Revised 25 June 2023
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Spinilophus Yearsley & Last 2016 spina (L.), thorn or spine, referring to thorns, spinules and dermal denticules on dorsal surface; lophus, shortening of Urolophus (original genus)

Spinilophus armatus (Valenciennes 1841) Latin for armed with a weapon, referring to thorns, spinules and dermal denticules on dorsal surface [authorship often attributed to Müller & Henle, who published Valenciennes’ description]

Trygonoptera Müller & Henle 1841 trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins; ptera, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, possibly referring to small dorsal fin on tail of T. testacea

Trygonoptera galba Last & Yearsley 2008 Latin for yellow, referring to its “distinctive” dorsal coloration

Trygonoptera imitata Yearsley, Last & Gomon 2008 Latin for copied or mimicked, referring to its similarity to T. mucosa and T. testacea and subsequent confusion over its identification

Trygonoptera mucosa (Whitley 1939) Latin for slimy, referring to its “extremely slimy” back

Trygonoptera ovalis Last & Gomon 1987 Latin for oval, referring to its nearly oval disc

Trygonoptera personata Last & Gomon 1987 Latin for masked, referring to continuous dark mask-like markings around and between eyes

Trygonoptera testacea Müller & Henle 1841 Latin for brick-like, referring to pale brick-like color of dorsal surface

Urolophus Müller & Henle 1837 uro, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail; lophus, from lóphos (Gr. λόφος), manem crest or tuft, presumably referring to rayed caudal fin of U. cruciatus, i.e., “a fin at the tip of the tail” (translation)

Urolophus aurantiacus Müller & Henle 1841 Latin for orange-colored, referring to dark-orange coloration of upper surface

Urolophus bucculentus Macleay 1884 Latin for full-cheeked, referring to size of mouth, which is more than three times larger proportionally to size of ray than in Trygonoptera testacea

Urolophus circularis McKay 1966 Latin for round, referring to its almost circular disc

Urolophus cruciatus (Lacepède 1804) Latin for cruciform, referring to cross-like pattern of stripes and crossbars on dorsal surface

Urolophus deforgesi Séret & Last 2003 in honor of French carcinologist Bertrand Richer de Forges (b. 1948), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, for promoting the exploration of the bathyal fauna off New Caledonia and for collecting valuable fish specimens from cruise surveys

Urolophus expansus McCulloch 1916 Latin for expanded, referring to its broad disc

Urolophus flavomosaicus Last & Gomon 1987 flavus (L.), yellow, referring to yellowish dorsal surface; mosaicus, from musaicus (L.), referring to mosaic pattern of large, whitish spots encircled by rings

Urolophus gigas Scott 1954 gígas (Gr. γίγας), giant, allusion not explained, probably referring to its large size (second largest Urolophus in Australia) and/or its large spiracles

Urolophus javanicus (Martens 1864) –icus (L.), belonging to: Java, Indonesia, type locality

Urolophus kaianus Günther 1880 –anus (L.), belonging to: Kai Islands, Indonesia, Arafura Sea, type locality

Urolophus kapalensis Yearsley & Last 2006 –ensis, Latin suffix usually denoting place but in this case honoring the fisheries research vessel Kapala (formerly of the N.S.W. Fisheries Research Institute, Australia), from which holotype was collected, in honor of the “extremely valuable fish collections made by the vessel over almost three decades”

Urolophus lobatus McKay 1966 Latin for lobed, referring to prominent lobes on front borders of internasal flap

Urolophus mitosis Last & Gomon 1987 term for biological process in which a single cell divides into two identical daughter cells, referring to granular blotches on dorsal surface, which resemble living cells in the process of mitotic division

Urolophus neocaledoniensis Séret & Last 2003 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: New Caledonia, where it appears to be the most abundant and widely distributed “stingaree” in the region

Urolophus orarius Last & Gomon 1987 Latin for “of the coast,” referring to its distribution along the eastern Great Australian Bight, between Ceduna and Beachport, at depths of 20–50 m

Urolophus papilio Séret & Last 2003 Latin for butterfly, referring to the particularly broad “wingspan” of its disc

Urolophus paucimaculatus Dixon 1969 paucus (L.), few; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to a few small white spots that sometimes appear on pectoral fins

Urolophus piperatus Séret & Last 2003 Latin for peppered, referring to dark flecks scattered on dorsal surface

Urolophus sufflavus Whitley 1929 Latin for yellowish, referring to uniform yellow-brown color of dorsal surface

Urolophus viridis McCulloch 1916 Latin for green, referring to uniform light-green color of dorsal surface

Urolophus westraliensis Last & Gomon 1987 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Western Australia, specifically northwestern Australia, where it occurs on outer continental shelf