COMMENTS
v. 8.0 – 18 Dec. 2024 view/download PDF
5 families · 23 genera/subgenera · 76 species/subspecies
Family ANOPLOGASTRIDAE Fangtooths
Anoplogaster Günther 1859 anoplos, unarmed; gaster, belly, allusion not explained; described from juveniles (adults were considered a distinct species until 1955), probably referring to black patch on belly formed by dark-colored cup-like scales (scales form on belly as the juvenile matures)
Anoplogaster brachycera Kotlyar 1986 brachys, short; ceratos, horn, referring to short temporal and preopercular spines of young specimens
Anoplogaster cornuta (Valenciennes 1833) horned, referring to several long spines on head of juveniles (absent in adults, which were considered a distinct species until 1955)
Family DIRETMIDAE Spinyfins
3 genera · 4 species
Diretmichthys Kotlyar 1990 Diretmus, type genus of family; ichthys, fish, “close in sound to the names of other genera, which stresses the unity of the family Diretmidae” (translation)
Diretmichthys parini (Post & Quéro 1981) in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences, whose work revealed the existence of unnamed diretmid species
Diretmoides Post & Quero 1981 –oides, having the form of: Diretmus, its closest relative, a name the authors selected “in order to emphasize the homogeneity of the Diretmidae family” (translation)
Diretmoides pauciradiatus (Woods 1973) pauci-, few; radiatus, rayed, presumably referring to fewer dorsal-, anal- and pectoral-fin rays compared to Diretmus argenteus, its presumed congener at the time
Diretmoides veriginae Kotlyar 1987 in honor of Inna Alexandrovna Verigina, curator of marine fishes, Zoological Museum, Moscow University, for helping Kotlyar over the course of many years
Diretmus Johnson 1864 di-, two; eretmon, oar or paddle, presumably referring to bony appendages at root of ventral fins, “resembling in shape the wings of some insects”
Diretmus argenteus Johnson 1864 silvery, referring to its “silvery-grey colour, with darker grey near the dorsal and anal fins”
Family ANOMALOPIDAE Flashlight or Lanterneye Fishes
6 genera · 9 species
Anomalops Kner 1868 anamalo-, anomalous or odd; ops, eye, referring to two gland-like organs beneath its eyes, “to which no analogy among fishes is known” (translation) [Kner was not aware that these glands were luminous]
Anomalops katoptron (Bleeker 1856) Greek for mirror, referring to inside of light organ enclosed by a guanine crystal reflector (although Bleeker was unaware of the specific structure and function of this reflector)
Kryptophanaron Silvester & Fowler 1926 kryptos, hidden; phaneron, shining (authors say “lantern”), referring to phosphorescent organ under eye, which can be covered by a “membranous curtain”
Kryptophanaron alfredi Silvester & Fowler 1926 in honor of American businessman Alfred Mitchell (1832-1911), who lived in Jamaica and provided collecting opportunities for Princeton biologist Ulrich Dahlgren (1870-1946), who found type specimen floating on the surface
Parmops Rosenblatt & Johnson 1991 parme, a small shield; ops, eye, referring to first four infraorbital bones expanded laterally to form a shelf beneath the eye
Parmops coruscans Rosenblatt & Johnson 1991 sparkling, referring to ovoid luminous organ below eye
Parmops echinatus Johnson, Seeto & Rosenblatt 2001 spiny, referring to strongly ctenoid scales and well-developed spination on head and fin rays
Photoblepharon Weber 1902 photo-, light; blepharon, eyelid; Weber was among the first scientists to understand that their eyes are luminous and that the fish uses its eyelids to blink these lights on and off at will
Photoblepharon palpebratum (Boddaert 1781) palpebra, eyelid, referring to skin folds that slide up to cover the eyes in the manner of an eyelid (blinking the luminous organs on and off, but this was unknown to Boddaert)
Photoblepharon steinitzi Abe & Haneda 1973 in honor of the late Heinz Steinitz (1909-1971), marine biologist and herpetologist (Hebrew University, Jerusalem), who sent specimens to the senior author and suggested he describe it
Phthanophaneron Johnson & Rosenblatt 1988 phthanos, early; phaneron, shining, referring to apparent primitiveness of the manner in which it occludes its continuously shining luminous organ
Phthanophaneron harveyi (Rosenblatt & Montgomery 1976) in honor of American zoologist Edmund Newton Harvey (1887-1959), a leading authority on bioluminescence, for his “pioneering” investigations of the biology of the Anomalopidae
Protoblepharon Baldwin, Johnson & Paxton 1997 protos, first; blepharon, eyelid, referring to cladistic position of genus as first in the lineage of flashlight fishes that occlude the light organ with an erectable shutter
Protoblepharon mccoskeri Ho & Johnson 2012 in honor of John E. McCosker (b. 1945), California Academy of Sciences, for his interest in and contribution to our knowledge of flashlight fishes
Protoblepharon rosenblatti Baldwin, Johnson & Paxton 1997 in honor of Richard H. Rosenblatt (1930-2014), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a mentor to the second author and friend and valuable colleague to all three, for his contributions to the systematics and functional morphology of flashlight fishes, which have shed much light on the evolution and biology of the Anomalopidae
Family MONOCENTRIDAE Pinecone Fishes
Cleidopus De Vis 1882 cleidos, key or latch; pous, foot, referring to how its ventral-fin spine can lock into place
Cleidopus gloriamaris De Vis 1882 gloria, glory; maris, sea, i.e., Glory of the Sea, allusion not explained, perhaps echoing Houttuyn (1782), who described the similar Monocentris japonica and called it “the most remarkable fish which exists” (translation)
Monocentris Bloch & Schneider 1801 mono-, one; kentron, thorn or spine, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to ventral fin, which consists of a single very strong rough spine
Monocentris chrysadamas Su, Lin & Ho 2022 chrysos, gold; adamas, diamond, referring to yellowish body color in life and diamond-shaped scales; moreover, the meaning of these two words in Chinese refers to a famous agricultural variety of pineapple in Taiwan (type locality), which this fish resembles
Monocentris japonica (Houttuyn 1782) –ica, belonging to: described from off Nagasaki, Japan
Monocentris neozelanica (Powell 1938) –ica, belonging to: described from off New Zealand
Monocentris reedi Schultz 1956 in honor of Edwyn P. Reed (1890-1966), Chief of the biological department, Dirección General de Pesca y Gaza (Valparaiso, Chile), who secured type and sent it to Schultz for identification
Family TRACHICHTHYIDAE Roughies
11 genera/subgenera · 56 species/subspecies
Aulotrachichthys Fowler 1938 aulos, tube or flute, referring to “subcutaneous silvery-gray striated tubes and areas along lower surface of body” of A. latus; Trachichthys, type genus of family
Aulotrachichthys argyrophanus (Woods 1961) argyros, silver; phanaios, giving light, referring to silvery white reflections on cheeks, striated areas at base of pectoral fins, and along lower sides
Aulotrachichthys atlanticus (Menezes 1971) –icus, belonging to: referring to its known distribution in the Atlantic Ocean off southern Brazil
Aulotrachichthys heptalepis (Gon 1984) hepta, seven; lepis, scale, referring to 7-8 large ventral scutes between anus and anal-fin origin
Aulotrachichthys latus (Fowler 1938) broad, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its “low, broadly convex” interorbital
Aulotrachichthys novaezelandicus (Kotlyar 1980) –icus, belonging to: New Zealand, described from New Zealand waters in the South Pacific
Aulotrachichthys nyx Su, Ho & Lin 2023 named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of night, referring to its overall darker appearance than its congeners
Aulotrachichthys prosthemius (Jordan & Fowler 1902) forward, referring to anterior insertion of the vent, in front of the abdominal serrae and between the ventral fins
Aulotrachichthys pulsator Gomon & Kuiter 1987 striker or beater, referring to its ability to make click-like sounds when disturbed
Aulotrachichthys spiralis Matsunuma, Ujihara & Endo 2023 Neo-Latin for spiral, referring to the longitudinal helical ridges on the fin spines of large specimens
Aulotrachichthys titan Matsunuma, Ujihara & Endo 2023 named for the Titans of Greek mythology, this species having a larger head and body compared with most congeners
Gephyroberyx Boulenger 1902 gephyra, a bridge; beryx, a berycoid fish, presumably reflecting Boulenger’s belief that it is a transitional or intermediate genus between Trachichthys and squirrelfishes (Holocentrus or Myripristis, both now placed in Holocentriformes), all of which were classified in one family (Berycidae) at the time
Gephyroberyx darwinii (Johnson 1866) in honor of Charles Darwin (1809-1889), an “accomplished man of science … to whom naturalists are greatly indebted, amongst many other labours, for an excellent monograph on the Cirripedia [barnacles]”
Gephyroberyx japonicus (Döderlein 1883) –icus, belonging to Japan: described from Tokyo (but occurring elsewhere in the western and central North Pacific)
Hoplostethus Cuvier 1829 hoplon, armor; stethos, breast or chest, referring to bony plates on abdomen, each ending in a retrorse spine
Subgenus Hoplostethus
Hoplostethus abramovi Kotlyar 1986 in honor of friend and fellow ichthyologist Alexey Aleksandrovich Abramov, for “many years of working together” (translation)
Hoplostethus confinis Kotlyar 1980 bordering or adjoining, referring to its similarity to (or affinity with) H. mediterraneus
Hoplostethus crassispinus Kotlyar 1980 crassus, thick; spinus, spine, referring to its thick dorsal-, anal- and pelvic-fin spines
Hoplostethus druzhinini Kotlyar 1986 in honor of fisheries scientist Anatoly Dmitrievich Druzhinin (1926-1979), All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), for his work on fishes of the Indian Ocean (where this species occurs)
Hoplostethus fedorovi Kotlyar 1986 in honor of Vladimir Vladimirovich Fedorov (1939-2011), Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg, a “great expert” (translation) on Pacific fishes
Hoplostethus gigas McCulloch 1914 large, the largest species of the genus, reportedly reaching 525 mm SL
Hoplostethus grandperrini Roberts & Gomon 2012 in honor of René Grandperrin, retired chief scientist of ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer), “ardent” fish researcher and leader of deepwater fish explorations off New Caledonia, for his “strong” support for collaborative fieldwork between French and New Zealand scientists
Hoplostethus japonicus Hilgendorf 1879 –icus, belonging to Japan: known only from the western North Pacific of Japan
Hoplostethus latus McCulloch 1914 wide, proposed as a deeper-bodied form of H. mediterraneus
Hoplostethus marisrubri Kotlyar 1986 maris, sea; rubrus, red, referring to the Red Sea, where it is endemic
Hoplostethus mediterraneus mediterraneus Cuvier 1829 referring to type locality in northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Nice, France)
Hoplostethus mediterraneus intermedius Hector 1875 described as intermediate in characters between Trachichthys australis and Optivus elongatus, its presumed congeners at the time
Hoplostethus mediterraneus sonodae Kotlyar 1986 in honor of Pearl Sonoda (1918-2015), California Academy of Sciences, who, along with Loren P. Woods, provided the data on which this taxon is based in 1973 [name proposed by Quéro in 1979 but without a description]
Hoplostethus mediterraneus trunovi Kotlyar 1986 in honor of ichthyologist Ivan Andreevich Trunov (1936-2005), Atlantic Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, for his many works on the fishes of the southeast Atlantic
Hoplostethus melanopeza Roberts & Gomon 2012 melano-, black; peza, edge, referring to characteristic black edge on all fins of large individuals
Hoplostethus mikhailini Kotlyar 1986 in honor of Soviet ichthyologist Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhailin (1943-1981), for his contribution to the study of fishes off southern Africa [biographical footnote: Mikhailin died while saving people from a burning train]
Hoplostethus occidentalis Woods 1973 western, presumably referring to its more westerly distribution (e.g., Gulf of Mexico) compared to congeners that occur in the Western North Atlantic
Hoplostethus pacificus Garman 1899 –icus, belonging to: the Pacific Ocean (specifically, the eastern Pacific, off the Galápagos Islands)
Hoplostethus ravurictus Gomon 2008 ravus, grayish yellow; rictus, open mouth, referring to its pale buccal cavity, which contrasts with black lining of mouth found in most other species of the subgenus Hoplostethus
Hoplostethus rifti Kotlyar 1986 named for the Russian fishery research vessel Rift, from which type was collected
Hoplostethus robustispinus Moore & Dodd 2010 robustus, strong; spinus, spine, referring to its “extremely thickened” fin spines
Hoplostethus roseus Su, Lin & Ho 2022 Latin for rose, referring to rosy coloration dorsally on body and on dorsal, pectoral and caudal fins of fresh specimens
Hoplostethus vniro Kotlyar 1995 named for the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), where Kotlyar worked for 20 years, which included expedition that collected type
Subgenus Aulohoplostethus Fowler 1938 a subgenus of Hoplostethus with aulos, tube or flute, referring to “silvery lateral tubelike striate areas” on chest, breast, prepectoral region, and along abdominal edge
Hoplostethus metallicus Fowler 1938 like metal, referring to its shining metallic dusky sheen, described as “peculiar” and “likely luminous”
Subgenus Leiogaster Weber 1913 leios, smooth; gaster, belly, referring to rounded abdomen, compared to serrated abdomen of Trachichthys and most other species in Hoplostethus
Hoplostethus cadenati Quéro 1974 in honor of French ichthyologist Jean Cadenat (1908-1992), Director, Marine Biological Section of the Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (Gorée, Senegal), who was the first to recognize this species as distinct
Hoplostethus melanopterus Fowler 1938 melano-, black; pterus, fin, referring to its “dark to blackish” paired fins
Hoplostethus melanopus (Weber 1913) melano-, black; pous, foot, referring to its black ventral fins
Hoplostethus platynotus Su, Kotlyar, Lin, Kawai & Ho 2024 platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat; nṓtos (Gr. νῶτος), back, referring to its “unique” flattened and straight dorsal profile in front of dorsal-fin origin
Hoplostethus rubellopterus Kotlyar 1980 rubellus, reddish; pterus, fin, referring to reddish coloration of pectoral fins
Hoplostethus shubnikovi Kotlyar 1980 in honor of Dar Alexeevich Shubnikov, All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), for his help in Kotlyar’s study of trachichthyids
Hoplostethus tenebricus Kotlyar 1980 dark or gloomy, referring to its general coloration
Hoplostethus mento (Garman 1899) mentum, chin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “Snout longer than the eye, blunt, curving steeply to the crown, chin vertical in the anterior halves of the mandibles”
Subgenus Macrohoplostethus Kotlyar 1986 macro-, large, referring to size of H. atlanticus and greater value of certain meristic features (vertebrae, pyloric caeca)
Hoplostethus atlanticus Collett 1889 –icus, belonging to: northeastern Atlantic Ocean, type locality (occurs throughout Atlantic and in Indo-West Pacific)
Hoplostethus fragilis (de Buen 1959) fragile or brittle, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to fragile bones (“formaciones oseas débiles”) of the skull
Optivus Whitley 1947 Latin for “chosen,” allusion not explained nor evident, “possibly indicating that the name was selected at random” (Paulin & Roberts, Rockpool Fishes of New Zealand, 1992)
Optivus agastos Gomon 2004 Greek for “near kinsman,” referring to its similarity to and presumed close relationship with O. elongatus
Optivus agrammus Gomon 2004 a-, without; gramme, line, referring to absence of stripes on caudal fin
Optivus elongatus (Günther 1859) referring to its more elongate body compared to Trachichthys australis, its presumed congener at the time
Paratrachichthys Waite 1899 para, near, i.e., similar to Trachichthys but with the vent in front of, instead of behind, the abdominal scutes
Paratrachichthys fernandezianus (Günther 1887) –ianus, belonging to: Juan Fernández Islands of Chile, South Pacific Ocean, type locality (also occurs near San Felix Island and Easter Island)
Paratrachichthys macleayi (Johnston 1881) in honor of William John Macleay (1820-1891), Australian politician and zoologist, “to whom Australian naturalists are indebted for much of their knowledge of the Australian fishes”
Paratrachichthys sajademalensis Kotlyar 1979 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Saya de Malha Bank, Indian Ocean, type locality
Paratrachichthys trailli (Hutton 1875) in honor of Charles Traill (1826-1891), Postmaster of Stewart Island, New Zealand (type locality), and amateur botanist-conchologist, who found the type specimen “dead and floating on the surface of the water” and presented it to the Otago Museum
Parinoberyx Kotlyar 1984 Parin, named for ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932-2012), Russian Academy of Sciences, who greatly assisted Kotlyar in his study of beryciform fishes; beryx, a beryciform fish, referring to the order in which this genus had originally been placed
Parinoberyx horridus Kotlyar 1984 rough or bristly, referring to spinules on scales
Sorosichthys Whitley 1945 sorosis, botanical term for any multiple fleshy fruit derived from the ovaries of multiple flowers (e.g., a pineapple), referring to its rough scales; ichthys, fish, reflecting Whitley’s suggested vernacular name “Little Pineapple Fish”
Sorosichthys ananassa Whitley 1945 diminutive of Ananas, botanical genus of the pineapple, i.e., little pineapple, a Latin transliteration of Whitley’s suggested vernacular name “Litte Pineapple Fish”
Trachichthys Shaw 1799 trachys, rough, referring to its rough-edged scales, hence the vernacular “roughy”; ichthys, fish
Trachichthys australis Shaw 1799 southern, a fish of Australian waters