Karl Heinz Gothe (Taka, Chile), who took him to the type locality and enthusiastically helped collect type
Galaxias Cuvier 1816 etymology not explained, perhaps a fish name from an ancient Greek text that Cuvier applied to this genus (as he had done with other genera he proposed, e.g., Synodontis, Salanx, Premnas); several sources state name means “milky” and refers to G. argenteus and its gold spots, reminiscent of stars in the night sky (although Cuvier based genus on the spotted G. truttaceus [a nomen nudum, later made available by Valenciennes], he did not mention spots or any color markings; he did, however, state that his G. truttaceus may be the same as G. argenteus)
Galaxias aequipinnis Raadik 2014 aequalis, like or same; pinnis, fin, referring to almost equal size, on average, of its pectoral and pelvic fins, which are the most equal of all members within the G. olidus complex
Galaxias anomalus Stokell 1959 odd or irregular, referring to its “failure to conform to the arrangement usual in long-bodied species” of Galaxias (e.g., more posterior ventral-fin insertion, the presence of canine teeth, and a long vs. poorly developed pyloric caeca)
Galaxias arcanus Raadik 2014 cryptic, secret or mysterious, referring to its cryptic habitat (amongst boulder and cobbles on the stream bed) and its cryptic coloration
Galaxias argenteus (Gmelin 1789) silvery, an unusual choice for a species described as “brown, painted with yellow letters” (translation), based on a 1777 account from Forster: “its colour was brown, and mottled with yellowish spots in the shape of some ancient Asiatic characters”; Gmelin apparently confused this species, which Forster surmised was an undescribed pike, or Esox, with Esox (now Albula) argentea (Albuliformes), which Forster described in the same book
Galaxias auratus Johnston 1883 golden, referring to the “bright transparent golden hue” of its body
Galaxias brevipinnis Günther 1866 brevis, short; pinnis, fin, presumably referring to length of anal-fin rays which, if laid backwards, do not reach caudal-fin base
Galaxias brevissimus Raadik 2014 shortest, having the shortest caudal peduncle and caudal fin compared with other members of the G. olidus complex
Galaxias cobitinis McDowall & Waters 2002 loach-like, from the Greek kobitis, “like a gudgeon,” referring to its slender and elongate loach (Cobitis)-like shape
Galaxias depressiceps McDowall & Wallis 1996 depressus, low-lying or flat; ceps, head, referring to its distinctively flattened head
Galaxias divergens Stokell 1959 divergent, referring to how it differs from “typical” galaxiid species in having fewer ventral-fin rays
Galaxias eldoni McDowall 1997 in honor of G.A. (Tony) Eldon, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, on the occasion of his June 1994 retirement, for more than 30 years of “enthusiastic commitment” to the study and conservation of New Zealand’s native freshwater fishes
Galaxias fasciatus Gray 1842 banded, referring to “nearly regular narrow cross band” on sides
Galaxias fontanus Fulton 1978 spring, referring to probable origin of Swan River, Tasmania, type locality
Galaxias fuscus Mack 1936 brown, dark, dusky or tawny, probably referring to “greenish-brown” coloration and/or large “dark” oval blotches on sides
Galaxias globiceps Eigenmann 1928 globus, globe or sphere; cephalus, head, presumably referring to “more blunt appearance” of head compared to G. platei
Galaxias gollumoides McDowall & Chadderton 1999 –oides, having the form of: Gollum, a “dark little fellow with big round eyes who sometimes frequents a swamp” from Tolkien’s The Hobbit and “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, referring to its relatively large eyes and occurrence in swamps (also occurs in pool-riffle-runs below waterfalls)
Galaxias gracilis McDowall 1967 slender, referring to its slender form
Galaxias gunaikurnai Raadik 2014 named for the Gunai/Kurnai indigenous nation, traditional inhabitants of the Gippsland region of Victoria, where this species is endemic
Galaxias johnstoni Scott 1936 in honor of statistician and scientist Robert Mackenzie Johnston (1843-1918), “the father of Tasmanian ichthyology, who paid considerable attention to the local Galaxiidae”
Galaxias lanceolatus Raadik 2014 lance-like, referring to comparatively elongate body shape with relatively evenly arched dorsal and ventral profiles (except when close to spawning time)
Galaxias longifundus Raadik 2014 longus, long; fundus, base or bottom, referring to relatively long dorsal- and anal-fin bases compared with other members of the G. olidus complex
Galaxias macronasus McDowall & Waters 2003 macro-, large; nasus, nose, referring to its distinctively rounded snout
Galaxias maculatus (Jenyns 1842) spotted, referring to “numerous conspicuous spots and small irregular transverse bars of black” on body
Galaxias mcdowalli Raadik 2014 in honor of the late Robert (Bob) Montgomery McDowall (1939-2011), for his long and valuable contribution to galaxioid systematics
Galaxias mungadhan Raadik 2014 from the language of the Gunai/Kurnai indigenous nation, traditional inhabitants of the Gippsland region of Victoria, where this species is endemic: munga, from and dhan, frost or snow, referring to distribution at high elevations on the Dargo High Plains, which are usually covered by snow during winter
Galaxias neocaledonicus Weber & de Beaufort 1913 –icus, belonging to: New Caledonia, where it is endemic
Galaxias niger Andrews 1985 black, referring to its “heavy pigmentation” (uniform deep olive-brown with large irregular dark-brown blacks and bars on sides)
Galaxias occidentalis Ogilby 1899 western, this being the first galaxiid recorded west of the Murray River watershed in Australia
Galaxias olidus Günther 1866 smelly, allusion not explained: according to Raadik (2014), freshly preserved specimens are not known to impart a distinctive odor, and the holotype currently smells only of preservative; he conjectures that the liquid the holotype was originally preserved in, or later transferred to, may have had a distinctive odor at the time the description was made
Galaxias oliros Raadik 2014 combination of the first three letters of the names of G. olidus and G. rostratus, first used as a field code for what appeared to be a distinct morphological form intermediate between, and sharing morphological characteristics with, both taxa, particularly juvenile to young-adult stages
Galaxias ornatus Castelnau 1873 decorated or adorned, probably referring to its often bold and ornate color pattern (light green and yellow body, with green bands across the back, yellow eyes, light-yellow fins)
Galaxias parvus Frankenberg 1968 small, maximum size observed 60.5 mm TL
Galaxias paucispondylus Stokell 1938 pauci-, few; spondylus, vertebrae, referring to fewest number of vertebrae (51-53) of any New Zealand galaxiid (at least those known at time of description)
Galaxias pedderensis Frankenberg 1968 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Pedder and immediate surrounds, southern Tasmania, where it is endemic
Galaxias platei Steindachner 1898 in honor of German zoologist and geneticist Ludwig Hermann Plate (1862-1937), who led expedition that collected type
Galaxias postvectis Clarke 1899 post, after or behind; vectis, bar, referring to 7-9 darkish-brown lines on posterior portion of body
Galaxias prognathus Stokell 1940 pro-, in front of; gnathus, jaw, referring to its protruding lower jaw
Galaxias pullus McDowall 1997 dark or dusky brown, referring to its “deep dusky brown/black to grey-olive” back with similarly colored bands or vermiculations, and some “dusky markings” at caudal- and dorsal-fin bases
Galaxias rostratus Klunzinger 1872 beaked, allusion not explained, probably referring to its long, relatively pointed snout
Galaxias supremus Raadik 2014 highest or uppermost, found at the highest elevation of all the Galaxiidae, at over 2000 m on Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest mountain
Galaxias tantangara Raadik 2014 named for Tantangara Creek, upstream of Tantangara Reservoir, New South Wales, type locality
Galaxias tanycephalus Fulton 1978 tanyo, stretch out; cephalus, head, referring to long, slender head, narrower than the related G. truttaceus and G. auratus
Galaxias terenasus Raadik 2014 teres, rounded or smooth; nasus, nose, referring to its rounded snout
Galaxias truttaceus Valenciennes 1846 trout-like, “rounded shape of the body and the arrangement of spots make it look like this fish is a small trout” (translation) [name introduced by Cuvier in 1816 but without distinguishing characters]
Galaxias vulgaris Stokell 1949 common, the “most abundant and widely distributed” galaxiid in the upland streams of Canterbury, New Zealand
Galaxias zebratus (Castelnau 1861) zebra-like, referring to its “vivid and transverse lines” on sides (translation)
Galaxiella McDowall 1978 –iella, a diminutive, i.e., small galaxiid fishes (<47.5 mm)
Galaxiella munda McDowall 1978 Latin for neat, presumably referring to its appearance (a “small, almost tubular species, compressed behind the vent, the dorsal and ventral body profiles almost parallel, or the belly deepened a little”)
Galaxiella nigrostriata (Shipway 1953) nigro-, black; striatus, striped, referring to black stripes that flank yellowish stripe on sides
Galaxiella pusilla (Mack 1936) very small (described at 31 mm)
Galaxiella toourtkoourt Coleman & Raadik 2015 from the Australian indigenous language groups Tjapwurrung, Korn Kopan Noot and Peekwurrung, meaning “little fish in freshwater,” referring to its being the smallest species in the family (pronounced too-urt koo-urt)
Neochanna Günther 1867 neo-, new; Channa, genus of Asian snakeheads (Anabantiformes: Channidae), many of which, like N. apoda (type species), lack pelvic fins (Günther also used “channa” in the name of the clariid catfish genus Channallabes, which also lacks pelvic fins)
Neochanna apoda Günther 1867 without feet, referring to absence of pelvic fins
Neochanna burrowsius (Phillipps 1926) –ius, belonging to: Mr. A. Burrows, a farmer who collected type specimens from a creek near his house in West Oxford, South Island, New Zealand
Neochanna cleaveri (Scott 1934) in honor of Mr. F. Cleaver (West Ulverstone, Tasmania), who discovered the type specimen burrowed inside the root of a eucalyptus tree, where it had been aestivating
Neochanna diversus Stokell 1949 different, referring to its “disagreement” with several characters originally described for the genus (e.g., conical vs. compressed teeth)
Neochanna heleios Ling & Gleeson 2001 Greek for “dwelling in a marsh,” referring to its habitat (ephemeral wetlands on peaty soils)
Neochanna rekohua (Mitchell 1995) ancient Moriori name for the Chatham Islands (pronounced rare-k’hoe-hoo-ar), where this galaxiid is endemic
Paragalaxias Scott 1935 para-, near, referring to similarity to Galaxias
Paragalaxias dissimilis (Regan 1906) different, referring to its six ventral-fin rays, compared to seven on presumed congeners in Galaxias, its genus at time of description
Paragalaxias eleotroides McDowall & Fulton 1978 –oides, having the form of: referring to similarity in appearance and behavior to gudgeons (Eleotris: Eleotridae), particularly its benthic, darting habits
Paragalaxias julianus McDowall & Fulton 1978 –anus, belonging to: Julian Lakes, Tasmania, Australia, where it occurs
Paragalaxias mesotes McDowall & Fulton 1978 Greek for middle, intermediate in behavior and other characteristics between P. eleotroides and P. dissimilis