Yunnanilus: after the Chinese province of Yunnan, where the first discovered species appear.

Yasuhikotakia in honour to the Japanese scientist Yasuhiko Taki

Xiphophorus: from ancient Greek, meaning „the one that bears a sword“.

Xenotoca: means "with strange young", refering to the "umbilical cord" (the correct term is "trophotaenia") of the newborn youngsters.

whitei: in honour of “E. A. White, of the city of Mexico, in recognition of many favors received through his courtesy“.

victoriae: refers to Lake Victoria, where the species occurs.

urophthalma: from ancient Greek oura: tail and ophthalmos: eye, refering to the tailspot of the species.

Umbra: Latin, means "shadow", refering to the dull coloration.

The namebearing specimen, usually deposited in a museum collection. It forms the basis of the scientific defintion of a species.

Tylomelania: from ancient Greek " Melania wird calluses". Melania is another genus of snail.

Trichogaster: ancient Greek, means "filamentous belly".

translucida: Latin, means "shining through", due to the transparency of the fish.

Trachelyopterus from greece trachelia = extreme and pteron = fin, eg „the one with an extreme fin“

temporalis: Latin tempus means "temple"; refers to the dark stripe behind the eye.

Telmatochromis: means "swamp dwelling perch"; Boulenger, the first describer of the genus, obviously had wrong information on the biotope, because Telmatochromis are rock-dwellers.

Tatia: dedicated to Charles Tate Regan, who was ichthyologist at the British Museum.

Tanichthys: „fish of Tan“, dedicated to Tan Kam Fei who discovered the species.

Takifugu: composed from two Japanese words: Taki meaning "waterfall" and Fugu, which is the name of the puffer which causes deadly poisoning when prepared for food in a wrong way; the term has multiple meanings, one can read it in a way that the fish shou

Synonym: Synonyms are different words with identical meanings. If a species is named scientifically twice or more often, the eldest available name is the vaild one. The other name(s) are considered to be synonym(s) without validity.

Synodontis: an old name for an undetermined fish from the Nile.

Sturio (latin) means sturgeon, soma (latin) means body

stuebelii: after Alphons Stübel (1835-1905), surveyer of South America, geologist, founder of vulcanology

Strophidon: not explained in the original description, but probably from ancient Greek, meaning "with teeth turned backwards".

stoliczkanus: dedicated to the collector of the species, Ferdinand Stoliczka (1838-1874).

Spatuloricaria: Latin, means "Loricaria with spatula". Loricaria is another genus of whiptail catfish, spatula refers to the very special and genus-specific shape of the teeth.

sp. aff.: Latin, abbreviation of "species affinis", which means "similar species".

Sidthimunki: named in honour for Sidthimunk, the collector of the species

Research ongoing. Most probably a dedication name for a Mr or Mrs Sewell.

Serrasalmus: from Latin, means „salmon with a saw“. Refers to the saw-like arranged scales along the keel of the breast.

Septaria: the Latin word septaria is used for a cementlike mass (the term cement derives from it). The generic name could also refer to the Latin word septum, which means "thin wall".

schwartzi: in honour of Willy Schwartz, an exporter of ornamental fish

schleseri: dedication name for D. M. Schleser, who dicovered the species in 2002 together with M. Weitzman.

scalare: from Latin "scalarum" = ladder, refers to the stripes.

Scabies = throatiness, itch (due to the shell structure)

sathete: after the vernacular name of the species in Bengal.

Derives from robustus, -a, -um (latin): strong, robust, sturdy

rivulatus: Latin, means "originating from a brook".

Riesei: dedication name, dedicated to W. Riese, who cellected the type specimens together with H. Axelrod.

Rasbora – the native bengali name for Rasbora rasbora

Pygocentrus: from ancient Greece, meaning is „rumpthorn“. Most likely this name was chosen because initially it was thought that the existence of fin rays in the adipose fin would be a genus-specific feature in contrast to Serrasalmus species, where fin r

Puntius: from the Bengal term "Punti" for such barbs.

Pterophyllum: from ancient Greek, means "finleaf" or "leaffin".

Pseudorinelepis: from ancient Greek, means "false Rinelepis" (Rinelepis is another genus of Loricariids).

Pseudorasbora: ancient Greek, means "false Rasbora". Rasbora is another genus of fish.

Pseudomystus: Ancient Greek, means "false Mystus". Mystus is another genus of catfish.

Pseudocrenilabrus: from ancient Greek, means "false Crenilabrus". Crenilabrus is another genus of fish.

Pseudobunocephalus: ancient Greek, means "false Bunocephalus". Bunocephalus is another genus of banjo cat. The name was chosen because in the past members of Pseudobunocephlus often have been mistaken for juveniles of Bunocephalus.

Pseudacanthicus: from ancient Greek, means "false Acanthicus" (Acanthicus is another genus of Loricariids).

Poropanchax: means "Panchax with pores", referring to the genus-specific arrangement of sensory pores on the head of the fish. Panchax is another genus of fish.

Polychromatism: means "with many colours". The term is used when within one species different colorations are observed.

petricola: from ancient Greek, meaning "rock dweller".

perugiae: dedication name for A. Perugia, who was ichthyologist at the Trieste museum.

Patella: name of a small, shallow pan that was used in ancient Rome; refers to the shape of the shell.

pastazensis: after the Rio Pastaza in the Pastaza province, Ecuador, where the species is found.

Parauchenoglanis: Latin, "par" means "same as, corresponding", Auchenoglanis is another genus of catfish.

parallelus: allusion to the two black parallel stripes on the flanks

parae: means „coming from Para“. Para is a Brazilian state.

Pangasius: from a native name of the type species of the genus, Pangasius pangasius, which lives in the Ganges river in India.

pando: after the Bolivian department of Pando, where the species has been collected.

Paleatus: from the latin word palea: chaff, eg „chaff-like colored“.

Paedocypris: ancient Greek, means "childish carp", in allusion to the larvae-like morphology of the species.

Otocinclus: ancient Greek, means "with latticed ear"; referring to a bone in the skull, which is visible externally and placed where in humans would be the ear; this bone has a latticed structure.

Orthospinus means "erected spine" which refers to a spine placed before the dorsal fin.

orcesi: dedication name in honour of Gustavo Orcés-Villagomez.

orbicularis: from Latin "orbiculatus" meaning disc-shaped.

Opsodoras: from Opsis (Greek): Eye, Seeing, Face and Doras: another genus of thorny catfish; the name refers to the genus-specific round eye

omnivorous: a species that feeds on anything, without specialization.

oenolaemus: ancient Greek for "with vine-red throat"

Nothobranchius: from ancient Greek "nothos" = false, untrue and "branchion" = gill, referring to the gill anatomy.

Nomorhamphus: from ancient Greek, means "with regular jaws"; this refers to the almost equally long upper and lower jaw, which is the difference to all other halfbeaks.

narcissus: after the Greek half-god Narcissus, who fell in love with his own mirror image.

Nannostomus: from ancient Greek, means "with a tiny mouth".

Nannacara: means "small Acara". Acara is an Tupi word for cichlid.

Morleti: named in honour for Morlet, the collector of the species

Modesta: latin: undemanding, modest (due to the modest coloration of preserved specimens)

mimulus: Latin, means "little actor", referring to the mimikry of this species with Corydoras diphyes.

micros: from anciet Greek „mikros“ meaning „small“.

Microrasbora: from ancient Greek, means "tiny Rasbora". Rasbora is another genus of barb.

Micropoecilia: means „small Poecilia“. Poecilia is another genus of livebearers.

Microphis: from ancient Greek, meaning "little snake".

Microdevario: from ancient Greek, means "tiny devario". Devario is another genus of barb.

Micagemmae: from latin micare „sparkle“ and gemma „gem“, eg. „sparkling gem“.

Metynnis: ancient Greek, means "in between the share"; this refers to the spine before the dorsal fin.

Mesoaphyosemion: the prefix "meso" means "in between" and was chosen to make clear that the systematical status of the members of this subgenus remains unresolved.

merah: after the indonesian word for „red“; allusion to the ground colour of the species.

melanzonus: means „with black zones“ according to the two horizontal black stripes.

Melanoides: from ancient Greek "similar to Melania". Melania is another genus of snail.

megasema: ancient Greek, means "with a big sign". This is referring to the large lateral spot.

Macrognathus: from ancient Greek, means "with large jaws".

Macrobrachium: from ancient Greek, means "with a large arm".

luxophthalmus: from ancient Greek, means "with luminescent eye".

lucipinnis: from Latin "lucidus" = bright, clear and "pinna" = fin, referring to the clear window at the base of each dark triangle on the fins (exception: the caudal fin), which is species-specific for S. lucipinnis.

Loricaria: from the Latin word „lorica“which is the chest protector of the Roman legionnaire, eg „one that wears a chest protector“.

Longipinnis: from latin, means „with long fins“.

longibarbis: from Latin, meaning "with a long beard", referring to the barbels.

llanero: after the Llanos in Venezuela where the species occurs.

Leucaspius = white Aspius (another genus of the carp family)

leopardus: Latin, means "looks like a leopard", referring to the pattern.

lentiginosa: from the Latin word for „freckled“.

lennoni: in memory of the murdered musician John Lennon.

Leiocassis: Ancient Greek, means "with smooth helmet".

larvophilous: mouthbrooders that take the larvae, but not eggs in the mouth for broodcare.

Lamprologus: means "the one that wears gloss"; refers to the shining spots on each scale of L. congoensis, the type species.

Lampiella: to remind of the grandmother of the describer of the genus, Isaac Isbrücker, Céline Lampie. She was murdered in 1943 in Poland in the Sobibor concentration camp by the nazis. She was „a small woman with a small hump“.

Lamontichthys: dedication name (ichthys is ancient Greek and means "fish") for Francesca La Monte.

Laetacara: from Latin "laetus" = cheerful and the indigenous name "acara" for cichlid. Refers to the pattern on the snout which suggests that the fish is smiling.

kyathit: after a burmese word for „leopard“, refering to the coloration of the spotted variety.

kubotai: dedication name for Hitochi Kubota, a collector and exporter of ornamental fishes.

Kalochroma - from greek „with beautiful colours“

Ivanacara: after "acara" and Ivan the Terrible, the first Tsar of Russia. The authors refer to the unpredictable temper of the fish which they have observed. According to them the species can be extremely aggressive and extremely peaceful.

Ilyodon: from ancient Greek „with a flat tooth“ in respect of the dentition.

hypostomus: from ancient Greek, means "with inferior mouth".

Hyphessobrycon: ancient Greek, means "small Brycon". Brycon is another genus of tetras.

Horae: in honour for Sunder Lal Hora, an important Indian ichthyologist

Hoplosternum: from ancient Greek, meaning "with a shielded breast".

Hemiloricaria: hemi is ancient Greek and means "half", loricaria is another genus of whiptail catfish.

hemiliopterus: from ancient Greek "with half-smooth fin".

Hemigrammus: ancient Greek, means "with half line", referring to the incomplete lateral line, which is genus-specific.

hellerii: in honour for K. Heller, an Austrian botanist.

Gymnorhamphichthys: from ancient Greek, means "naked Rhamphichthys". Rhampichthys is another genus of knifefish.

Gobiopterus: ancient Greek, means "goby with wings".

genibarbis: from ancient Greek, means "with a hairy cheek".

gatesi: dedication name for Gordon E. Gates, a zoologist specialized in earthworms, who worked at the Judson College in Rangoon and helped Albert W. C. T. Herre, the discoverer and describer of M. gatesi during his visit in Rangoon.

Garra: an indigenous name for those fishes in Bengal.

Galeatus: latin word for helmet, eg „the one that wears a helmet“

fulvipinnis: from Latin fulvus: orange and pinna: fin, eg "with orange fins"

frankei: in honour of H.-J. Franke, an extraordinary keeper and breeder of ornamental fishes.

franciscensis: refers to the origin of the species, the Rio Sao Francisco.

flavatra: Latin, means "yellow-black", referring to the coloration.

Etroplus: from ancient Greek, means "with armoured belly"; this refers to the spines of the anal fin.

eriocheirum: from ancient Greek, means "with a hairy hand".

eques: Latin for rider or knight; it is unknown why the species was named so.

Ephippicharax: means "saddled Charax", which refers to a special feature of these tetras. They have a spine embedded in muscles in front of the dorsal fin, which is directed to the head.

endemic: this means that a species is found only there and nowhere else in the World.

duplicareus: Latin for doubled; refers to the extreme similarity to C. adolfoi.

dracula: after Count Dracula, a character in a novel created by Bram Stoker. Dracula was a bloodsucking vampire; in allusion to the fang-like "teeth" in males of the species.

diphyes: anicient Greek, adjective meaning "of double nature", in reference to the variation in body patterns, eg striped and blotchy.

digrammus: ancient Greek, means "with two stripes".

Dianema: from ancient Greek, meaning "with two filaments", referring to the barbels.

diabolica: diabolical; refers to red shining eyes of the species.

delineatus = without lines, refers to the incomplete lateral line

Danionella: diminutive of Danio; Danio is another genus of fish.

Curimatopsis means similar to Curimata which is another genus of tetras.

Corydoras: from ancient greek, means „with helmet and spear“. This refers to the strong armor and fin spines.

conchonius: from a common name for the fish in Bengal.

chuno: after the vernacular name of the species in Bengal.

chatareus: from a popular name for the fish in Bengal, India.

cf.: from Latin „confer“ which means „compare with“. It is used when it is not sure that the species in question represents really the one named after cf.

Centromochlus: from ancient Greek "with lever arm", referring to the pectoral spines which can be a locked by a special mechanism.

Celiae: named in honour for the discoverer, Celia Epie from Menja, western Cameroon

Bunocephalus: ancient Greek, means "with hilly head".

Bujurquina: after the Peruvian popular name "Bujurqui" for cichlids

Brachychalcinus: means "short Chalcinus". Chalcinus is another genus of tetra.

Boraras: anagram of Rasbora, referring to the reverse ratio of abdominal and caudal vertebrae in Boraras compared with Rasbora.

bocourti: in honour for Marie Firmin Bocourt (1819 – 1904), a french zoologist and artist.

Betta: after an indigenous Indonesian term for one of the species.

beni: named after the Rio Beni in Bolivia where the species occurs endemicly.

Barbus: Latin, means "the bearded one", referring to the barbels.

Barbucca: means „with a bearded cheek“; this refers to the tuberculate cheek patches of the males.

Balitoridae: derives from the genus name Batlitora which is an indegenous name for a fish species in India.

Axelrodia: dedication name, dedicated to Herbert Axelrod.

Australe: from latin, means „southern“ in respect to the distribution of the species.

Auchenipteridae from the greece auchen: neck and pteron: fin, because of the postion of the dorsal fin.

Astronotus: ancient Greek, means "with stars on the back", referring to the coloration.

armatus: Latin for armoured; refers probably to the extremely long dorsal fin spine.

Aplocheilus: means "with a simple lip", refers to the mouth structure.

Aplocheilichthys: from ancient Greek, means "fish that is similar to Aplocheilus". Aplocheilus is another genus of fish.

Aphyosemion from ancient greece, means „small fish with flag-like fins“.

Apholebias: from the anterior part of the word Aphyosemion and from Lebias; Aphyosemion is a genus of killifish from Africa, which is somewhat similar to Aphyolebias. Lebias is an ancient fish name, which was formerly used for what is now Aphanius. The wo

Andinoacara: means "Acara from the Andes". Acara is another genus of cichlid.

Ancistrus: from the ancient Greek word for "fishhook". This refers to the hooked spines that are placed on the movable Interoperculum (a bone between the gill-covering bones), called interopercularodontodes, which are spread in case of danger.

amazonicus: after the Amazon river, where the species occurs.

altae: etymology not known (alta, Latin, means "high").

Lexicon: Tanichthys: „fish of Tan“, dedicated to Tan Kam Fei who discovered the species. Albonubes: latin for „White Clouds“, refers to the White Cloud Mountains in China, where the species was discovered.

Akysis: from ancient Greek, mens "without bladder", which refers to the lack of the swimming bladder.

agulha: after a popular name given to the species in the region of the Rio Madeira, the type locality.

Aequidens: Latin, means "with equal tooth". This refers to the set of teeth.

adoketa: from ancient Greek, means "unexpected". This refers to the natural range of the species which lies far from the distribution of the other members of the genus.

Acanthophacelus: means „cluster of needles“; in respect of the microstructure of the male´s sexual organ, the gonopodium.

Fish Archive Aquarium Glaser GmbH

Microsynodontis polli