Revised 26 Oct. 2023
PDF version (with illustrations and additional information)

Chaenogaleus Gill 1862 chaeno-, from chaínō (Gr. χαίνω), yawn or gape, referring to “rictus as long as wide”; galeus, from galeós (Gr. Γαλεός), weasel, used by Aristotle for the name of a small shark or dogfish, perhaps alluding to the pointed snouts, swift movements and/or rapacious feeding behavior of smaller predatory sharks, but in this case probably an allusion to Hemigaleus, original genus of C. macrostoma

Chaenogaleus macrostoma (Bleeker 1852) large-mouthed, from makrós (Gr. μaκρóς), long or large, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its long, greatly arched mouth compared with Hemigaleus microstoma, its presumed congener at the time

Hemigaleus Bleeker 1852 hemi-, from hḗmisys (Gr. ἥμισυς), half, referring to similarity to and/or close affinity with Galeus (now in Pentanchidae)

Hemigaleus australiensis White, Last & Compagno 2005 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: referring to its occurrence off tropical Australia

Hemigaleus microstoma Bleeker 1852 small-mouthed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its very short arched mouth compared with Chaenogaleus macrostoma, its presumed congener at the time

Hemipristis Agassiz 1835 hemi-, from hḗmisys (Gr. ἥμισυς), half; pristis, from prístēs (Gr. πρίστης), sawyer (but here likely meaning saw), allusion not explained, possibly referring to how marginal serrations of teeth of H. serra (type species, a fossil) do not extend over the entire length of each tooth [name dates to 1835 plate and not to 1843 description]

Hemipristis elongata (Klunzinger 1871) Latin for prolonged, referring to its long and slim body

Paragaleus Budker 1935 pará (Gr. παρά), near, referring to how its dentition is intermediate between Hemigaleus and the triakid Eugaleus (=Galeorhinus)

Paragaleus leucolomatus Compagno & Smale 1985 leuco-, from leukós (Gr. λευκός), white; lomatus, artificially Latinized adjective derived from lṓma (Gr. λῶμα), hem, fringe or border, referring to prominent white tips and margins of most fins

Paragaleus longicaudatus (Bessednov 1966) longus (L.), long; caudatus (L.), tailed, referring to long caudal fin equal to interdorsal distance [sometimes known as P. randalli, a junior synonym]

Paragaleus pectoralis (Garman 1906) Latin for pectoral, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its characteristic falciform pectoral fins

Paragaleus tengi (Chen 1963) in honor of Teng Huo-Tu (1911–1978), Director, Taiwan Fisheries Research Institute, and authority on Taiwanese elasmobranch fishes