Revised 17 Jan. 2024
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Chiloscyllium Müller & Henle 1837 cheīĺos (Gr. χεῖλος), lip, referring to membranous and broad lower lip, presumably of C. plagiosum (proposed without a species); scyllium, from skylion (Gr. σκύλιον), small dog or whelp, i.e., a small shark (sharks were derogatorily called “dogs” or “sea dogs” in ancient times)
Chiloscyllium arabicum Gubanov 1980 -icum (L.), belonging to: Arabian (Persian) Gulf between Iran and Arabian Peninsula, where it occurs
Chiloscyllium burmense Dingerkus & DeFino 1983 –ense, neuter of –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Burma (Myanmar), type locality
Chiloscyllium caeruleopunctatum Pellegrin 1914 caeruleus (L.), dark blue (but used here to mean blue in general); punctatum (L.), spotted, referring to color pattern of light-blue spots on a gray-brown background
Chiloscyllium griseum Müller & Henle 1838 Medieval Latin for gray, referring to light-gray coloration in spirits (usually light-brown in life)
Chiloscyllium hasseltii Bleeker 1852 in honor of Dutch physician and biologist Johan Coenraad van Hasselt (1797–1823), who explored the colonial Dutch East Indies with his friend Heinrich Kuhl in 1820
Chiloscyllium indicum (Gmelin 1789) -icum (L.), belonging to: Indian Ocean, type locality
Chiloscyllium plagiosum (Anonymous [Bennett] 1830) –osum, Latin suffix denoting fullness or abundance: plaga (L.), plural plagae, stripes, referring to dark transverse bands on body
Chiloscyllium punctatum Müller & Henle 1838 Latin for spotted, referring to scattering of small blackish spots on young specimens
Hemiscyllium Müller & Henle 1838 hemi-, from hḗmisys (Gr. ἥμισυς), half, presumably referring to similarity and/or close affinity to Scyllium (=Scyliorhinus, Scyliorhinidae) and/or Chiloscyllium; scyllium, from skylion (Gr. σκύλιον), small dog or whelp, i.e., a small shark (sharks were derogatorily called “dogs” or “sea dogs” in ancient times)
Hemiscyllium freycineti (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) in honor of French Navy officer Louis de Freycinet (1779–1841), commander of the expedition during which holotype was collected
Hemiscyllium galei Allen & Erdmann 2008 in honor of underwater photographer and shark enthusiast Jeffrey Gale, who successfully bid to help conserve this species at a charity auction, and who financially supported Conservation International’s efforts to preserve its habitat
Hemiscyllium hallstromi Whitley 1967 in honor of philanthropist Edward Hallstrom (1886–1970), trustee and chairman of Taronga Zoological Park (Sydney, Australia), where holotype and paratype were alive in captivity
Hemiscyllium halmahera Allen, Erdmann & Dudgeon 2013 named for Halmahera, Indonesia, type locality
Hemiscyllium henryi Allen & Erdmann 2008 in honor of American underwater photographer Wolcott Henry, who supported Conservation International’s marine initiatives, including the taxonomy of western New Guinea fishes
Hemiscyllium michaeli Allen & Dudgeon 2010 in honor of photographer and aquarist Scott W. Michael, who brought the difference between this species and H. freycineti to the authors’ attention, and for contributing information and photographs to the senior author’s research on Indo-Pacific fishes
Hemiscyllium ocellatum (Bonnaterre 1788) Latin for eyed, referring to conspicuous white-ringed black ocellus on flanks above pectoral fins
Hemiscyllium strahani Whitley 1967 in honor of Australian zoologist Ronald Strahan (1922–2010), director of Taronga Zoological Park (Sydney), where holotype lived in captivity
Hemiscyllium trispeculare Richardson 1843 tri-, from tres (L.), three; specularis (L.), mirror-like, metaphorically watchful or looking, referring to three eyespots (ocelli) on shoulder