Updated 4 Aug. 2024
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Urobatis Garman 1913 uro, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, allusion not explained, possibly referring to blunt tail, “about as long as the body”; batís (Gr. βατίς), a flat fish, usually applied to a skate or ray

Urobatis concentricus Osburn & Nichols 1916 Latin for denoting circles that share the same center, referring to rounded pale spots on disc, which are “arranged more or less definitely in 3 concentric circles around a central one in the middle of the disc”

Urobatis halleri (Cooper 1863) in honor of George Morris Haller (1851– 1889), then the 12-year-old son of Major Granville O. Haller (1819–1897), who “was wounded on the foot, probably by one of these fish, while wading along a muddy shore” of San Diego Bay (California, USA)

Urobatis jamaicensis (Cuvier 1816) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Jamaica, type locality

Urobatis maculatus Garman 1913 Latin for spotted, referring to dark-brown to blackish spots and blotches on dorsal surface

Urobatis marmoratus (Philippi 1892) Latin for marbled, referring to color pattern, consisting of numerous small white spots on a dark background

Urobatis pardalis Del Moral-Flores, Angulo, López & Bussing 2015 párdalis (Gr. πάρδαλις), leopard, referring to its dorsal color pattern (brown background with orange shades and white or pale vermiculations, sometimes merging to form spots or ocelli)

Urobatis tumbesensis (Chirichigno F. & McEachran 1979) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Tumbes, Peru, type locality

Urotrygon Gill 1863 uro, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, allusion not explained, possibly referring to “longer tail” of U. munda compared with those of Urolophus; trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins

Urotrygon aspidura (Jordan & Gilbert 1882) shield-tailed, from aspídos (Gr. ἀσπίδος), genitive of aspís (ἀσπίς), shield, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to 2–8 strong, broad-rooted spines on tail

Urotrygon asterias (Jordan & Gilbert 1883)    asterías (Gr. ἀστερίας), a starred or starry fish or bird, referring to skin on upper surface of body “everywhere rather sparsely covered with small stellate prickles”

Urotrygon chilensis (Günther 1872) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chile, type locality

Urotrygon cimar López S. & Bussing 1998 CIMAR, acronym for Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad de Costa Rica (where both authors worked) in honor of its 20th anniversary

Urotrygon microphthalmum Delsman 1941 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; ophthalmum, from ophthalmós (Gr. ὀφθαλμός), eye (but spelled as if it were a neuter adjective, eyed), referring to its “small, remote” eyes, much smaller than spiracles

Urotrygon munda Gill 1863 Latin for clean, neat or nice, allusion not explained nor evident [originally spelled mundus, but munda agrees with feminine gender of Urotrygon]

Urotrygon nana Miyake & McEachran 1988 from nanus (L.), dwarf (a noun, but apparently treated as an adjective), referring to small adult size, 245–250 mm TL

Urotrygon reticulata Miyake & McEachran 1988 Latin for net-like or netted, referring to fine tan to brownish vermiculations on dorsal surface

Urotrygon rogersi (Jordan & Starks 1895) in honor of George Warren Rogers, “scholarly physician” who assisted the authors from his home in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México, type locality

Urotrygon simulatrix Miyake & McEachran 1988 Latin for simulator (i.e., copy or imitation), referring to resemblance to U. munda in squamation and U. chilensis in morphometric characters

Urotrygon venezuelae Schultz 1949 of the Western Atlantic (Caribbean Sea) of Venezuela, type locality and only known area of occurrence