Updated 12 Aug. 2024
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Ameiurus Rafinesque 1820 á– (ἄ), Greek privative, not; meíōn (Gr. μείων), less; urus, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to absence of deep notch in caudal fin compared with forked tail of Ictalurus; per Rafinesque, the “Tail entire”

Ameiurus brunneus Jordan 1877 Medieval Latin for brown, referring to brownish color of young and juveniles

Ameiurus catus (Linnaeus 1758) Latin for cat, referring to its cat-like whiskers (hence “catfish”)

Ameiurus melas (Rafinesque 1820) mélas (Gr. μέλας), black, referring to its color (which varies to yellowish and brown)

Ameiurus natalis (Lesueur 1819) Latin for “of or belonging to birth,” often applied to Christmas (Noel in French), as reflected in Lesueur’s vernacular name for this catfish, “Pimelode Noël,” allusion not explained but almost certainly in honor of Simon Barthélemy Joseph Noël de la Morinière (1765–1822), French naturalist, journalist, author, and fisheries inspector who devoted 20 years to a projected six-volume history of fisheries of which only one volume (1815) appeared (Lesueur mentioned Noël in his 1817 description of the American Eel Angulla rostrata); most sources claim name means “having large nates or buttocks,” referring to either a swollen and elevated caudal peduncle, a large adipose fin, or the swollen head and nape muscles of breeding males, an etymological error apparently based on the assumption that natalis was the adjectival form of the Latin noun natis (rump or buttocks)

Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur 1819) Latin for cloudy, referring to olivaceous body color, “clouded with irregular brown spots”

Ameiurus platycephalus (Girard 1859) flat-headed, from platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to its “very much depressed” head

Ameiurus serracanthus (Yerger & Relyea 1968) serra (L.), saw; acanthus (L.), from ákantha (Gr. ἄκανθα), thorn or spine, referring to its strongly serrated pectoral spine

Ictalurus Rafinesque 1820 ict-, from ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish, and alurus from aílouros (Gr. αἴλουρος), cat; per Rafinesque, the name “means Cat-fish in Greek”

Ictalurus australis (Meek 1904) Latin for southern, referring to specimens from southern Veracruz, Mexico, that Meek had assigned to this species [treated as a synonym of I. mexicanus by some workers]

Ictalurus balsanus (Jordan & Snyder 1899) –anus (L.), belonging to: Río Balsas basin, Mexico, where it is endemic

Ictalurus dugesii (Bean 1880) in honor of Alfedo Dugès (1826–1910), French-born physician-naturalist in Guanajuato, Mexico, who collected holotype

Ictalurus furcatus (Valenciennes 1840) Latin for forked, referring to forked tail [authorship often credited to Lesueur 1840, whose 1829 description of Pimelodus caudofurcatus (perhaps a senior synonym of I. punctatus) may have been unnecessarily renamed by Valenciennes]

Ictalurus lupus (Girard 1858) Latin for wolf, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps an oblique reference to its similarity to Pimelodus vulpes Girard 1858, a synonym of I. punctatus (vulpes is Latin for fox)

Ictalurus meridionalis (Günther 1864) Latin for southern, being a southern (described from Guatemala) representative of the northern (central USA, eastern Mexico) I. furcatus [treated as a synonym of I. furcatus by some workers]

Ictalurus mexicanus (Meek 1904) –anus (L.), belonging to: Mexico, where it is endemic

Ictalurus ochoterenai (de Buen 1946) in honor of Isaac Ochoterena (1885–1950), Director, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, who provided facilities for de Buen’s work [treated as a junior synonym of I. dugesii by some workers]

Ictalurus pricei (Rutter 1896) in honor of American ornithologist William Wightman Price (1871–1922), who collected holotype

Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque 1818) Latin for spotted, referring to small, dark spots on body

Noturus Rafinesque 1818 nṓtos (Gr. νῶτος), bacl; urus, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, i.e., tail over the back, referring to connected caudal and adipose fins

Subgenus Noturus

Noturus flavus Rafinesque 1818 Latin for yellow, referring to the Kentucky (USA) specimens Rafinesque examined, “entirely of rufous yellow”

Noturus (subgenus Rabida) Jordan & Evermann 1896 from rabidus (L.), mad, reflecting “Mad-Tom” vernacular used by African-Americans in 19th-century Virginia for N. insignis; meaning of vernacular may refer to one’s anger after getting poked by one of their toxic spines and/or to their seemingly insane swimming behavior, presumably when startled

Noturus albater Taylor 1969 albus (L.), white; ater (L.), black, referring to contrasting light areas on caudal fin and dark saddles on sides

Noturus baileyi Taylor 1969 in honor of American ichthyologist Reeve M. Bailey (1911–2011), University of Michigan, under whom Taylor’s study was conducted

Noturus crypticus Burr, Eisenhour & Grady 2005 Latin for hidden or secret, referring to its nocturnal habits and for having kept its identity a secret from researchers for so long

Noturus elegans Taylor 1969 Latin for fine or select, referring to its “neat or handsome color pattern”

Noturus eleutherus Jordan 1877 from eleútheros (Gr. ἐλεύθερος), free, referring to its “free adipose fin,” i.e., incomplete fusion of adipose and caudal fins

Noturus fasciatus Burr, Eisenhour & Grady 2005 Latin for banded, referring to “striking” bands or saddles on upper half of body

Noturus flavater Taylor 1969 flavus (L.), yellow; ater (L.), black, referring to its coloration

Noturus flavipinnis Taylor 1969 flavus (L.), yellow; pinnis, Neo-Latin adjective of pinna (L.), fin, i.e., finned, referring to its yellowish dorsal fin

Noturus furiosus Jordan & Meek 1889 Latin for mad, “the poison of its axillary gland is more virulent than that of” its congeners

Noturus gladiator Thomas & Burr 2004 Latin for swordsman, referring to its large and serrated pectoral spines

Noturus gyrinus (Mitchill 1817) Latinization of gyrí̄nos (Gr. γυρῖνος), tadpole, referring to its tadpole-like shape

Noturus hildebrandi (Bailey & Taylor 1950) in honor of American ichthyologist Samuel F. Hildebrand (1883–1949), U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “whose contributions to the ichthyology of the southeastern United States will long remain indispensable tools to his successors”

Noturus hildebrandi lautus Taylor 1969 Latin for neat or elegant, referring to its “trim, neat, and pleasing color pattern”

Noturus maydeni Egge 2006 in honor of American ichthyologist Richard L. Mayden (b. 1955), Saint Louis University, for his work on species concepts and systematics and biology of central highlands (USA) fishes, and for publishing most of what is known about the life history of this cryptic madtom

Noturus miurus Jordan 1877 meíōn (Gr. μείων), less; urus, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, i.e., curtailed, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to the “general shortened appearance of some specimens” (per Taylor’s 1969 revision of the genus)

Noturus munitus Suttkus & Taylor 1965 Latin for defended, fortified or protected, referring to its large spines and serrae

Noturus placidus Taylor 1969 Latin for mild, quiet or gentle, referring to its “relatively poorly armed pectoral spine” compared with congeners

Noturus stanauli Etnier & Jenkins 1980 derived from the Cherokee words oostaunali (a shoal area in a river) and tsulistanauli (catfish), referring to its occurrence over shoals with gravel substrate

Noturus stigmosus Taylor 1969 Latin for marked or branded, referring to two light spots in front of dorsal fin and brownish chromatophores on front part of abdomen

Noturus taylori Douglas 1972 in honor of American ichthyologist William Ralph Taylor (1919–2004), U.S. National Museum, for his contributions to our knowledge of catfishes (he revised Noturus in 1969)

Noturus trautmani Taylor 1969 in honor of American ornithologist-ichthyologist Milton B. Trautman (1899–1991), Ohio State University, who collected holotype and studied the fishes of Big Darby Creek, Ohio, USA, where this catfish was endemic (extinct, not seen since 1957)

Noturus (subgenus Schilbeodes) Bleeker 1858 –oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: Schilbe (Schilbeidae), a genus of catfishes that lack an adipose fin (Bleeker mistakenly believed N. gyrinus lacked an adipose fin)

Noturus exilis Nelson 1876 Latin for thin or meager, referring to its slender body

Noturus funebris Gilbert & Swain 1891 Latin for funereal, referring to its uniform black coloration

Noturus gilberti Jordan & Evermann 1889 in honor of friend and colleague Charles H. Gilbert (1859–1928), American ichthyologist and fisheries biologist

Noturus insignis (Richardson 1836) Latin for distinguished by marks or remarkable/extraordinary; Richardson did not provide a description, instead referring to “Pimelodon livrée” of Lesueur (1819), who was struck by its “second dorsal fin” (translation), i.e., its long adipose fin connected to the tail, a feature that would have been considered unique at the time, and the black margins on its dorsal, pectoral, anal and caudal fins

Noturus lachneri Taylor 1969 in honor of Ernest A. Lachner (1916–1996), curator of fishes, U.S. National Museum, for his “outstanding work and interest” in North American ichthyology

Noturus leptacanthus Jordan 1877 leptós (Gr. λεπτός), thin or slender; acanthus (L.), from ákantha (Gr. ἄκανθα), thorn or spine, referring to “small and slender dorsal and pectoral spines which are devoid of internal serratures”

Noturus nocturnus Jordan & Gilbert 1886 Latin for nocturnal, allusion not explained; per Jordan & Evermann (1896), referring to its dark-brown coloration

Noturus phaeus Taylor 1969 from phaiós (Gr. φαιός), dusky, brown or grayish-brown, referring to its light- or dark-brown coloration in life

Prietella Carranza 1954 -ella (L.), diminutive suffix connoting endearment: in honor of Carlos Prieto (no other information available), sponsor of expedition during which type was collected

Prietella lundbergi Walsh & Gilbert 1995 in honor of American ichthyologist John G. Lundberg (b. 1942), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for contributions to the systematics and paleontology of New World catfishes

Prietella phreatophila Carranza 1954 phréatos (Gr. φρέατος), genitive of phréar (φρέαρ), artificial well; phila, from phílos (Gr. φίλος), fond of, referring to type locality, a 2.5-m-deep well in Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico

Pylodictis Rafinesque 1819 pēlós (Gr. πηλός), clay, earth or mud; ictis, variant spelling of ichthýs (Gr. ἰχθύς), fish, with the “d” likely inserted for euphony, reflecting Rafinesque’s belief that P. limosus (an imaginary fish, based on a drawing by James Audubon, presumably presented to Rafinesque as a prank) lives on muddy bottoms and buries itself in the mud in the winter (Jordan 1877 synonymized P. limosus with P. olivaris, not realizing that the latter fish was imaginary)

Pylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque 1818) Latin for olive-colored, referring to its body color, “olivaceous, shaded with brown”

Satan Hubbs & Bailey 1947 named for the Prince of Darkness, referring to this fish’s underground habitat

Satan eurystomus Hubbs & Bailey 1947 wide-mouthed, from eurýs (Gr. εὐρύς), wide or broad, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its wider mouth compared with the sympatric Trogloglanis pattersoni

Trogloglanis Eigenmann 1919 trṓglē (Gr. τρώγλη), hole, referring to its underground habitat; glánis (Gr. γλάνις), ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish

Trogloglanis pattersoni Eigenmann 1919 in honor of John Thomas “Pat” Patterson (1878–1960), embryologist and geneticist, University of Texas, who sent holotype to Eigenmann