Revised 31 Jan. 2023
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Cruriraja Bigelow & Schroeder 1948 cruris (L.), leg or shank (i.e., limb), referring to anterior lobes of pelvic fins, which form a slender, limb-like structure; raja, from raia (L.), ray or skate
Cruriraja andamanica (Lloyd 1909) –ica (L.), belonging to: Andaman Sea, northeastern Indian Ocean, type locality
Cruriraja atlantis Bigelow & Schroeder 1948 named after the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute research vessel Atlantis, which collected three new species of skates along the coasts of Cuba, including this one
Cruriraja cadenati Bigelow & Schroeder 1962 in honor of French ichthyologist Jean Cadenat (1908–1992), Director, Marine Biological Section of the Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (Gorée, Senegal), for his work on the elasmobranchs of the west coast of Africa
Cruriraja durbanensis (von Bonde & Swart 1923) –ensis (L.), suffix denoting place: off the coast of Durban, South Africa (a curious name since type locality is Hondeklip Bay, on the western, not eastern, coast of South Africa)
Cruriraja hulleyi Aschliman, Ebert & Compagno 2010 in honor of South African ichthyologist Percy Alexander “Butch” Hulley (b. 1941), Iziko South African Museum, for his “pioneering” research on the skates of southern Africa (where this skate occurs)
Cruriraja parcomaculata (von Bonde & Swart 1923) parcus (L.), scanty; maculatus (L.), spotted, allusion not explained, probably referring to fewer spots on disc compared with Rajella leopardus (Rajidae), its presumed congener at the time
Cruriraja poeyi Bigelow & Schroeder 1948 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey (1799–1891), an appropriate honor for a skate described from Cuba
Cruriraja rugosa Bigelow & Schroeder 1958 Latin for wrinkled or shriveled, presumably referring to minute prickles covering underside of tail
Fenestraja McEachran & Compagno 1982 fenestra (L.), window (but in biology meaning a small natural hole or opening), proposed as a subgenus of Neoraja (Rajidae), referring to presence of nasal capsules with basal fenestrae, compared with Neoraja, which lacks them); raja, from raia (L.), ray or skate
Fenestraja atripinna (Bigelow & Schroeder 1950) atri-, from ater (L.), black; pinna (L.), fin, referring to its “sooty black” dorsal fins
Fenestraja cubensis (Bigelow & Schroeder 1950) –ensis (L.), suffix denoting place: Cuba (north-central coast), type locality
Fenestraja ishiyamai (Bigelow & Schroeder 1962) in honor of Japanese ichthyologist Reizo Ishiyama (1912–2008), Shimonoseki College of Fisheries, for his work on Japanese batoids
Fenestraja maceachrani (Séret 1989) in honor of American ichthyologist John D. McEachran (b. 1941, note Latinization of “Mc” to “Mac”), Texas A&M University (Texas, USA), for his major contributions to skate and ray systematics
Fenestraja mamillidens (Alcock 1889) mamillaris (Late Latin), resembling a breast or nipple; dens (L.), tooth, referring to how each tooth has a “broad globular base and a gently pointed mamillary summit”
Fenestraja plutonia (Garman 1881) plutonian (L.), dark, dusky or gloomy, characteristics associated with Greek god Pluto and the underworld, referring to brown-grayish or purplish coloration with irregular “indistinctly defined” spots of brown
Fenestraja sibogae (Weber 1913) in honor of the ship Siboga and Indonesian expedition (1898–1899) of same name, during which holotype was collected
Fenestraja sinusmexicanus (Bigelow & Schroeder 1950) –anus (L.), belonging to: sinus (L.), gulf or bay, referring to Gulf of Mexico, type locality
Gurgesiella de Buen 1959 etymology not explained, possibly –ella (L.), a diminutive suffix, and gurges (L.), abyss, referring to deepwater habitat of G. furvescens
Gurgesiella atlantica (Bigelow & Schroeder 1962) –ica (L.), belonging to: Atlantic coast of Nicaragua to the “offing” of the Amazon River
Gurgesiella dorsalifera McEachran & Compagno 1980 dorsalis (L.), of the back; –fera (L.), to carry or bear, the only species of Gurgesiella with a dorsal fin
Gurgesiella furvescens de Buen 1959 Latin for growing dark (i.e., blackish), probably referring to dusky, dark coffee (“café obscuro”) coloration