COMMENTS
v. 3.0 – 18 June 2026 view/download PDF
Family PSYCHROLUTIDAE Marine Sculpins
64 genera/subgenera · 220 species/subspecies
Alcichthys Jordan & Starks 1904 alce, referring to A. alcicornis (alce, elk; cornis, horn, now a junior synonym of A. elongatus), presumably named for its preopercular spine, which is flat, broad and divided into many points, like the antlers of an elk; ichthys, fish
Alcichthys elongatus (Steindachner 1881) elongate, referring to “strongly stretched” (translation) body, compared with the “moderately elongate” (translation) body of Bero elegans, its presumed congener at the time (and described in the same publication)
Ambophthalmos Jackson & Nelson 1998 ambon, ridge; ophthalmos, eye, referring to protruding orbital ridges of A. angustus and A. magnicirrus
Ambophthalmos angustus (Nelson 1977) narrow, referring to relatively narrow interorbital area compared with Neophrynichthys latus, its presumed congener at the time
Ambophthalmos eurystigmatephoros Jackson & Nelson 1999 eurys, wide or broad; stigmata, marks; phoros, bearer, referring to “widespread nature of markings,” i.e., “irregular pigmentation that covers most of the body”
Ambophthalmos magnicirrus (Nelson 1977) magnus, large; cirrus, frill or tendril, referring to fleshy appendages on head
Andriashevicottus Fedorov 1990 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009); Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Andriashevicottus megacephalus Fedorov 1990 mega-, large; cephalus, head, referring to its large head, 43.8% of SL
Antipodocottus Bolin 1952 Antipodes, i.e., the other side of the globe, referring to its antipodal distribution of A. galatheae (Australia and New Zealand) in relation to all other sculpins known at the time; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Antipodocottus elegans Fricke & Brunken 1984 fine, select, well proportioned, or elegant, referring to “elegant body shape”
Antipodocottus gal-atheae Bolin 1952 in honor of the Danish research vessel Galathea, from which holotype was collected
Antipodocottus megalops DeWitt 1969 mega-, large; ops, eye, referring to large eyes, “bulging prominently into dorsal profile of head”
Antipodocottus mesembrinus (Fricke & Brunken 1983) southern, then considered a southern (Kai Islands, Indonesia) representative of the Japanese genus Stlengis
Antipodocottus novaecaledonicus Fricke 2026 -icus (L.), belonging to: New Caledonian EEZ, type locality
Archistes Jordan & Gilbert 1898 archos, rectum or anus; –istes, adjectival suffix, i.e., referring to vent far forward on A. plumarius, immediately behind base of ventral fins, the male with a long anal papilla
Archistes biseriatus (Gilbert & Burke 1912) bi-, two; seriatus, rowed, referring to a double series of plates along bases of both dorsal fins
Archistes plumarius Jordan & Gilbert 1898 feathery, presumably referring to a large fringed supraorbital flap, with small flaps and cirri on occiput, sides of head, and along lateral line
Argyrocottus Herzenstein 1892 argyros, silver, referring to silvery spots on belly and sides, and two silvery stripes, one from below eye to base of lower jaw, and another from eye to preopercle; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Argyrocottus zanderi Herzenstein 1892 in honor of “Dr. Zander,” a medical doctor in St. Petersburg, Russia, who collected holotype (now lost) at Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk; with the help of Hans-J. Paepke (Berlin Museum of Natural History) and Natalia Chernova (Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg), we determined that Dr. Zander was Alexander Karlovich Zander (life dates unknown), who served as “senior ship doctor” on the clipper Rider, which visited Sakhalin Island in 1889 or 1890
Artediellichthys Fedorov 1973 proposed as a subgenus of Artediellus by Taranetz (1941), distinguished (in part) by a plate-like (broad and spatulate) rather than a stick-like (narrow and round) suborbital stay; ichthys, fish [since Taranetz did not designate a type per ICZN Art. 13.3, first available usage of name dates to Fedorov]
Artediellichthys nigripinnis (Schmidt 1937) niger, black; pinnis, fin, referring to black dorsal and anal fins, and blackish ventral and pectoral fins
Artediellina Taranetz 1941 –ina, having the nature of: Artediellus, original genus of A. antilope [sometimes dated to Taranetz 1937, with two included species but without fixation of type; Taranetz indicated type in 1941]
Artediellina antilope (Schmidt 1937) antelope, referring to long upper preopercular spine, like the horn of an antelope
Artedielloides Soldatov 1922 –oides, having the form of: “Named for its appearance, resembling that of Artediellus”
Artedielloides auriculatus Soldatov 1922 shaped like an ear, presumably re-ferring to a pair of “stout, flat very large earlike flaps” above the eyes
Artediellus Jordan 1885 diminutive of Artedius, a similar genus from which it differs chiefly in the naked skin of head and body
Subgenus Artediellus
Artediellus aporosus Soldatov 1922 a-, not; porosus, full of pores, related to A. pacificus but distinguished by absence of pores on top of head
Artediellus atlanti-cus atlanticus Jordan & Evermann 1898 –icus, belonging to: described as a western Atlantic (Massachusetts, USA) relative of the Arctic A. uncinatus
Artediellus atlanticus europaeus Knipowitsch 1907 European, described from the west coast of Norway, from Svalbard (a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole), and from the European Arctic Ocean, presumed to be a European form of the Arctic A. uncinatus
Artediellus camchaticus Gilbert & Burke 1912 –icus, be-longing to: off eastern coast of Kamchatka, Russia, type locality (occurs in northwestern Pacific from Sea of Okhotsk and Kamchatka to Kuril Islands, east to western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA)
Artediellus gomojunovi Taranetz 1933 in honor of A. A. Gomojunov (no other information available), who prepared the illustrations for Taranetz’ paper
Artediellus ingens Nelson 1986 Latin for huge, referring to large, very robust body (up to 123.8 mm SL)
Artediellus miacanthus Gilbert & Burke 1912 meion, less, smaller or fewer; acanthus, thorn or spine, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to absence of nasal spines (compared with their presence on the similar A. pacificus)
Artediellus neyelovi Muto, Yabe & Amaoka 1994 in honor of Alexei Va-dimovich Neyelov (also spelled Neelov), Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, who has “contributed greatly” to systematic studies of cottid fishes
Artediellus ochotensis Gilbert & Burke 1912 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Okhotsk Sea, where co-type locality (Robben Island) is situated
Artediellus pacificus Gilbert 1896 –icus, belonging to: Pacific Ocean, i.e., a North Pacific counterpart of the North Atlantic A. uncinatus
Artediellus scaber Knipowitsch 1907 rough, referring to “numerous small granular or conical elevations” (translation) on head and upper body
Artediellus uncina-tus (Reinhardt 1834) hooked, referring to long and sharp upper preopercular spines, which curve upward
Subgenus Artediellops Neelov 1979 ops, appearance, a subgenus of Artediellus with four, instead of two, preopercular spines [author’s name also spelled Neyelov]
Artediellus dydymovi dydymovi Soldatov 1915 in honor of fisheries steamer Lieutenant Dydymov, from which type was collected; the vessel was named for Akim Grigorevitch Dydymov, a Russian naval officer who served in the Far East
Artediellus dydymovi schmidti Soldatov 1915 in honor of ichthyologist Petr Yulievich Schmidt (1872-1949), who first collected this sculpin at Aniva Bay, Sakhalin Is-land, Russia
Artediellus fuscimentus Nelson 1986 fuscus, dusky; mentum, chin, referring to brownish-black underside of head and branchiostegal membranes of the male
Artediellus minor (Watanabe 1958) small or lesser, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to smaller size (6.9 cm TL) compared with Cottiusculus gonez (12.3 cm), its presumed closest congener at the time
Artedius Girard 1856 –ius, belonging to: patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Swedish naturalist Peter Artedi (1705-1735), known as the “father of ichthyology”
Artedius corallinus (Hubbs 1926) pertaining to coral, referring to its “probable relationship in habitat and color” with coralline algae
Artedius fenestralis Jordan & Gilbert 1883 of a window, presumably referring to small pore-like opening behind fourth gill arch (not present on A. notospilotus)
Artedius harringtoni (Starks 1896) in honor of Mark Walrod Harrington (1848-1926), botanist, astronomer, meteorologist, and president of the University of Washington (1895-1897) [biographical footnote: he reportedly suffered a mental breakdown after being struck by lightning, disappeared in 1908 and was later found by his wife in a New Jersey mental hospital, where he subsequently died]
Artedius lateralis (Girard 1854) of the side, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “conspicuous” lateral line, “making a slight inflexion downwards upon the middle of the abdomen”; Pietsch & Orr (Fishes of the Salish Sea, 2019), suggest name refers to arrangement of scale rows along sides of body, but this character is not mentioned by Girard
Artedius notospilotus Girard 1856 notos, back; spilotos, marked or spotted, referring to 4-6 dark bars or saddles along upper body
Ascelichthys Jordan & Gilbert 1880 a-, without; skelos, leg, referring to absence of pelvic fins; ichthys, fish
Ascelichthys rhodorus Jordan & Gilbert 1880 rhodon, rosy or red; oros, margin, referring to lips “edged with vermilion” and/or dorsal fin with a “conspicuous edging of bright crimson” (italics in original)
Asemichthys Gilbert 1912 etymology not explained, perhaps a-, without and semion, standard or flag, referring to shorter spinous dorsal fin compared with that of the “Closely related” Radulinus, which has a high-er, flag-like spinous dorsal fin; ichthys, fish (Pietsch & Orr, Fishes of the Salish Sea, 2019, translate sema– as sign or mark, but concede that nothing is unmarked about this sculpin except for its nearly transparent anal and pelvic fins)
Asemichthys taylori Gilbert 1912 in honor of Rev. George William Taylor (1854-1912), Director of the Dominion Government Biological Station at Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, who collected type
Astrocottus Bolin 1936 astron, constellation, allusion not explained, however, illustration accompanying Bolin’s description shows what appears to be a dense covering of ctenoid scales on body of A. leprops, which, on darker portions, can be said to look like stars in a night sky; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Astrocottus leprops Bolin 1936 lepros, scaly; ops, face, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to head (and body) “almost completely scaled” and/or many small scales on eyeball (but lips and chin are described as scaleless)
Astrocottus matsubarae Katayama 1942 in honor of Kiyomatsu Matsubara (1907-1968), Imperial Fisheries Institute (Tokyo), for “kindness extended to [Katayama] in various ways” [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]
Astrocottus regulus Tsuruoka, Maruyama & Yabe 2008 regular, referring to its being a common species frequently collected in northern Japan; also, Regulus is the name of the alpha star of the constellation Leo, alluding to the generic name Astrocottus (“constellation sculpin”), and to the fact that holotype was collected on 19 Aug. 2004, which is in the sign of Leo
Atopocottus Bolin 1936 atopos, extraordinary, described as a “strange” sculpin, perhaps referring to small size (3 cm SL), three gills (vs. 3½-4), and/or un-certain affinities; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Atopocottus tribranchius Bolin 1936 tri-, three; branchius, gill, referring to three gills (vs. 3½-4 in most other sculpins)
Bathylutichthys Balushkin & Voskoboinikova 1990 bathos, deep (“sea bed” per English version of paper) and luteo-, “to bathe” (per English version), perhaps from lutus, washed, presumably referring to capture of B. taranetzi at 1650 m; ichthys, fish
Bathylutichthys balushkini Voskoboinikova 2014 in honor of Arkadii Vladimirovich Balushkin (1948-2021), Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, a “prominent” (translation) contributor to the study of Antarctic fishes
Bathylutichthys taranetzi Balushkin & Voskoboinikova 1990 in honor of the “outstanding” (translation) Soviet ichthyologist Anatoly Yakovlevich Taranetz (1910-1941), whose 1941 paper laid the foundation of present-day views on cottoid systematics
Bero Jordan & Starks 1904 local name for B. elegans at Aomori, Japan (in southern Japan, bero means tongue)
Bero elegans (Steindachner 1881) elegant, fine, tasteful, neat or select, allusion not explained, possibly referring to color pattern, described as having 5-6 groups of black-brown spots above lateral line, with alternating light and dark-brown transverse bands or F-shaped spots below, with brown and light-gray spots and marblings (color in life is a light brownish cherry red, but Steindachner probably did not see a living specimen)
Bolinia Yabe 1991 –ia, belonging to: ichthyologist Rolf Bolin (1901-1973), Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, for his “great” contributions to our understanding of sculpin systematics
Bolinia euryptera Yabe 1991 eurys, broad; ptera, fin, referring to its broad-based pectoral fins, with the highest number of pectoral-fin rays known among sculpins
Chitonotus Lockington 1879 chiton, an outer covering or coat of mail; notos, back, referring to rough ctenoid scales on upper body, “leaving the lower undefended”
Chitonotus pugetensis (Steindachner 1876) –ensis, suffix de-noting place: Puget Sound, Washington, USA, where type locality (Fix Island) is situated (occurs in northeast Pacific from Alaska south to southern Baja California)
Clinocottus Gill 1861 Clinus, a genus of blenny; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description (i.e., a blenny-like sculpin), perhaps alluding to Girard’s 1858 description of C. globiceps in 1858: “The general physiognomy of this species reminds us forcibly of certain species of blennies and gobies, owing to its peculiarly rounded head, a feature not common in the cottoid group.”
Clinocottus acuticeps (Gilbert 1896) acutus, pointed; ceps, head, referring to small head, which “tapers rapidly forward to the sharp slender snout”
Clinocottus analis (Girard 1858) anal, allusion not explained, described as having anal-fin origin situated behind anterior margin of second dorsal fin; Jordan & Ever-mann (1898) say name refers to “large anal papilla,” but this feature is not mentioned by Girard
Clinocottus embryum (Jordan & Starks 1895) em-, in; bryum, moss, allusion not explained, presumably referring to its occurrence among algae in tide pools
Clinocottus globi-ceps (Girard 1858) globus, globe or sphere; cephalus, head, referring to its rounded or bulbous head
Clinocottus recalvus (Greeley 1899) bald in front, referring to few cirri on top of head, none on interorbital space
Cottiusculus Jordan & Starks 1904 a “quasi diminutive” of Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description (a manuscript name proposed by Petr Yulievich Schmidt; see C. schmidti)
Cottiusculus gonez Jordan & Starks 1904 named for the vessel Gonez, from which the fauna of Peter the Great Bay (co-type locality) was studied (a manuscript name proposed by Petr Yulievich Schmidt; see C. schmidti)
Cottiusculus nihonkaiensis Kai & Nakabo 2009 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Nihonkai, Japanese name of the Sea of Japan, which includes most of its distributional range
Cottiusculus primoricus Prokofiev 2020 –icus, belonging to: Primorsky Krai, a federal subject of Russia, where type locality (Peter the Great Bay) is situated
Cottiusculus schmidti Jordan & Starks 1904 in honor of Russian ichthyologist Petr Yulievich Schmidt (1872-1949), who collected in Japan and Siberia in 1900, and whose manuscript provided the names and descriptive material for Cottiusculus and C. gonez
Cottunculus Collett 1875 –unculus, diminutive suffix, presumed to be related to the sculpin genus Cottus (Cottidae)
Cottunculus granulosus Karrer 1968 granulated, referring to small, rough granules on back, roof of skull, gill cover, and dorsal part of eyelid
Cottunculus microps Collett 1875 micro-, small; ops, eye, referring to its “extraordinarily” (translation) small eyes
Cottunculus nudus Nelson 1989 bare or naked, referring to lack of prickles or plates on body (at least in late juveniles and adults)
Cottunculus spinosus Gilchrist 1906 spiny, referring to series of spines (or sharp tubercles) on head, “arranged with perfect bilateral symmetry with reference to the body”
Cottunculus subspinosus Jensen 1902 sub, less than or somewhat; spinosus, spiny, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to very small postocular and nuchal spines (or sharp tubercles), nearly or completely hidden by skin
Cottunculus thomsonii (Günther 1882) in honor of Charles Wyville Thomson (1830-1882), chief scientist of the HMS Challenger, from which type was collected (Thomson also persuaded the British Government to furnish the Challenger for a global voyage of oceanographic research)
Cottunculus tubulosus Byrkjedal & Orlov 2007 tubus, pipe; –osus, full of, referring to prominent bony tubes of lateral line
Daruma Jordan & Starks 1904 a “name applied to squat figures of Buddha, and thence to certain thick-headed fishes of Japan”
Daruma sagamia Jordan & Starks 1904 –ia, belonging to: Sagami Bay, Japan, type locality
Dasycottus Bean 1890 dasys, wooly, referring to fine cirri scattered over head and body, giving it a furry or bristly appearance; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Dasycottus setiger Bean 1890 seti, setae (hair-like structures); –iger, to bear, referring to fine cirri scattered over head and body, giving it a furry or bristly appearance
Ebinania Sakamoto 1932 –ia, belonging to: Ken-ichi Ebina, Iwate Fisheries Experimental Station, who provided holotype of E. vermiculata; Sakamoto (later known as Matsubara) thanked Ebina and his staff for “many acts of kindness given me in various ways”
Ebinania australiae Jackson & Nelson 2006 of Australia, known only from Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia to Western Australia (authors add: “Given the paucity of outwardly apparent specific characteristics within this genus, geographic names seem fitting for newly described allopatric species of this wide ranging genus.”)
Ebinania brephocephala (Jordan & Starks 1903) brephos, fetus, embryo or babe; cephalus, head, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to spineless head, compared with spines on heads of Cottunculus microps and C. thomsonii, its presumed congeners at the time
Ebinania costaecanariae (Cervigón 1961) of Costa Canaria, ship that explored the western coast of Africa in 1958 and 1959 and collected holotype, honoring the entire crew for their “selfless and effective collaboration” (translation)
Ebinania gyrinoides (Weber 1913) –oides, having the form of: gyrinus, tadpole, its body “strikingly similar to that of a frog larva” (translation)
Ebinania macquariensis Nelson 1982 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Macquarie Island, south of Tasmania, southern Pacific, type locality
Ebinania malacocephala Nelson 1982 malakos, soft; cephala, headed, referring to its moderately soft head (like other psychrolutids, arches and bones on top of head are fragile)
Ebinania vermiculata Sakamoto 1932 vermiculate (with worm-like markings), presumably referring to whitish vermiculations on head
Enophrys Swainson 1839 en-, very; ophrys, eyebrow, presumably referring to thick, bony supraorbital ridge of E. claviger (=diceraus), “rendering the fore part of the head club-shaped”
Enophrys bison (Girard 1854) named for the American buffalo or bison, presumably referring to its long preopercular spines, like the horns of a bison
Enophrys diceraus (Pallas 1787) di-, two; keraus, horned, referring long upper preopercular spine, one on each side, like the horns of a bull
Enophrys lucasi (Jordan & Gilbert 1898) in honor of Frederick Augustus Lucas (1852-1929), Curator of Comparative Anatomy, U.S. National Museum, and member of the U.S. Fur Seal Commission in 1896 and 1897
Enophrys taurina Gilbert 1914 bull-like, presumably referring to its long upper preopercular spines, like the horns of a bull
Eurymen Gilbert & Burke 1912 etymology not explained, perhaps named for Eurymenes from Greek mythology, whose name means “broad and strong”; if so, allusion not evident
Eurymen bassargini Lindberg 1930 of Basargin Cape, Peter the Great Bay, Vladivostok, Russia, type locality (Lindberg spelled species name with two “s” and name of type locality with just one)
Eurymen gyrinus Gilbert & Burke 1912 latinization of gyrinos, tadpole, referring to tadpole-shaped body
Furcina Jordan & Starks 1904 –ina, adjectival suffix: furca, fork, referring to forked upper preopercular spine
Furcina ishikawae Jordan & Starks 1904 in honor of biologist Chiyomatsu Ishikawa (1861-1935), Tokyo Imperial University [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals whose names ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]
Furcina osimae Jordan & Starks 1904 of Oshima (sometimes spelled Osima), the “great island” of Japan, where type locality (Hakodate, Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido) is situated
Gymnocanthus Swainson 1839 gymnos, bare or naked; acanthus, thorn or spine, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to head of G. ventralis (=pistilliger), described as scaleless (actually covered or partially covered with large plates) and with “few” spines, or to scaleless preopercular spine and cusps
Gymnocanthus detrisus Gilbert & Burke 1912 etymology not ex-plained; detrisus does not appear in any of our dictionaries, perhaps a misspelling of detritus, worn away, referring to absence of filaments or papillae on head
Gymnocanthus galeatus Bean 1881 helmeted, referring to space between eyes “deeply concave and completely covered by aggregated bony granulations, as are the crown and neck” (italics in original)
Gymnocanthus herzensteini Jordan & Starks 1904 in honor of the late Russian ichthyologist Solomon Markovich Herzenstein (1854-1894), for his “excellent” work on the fishes of Hokkaido, Japan (type locality for this species)
Gymnocanthus intermedius (Temminck & Schlegel 1843) intermediate, described as seeming to “hold the middle” (translation) between Cottus (now Enophrys) diceraus and Cottus (now Gymnocanthus) pistilliger
Gymnocanthus pistilliger (Pallas 1814) pistilla, pistil; –iger, to bear, referring to axillary papillae of the male, with fringed filaments, white at the tip
Gymnocanthus tricuspis (Reinhardt 1830) tri-, three; cuspis, cusp, referring to usually three cusps on upper preopercular spine
Gymnocanthus vandesandei Poll 1949 in honor of Commandant Remi Van de Sande (1893-1969), in charge of the Belgian training ship Mercator, from which holotype was collected
Icelinus Jordan 1885 diminutive of Icelus, in which I. quadriseriatus had previously been placed
Icelinus borealis Gilbert 1896 northern, referring to its distribution, de-scribed from Alaska (occurs south to Puget Sound, Washington, USA)
Icelinus burchami Evermann & Goldsborough 1907 in honor of James S. Burcham, a “young naturalist of great promise,” who lost his life at Lake McDonald (Glacier National Park, Montana, USA) on November 12, 1905, while in the employ of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries
Icelinus cavifrons Gilbert 1890 cavus, concave; frons, front or forehead, referring to “deep circular pit” (more of a shallow depression) on top of head
Icelinus filamento-sus Gilbert 1890 with filaments, referring to long and fila-mentous first two dorsal-fin spines
Icelinus fimbriatus Gilbert 1890 fringed, referring to conspicuous palmate ten-tacles on nasal spines and above and behind eyes
Icelinus japonicus Yabe, Tsumura & Katayama 1980 Japanese, the first record of this genus from Japanese waters
Icelinus limbaughi Rosenblatt & Smith 2004 in honor of zoologist, diver and underwater photographer Conrad Limbaugh (1925-1960), who collected type in 1955, and for his pioneering work as diving officer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which “paved the way for the modern techniques of collection, manipulation, and observation of underwater marine life for scientific study” [he died after losing his way while diving in the labyrinth of an underground river in France]
Icelinus oculatus Gilbert 1890 eyed, presumably referring to “very large” eyes, as long as snout
Icelinus pietschi Yabe, Soma & Amaoka 2001 in honor of Theodore W. Pietsch (b. 1945), University of Washington (Seattle, USA), a principal investigator for the Inter-national Kuril Island Project (1994-1999), during which this sculpin was discovered
Icelinus quadriseriatus (Lockington 1880) quadri-, four; seriatus, rowed, presumably referring to two bands of large, strongly ctenoid scales on each side (for a total of four)
Icelinus tenuis Gilbert 1890 thin or slender, referring to elongate, slender body, “tapering into a very slender caudal peduncle”
Icelus Krøyer 1845 Icelus, son of Hypnus, Greek god of sleep, re-ferring to the “sluggishness” (translation) of various northern sculpins
Icelus armatus (Schmidt 1916) armed with a weapon, presumably refer-ring large plates on dorsal half of body, “armed with 10-12 spines each”
Icelus bicornis (Reinhardt 1840) bi-, two; cornis, horn, referring to pair of spines behind each eye
Icelus canaliculatus Gilbert 1896 with small canals, referring to interorbital space “wholly occupied by the two conspicuous supraorbital mucous canals”
Icelus cataphractus (Pavlenko 1910) clad in armor, referring to body “definitely armed” with a series of bony plates along lateral line and dorsal-fin base
Icelus crassus Andriashev 1937 Latin for thick, fat or stout, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its thicker, stouter body compared with I. stenoso-mus (described in the same publication), and/or to its “blunt, humped neck elevations” (translation), i.e., thicker dorsal profile compared with I. stenosomus and I. unicalis
Icelus ecornis Tsutsui & Yabe 1996 e-, not or non; cornis, horn, referring to absence of head spines on supraocular and occipital re-gions
Icelus euryops Bean 1890 eury, wide; ops, eye, referring to eye about twice as long as snout and 2⁄5 as long as head
Icelus gilberti Taranetz 1936 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928), who described I. canaliculatus and I. spiniger in 1896, and co-described I. spatula in 1912
Icelus hypselopterus Fukuzawa, Mori, Matsuzaki & Kai 2022 hypselos, high; pterus, fin, referring to high first dorsal fin
Icelus mandibularis Yabe 1983 of the lower jaw, referring to lower jaw protrud-ing beyond anterior margin of upper jaw
Icelus mororanis (Jordan & Seale 1906) –is, genitive singu-lar of: Mororan harbor, Hokkaido Island, Japan
Icelus ochotensis Schmidt 1927 –ensis, suffix denoting place: northern Okhotsk Sea, type locality (occurs in northwestern Pacific from Sea of Japan to Sea of Okhotsk)
Icelus perminovi Taranetz 1936 patronym not identified but probably in hon-or of G. N. Perminov, who worked with Taranetz at TIRH (Pacific Institute of Fishing Industry); he later became a colonel in the Russian army
Icelus rastrinoides Taranetz 1936 –iodes, having the form of: ety-mology not explained, presumably referring to its similarity to Rastrinus scutiger (which Taranetz retained in Icelus)
Icelus sekii Tsuruoka, Munehara & Yabe 2006 in honor of Katsunori Seki, Shiretoko Diving Kikaku, Rausu, Japan), who provided the authors with the first information about this species
Icelus spatula Gilbert & Burke 1912. paddle, spoon or broad blade used for stirring, referring to “distinctly spatular” shape of anal papilla of the male
Icelus spiniger Gilbert 1896 spinus, spine; –iger, to bear, i.e., spiny, referring to a single strong spine, directed outward and backward, at center of each dorsal plate
Icelus stenosomus Andriashev 1937 stenos, narrow; soma, body, proposed as a subspecies of I. uncinalis with a thinner, more elongate body
Icelus uncinalis Gilbert & Burke 1912 uncinus, hooked; analis, anal, referring to short, curved, hook-shaped process of anal papilla of the male
Leiocottus Girard 1856 leios, smooth, referring to its “perfectly smooth” skin, “bearing neither prickles nor scales”; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description [not to be confused with Leocottus in Cottidae]
Leiocottus hirundo Girard 1856 swallow (bird), named for having “so much of the aspect of Trigla” (i.e., Trigla hirundo, =Chelidonichthys lu-cerna, Trigloidei: Triglidae)
Lepidobero Qin & Jin 1992 lepido-, scaled, similar to Bero but differing in having a series of plate-like scales along lateral line
Lepidobero sinensis Qin & Jin 1992 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), where it is endemic
Malacocottus Bean 1890 malakos, soft, allusion not explained, presumably referring to “thin” skull bones of M. zonurus; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Malacocottus gibber Sakamoto 1930 humpbacked, referring to “much elevated, hump-shaped” back, compared with almost straight dorsal profiles of congeners
Malacocottus kincaidi Gilbert & Thompson 1905 in honor of Trevor Kincaid (1872-1970), zoologist and oyster farmer, University of Washington (Seattle, USA), who collected type
Malacocottus zonurus Bean 1890 zonus, belt or band; oura, tail, referring to brown band at base of caudal fin and three on the fin itself
Megalocottus Gill 1861 megalo-, large or great, presumably referring to size of M. platycephalus, which reaches 42 cm TL; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Megalocottus platycephalus (Pallas 1814) platy, broad or flat; cephalus, head, referring to broad, flat head, with strongly projecting lower jaw
Megalocottus taeniopterus (Kner 1868) taenio-, band; pterus, fin, referring to three dark, oblique, longitudinal bands on second dorsal fin and four on anal fin, three vertical bands on caudal fin, and 4-5 bands on pectoral fins, much narrower than the light membrane between them
Micrenophrys Andriashev 1954 micro-, small; Enophrys, a related genus (or the tribe Enophryini, to which it belongs), allusion not explained, perhaps referring to smaller size (~7.4 cm SL) compared with related species (e.g., Enophrys diceraus, ~32.0 cm SL)
Micrenophrys lilljeborgii (Collett 1875) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of zoologist Wilhelm Lilljeborg (1816-1908), Uppsala University, whose 1849 account of a journey through Russia and Finnmark (a former county in northern Norway) is cited several times by Collett
Microcottus Schmidt 1940 micro-, small, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to small size of M. sellaris (up to 14.7 cm TL) compared with other sculpins, especially Myoxocephalus (18-80 cm TL); Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Microcottus matuaensis Yabe & Pietsch 2003 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Matua Island, central Kuril Archipelago, western Pacific between Russia and Japan, only known area of occurrence
Microcottus sellaris (Gilbert 1896) saddled, referring to two “very conspicuous white saddle-shaped bars extending downward and forward from back”
Myoxocephalus Tilesius 1811 etymology not explained, possibly myoxo-, derived from mys, Greek for muscle, and cephalus, head, referring to beefy or humped (“tuberculum prominet”) head of M. stelleri; myoxos also translates as Greek for dormouse, but we reject this interpretation since Tilesius said the head resembles that of a frog or toad (“Caput quale in ranis et bufonibus”)
Myoxocephalus aenaeus (Mitchill 1814) brazen, referring to “yellowish, or rather brass coloured” body below lateral line, and belly a “brassy white”
Myoxocephalus brandtii (Steindachner 1867) patronym not identified, possibly in honor of German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt (1802-1879)
Myoxocephalus jaok (Cuvier 1829) local name for this sculpin in Kamchatka, Russia
Myoxocephalus niger (Bean 1881) black, referring to very dark brown, almost black, color in alcohol (with a purplish tinge in some specimens), mottled with lighter brown or white
Myoxocephalus ochotensis Schmidt 1929 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Okhotsk Sea, Kamchatka, Russia, type locality
Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus (Mitchill 1814) octodecem, eighteen; spinosus, spined, referring to 18 (actually 20) spines about the head
Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus (Pallas 1814) poly, many; acanthus, thorn or spine; cephalus, head, referring to numerous spines about the head, including three preopercular spines (the uppermost one very long) and well-developed opercular spines
Myoxocephalus quadricornis (Linnaeus 1758) quadri-, four; cornis, horn, referring to four opercular spines
Myoxocephalus scorpioides (Fabricius 1780) –oides, having the form of: allusion not explained, probably referring to resemblance to M. scorpius
Myoxocephalus scorpius (Linnaeus 1758) scorpion, probably referring to “sea scorpion,” an early common name for sculpins
Myoxocephalus sinensis (Sauvage 1873) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), where this sculpin is endemic
Myoxocephalus stelleri Tilesius 1811 in honor of Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746), German physician-naturalist who worked in Russia and explored the Kamchatka Peninsula; his unpublished manuscript provided material for Tilesius’ description
Myoxocephalus thompsonii (Girard 1851) in honor of Rev. Zadock Thompson (1796-1856), Episcopalian priest, geologist, geographer, historian, professor, and “esteemed naturalist” of Burlington, Vermont (USA)
Myoxocephalus tuberculatus Soldatov & Pavlenko 1922 with tubercles, referring to a pair of large, subconical tubercles above eyes and a pair of somewhat smaller ones at occiput, and/or “horny” tubercles on inner surface of pectoral fins on males
Myoxocephalus verrucosus Bean 1891 Latin for covered with verrucae, or warts, referring to “small skinny warts” on crown, nape, and interorbital region
Neophrynichthys Günther 1876 neo-, new; phryne, toad; ichthys, fish, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its toad-like appearance, or perhaps to the stonefish genus Phrynichthys (=Synanceia), but we see only a superficial resemblance
Neophrynichthys heterospilos Jackson & Nelson 2000 heteros, different; spilos, mark or spot, referring to how its spots vary in number and size from head to tail, compared with N. latus, which has relatively uniform spotting on its body
Neophrynichthys latus (Hutton 1875) broad, referring to its broad head, as wide as it is long
Ocynectes Jordan & Starks 1904 ocy, swift (bird); nectes, swimmer, referring to very large pectoral fins (like the wings of a swift) of O. maschalis
Ocynectes maschalis Jordan & Starks 1904 Greek for armpit, referring to “single conspicuous black dot always present on axil”
Ocynectes modestus Snyder 1911 modest or unassuming, referring to how it differs from O. maschalis, in part, by its “plain” color
Oligocottus Girard 1856 oligos, small or scanty, referring to its “diminutive” size (reaching 9 cm TL); Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description (Girard added: “We have full evidence that the specimens before us are adults, and consequently have not hesitated in the selection of that name. We are aware, however, that further search might bring to notice other species not quite so small and still of the same generic stamp. On the other hand, the etymology of a name is of but little avail towards elucidating the history of the object it designates.”
Oligocottus maculosus Girard 1856 mottled or speckled, described as having a yellowish-brown body above, “mottled or variegated with blackish”
Oligocottus rimensis (Greeley 1899) –ensis, suffix denoting place: etymology not explained but per Jordan & Evermann (1900) named for its habitat, i.e., rima, fissure or crevice, referring to its occurrence in tidepools lined with coralline algae (Pietsch & Orr 2019, Fishes of the Salish Sea, suggest name refers to the deeply incised interradial membranes of its anal fin, but we doubt this explanation)
Oligocottus rubellio (Greeley 1899) a rosy one, referring to its coloration, described as “light brown to all shades of light red, pink, or lavender”
Oligocottus snyderi Greeley 1898 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist John Otterbein Snyder (1867-1943)
Orthonopias Starks & Mann 1911 etymology not explained, perhaps ortho-, straight or upright, and ops, eye, referring to eyes “set high in head, standing a little above profile” and/or a “line” of four cirri extending backwards from each eye; –ias, suffix used in some Greek names of fishes (e.g., Xiphias)
Orthonopias triacis Starks & Mann 1911 etymology not explained, perhaps tri, three, and akis, point, referring to trifid upper preopercular spine
Phallocottus Schultz 1938 phallos, penis, referring to large conical anal papillae; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Phallocottus obtusus Schultz 1938 blunt, referring to “bluntly rounded” preopercular spine
Phasmatocottus Bolin 1936 phasma, ghost or specter, allusion not explained nor evident; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Phasmatocottus ctenopterygius Bolin 1936 ctenos, comb; pterygius, finned, referring to rays of first dorsal fin not connected by a membrane, therefore the rays are like the teeth of a comb
Porocottus Gill 1859 poros, pore, referring to numerous pores along head and body of P. quadrifilis, and pores along lateral line; Cottus, type genus of Cottidae, familial placement at time of description
Porocottus allisi (Jordan & Starks 1904) in honor of Edward Phelps Allis (1851-1947), Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA), comparative anatomist, evolutionary morphologist, and author of a 1909 monograph on the cranial anatomy of mail-cheeked fishes
Porocottus camtschaticus (Schmidt 1916) –icus, belonging to: west coast of Kamchatka, Russia, where type locality (mouth of Osernaya River) is situated
Porocottus coronatus Yabe 1992 crowned, referring to group of finger-like cirri on dorsal midline of head
Porocottus japonicus Schmidt 1935 Japanese, probably referring to Sea of Japan, where co-type localities, DeCastri Bay (now called Chikhachyova Bay) and western coast of Sakhalin, are situated
Porocottus leptosomus Muto, Choi & Yabe 2002 leptos, thin; soma, body, referring to strongly compressed body
Porocottus mednius (Bean 1898) latinization of Medni, its Russian name, meaning copper, referring to Medny Island, Commander Islands, Bering Sea, type locality
Porocottus minutus (Pallas 1814) small, described at 7.62 cm, the smallest sculpin known to Pallas
Porocottus quadrifilis Gill 1859 quadri-, four; filum, filament, referring to pair of occipital cirri and pair of postocular cirri
Porocottus tentaculatus (Kner 1868) with tentacles, referring to fringed tentacle on sharp spine before each eye, and a small, thread-like tentacle on blunt, forked, bony knob on end of supraocular ridge
Pseudoblennius Temminck & Schlegel 1850 pseudo-, false; blennius, blenny, described as having the characters of blennies (Blenniiformes) but differing in physiognomy and dentition [proposed without a species, later named P. percoides]
Pseudoblennius argenteus (Döderlein 1887) silvery, referring to several large, shiny silver spots below lateral line
Pseudoblennius cottoides (Richardson 1848) –oides, having the form of: described as having “some resemblance” to Cottus
Pseudoblennius marmoratus (Döderlein 1884) marbled, referring to head, sides and fins marbled with black-brown spots and bands
Pseudoblennius percoides Günther 1861 –oides, having the form of: perca, perch, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its perch-like appearance
Pseudoblennius totomius Jordan & Starks 1904 –ius, belonging to: Totomi Bay, Japan, type locality
Pseudoblennius zonostigma Jordan & Starks 1904 zonos, band; stigma, mark or spot, presumably referring to any or all of the following: body entirely crossed by six double rows of small brown spots, a pair of rows across caudal peduncle, three pairs under soft dorsal fin, two pairs under spinous dorsal, wavy dark stripes on spinous dorsal, broader bands on anal fin, dark spot on maxillary below each eye, a small dark spot on base of middle pectoral-fin rays, a jet-black spot on first and last spines of spinous dorsal fin
Psychrolutes Günther 1861 psychro-, cold; lutes, bather, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to temperate and subpolar habitat of P. paradoxus
Psychrolutes dolganovi (Mandrytsa 1993) in honor of ichthyologist Vladimir Nikolaevich Dolganov (b. 1949), TINRO (Pacific Scientific Research Fisheries Centre), who supplied holotype [sometimes placed in Gilbertidia Berg 1898, treated here as a synonym of Psychrolutes; Gilbertidia, a replacement name for Gilbertina Jordan & Starks 1895 (preoccupied in molluscs), was originally named for ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928), “who has contributed more than any one else to the knowledge of the fishes of the Northern Pacific”]
Psychrolutes inermis (Vaillant 1888) unarmed, referring to absence of spiny tubercles on head compared with Cottunculus microps and C. torvus (=thomsonii), its presumed congeners at the time
Psychrolutes macrocephalus (Gilchrist 1904) macro-, long or large; cephalus, head, length of head ½ length of body
Psychrolutes marcidus (McCulloch 1926) withered, wasted or weak, allusion not explained, possibly referring to head, body and fins “entirely covered in loose, flabby skin, which almost entirely conceals the characters beneath it”
Psychrolutes marmoratus (Gill 1889) marbled, referring to blackish-brown color, marbled with light brown and gray
Psychrolutes microporos Nelson 1995 micro-, small; poros, pore, referring to minute terminal chin pore and, in general, to minute lateral-line pores on head
Psychrolutes occidentalis Fricke 1990 western, referring to it distribution in Western Australia, west of the other Australian species, P. marcidus
Psychrolutes paradoxus Günther 1861 strange or contrary to expectation, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its combination of characters, which suggest a “natural affinity” with snailfishes, blennies, clingfishes, toadfishes, and anglerfishes
Psychrolutes phrictus Stein & Bond 1978 phriktos, Greek for “causing one to shudder,” referring to its “grotesque” appearance
Psychrolutes pustulosus (Schmidt 1937) full of blisters, referring to numerous tubercles on skin of holotype (but skin of a smaller specimen is said to be much smoother) [sometimes placed in Gilbertidia, treated here as a synonym of Psychrolutes; see P. dolganovi, above]
Psychrolutes sigalutes (Jordan & Starks 1895) sigelos, silent; lutes, bather, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its lethargic, slow-swimming habits
Psychrolutes sio Nelson 1980 named after the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), which sponsored collection of holotype
Radulinopsis Soldatov & Lindberg 1930 opsis, appearance, referring to Radulinus, “which it resembles in appearance, but with which it is not closely related”
Radulinopsis derzhavini Soldatov & Lindberg 1930 in honor of ichthyologist-hydrobiologist Alexander Nikolaevich Derzhavin (1878-1963, also spelled), Director of the Research Institute of Fisheries at Vladivostok, Russia [initially spelled derjavini but corrected by authors within same journal]
Radulinopsis taranetzi Yabe & Maruyama 2001 in honor of Anatoly Yakovlevich Taranetz (1910-1941), for his “understanding of boreal fishes and especially cottoid classification”
Radulinus Gilbert 1890 –inus, adjectival suffix: radula, Latin for scraper, presumably referring to rows of large, keeled, spinous plates along lateral line, with similar plates on head
Radulinus asprellus Gilbert 1890 diminutive of asper, rough, presumably referring to rows of large, keeled, spinous plates along lateral line, with similar plates on head
Radulinus boleoides Gilbert 1898 –oides, having the form of: referring to “marked likeness” to the darter (Percidae) subgenus Boleosoma (bole, dart or javelin; soma, body, named for its dart-like shape)
Radulinus vinculus Bolin 1950 link or means of binding, referring to its intermediate position connecting Radulinus and Radulinopsis
Rastrinus Jordan & Evermann 1896 –inus, adjectival suffix: rastrum, scraper, referring to its rough scales
Rastrinus scutiger (Bean 1890) scutum, shield; –iger, to bear, presumably referring to small, spiny scales on head and body above lateral line
Ricuzenius Jordan & Starks 1904 –ius, belonging to: Rikuzen Province, old name for area now encompassing Miyagi Prefecture, where type locality of R. pinetorum (Matsushima Bay, off Kinkwazan Island) is situated
Ricuzenius nudithorax Bolin 1936 nudus, bare or naked; thorax, breast, presumably referring to a “few minute scales” anterior to pelvic-fin base, in contrast to scales on head and body above lateral line
Ricuzenius pinetorum Jordan & Starks 1904 of the pines, referring to Matsushima (“pine island”) Bay, Japan, type locality
Ruscarius Jordan & Starks 1895 from Ruscum, genus of the Butcher’s Broom, a rough plant, referring to prickly scales of R. meanyi
Ruscarius creaseri (Hubbs 1926) in honor of Charles William Creaser (1897-1965), a “student of fishes,” Hubbs’ ichthyological colleage at the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan
Ruscarius meanyi Jordan & Starks 1895 in honor of Edmond Stephen Meany (1862-1935), Secretary of the University of Washington (Seattle, USA), for his work in the Young Naturalists’ Society
Sigmistes Rutter 1898 sigma, the letter “S,” –istes, adjectival suffix, referring to lateral line of S. caulias, strongly arched anteriorly, creating an S-like shape
Sigmistes caulias Rutter 1898 Greek for stem or stalk, referring to many (20-21) rays of soft dorsal fin
Sigmistes smithi Schultz 1938 in honor of Hugh M. Smith (1865-1941), for his “numerous valuable contributions in ichthyology made over a long period of years”
Stelgistrum Jordan & Gilbert 1898 from stelgistron, Greek for scraper, presumably referring to “strongly spinous” plates along lateral line of S. stejnegeri
Stelgistrum beringianum Gilbert & Burke 1912 –anum, belonging to: Bering Sea, where type locality (Petrel Bank, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA) is situated
Stelgistrum concinnum Andriashev 1935 skillfully put together, beautiful or appropriate, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its “very characteristic” color, which makes it “easily distinguishable” (translation) from its congeners
Stelgistrum stejnegeri Jordan & Gilbert 1898 in honor of Leonhard Stejneger (1851-1943), Curator of Reptiles, U. S. National Museum
Stlengis Jordan & Starks 1904 Greek for comb, presumably referring to villiform teeth (resembling bristles on a brush) on jaws, vomer and palatines of S. osensis
Stlengis distoechus Bolin 1936 di-, two; stoechos, rows, referring to two bands of ctenoid scales on sides, intermediate between S. misakia (one band) and S. osensis (three bands)
Stlengis misakia (Jordan & Starks 1904) –ia, adjectival suffix: near Misaki, Japan, where type locality (Manazuru Point, Sagami Bay) is situated
Stlengis osensis Jordan & Starks 1904 –ensis, suffix denoting place: off Ose Point, Suruga Bay, Japan, type locality
Synchirus Bean 1890 syn-, together; cheiros, hand, referring to fused pectoral fins, unique among eastern Pacific sculpins
Synchirus gilli Bean 1890 in honor of Smithsonian zoologist Theodore Gill (1837-1914), for his “researches upon the mail-cheeked fishes”
Taurocottus Soldatov & Pavlenko 1915 taurus, bull, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “unusual” preopercular spines, the top one very long and sometimes curved, like the horns of a bull; Cottus, type genus of family
Taurocottus bergii Soldatov & Pavlenko 1915 in honor of Lev (also Leo) Semyonovich Berg (1876-1950), Professor of Ichthyology, Agricultural Institute of Moscow, who described over a dozen sculpin taxa
Taurulus Gratzianov 1907 diminutive of taurus, bull, referring to anterior of two spines on gill cover, reaching backward to a point below foremost part of dorsal fin, like the horns of a bull or water buffalo
Taurulus bubalis (Euphrasen 1786) water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), referring to anterior of two spines on gill cover, reaching backward to a point below foremost part of dorsal fin, like the horns of a water buffalo
Thyriscus Gilbert & Burke 1912 etymology not explained, perhaps diminutive of thyris, window, or thyra, door, referring to “short slit behind last gill”
Thyriscus anoplus Gilbert & Burke 1912 unarmed, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to absence of dorsal series of plates, distinguishing it from the similar Icelus
Trichocottus Soldatov & Pavlenko 1915 trichos, hair or ray, presumably referring to many “cirri on lower part of head and some along lateral line; Cottus, type genus of family
Trichocottus brashnikovi Soldatov & Pavlenko 1915 in honor of Russian ichthyologist and fisheries chief Vladimir Konstantinovich Bražnikov (or Brashnikov, 1870-1921), “who collected some years ago in Okhotsk Sea and whose industry and zeal we are indebted for many valuable collections”
Triglops Reinhardt 1830 ops, appearance, the transverse folds of T. pingelii resembling the lateral plates of Trigla pini and T. lineata (Trigloidei: Triglidae), junior synonyms of Chelidonichthys cuculus and C. lastoviza, respectively
Triglops dorothy Pietsch & Orr 2006 in honor of Dorothy Thomlinson Gilbert (1929-2008), great granddaughter-in-law of the “eminent” ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles Henry Gilbert (who recognized this species as distinct in 1912), for her “generous and steadfast support to graduate students in ichthyology at the University of Washington, Seattle, in establishing the William W. and Dorothy T. Gilbert Ichthyology Research Fund” (a noun in apposition, without the genitive “ae”)
Triglops forficatus (Gilbert 1896) deeply forked, like shears, referring to “very widely forked” caudal fin
Triglops jordani (Schmidt 1904) in honor of ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1851-1931) [authorship often given as Jordan & Starks 1904, in whose paper description first appeared]
Triglops macellus (Bean 1884) diminutive of macer, slender or thin, referring to its slenderer body compared with T. pingelii
Triglops metopias Gilbert & Burke 1912 having a high forehead, presumably referring to “anterior portion of orbital rim forming a convex prominence over front of orbit”
Triglops murrayi Günther 1888 in honor of John Murray (1841-1914, later the founder of modern oceanography), who obtained type while dredging in deep water on the northwest coast of Scotland
Triglops nybelini Jensen 1944 in honor of ichthyologist Orvar Nybelin (1892-1982), Museum of Natural History (Stockholm, Sweden), who “keensightedly pointed out” this species’ characteristic features in 1941 but did not separate it from T. pingelii; Jensen admitted that he had given Nybelin information that was “not satisfactory” about Reinhardt’s original specimens of T. pingelii, which contributed to Nybelin’s conservative assessment of its taxonomic status
Triglops pingelii Reinhardt 1837 in honor of Peter Christian Pingel (1793-1852), Danish geologist who explored Greenland (type locality) and collected the first specimen in 1829
Triglops scepticus Gilbert 1896 from the Greek skeptikos, observant, presumably referring to its large eyes, larger than those of T. pingelii
Triglops xenostethus Gilbert 1896 xenos, strange (i.e., different); stethos, breast, referring to small, closely imbricated spinous scales on breast, compared with cutaneous folds on congeners known at the time
Vellitor Jordan & Starks 1904 one who plucks or tears, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to long, pike-like head of V. centropomus
Vellitor centropomus (Richardson 1848) presumably referring to its snook-like (Centropomus, Carangiformes: Centropomidae) body shape
Vellitor minutus Iwata 1983 small, a smaller species (up to 93.6 cm SL) than V. centropomus (up to 114.0 cm SL)
Zesticelus Jordan & Evermann 1896 zestos, soft-boiled, referring to very soft body and feeble skeleton of Z. profundorum, an adaptation to deep-sea life; Icelus, son of Hypnus, Greek god of sleep and name of a related genus (but described as most closely related to Porocottus), allusion not explained
Zesticelus bathybius (Günther 1878) bathys, deep; bios, life, referring to its capture at 1033 m
Zesticelus japonicus Oshima 1957 Japanese, described from off Niigata, Japan [status uncertain, holotype lost; possibly a species of Artediellus]
Zesticelus ochotensis Yabe 1995 –ensis, suffix denoting place: southwestern Okhotsk Sea off Cape Shiretoko, Japan, type locality
Zesticelus profundorum (Gilbert 1896) of the depths, collected at 730 m
Family CYCLOPTERIDAE Lumpfishes
6 genera · 32 species
Subfamily CYCLOPTERINAE Lumpsucker
Cyclopterus Linnaeus 1758 cyclos, circle or ring; pterus, fin, presumably referring to ventral fins forming an adhesive disc
Cyclopterus lumpus Linnaeus 1758 from the Anglo-Saxon lump, the fish having been called Lumpus anglorum by Gesner (1558), referring to dorsal fin so enveloped by a thick and tubercular skin that it might be mistaken for a lump
Subfamily LIPAROPSINAE Smooth Lumpsucker
named for Liparops Garman 1892 (=Aptocyclus), ops, appearance, allusion not explained, presumably referring to superficial resemblance of L. stelleri (=A. ventricosus) to the snailfish genus Liparis (Liparidae)
Aptocyclus De la Pylaie 1835 etymology not explained, possibly [h]apto, to fasten or bind; cyclos, circle or ring, referring to ventral fins forming an adhesive disc
Aptocyclus ventricosus (Pallas 1769) potbellied or bulging, referring to its two exceedingly large urinary bladders, which can cause an “unsightly belly size” (translation)
Subfamily EUMICROTREMINAE Spiny Lumpsuckers
Cyclopsis Popov 1930 cyclo-, circle; opsis, appearance, having an “oval form in its longitudinal section” (per Popov 1931)
Cyclopsis tentacularis Popov 1930 tentacled, referring to numerous small, thin tentacles over surface of body
Eumicrotremus Gill 1862 eu-, very; micro, small; trema, hole, presumably referring to extremely restricted gill opening of E. spinosus, smaller than those of Cyclopterus
Eumicrotremus andriashevi Perminov 1936 in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev (1910-2009), who, at the time, was studying the fishes of the northern Pacific Ocean, and provided Perminov with “valuable recommendations” (translation)
Eumicrotremus asperrimus (Tanaka 1912) very rough, referring to body thickly covered with large tubercles
Eumicrotremus awae (Jordan & Snyder 1902) of Awa Province (now Chiba Prefecture), Japan, where type locality (Kominato, entrance to Tokyo Bay) is situated
Eumicrotremus barbatus (Lindberg & Legeza 1955) bearded, referring to dermal papillae projecting from subcutaneous bases on cheeks, chin and throat (also on upper part of head), unique in the genus
Eumicrotremus bergi (Popov 1929) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist Lev (also Leo) Semyonovich Berg (1876-1950)
Eumicrotremus brashnikowi (Schmidt 1904) in honor of Russian ichthyologist and fisheries chief Vladimir Konstantinovich Bražnikov (or Brashnikov, 1870-1921), who collected holotype
Eumicrotremus derjugini Popov 1926 in honor of oceanographer Konstantin Mikhailovich Deryugin (1878-1938), Popov’s “dear teacher” (translation)
Eumicrotremus fedorovi Mandrytsa 1991 in honor of Vladimir Vladimirovich Fedorov (1939-2011), Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, who had studied the holotype and first suggested it as a new species
Eumicrotremus gyrinops (Garman 1892) gyrinus, tadpole; ops, appearance, presumably referring to its tadpole-like appearance
Eumicrotremus inarmatus (Mednikov & Prokhorov 1956) in-, not; armatus, armed (with a weapon), referring to low bumps and leathery (instead of conical) tubercles on skin lacking spiny or subdermal bony plates
Eumicrotremus jindoensis Lee & Kim 2017 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Jin-do Island, southwestern coast of Korean Peninsula, type locality
Eumicrotremus jordani (Soldatov 1929) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1851-1931), who co-described E. awae in 1902
Eumicrotremus lindbergi (Soldatov 1930) in honor of Georgii Ustinovich Lindberg (1894-1976), ichthyologist, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, co-author of book in which description appeared
Eumicrotremus mcalpini (Fowler 1914) in honor of philanthropist Charles Williston McAlpin (1865-1942), Secretary, Princeton University, “to whom the University is indebted for assistance in securing the present collection,” including type of this species
Eumicrotremus multituberculatus Voskoboinikova 2018 multi-, many; tuberculatus, with tubercles, referring to numerous bony tubercles on head and sides
Eumicrotremus ochotonensis Popov 1928 –ensis, suffix denoting place: proposed as a subspecies of E. derjugini endemic to the Sea of Okhotsk
Eumicrotremus orbis (Günther 1861) circle, its head and body forming “one orbicular mass”
Eumicrotremus pacificus Schmidt 1904 –icus, belonging to: Pacific Ocean, described as a northwestern Pacific species similar to E. spinosus from the Arctic and North Atlantic
Eumicrotremus phrynoides Gilbert & Burke 1912 –oides, having the form of: phryne, toad, presumably referring to “tadpole shaped” body
Eumicrotremus popovi (Soldatov 1929) in honor of Alexander Mikhailovich Popov (d. 1942), Hydrobiological Laboratory of Leningrad State University and the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who proposed several cyclopterid taxa and coauthored paper in which description appeared
Eumicrotremus schmidti Lindberg & Legeza 1955 patronym not identified, presumably in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Petr Yulievich Schmidt (1872-1949)
Eumicrotremus spinosus (Fabricius 1776) spiny, referring to numerous strong, sharp spinules on large tubercles that cover most of body
Eumicrotremus taranetzi Perminov 1936 in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Anatoly Yakovlevich Taranetz (1910-1941), who provided “valuable recommendations” (translation) during the author’s study
Eumicrotremus tartaricus Lindberg & Legeza 1955 –icus, belonging to: Strait of Tartary, which divides Sakhalin, Russia, from mainland Asia, co-type locality (occurs in northwestern Pacific from southern Okhotsk Sea to Japan Sea at Peter the Great Bay, and Pacific coast off southern Kuril Islands)
Eumicrotremus terraenovae Myers & Böhlke 1950 of terra, land, and nova, new, referring to Newfoundland, Canada, type locality (also occurs in Gulf of Maine)
Eumicrotremus tokranovi (Voskoboinikova 2015) in honor of Alexei Mikhailovich Tokranov, Kamchatka Branch of the Pacific Institute of Geography, Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, “famous” (translation) Russian ichthyologist specializing in fishes of the Russian Far East
Eumicrotremus uenoi Kai, Ikeguchi & Nakabo 2017 in honor of Tatsuji Ueno, formerly of the Hokkaido Fisheries Experimental Station, who contributed “greatly” to the systematics of Cyclopteridae
Lethotremus Gilbert 1896 lethos, to forget; trema, hole, differing from Eumicrotremus, in part, by the absence of pores on sides of head and body
Lethotremus muticus Gilbert 1896 unarmed, differing from Eumicrotremus in the “total absence” of bony plates
Proeumicrotremus Voskoboinikova & Orlov 2020 pro-, first or in front, referring to its intermediate position between generalized cyclopterid genera and Eumicrotremus
Proeumicrotremus soldatovi (Popov 1930) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist Vladimir Konstantinovich Soldatov (1875-1941), Moscow Technical Institute of Fishing Industry and Fish Farming, who collaborated with Popov on a cyclopterid paper in 1929