COMMENTS
v. 2.0 – 11 Oct. 2023  view/download PDF

Family BEMBROPIDAE Duckbills
2 genera · 24 species · Taxonomic note: Previously classified as a subfamily of Percophidae, which is now placed in Suborder Notothenioidei.

Bembrops Steindachner 1876    ops, appearance, similar to Bembras (Platycephaloidei: Bembridae) in shape of head and position of mouth

Bembrops anatirostris Ginsburg 1955    anatis, duck-like; rostris, beak, referring to flattened, “somewhat ducklike” snout, a characteristic of the genus (hence the name “duckbills”)

Bembrops cadenati Das & Nelson 1996    in honor of Jean Cadenat (1908-1992), Director, Marine Biological Section of the Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (Gorée, Senegal), for his work on the marine fishes off western Africa (he also reported this species as B. caudimacula [erroneously spelled caudimaculata] in 1937)

Bembrops caudimacula Steindachner 1876    caudi-, tail, macula, spot, referring to black spot behind base of upper caudal-fin rays

Bembrops curvatura Okada & Suzuki 1952    curvature, referring to “lateral line descending abruptly in a catenary curve from the tip of opercular flap to the middle region of the body”

Bembrops filiferus Gilbert 1905    filum, thread; fero, to bear, referring to filamentous nature of elongated first spine of first dorsal fin

Bembrops gobioides (Goode 1880)    –oides, having the form of: referring to its general appearance, “suggestive of a species of Gobius” (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae)

Bembrops greyi Poll 1959    in honor of Marion Grey (1911-1964), Chicago Natural History Museum, who “kindly sent [Poll] an abundant and interesting account on the Bembrops of the western Atlantic and who examined this species in conjunction with material at her disposal” (translation) [preferably spelled greyae since name honors a woman, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction]

Bembrops heterurus (Miranda Ribeiro 1903)    hetero-, different; oura, tail, referring to differently shaped caudal-fin lobes, prolonged and acute above, rounded below

Bembrops macromma Ginsburg 1955    macro-, large; omma, eye, referring to larger eye compared to B. anatirostris and B. gobioides (Das & Nelson 1996 are incorrect in saying name refers to its large omos, shoulder)

Bembrops magnisquamis Ginsburg 1955    magni-, large; squamis, scale, referring to larger scales relative to Western Atlantic congeners

Bembrops morelandi Nelson 1978    in honor of John “Jock” Munne Moreland (1921-2012), Curator of Ichthyology and Herpetology, National Museum of New Zealand, for his contribution to the study of fishes of New Zealand (off the coast of which this species is endemic)

Bembrops nelsoni Thompson & Suttkus 2002    in honor of Joseph S. Nelson (1937-2011), for his many contributions to our knowledge of percophid fishes (referring to original family, Percophidae) and their relatives

Bembrops nematopterus Norman 1939    nematos, thread; pterus, fin, referring to thread-like elongation of first spine of first dorsal fin

Bembrops ocellatus Thompson & Suttkus 1998    having little eyes, referring to black spot on dorsal base of caudal fin

Bembrops philippinus Fowler 1939    Filipino, referring to Anima Sola Island, between Burias and Luzon Island, Philippines, type locality

Bembrops platyrhynchus (Alcock 1894)    platy, flat; rhynchus, snout, referring to its “broad, much depressed, and spathulate” snout

Bembrops quadrisella Thompson & Suttkus 1998    quadrus, four; sella, saddle, referring to four well-developed saddles on back

Bembrops raneyi Thompson & Suttkus 1998    in honor of the late Edward C. Raney (1909-1984), “former Professor of Ichthyology at Cornell University and teacher to many of North America’s ichthyologists, our mentor, friend, and professional colleague, who had a long-standing interest in percophids [referring to original family, Percophidae] and organized much of the study materials we have used in the present research. We made use of his notes, and an early draft of a manuscript describing the species that now bears his name.”

Chrionema Gilbert 1905    chrio-, want or lack; nema, thread, similar to Bembrops but lacking fleshy flap on maxillary

Chrionema chlorotaenia McKay 1971    chloros, green (greenish-yellow according to McKay); taenia, band, referring to 11 bands on body, described as lemon-yellow in life

Chrionema chryseres Gilbert 1905    golden, presumably referring to a “number of bright golden-yellow spots on upper parts” of body

Chrionema furunoi Okamura & Yamachi 1982    patronym not identified, perhaps in honor of Furono, a Japanese manufacturer of marine electronics (e.g., fish finders, radar systems), or its founder, Kiyotaka Furuno

Chrionema pallidum Parin 1990    pale, referring to “drab” (translation) color, described as light in alcohol with blurred dark spots between lateral line and dorsal profile

Chrionema squamentum (Ginsburg 1955)    squamus, scale; mentum, chin, referring to presence of scales on mandibular rami (absent on C. squamiceps)

Chrionema squamiceps Gilbert 1905    squamus, scale; ceps, head, differering from C. chryseres in the “more complete squamation of the head”