Order PERCIFORMES (part 12): Suborder TRIGLOIDEI: Families TRIGLIDAE and PERISTEDIIDAE

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v. 4.0 – 10 Dec. 2024  view/download PDF

Family TRIGLIDAE Searobins or Gurnards
12 genera/subgenera · 134 species

Subfamily PRIONOTINAE

Bellator Jordan & Evermann 1896    warrior, presumably mirroring name of B. militaris (“like a solider”), referring to elongate first and second dorsal-fin spines

Bellator brachychir (Regan 1914)    brachy, short; cheir, hand, referring to pectoral fin shorter than head

Bellator egretta (Goode & Bean 1896)    Egretta, genus of egrets, referring to elongate dorsal-fin ray, resembling the plume of an egret

Bellator farrago Richards & McCosker 1998    Latin for medley or mixture, referring to how it possesses a unique combination of characters present on congeners

Bellator gymnostethus (Gilbert 1892)    gymnos, bare or naked; stethos, breast or chest, referring to “wholly naked” (scaleless) breast (and belly)

Bellator loxias (Jordan 1897)    Greek for oblique, referring to 6-15 narrow brown oblique bands extending downward and backward from lateral line about halfway to anal fin (obsolete or less conspicuous on anterior body)

Bellator militaris (Goode & Bean 1896)    like a soldier, referring to elongate first and second dorsal-fin spines (about as long as body)

Bellator ribeiroi Miller 1965    in honor of Brazilian ichthyologist Alipio de Miranda Ribeiro (1874-1939), who contributed “greatly” to the knowledge of the marine fauna of South America

Bellator xenisma (Jordan & Bollman 1890)    Greek for a surprise, allusion not explained nor evident

Prionotus Lacepède 1801    prion, saw; notus, back, referring to what Lacepède believed were three free saw-like spines between spinous and soft dorsal fins of P. evolans (spines were probably separated from dorsal-fin membrane)

Prionotus alatus Goode & Bean 1883    winged, referring to very long pectoral fins

Prionotus albirostris Jordan & Bollman 1890    albus, white; rostris, snout, referring to white snout (and jaws)

Prionotus beanii Goode 1896    in honor of ichthyological colleague Tarleton H. Bean (1846-1916), U. S. National Museum (and co-author of publication in which description appeared)

Prionotus birostratus Richardson 1844    bi-, two; rostratus, beaked, referring to two strongly projecting plates on sides of snout

Prionotus carolinus (Linnaeus 1771)    inus, belonging to: Atlantic coast of either North or South Carolina, USA, type locality (but no types known)

Prionotus evolans (Linnaeus 1766)    flying away, referring to long, wing-like pectoral fins, sometimes nearly reaching caudal-fin base, description based in part on the “smaller flying Trigla” of Browne (1756)

Prionotus horrens Richardson 1844    bristly, referring to “sabre-shaped” spines on head

Prionotus longispinosus Teague 1951    longus, long; spinosus, spiny, referring to “extremely long” opercular, preopercular and humeral spines

Prionotus martis Ginsburg 1950    etymology not explained, perhaps genitive of Mars, Roman god of war, continuing tradition of giving triglids warlike names (e.g., P. miles, both halves of Bellator militaris); it may also be worth noting that type locality, Sabine Pass, Texas, was the site of two major American Civil War battles

Prionotus miles Jenyns 1840    soldier, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to body mottled with “brilliant tile red” (per Charles Darwin’s Beagle field notes), resembling the uniforms of 19th-century soldier-sailors

Prionotus nudigula Ginsburg 1950    nudus, bare or naked; gula, throat, referring to its scaleless chest

Prionotus ophryas Jordan & Swain 1885    with a projecting brow, referring to “peculiar” profile of head, “being nearly straight from above front of eye backward, and steep and strongly concave from front of eye to tip of snout”

Prionotus paralatus Ginsburg 1950    para-, near, described as “very close” to P. alatus

Prionotus punctatus (Bloch 1793)    spotted, described from an illustration showing red spots all over body and pectoral fins, but in real life the spotting is not as vivid (red-brown spots on upper back, sometimes with small dark spots on upper pectoral fins)

Prionotus roseus Jordan & Evermann 1887    rose red, referring to “chiefly pinkish red” color in life

Prionotus rubio Jordan 1886    from Rubio Volador (Flying Robin), local name for this species in Havana, Cuba, type locality

Prionotus ruscarius Gilbert & Starks 1904    brusque, allusion not explained, possibly referring to “strongly granular” head and or “strongly” ctenoid scales

Prionotus scitulus Jordan & Gilbert 1882    slender, referring to “much slenderer” body compared with congeners known at the time

Prionotus stearnsi Jordan & Swain 1885    in honor of Silas Stearns (1859-1888), of Pensacola, Florida, USA, “long a volunteer assistant to the U. S. Fish Commission, and a most intelligent student of economic questions in marine ichthyology” (per Jordan & Evermann 1898), who collected type; Jordan (1922) said Stearns, “driven from his native Maine by failing health” (reported elsewhere as a chronic lung disease), established himself at a wholesale fishing firm in Pensacola (type locality), where he became a “keen and competent naturalist,” but that “even the soft climate of Florida failed to save his life”

Prionotus stephanophrys Lockington 1881    stephanos, crown; ophrys, brow, presumably referring to convex forehead immediately in front of eye

Prionotus teaguei Briggs 1956    in honor of Gerard Warden Teague (1885-1974), amateur ichthyologist-herpetologist, British Vice-Consul for Paraguay, and Director of Midland Uruguay Railway Company, for his “excellent” work (a 1951 revision) on the genus, and for his assistance in identifying triglids in the University of Florida collection

Prionotus tribulus Cuvier 1829    Latin for scraping, presumably referring to longer, sharper spines on head compared with P. punctatus

Subfamily PTERYGOTRIGLINAE

Bovitrigla Fowler 1938    bos, bull, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to bull-like physiognomy of its “rather large” head; Trigla, type genus of family

Bovitrigla acanthomoplate Fowler 1938    acanthus, thorn or spine; omos, shoulder; plate, blade, referring to “long, slender suprascapular spine, flaring out and back”

Pterygotrigla Waite 1899    pterygion, dimunitive of pteryx, fin, presumably referring to wing-like pectoral fins of P. polyommata; Trigla, original genus of type species and type genus of family

Subgenus Pterygotrigla

Pterygotrigla andertoni Waite 1910    in honor of Thomas Anderton, Director (also described as Curator) of the Postobello Marine Fish Hatchery (Port Chalmers, New Zealand), who provided type (per Waite 1911)

Pterygotrigla cajorarori Richards & Yato 2012    combination of the first two letters of the senior author’s granddaughters, Carolyn, Josephine, Rachel, Rosemary, and Riley

Pterygotrigla gomoni Last & Richards 2012    in honor of Martin F. Gomon (b. 1945), senior curator of fishes, Museum of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia), who has “contributed greatly to the understanding of Australian fish systematics, particularly members of the triglid genus Lepidotrigla

Pterygotrigla guezei Fourmanoir 1963    in honor of marine biologist Paul Guézé, who collected type with Fourmanoir and co-authored paper in which description appears

Pterygotrigla leptacanthus (Günther 1880)    leptos, slender; acanthus, thorn or spine, referring to “slender and very long” preorbital and suprascapular spines

Pterygotrigla macrolepidota (Kamohara 1938)    macro-, long or large; lepidota, scaled, referring to “much larger” scales along lateral line compared with congeners known at the time

Pterygotrigla madagascarensis Yato & Heemstra 2019    ensis, suffix denoting place: upper continental slope south of Madagascar, southwestern Indian Ocean, type locality

Pterygotrigla pauli Hardy 1982    in honor of L. J. (Larry) Paul, a scientist at Fisheries Research Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and honorary research associate of the National Museum of New Zealand, for his contribution to New Zealand ichthyology and his continuing interest in the development of the Museum’s collection

Pterygotrigla picta (Günther 1880)    painted, presumably referring to “deep black round drops” on fins and entire body (except abdomen)

Pterygotrigla polyommata (Richardson 1839)    poly, many; ommata, eyed, referring to “two large, contiguous, black, eye-like marks with narrow white borders” on each pectoral fin (per Richardson 1842)

Pterygotrigla ryukyuensis Matsubara & Hiyama 1932    ensis, suffix denoting place: Ryukyu Islands, Japan, type locality (occurs in eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific from Japan south through the South China Sea, Indonesia to northwestern Australia)

Pterygotrigla saumarez Last & Richards 2012    named for offshore plateau associated with the Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea (Queensland, Australia), the general collection locality of most of the type specimens

Subgenus Otohime Jordan & Starks 1907    the goddess of fishes in Japanese mythology, its application to triglids, if any, not explained nor evident

Pterygotrigla amaokai Richards, Yato & Last 2003    in honor of the “eminent and recently retired” Japanese scientist Kunio Amaoka (formerly of Hokkaido University), for his many contributions to ichthyology

Pterygotrigla arabica (Boulenger 1888)    Arabian, referring to Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, type locality

Pterygotrigla draiggoch Richards, Yato & Last 2003    named after Draig Goch, the Welsh red dragon (from the Welsh draig, dragon, and goch, red), referring to its spiny appearance and reddish color

Pterygotrigla elicryste Richards, Yato & Last 2003    combination of the first names of the mothers of the senior author’s grandchildren (Elizabeth, Crystal, and Stephania)

Pterygotrigla hafizi Richards, Yato & Last 2003    in honor of Ahmed Hafiz, Acting Director of the Marine Fisheries Section of the Maldives (type locality)

Pterygotrigla hemisticta (Temminck & Schlegel 1843)    hemi-, partial; stictos, dappled or spotted, presumably referring to small black-brown spots only on upper body and dorsal fins

Pterygotrigla intermedica Roy, Ray, Mishra, Mishra & Mohapatra 2023    presumably a variant or misspelling of intermedia, Latin for intermediate, possessing characters “quite intermediate” to its congeners, e.g., diagonal band of white spots on inner surface of pectoral fin of P. hemisticta and pale-white or cream-colored rays like that of P. spirai

Pterygotrigla multipunctata Yatou & Yamakawa 1983    multi-, many; punctata, spotted, referring to small brownish blotches present on upper half of body and dorsal fins

Pterygotrigla soela Richards, Yato & Last 2003    named after the Australian fisheries research vessel Soela; “expeditions from this vessel have provided the basis of our knowledge of tropical Australian deep-sea fishes”

Pterygotrigla spirai Golani & Baranes 1997    in honor of neurobiologist Micha E. Spira, founding Scientific Director of Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences (now Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Elat, Israel), for his contribution to marine science research in the Red Sea

Pterygotrigla tagala (Herre & Kauffman 1952)    based on Tagal or Tagalog, a people and their language of certain provinces of Luzon, Philippines (where Manila Bay, type locality, is situated)

Pterygotrigla urashimai Richards, Yato & Last 2003    named after Urashima, a hero of the Japanese folktale in which Otohime (subgenus), the goddess of fishes, is also an important character

Subgenus Parapterygotrigla Matsubara 1937    para-, near, proposed as a new genus related to Pterygotrigla but distinguished by a patch of villiform teeth on vomer, a pair of pungent nasal spines, and a sharp spine on outer basal part of each rostral process

Pterygotrigla brandesii (Bleeker 1850)    in honor of H.H. Brandes, a farmer in Banda, Indonesia, who provided type [an undetermined species, type now lost, provisionally included here]

Pterygotrigla ferculum (Whitley 1952)    Latin for litter, used in ancient times for carrying images of the gods in a circus procession, the ashes of the dead in a funeral, and the spoils of war in a triumph, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “two long horns diverging from the snout and two more reaching back from the occiput,” which can be said to resemble the handles or carrying projections of a litter [based on a juvenile specimen, status uncertain, provisionally included here]

Pterygotrigla hoplites (Fowler 1938)    armed (with a weapon), allusion not explained, perhaps referring to sword-like bony rostral extension on each side of end of snout and/or “stronger armature” (spines) on head compared with Dixiphistes and Dixiphistops (both junior synonyms of Parapterygotrigla)

Pterygotrigla jacad Richards & Yato 2014    formed from the names of the senior author’s grandsons, Jacob and Cade

Pterygotrigla macrorhynchus Kamohara 1936    macro-, long or large; rhynchus, snout, referring to “much longer” snout compared with P. ryukyuensis, about equal to length of body

Pterygotrigla megalops (Fowler 1938)    mega-, large; ops, eye, described as “large, elevated, impinging on upper profile”

Pterygotrigla multiocellata (Matsubara 1937)    multi-, many; ocellata, with eye-like spots, referring to upper half of body scattered with small yellowish dark-brown spots

Pterygotrigla robertsi del Cerro & Lloris 1997    in honor of Clive D. Roberts, Curator of Fishes, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; he gave the authors’ paper “linguistic polishing” 

Subfamily TRIGLINAE

Chelidonichthys Kaup 1873    chelidon, swallow (bird), presumably referring to bird-like wingspan of large pectoral fins of C. hirundo (whose name also means swallow, now a junior synonym of C. lucerna), and which the ancients believed could fly; ichthys, fish

Subgenus Chelidonichthys

Chelidonichthys capensis (Cuvier 1829)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, type locality (occurs from Namibia and South Africa to southern Madagascar)

Chelidonichthys gabonensis (Poll & Roux 1955)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Gabon, although type locality and most of the type series were caught off the coast of Angola

Chelidonichthys ischyrus Jordan & Thompson 1914    Greek for robust, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its shorter but deeper body compared with C. kumu, with larger scales, eye and head, and longer pectoral fin

Chelidonichthys kumu (Cuvier 1829)    latinization of koumou, its local name in New Zealand, type locality,  as reported by Cuvier (correct spelling is kumukumu per Robert Vennell, pers. comm.)

Chelidonichthys lucerna (Linnaeus 1758)    Latin for lamp, a common name for the similar Dactylopterus volitans (Syngnathiformes: Dactylopteridae) dating to Pliny, who wrote that its fiery red tongue glowed during the night; name was later used for this or a related species by people in Liguria and Venice, Italy, during the Renaissance

Chelidonichthys queketti (Regan 1904)    in honor of conchologist John Frederick Whitlie Quekett (1849-1913), curator of the Durban Natural History Museum (South Africa), who presented type to the British Museum (Natural History)

Chelidonichthys spinosus (McClelland 1843)     spiny, referring to spine on either side of occiput or nape, a single large spine on humeral bone over pectoral fins, a single small spine on operculum, and two spines on lower corner of preoperculum

Subgenus Aspitrigla Fowler 1925    aspis, shield, proposed as a subgenus of Trigla with lateral line “armed” with a series of bony plates

Chelidonichthys cuculus (Linnaeus 1758)    Latin for cuckoo, a name dating to Aristotle, who said this (or a related) species makes noises (when pulled from the water) like a cuckoo bird

Chelidonichthys obscurus (Walbaum 1792)    dark, dim or indistinct, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its plain, unmarked body color compared to streaks on Trigla lineata (=C. lastoviza)

Subgenus Trigloporus Smith 1934    porus, pore, a subgenus of Trigla distinguished by a “complex series of reticulate tubes (each ending in a pore)” covering entire body (except chest)

Chelidonichthys africanus (Smith 1934)   anus, belonging to: Africa, described as the African equivalent of the “identical” European congener Trigla lineata (=C. lastoviza)

Chelidonichthys lastoviza (Bonnaterre 1788)    common name for this species in Split, Croatia, along the Adriatic Sea as reported by Brünnich (1768)

Eutrigla Fraser-Brunner 1938    eu-, well or very, distinguished from Trigla (original genus of T. gurnardus) by presence of enlarged and ossified lateral line scales, each with a spinate medial keel

Eutrigla gurnardus (Linnaeus 1758)    latinization of the Anglo-Saxon gurnard, common name for this and related species, probably a variant of the French grognard, grumbler or grunter, referring to sound it makes when pulled from the water

Lepidotrigla Günther 1860    lepido-, scaled, referring to larger scales than those on Trigla

Lepidotrigla abyssalis Jordan & Starks 1904    of the deep sea, presumably referring to its occurrence at 91-110 m

Lepidotrigla alata (Houttuyn 1782)    winged, presumably referring to wing-like pectoral fins (and perhaps to reports from others that its congeners can fly)

Lepidotrigla alcocki Regan 1908    in honor of physician-naturalist Alfred William Alcock (1859-1933), Superintendent of the Indian Museum (West Bengal, India), for his “valuable” work on the deep-sea fishes of the Indian Ocean

Lepidotrigla annamarae del Cerro & Lloris 1997    in honor of the senior author’s older daughter Annamar, on the occasion of her seventh birthday

Lepidotrigla argus Ogilby 1910    Argus, mythical hundred-eyed guardian of Io, whose eyes after death were transformed into the feathers of a peacock, presumably referring to “brilliant” red or orange spot on first dorsal fin

Lepidotrigla argyrosoma Fowler 1938    argyros, silver; soma, body, presumably referring to white lower half of body with “silvery tints”

Lepidotrigla bentuviai Richards & Saksena 1977    in honor of ichthyologist Adam Ben-Tuvia (1919-1999), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for his work on the fishes of the western Indian Ocean

Lepidotrigla bispinosa Steindachner 1898    bi-, two; spinosa, spiny, referring to rostral process with a single pair of prominent blade-like spines

Lepidotrigla brachyoptera Hutton 1872    brachys, short; ptera, finned, presumably referring to shorter pectoral-fin filaments compared with one or more congeners known at the time

Lepidotrigla cadmani Regan 1915    in honor of J. Cadman (no other information available), who provided the British Museum with a collection of fishes trawled off Lagos, Nigeria, including type of this one

Lepidotrigla calodactyla Ogilby 1910    etymology not explained, perhaps cal[l]o-, beautiful; dactylos, finger, referring to long pectoral fin rays “crossed by wide umber brown of blackish bars”

Lepidotrigla carolae Richards 1968    in honor of Richards’ wife, Carol

Lepidotrigla cavillone (Lacepède 1801)    common name for this species along the Mediterranean coast of France, referring to its resemblance to a caville (or cheville), a peg or plug (although we fail to see such a resemblance)

Lepidotrigla deasoni Herre & Kauffman 1952    in honor of Hilary J. Deason (1903-1984), Chief of the Office of Foreign Activities, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “who has taken great interest in Philippine fish and fisheries and has zealously promoted their study”

Lepidotrigla dieuzeidei Blanc & Hureau 1973    in honor of Jean Dieuzeide, probably marine biologist Jean René Dieuzeide (1900-?)

Lepidotrigla eydouxii Sauvage 1878    in honor of Joseph Fortuné Théodore Eydoux (1802-1841), naturalist and naval surgeon, who helped collect type aboard La Bonite during its 1836-1837 circumnavigation of the globe

Lepidotrigla faurei Gilchrist & Thompson 1914     presumably named for the Cape Government (South Africa) trawler P. Faure, from which type was collected

Lepidotrigla firmisquamis Prokofiev & Yato 2020    firmus, firm; squama, scale, referring to its “strongly adherent” scales

Lepidotrigla grandis Ogilby 1910    large, at 215 mm TL, the largest of the four species of Lepidotrigla that Ogilby described in the same publication

Lepidotrigla guentheri Hilgendorf 1879    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Albert Günther (1830-1914), who proposed the genus in 1860

Lepidotrigla hime Matsubara & Hiyama 1932    Japanese word for a young lady of noble birth, i.e., princess, allusion not explained nor evident (see also Hime, Aulopiformes, Aulopidae)

Lepidotrigla japonica (Bleeker 1854)    Japanese, described from Nagasaki (occurs in western Pacific from Indonesia and South China Sea of Taiwan, north to Korea and Japan)

Lepidotrigla jimjoebob Richards 1992    combination of letters from the nicknames of Richards’ sons, James (Jim), Joseph (Joe) and Robert (Bob)

Lepidotrigla kanagashira Kamohara 1936    Japanese name for members of the genus (also spelled kanagasira)

Lepidotrigla kishinouyi Snyder 1911    in honor of Kamakichi Kishinouye (1867-1929), head of the Imperial Fisheries Bureau of Japan (it is assumed that Snyder dropped the “e” for phonetic reasons)

Lepidotrigla larsoni del Cerro & Lloris 1997    in honor of Helen Larson, Curator of Fishes, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Darwin, Australia), who collected type series and loaned them for study [preferably spelled larsonae since name honors a woman, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]

Lepidotrigla lepidojugulata Li 1981    lepido-, scale; jugulata, throated, referring to scales on throat and breast

Lepidotrigla longifaciata Yatou 1981    longus, long; faciata, faced, referring to its “long” and “rather large” head

Lepidotrigla longimana Li 1981    longus, long; mana, handed, referring to produced fifth ray of pectoral fin

Lepidotrigla longipinnis Alcock 1890    longus, long; pinnis, fin, proposed as a subspecies of L. spiloptera with longer pectoral fins

Lepidotrigla macracaina Gomon & Kawai 2018    macro-, long; acaina, spine, referring to “distinctive” elongate second dorsal-fin spine

Lepidotrigla macrobrachium Fowler 1938    macro-, long; brachium, arm, referring to longer pectoral fin compared with the similar L. japonica [name often and incorrectly treated as as adjective, macrobrachia]

Lepidotrigla maculapinna Gomon & Kawai 2018    macula, spot; pinna, fin, referring to “distinctive” dark-edged pale blue spots on inner surface of pectoral fin

Lepidotrigla marisinensis (Fowler 1938)    ensis, suffix denoting place: maris, sea; Sinica, China, referring to China Sea, type locality

Lepidotrigla microptera Günther 1873    micro-, small; ptera, finned, presumably referring to length of pectoral fin, described as reaching fourth anal-fin ray (compared with sixth ray in at least one other congener known to Günther)

Lepidotrigla modesta Waite 1899    moderate or unassuming, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to shorter pectoral fin (reaching first anal-fin ray) compared with the related L. mulhalli (reaching sixth ray)

Lepidotrigla mulhalli Macleay 1884    in honor of Thomas Mulhall (d. 1897), Sub-Inspector, Department of Fisheries (New South Wales), to whom Macleay was “indebted” for much of knowledge of the fishes of Australia

Lepidotrigla multispinosa Smith 1934    multi-, many; spinosus, spiny, having more preorbital spines than L. faurei

Lepidotrigla musorstom del Cerro & Lloris 1997     named for the acronym MUSORSTOM, for a series of exploratory cruises to New Caledonia (tpe locality) jointly sponsored by the Institut français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération (ORSTOM) and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle

Lepidotrigla nana del Cerro & Lloris 1997    dwarf, referring to small size, up to 125.6 mm TL (101.4 SL)

Lepidotrigla oglina Fowler 1938    with large eyes, referring to “very large eye, exceeding the depth of the preorbital”

Lepidotrigla omanensis Regan 1905    ensis, suffix denoting place: Sea (Gulf) of Oman, type locality (occurs in northern Indian Ocean from Gulf of Aden east to Myanmar)

Lepidotrigla papilio (Cuvier 1829)    butterfly, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to ocellus or eyespot on first dorsal fin and/or wing-like pectoral fins that resemble a butterfly’s (when seen from above)

Lepidotrigla pectoralis Fowler 1938    pectoral, referring to long pectoral fins

Lepidotrigla pleuracanthica (Richardson 1845)    pleuro-, side; acanthica, thorny or spiny, referring to “spinous scales” of lateral line

Lepidotrigla psolokerkos Gomon & Psomadakis 2018    psolos, dirt; kerkos, tail, referring to “distinctive” gray blotch dorsoposteriorly on caudal fin

Lepidotrigla punctipectoralis Fowler 1938    punctus, spot; pectoralis, pectoral, referring to “scattered small white spots and several larger below” on blackish area of pectoral fin

Lepidotrigla robinsi Richards 1997    in honor of C. Richard Robins (1928-2020), University of Miami, upon his retirement; “He has made outstanding contributions to ichthyology, has been a most helpful colleague, and a very dear friend”

Lepidotrigla russelli del Cerro & Lloris 1995    in honor of Barry C. Russell, Director of Research and Collections, Northern Territory Museum of Arts & Sciences (Darwin, Australia), who “kindly loaned a large amount of triglid material to two hitherto unknown men, extended the period of loan when necessary and did his best to attend to our requests”

Lepidotrigla sayademalha Richards 1992    named for Saya de Malha Bank, western Indian Ocean, type locality

Lepidotrigla sereti del Cerro & Lloris 1997    in honor of ichthyologist Bernard Séret (b. 1949), ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer), who “entrusted” the authors with the study of New Caledonian triglids and loaned material

Lepidotrigla spiloptera Günther 1880    spilos, mark or spot; ptera, finned, referring to white spots spread across inner surface of pectoral fin

Lepidotrigla spinosa Gomon 1987    thorny, referring to prominent spine-bearing lateral-line scales characteristic of this species

Lepidotrigla tanydactyla Gomon & Kawai 2018    tany, long; dactyla, fingered, referring to “distinctive” elongate first free pectoral-fin ray

Lepidotrigla umbrosa Ogilby 1910    shady, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “Pale lilaceous brown” color of upper body

Lepidotrigla vanessa (Richardson 1839)    per Richardson 1842, named for Vanessa, a genus of butterflies, referring to butterfly-like ocellus on pectoral fins

Lepidotrigla vaubani del Cerro & Lloris 1997    of the research vessel Vauban, from which type was taken off New Caledonia in 1985

Lepidotrigla venusta Fowler 1938    beautiful, presumably indicating Fowler’s opinion of its appearance, featuring a large blackish-brown blotch on white-edged pectoral fin

Trigla Linnaeus 1758    classical name of Red Mullet, Mullus barbatus (Syngnathiformes: Mullidae), combined with gurnards by Artedi possibly because fishes from both taxa make sounds when pulled from the water and/or their red color; Linnaeus separated them, transferring Trigla to the gurnards, contrary to ancient usage

Trigla lyra Linnaeus 1758    lyre, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to head when seen from above, its protuberances, plates and spines combining to form a lyre-like shape            


Family PERISTEDIIDAE Armored Searobins
6 genera · 45 species

Gargariscus Smith 1917    Greek for gullet, throat or jaw, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “premaxillaries bearing a broad band of fine teeth extending from symphysis half way to angle of mouth”

Gargariscus prionocephalus (Duméril 1869)    prion, saw; cephalus, head, referring to serrated edge of cephalic shield

Heminodus Smith 1917    etymology not explained, perhaps hemi-, partial, and nodus, knot, referring to short and spine-like rostral processes (compared with long and flat on Gargariscus)

Heminodus philippinus Smith 1917    Filipino, referring to the Philippines, type locality (also occurs at the Nicobar Islands)

Paraheminodus Kamohara 1958    para-, near, related to Heminodus but differing in having well-developed barbels

Paraheminodus kamoharai Kawai, Imamura & Nakaya 2004    in honor of the late Toshiji Kamohara (1901-1972), Kochi University, who studied the taxonomy of the family Peristediidae (he proposed the genus in 1958) and “contributed much to the development of ichthyology”

Paraheminodus laticephalus (Kamohara 1952)    latus, wide; cephalus, head, presumably referring to large head with “very broad” snout “expanded around the edges”

Paraheminodus longirostralis Kawai, Nakaya & Séret 2008    longus, long; rostratus, beaked, referring to its long rostral projections (53-59% HL)                           

Paraheminodus murrayi (Günther 1880)    in honor of John Murray (1841-1914, later the founder of modern oceanography), of the HMS Challenger, from which type was collected

Peristedion Lacepède 1801    peri-, around; stedion, diminutive of stethos, breast or chest, referring to bony plates that line underside of body, forming a kind of plastron (a large pad worn by a fencer to protect the chest), the feature by which Lacepède distinguished the genus from Trigla (Triglidae)

Peristedion altipinne Regan 1903    altus, high; pinnis, finned, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to higher dorsal fins compared with most or all congeners known at the time

Peristedion amblygenys Fowler 1938    amblys, blunt; genys, chin, presumably referring to keel of suborbital stay, “without any spines and simply obtuse posteriorly”

Peristedion antillarum Teague 1961    of the Antilles, referring to type locality at Barbados, West Indies

Peristedion barbiger Garman 1899    barbus, barbel; –iger, to bear, referring to chin barbels, “numerous, closely bunched, comparatively long”

Peristedion brevirostre (Günther 1860)    brevis, short; rostratus, beaked, presumably referring to shorter rostral projections compared to most or all congeners known at the time

Peristedion cataphractum (Linnaeus 1758)    clad in armor, referring to body cuirassed with large bony plate

Peristedion crustosum Garman 1899    covered with a rind or shell, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “rough, granular” scales and/or “large granular laterally ridged plates” covering lower surface behind pectoral fins                                  

Peristedion ecuadorense Teague 1961    ensis, suffix denoting place: reflecting Teague’s mistaken belief that Ecuador was the type locality (actually off South Carolina, USA; Teague confused Albatross hydrographic station 2624 with dredging station 2624)

Peristedion gracile Goode & Bean 1896    slender, referring to “very slender” body

Peristedion greyae Miller 1967    in honor of the late Marion Grey (1911-1964), Chicago Natural History Museum, for her many contributions to the knowledge of bathypelagic and benthic fishes

Peristedion imberbe Poey 1861    beardless, originally thought to be lacking barbels by Poey, who later (1866) acknowledged that its barbels are inconspicuous and scarcely visible

Peristedion liorhynchus (Günther 1872)    leios, smooth; rhynchus, snout, referring to spineless snout (and forehead)

Peristedion longicornutum Fricke, Kawai, Yato & Motomura 2017      longus, long; cornutus, horned, referring to its “unusually long” rostral projections                          

Peristedion longispatha Goode & Bean 1886    longus, long; spatha, blade or staff, referring to long rostral projections, twice length of snout

Peristedion miniatum Goode 1880    scarlet, referring to “bright crimson” color

Peristedion nesium Bussing 2010    from the Greek nesos, islander, referring to Cocos Island, Costa Rica, only known area of occurrence

Peristedion orientale Temminck & Schlegel 1843    eastern, described from a specimen from Japan (also occurs off China, Korea and Taiwan)                                  

Peristedion paucibarbiger Castro-Aguirre & García-Domínguez 1984    pauci-, few; barbiger, bearded, referring to lower number of labial barbels compared with P. gracile

Peristedion picturatum McCulloch 1926    painted, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to broad black margins on both dorsal fins, the tips of the spines and rays white

Peristedion richardsi Kawai 2016    in honor of William J. Richards (b. 1936), National Marine Fisheries Service, for his numerous contributions to ichthyology; he also reviewed Kawai’s draft manuscript and offered “valuable” suggestions                    

Peristedion riversandersoni Alcock 1894    in honor of Adam Rivers Steele Anderson (1863-1924), captain and surgeon-naturalist of the Royal Indian Marine Survey steamer Investigator, from which type was collected

Peristedion thompsoni Fowler 1952    in honor of Arthur R. Thompson, owner of the yacht Triton from which holotype was dredged off coast of southern Florida                     

Peristedion truncatum (Günther 1880)    truncate, presumably referring to opercular ridge terminating in a “short and truncated projection”

Peristedion unicuspis Miller 1967    unus, one; cuspis, point, referring to single, retrorse spine found on each posterior scute of superomedian series of adults                     

Peristedion weberi Smith 1934    in honor of ichthyologist Max Weber (1852-1937), who described the related P. nierstraszi (=riversandersoni), proposed by Weber in 1913

Satyrichthys Kaup 1873    etymology not explained, perhaps satyrus, a god or demon, referring to two fork-shaped prolongations on end of snout of S. rieffeli, like the horns of a demon; ichthys, fish

Satyrichthys clavilapis Fowler 1938    clavis; key; lapis, stone, referring to contour of head as viewed from above, suggestive of the outline of a keystone                                

Satyrichthys laticeps (Schlegel 1852)    latus, wide; ceps, head, referring to wider head compared with Peristedion cataphractum and P. orientale, its presumed congeners at the time

Satyrichthys lingi (Whitley 1933)    in honor of George William Ling (Sydney, Australia), who “secured” holotype from the trawler Durraween

Satyrichthys longiceps (Fowler 1943)    longus, long; ceps, head, referring to its “very long” head, “longer than the rest of the body” (Fowler’s illustration appears to indicate that head is longer than body if caudal peduncle is not included)

Satyrichthys milleri Kawai 2013    in honor of George C. Miller, National Marine Fisheries Service, for his numerous contributions to the taxonomy of the family Peristediidae

Satyrichthys moluccensis (Bleeker 1850)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Molucca Islands, Indonesia, where type locality (Ambon Island) is situated (occurs in eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans from Indonesia east to Papua New Guinea, north to southern Japan, south to northern Australia and New Caledonia)

Satyrichthys rieffeli (Kaup 1859)    “in honour of the memory of my true and excellent friend De Rieffel, who has done so much for our Museum and University”; probably Franz von Rieffe (1834-1858), politician and government official responsible for public finances for the Hessian government in Darmstadt, Germany, where Kaup lived and worked (the university is probably Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen and the museum the Natural History Cabinet of Ludwig III, now Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt; Johannes Müller, pers. comm.)

Satyrichthys welchi (Herre 1925)    in honor of Thomas Gary Welch 1864-1928), an attorney and civil servant in the Philippines, for his “interest in scientific matters” and his assistance with Herre’s studies of Philippine fishes                     

Scalicus Jordan 1923    etymology not explained, possibly from skallo, to hoe or stir up earth, referring to “shovel-shaped” snout of S. amiscus (=hians)

Scalicus engyceros (Günther 1872)    engys, near; ceros, horn, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to horn-like rostral projections

Scalicus hians (Gilbert & Cramer 1897)    gaping or open, allusion not explained nor evident

Scalicus orientalis (Fowler 1938)    eastern, described from East Indies (e.g., Indonesia) and the Philippines

Scalicus paucibarbatus Kawai 2019    pauci-, few; barbatus, bearded, referring to fewer branches on its filamentous barbel compared with S. engyceros

Scalicus quadratorostratus (Fourmanoir & Rivaton 1979)    quadratus, squared; rostratus, beaked, allusion not explained, presumably referring to squarish rather than triangular shape of rostral projections

Scalicus serrulatus (Alcock 1898)    diminutive of serra, saw, i.e., small saw-toothed, referring to “sharply serrulate” preopercular ridge and/or “finely serrulate” bony ridges on head