Updated 23 May 2024
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Malapterurus Lacepède 1803 mala- from kos, soft, pteron, fin; ouros, tail; presumably referring to adipose fin, which appears all the more prominent in the absence of a rayed dorsal fin [subsequent authors have attempted to emend Lacepède’s clumsy spelling of the name (Malapterus, Malopterurus, Malacopterurus) but the original spelling prevails]

Malapterurus barbatus Norris 2002 Latin for bearded, referring to dusky underside of head [possibly a synonym of M. leonensis]

Malapterurus beninensis Murray 1855 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bight of Benin, Nigeria, in which the Calabar River near Creek Town (type locality) empties into

Malapterurus cavalliensis Roberts 2000 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Cavally River, Ivory Coast, type locality

Malapterurus electricus (Gmelin 1789) Neo-Latin for “of amber,” referring to amber’s attractive properties, later applied to objects capable of attracting “light bodies” (e.g., bits of paper) when excited by friction, and then applied even later to the cause (electricity) rather than the property of the attraction, referring to this fish’s ability to produce an electric shock

Malapterurus leonensis Roberts 2000 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sierra Leone, where type locality (Moyamba) is situated

Malapterurus melanochir Norris 2002 melanos, genitive of mélas (Gr., μέλας), black; chir, from cheír (Gr. χείρ), hand, homologous to the pectoral fin, referring to its dusky pectoral fins

Malapterurus microstoma Poll & Gosse 1969 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its narrow mouth and snout

Malapterurus minjiriya Sagua 1987 Hausa word for this species, which fishers along the Niger River can easily distinguish from M. electricus

Malapterurus monsembeensis Roberts 2000 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: upper Congo River at Monsembe, Democratic Republic of the Congo, type locality

Malapterurus occidentalis Norris 2002 Latin or western, referring to its far west African distribution

Malapterurus oguensis Sauvage 1879 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ogôoué River at Duomé, Congo, type locality

Malapterurus punctatus Norris 2002 Latin for spotted, referring to its finely spotted dorsum and flank

Malapterurus shirensis Roberts 2000 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: lower Shire River, Malawi, type locality

Malapterurus tanganyikaensis Roberts 2000 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Tanganyika basin, eastern Africa, where it is endemic

Malapterurus tanoensis Roberts 2000 –ensis, Latin Tano River basin, southwestern Ghana, type locality

Malapterurus teugelsi Norris 2002 in honor of Belgian ichthyologist Guy Teugels (1954–2003), curator of fishes, Musée Royale de l’Afrique Centrale, who collected type and made “important” contributions to our knowledge of west and central African fishes

Paradoxoglanis Norris 2002 parádoxos (Gr. παράδοξος), strange or contrary to expectation, representing an “extraordinary and unexpected assemblage” of electric catfishes showing a number of unique features (three-chambered swim bladder, small body size, incomplete lateral line, and elongate adipose fin); glanis, ancient name for a silurid catfish (probably Silurus aristotelis) dating to Aristotle, often used as a general term for catfish

Paradoxoglanis caudivittatus Norris 2002 cauda (L.), tail; vittatus (L.), striped, referring to “strongly developed” saddle-and-bar pattern on tail

Paradoxoglanis cryptus Norris 2002 from kryptόs (Gr. κρυπτός), hidden or secret, referring to its close superficial resemblance to P. parvuss

Paradoxoglanis parvus Norris 2002 Latin for small, referring to the “diminutive size of this and other Paradoxoglanis”