Revised 4 March 2023
PDF version (with illustrations and additional information)
Aldrovandia Goode & Bean 1896 –ia (L. suffix), belonging to: Italian naturalist Ulysses Aldrovandus (1522–1605), “founder of the first natural history museum, whose name, strangely enough, has never been honored by association with a genus of animals or plants”
Aldrovandia affinis (Günther 1877) Latin for related, referring to the “greatest similarity” between this species and A. rostrata and Halosaurus ovenii
Aldrovandia gracilis Goode & Bean 1896 Latin for thin or slender, described as a “very slender species”
Aldrovandia mediorostris (Günther 1887) etymology not explained, either medius (L.), middle, or mediocris (L.), middling or ordinary; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, perhaps referring to its “comparatively short snout”
Aldrovandia oleosa Sulak 1977 Latin for oily, referring to the yellowish oil invested in its flesh
Aldrovandia phalacra (Vaillant 1888) phalákra (Gr. φαλάκρα), bald-headed, referring to lack of scales on upper portion of head (above occipital region)
Aldrovandia rostrata (Günther 1878) Latin for beaked, referring to its “very much produced” snout
Halosauropsis Collett 1896 ópsis (Gr. ὄψις), appearance, i.e., similar to Halosaurus but with differently shaped light organs on head and lateral line (disputed by Garman [1899], who suggested that Collett may have examined damaged specimens), but genus clearly differs from Halosaurus in lacking scales on top of head between eyes and nostrils
Halosauropsis macrochir (Günther 1878) macro-, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large; chir, from cheī́r (Gr. χείρ), hand, homologous to the pectoral fin, which is long in this species, extending nearly to the “root of the ventral”
Halosaurus Johnson 1864 halós (Gr. ἁλός), genitive of háls (ἅλς), sea; saurus, from saúra (Gr. σαύρα), lizard, i.e., a “sea lizard,” allusion not explained, probably referring to the lizard-like shape of H. ovenii
Halosaurus attenuatus Garman 1899 Latin for tapered or made thin, referring to its “very attenuate and filamentary” caudal region
Halosaurus carinicauda (Alcock 1889) carina (L.), keel; cauda (L.), tail, referring to its dorsally keeled tail, crested by a low median fold of skin
H. carinicauda is treated as the only member of subgenus Halosaurichthys Alcock 1889 — halós (Gr. ἁλός), genitive of háls (ἅλς), sea; saurus, from saúra (Gr. σαύρα), lizard; ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish, literally “sea lizard fish,” alluding to its lizard-like shape and affinity to Halosaurus — by McDowell (1973). The subgenus has fallen out of usage and is provisionally included here.
Halosaurus guentheri Goode & Bean 1896 in honor of German-born British ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830–1914), for “inspiration [in the nascent study of deep-sea fishes] and kindly advice”
Halosaurus johnsonianus Vaillant 1888 –anus (L.), belonging to: English naturalist James Yate Johnson (1820–1900), the first (1864) to describe this “curious genus” (translation)
Halosaurus ovenii Johnson 1864 in honor of English biologist –Richard Owen (1804–1864), Superintendent of the Natural History Departments of the British Museum, “whose investigations in regard to the skeletons of fishes are not the least valuable part of his many contributions to zoological science” [name Latinized with “v” instead of “w”]
Halosaurus pectoralis McCulloch 1926 Latin for pectoral, referring to its very long pectoral fins, which distinguishes it from most congeners
Halosaurus radiatus Garman 1899 Latin for rayed, referring to numerous branchiostegal rays, which “serve to distinguish this species from any other at present known”
Halosaurus ridgwayi (Fowler 1934) in honor of the late Robert Ridgway (1850–1929), “with pleasant memories of by gone days in his department of ornithology in the Smithsonian Institution”
Halosaurus sinensis Abe 1974 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), specifically the South China Sea, only known area of occurrence