characiformes (part 2) · 1 the etyfish project · acnodon senai jégu & santos 1990 in memory...

The ETYFish Project© Chr istopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara

comments: v. 18.0 - 2 Nov. 2018 Order CHARACIFORMES (part 2 of 8)

Family TARUMANIIDAE MuckfishTarumania de Pinna, Zuanon, Rapp Py-Daniel & Petry 2017 -ia, belonging to: the river Tarumã-Mirim, tributary of the lower Rio Negro, Manaus, Brazil, type locality

Tarumania walkerae de Pinna, Zuanon, Rapp Py-Daniel & Petry 2017 in honor of “eminent” limnologist Ilse Walker, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Manaus), for her lifelong contribution to the knowledge of Amazonian ecology and for collecting the first (and for some years, only) known specimen in 1999

Family ERYTHRINIDAE Trahiras3 genera · 19 species

Erythrinus Scopoli 1777erythros, red; -inus, adjectival suffix, presumably referring to red blotches and/or fins seen on some specimens (presumably of E. erythrinus, as genus was proposed without an assigned type species)

Erythrinus erythrinus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) erythros, red; -inus, adjectival suffix, presumably referring to red blotches and/or fins seen on some specimens

Erythrinus kessleri Steindachner 1877 patronym not identified, possibly in honor of German-Russian zoologist Karl Fedorovich Kessler (1815-1881)

Hoplerythrinus Gill 1896 hoplos, armor, presumably referring to enlarged infraorbital bones covering cheeks, i.e., an Erythrinus with an armored head (a feature of the family)

Hoplerythrinus cinereus (Gill 1858) ash-colored, referring to its gray coloration

Hoplerythrinus gronovii (Valenciennes 1847) in honor of Dutch naturalist Laurens Theodorus Gronovius (also known as Gronow, 1730-1777), who apparently illustrated this species in his Museum ichthyologicum (1754-1756)

Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus (Spix & Agassiz 1829)uni-, one; taeniatus, presumably referring to wide black longitudinal band on sides

Hoplias Gill 1903 hoplos, armor, referring to “defensive armature” of “cranial shield-like surface as well as the offensive teeth”

Hoplias aimara (Valenciennes 1847) variant of Haïmara, local name for this species in French Guiana

Hoplias argentinensis Rosso, González-Castro, Bogan, Cardoso, Mabragaña, Delpiani & Díaz de Astarloa 2018-ensis, suffix denoting place: Argentina, where it appears to be endemic

Hoplias australis Oyakawa & Mattox 2009 southern, referring to its range, one of the southernmost in the genus

Hoplias brasiliensis (Spix & Agassiz 1829) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Brazil, where it is endemic to coastal rivers in northeastern part of country

Hoplias curupira Oyakawa & Mattox 2009 Curupira, a mythical creature of Brazilian folklore that protects the forest, taking the form of a small Amerindian child whose feet are turned backwards, making it difficult to follow its tracks

Hoplias intermedius (Günther 1864) presumably intermediate in number (13) of longitudinal scales series across back compared to 12 on Macrodon trahira (=Hoplias malabaricus) and 13-14 on H. microlepis

Hoplias lacerdae Miranda Ribeiro 1908 in honor of Jean Baptiste de Lacerda, director, National Museum of Rio Janeiro, for his interest in scientific explorations of the region

CHARACIFORMES (part 2) · 1

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2 · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Parodont idae · The ETYFish Project

Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch 1794) -icus, belonging to: Malabar (i.e., southern India), obviously reflecting an error in the original locality (Tranquebar, now Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu, India) of the specimens sent to Bloch since this is a South American species

Hoplias mbigua Azpelicueta, Benítez, Aichino & Mendez 2015 Guaraní word referring to an aquatic or riverine bird, the nickname of Isabelino Rodríguez, who worked many years in the Proyecto Biología Pesquera Regional (Provincia de Misiones, Argentina), where she helped collect type

Hoplias microcephalus (Agassiz 1829) micro-, small; cephalus, head, referring to smaller head-to-body ratio compared to other members of family known at the time

Hoplias microlepis (Günther 1864) micro-, small; lepis, scale, referring to smaller scales in longitudinal series along back compared to Macrodon trahira (=Hoplias malabaricus) and H. intermedius

Hoplias misionera Rosso, Mabragaña, González-Castro, Delpiani, Avigliano, Schenone & Díaz de Astarloa 2016 Spanish for missionary, referring to Misiones, the Argentinian province containing the type locality (and home to other species of Hoplias, including type locality of H. mbigua)

Hoplias patana (Valenciennes 1847) etymology not explained, presumably a local word or place name in French Guiana

Hoplias teres (Valenciennes 1847) cylindrical, presumably referring to body form (which is characteristic of the family)

Family PARODONTIDAE Scrapetooths 3 genera · 32 species

Apareiodon Eigenmann 1916a-, without; pareion, cheek; odon, tooth, referring to absence of teeth in side of lower jaw

Apareiodon affinis (Steindachner 1879) related, referring to similarity with its congener at the time, Parodon suborbitalis, described as “essentially identical” (translation) in snout shape, mouth position, dentition and size of infraorbital bone

Apareiodon agmatos Taphorn, López-Fernández & Bernard 2008 Greek for fragment, referring to incomplete lateral line, unique among parodontids

Apareiodon argenteus Pavanelli & Britski 2003 silver, referring to silvery longitudinal stripe under dark mid-lateral stripe

Apareiodon cavalcante Pavanelli & Britski 2003 referring to city of Cavalcante, Goiás, Brazil, type locality

Apareiodon davisi Fowler 1941in honor of William Baldwin Davis, Philadelphia, to whom Fowler is indebted for many American fishes

Apareiodon gransabana Starnes & Schindler 1993 referring to Gran Sabana physiographic province of Venezuela, where it appears to be endemic

Apareiodon hasemani Eigenmann 1916 in honor of John D. Haseman (1887-1969), Eigenmann’s student and field collector for the Carnegie Museum of

Apareiodon machrisi. From: Travassos, H. 1957. Sôbre um novo “Parodontinae” do estado de Goiás, Brasil (Cypriniformes, Characoidei). Revista Brasileira de Biologia v. 17 (no. 1): 147-151.

The ETYFish Project · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Parodont idae · 3

Natural History, who collected type

Apareiodon ibitiensis Amaral Campos 1944 -ensis, suffix denoting place: location not specified, presumably Ibiti, São Paulo, Brazil, at or near type locality

Apareiodon itapicuruensis Eigenmann & Henn 1916 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio Itapicuru drainage, Estado da Bahia, Brazil, type locality

Apareiodon machrisi Travassos 1957 in honor of American industrialist (oil) and trophy hunter Maurice A. Machris, who helped fund expedition that collected type

Apareiodon piracicabae (Eigenmann 1907) of Piracicaba, Estado de São Paulo, Brazil, type locality

Apareiodon tigrinus Pavanelli & Britski 2003 tiger, referring to several irregular big blotches and/or bands above and below midlateral stripe

Apareiodon vittatus Garavello 1977 banded, referring to 6-7 transverse bars on body

Apareiodon vladii Pavanelli 2006 in honor of Vladimir “Vladi” Pavan Margarido (Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná), who recognized species was undescribed based on cytogenetic features and “made hard efforts to collect good specimens” for the type series

Parodon Valenciennes 1850 par, equal; odon, tooth, referring to even cusps on teeth

Parodon alfonsoi Londoño-Burbano, Román-Valencia & Taphorn 2011 in honor of Alfonso Londoño Orozco, father of first author, “for his support and personal inspiration through the years”

Parodon apolinari Myers 1930in honor of Hermano Apolinar Maria (1867-1949), Director, Museum at the Instituto de La Salle, Bogotá, who sent type to Myers

Parodon atratoensis Londoño-Burbano, Román-Valencia & Taphorn 2011 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Atrato, northwest Colombia, where it is endemic

Parodon bifasciatus Eigenmann 1912 bi-, two; fasciatus, banded, referring to black lateral band from snout to end of caudal rays, and a narrower parallel band from occiput to base of upper caudal rays

Parodon buckleyi Boulenger 1887 in honor of the late Clarence Buckley, who collected many plants and animals in Ecuador, including type of this one

Parodon caliensis Boulenger 1895 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Cali, near Cali, Colombia, type locality

Parodon carrikeri Fowler 1940in honor of bird collector M. A. Carriker (1879-1965), who collected type

Parodon guyanensis Géry 1960 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Guyana, probably referring to French Guiana, type locality (although it does occur throughout the Guyanas, including British Guyana [Guyana] and Dutch Guyana [Suriname])

Parodon hilarii Reinhardt 1867 in honor of French botanist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire (1779-1853), whose travels in Brazil “expanded the knowledge of this vast land and its natural productions” (translation)

Parodon magdalenensis Londoño-Burbano, Román-Valencia & Taphorn 2011 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Magdalena River, Colombia, where it is endemic

Parodon moreirai Ingenito & Buckup 2005 in honor of Orlando Moreira-Filho (Universidade Federal de São Carlos), who collected types and recognized them as a new species

Parodon nasus Kner 1859 long-nosed, presumably referring to snout slightly overhanging the mouth

Parodon orinocensis (Bonilla, Machado-Allison, Silvera, Chernoff, López & Lasso 1999) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Orinoco River basin, Venezuela, where it is endemic

Parodon pongoensis (Allen 1942) -ensis, suffix denoting place: foothills at Pongo de Manseriche, Marañón River drainage, Peru, type locality

4 · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Cynodont idae · The ETYFish Project

Parodon suborbitalis Valenciennes 1850 suborbital (below the eye), referring to well-developed circumorbital bones, particularly to a chain of suborbital ossicles, which give head an armor-plated appearance

Saccodon Kner 1863saccus, bag; odon, tooth, presumably referring to “bulging mucous membrane” (translation) that surrounds premaxillary, inside of which are highly specialized teeth for scraping algae

Saccodon dariensis (Meek & Hildebrand 1913) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Darién, a province in Panama, where Boca de Cupe (type locality) is situated

Saccodon terminalis (Eigenmann & Henn 1914) referring to terminal or subterminal mouth, unique in family

Saccodon wagneri Kner 1863in honor of Moritz Wagner (1813-1887), German explorer and geographer, who collected type

Family CYNODONTIDAE Dogtooth Tetras3 genera · 8 species

Cynodon Spix & Agassiz 1829 cyno-, dog; odon, tooth, referring to highly developed pair of canine teeth

Cynodon gibbus (Agassiz 1829) hump, referring to gibbous (convex) keel or ventral profile Cynodon meionactis Géry, Le Bail & Keith 1999 meiosis, to reduce; aktis, ray, referring to shorter anal fin compared to C. gibbus Cynodon septenarius Toledo-Piza 2000 consisting of seven, referring to seven branched pelvic-fin rays

Hydrolycus Müller & Troschel 1844 hydro-, water; lycos, wolf, referring to elongated lower canine teeth

Hydrolycus armatus (Jardine 1841) armed with a weapon, a “remarkable and strongly armed fish,” referring to elongated lower canine teeth Hydrolycus scomberoides (Cuvier 1819) -oides, having the form of: Scomber, a genus of mackerel, comparison not explained, possibly referring to overall shape and silvery coloration Hydrolycus tatauaia Toledo-Piza, Menezes & Santos 1999 tata and uai, Tupí words for fire and tail, respectively, referring to orange coloration pattern in caudal fin Hydrolycus wallacei Toledo-Piza, Menezes & Santos 1999 in honor of naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), who illustrated this species during his 1848-1852 expedition to the Amazon

Cynodon septenarius. From: Toledo-Piza, M. 2000. The Neotropical fish subfamily Cynodontinae (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes): a phylogenetic study and a revision

of Cynodon and Rhaphiodon. American Museum Novitates No. 3286: 1-88.

The ETYFish Project · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Serrasalmidae · 5

Rhaphiodon Agassiz 1829 rhaphus, needle; odon, tooth, referring to highly developed pair of canine teeth

Rhaphiodon vulpinus Spix & Agassiz 1829 fox-like, referring to highly developed pair of canine teeth

Family SERRASALMIDAE Pacus and Piranhas16 genera · 97 species

Acnodon Eigenmann 1903 a-, without; knodon, ancient Greek for projecting teeth on blade of hunting spear, presumably based on false impression that A. oligacanthus lacks a predorsal spine (it is small and easily overlooked)

Acnodon normani Gosline 1951 in honor of ichthyologist J. R. (John Roxborough) Norman (1898-1944), British Museum (Natural History), for his “excellent work” on serrasalmids as well as other fish groups

Acnodon oligacanthus (Müller & Troschel 1844) oligos, small; acanthus, spine, referring to small (but easily overlooked) predorsal spine

Acnodon senai Jégu & Santos 1990 in memory of fisheries worker Anazildo Mateus de Sena, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Manaus), who collected type during one of his last trips to the field in June 1987

Catoprion Müller & Troschel 1844 cato-, low; prion, saw, probably referring to saw-tooth ventral keel on C. mento

Catoprion mento (Cuvier 1819) chin, referring to jutting lower jaw

Colossoma Eigenmann & Kennedy 1903 colos, without horns; soma, body, referring to lack of predorsal spine present on other serrasalmids

Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier 1816) macro-, large; poma, operculum, referring to large, wide operculum

Metynnis Cope 1878 meta-, with; hynnis, plow, referring to keeled belly, “armed with spiniferous ? interhæmal bones” [question mark in original, significance not evident, perhaps a lapsus]

Metynnis altidorsalis Ahl 1923 altus, high; dorsalis, dorsal, allusion not evident, perhaps referring to extended dorsal-fin rays and/or high dorsal profile

Metynnis argenteus Ahl 1923 silvery, referring to shiny silver color in alcohol

Metynnis cuiaba Pavanelli, Ota & Petry 2009 named for the Rio Cuiabá, Rio Paraguai basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil, type locality

Metynnis fasciatus Ahl 1931 banded, referring to 3-4 bluish bars on sides

Metynnis guaporensis Eigenmann 1915 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio Guaporé at Maciél, Brazil, type locality

Metynnis hypsauchen (Müller & Troschel 1844) hypso-, high; auchen, neck, referring to deep body

Metynnis lippincottianus (Cope 1870) -anus, belonging to: Cope’s friend, James S. Lippincott, “author of important contributions to Meteorology, Agriculture and other subjects”

Metynnis longipinnis Zarske & Géry 2008 longus, long; pinnis, fin, referring to extremely elongated dorsal and anal fins

Metynnis luna Cope 1878 moon-shaped, referring to “orbicular” shape, with “very convex” dorsal region

Metynnis maculatus (Kner 1858) spotted, referring to rounded dark spots on body and/or large black humeral spot

Metynnis melanogrammus Ota, Rapp Py-Daniel & Jégu 2016melas, black or dark; gramma, letter or line, referring to well-marked dark lateral line

6 · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Serrasalmidae · The ETYFish Project

Metynnis mola Eigenmann & Kennedy 1903 millstone, referring to “nearly circular” form

Metynnis orinocensis (Steindachner 1908) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Orinoco River basin, Venezuela, where it is endemic

Metynnis otuquensis Ahl 1923 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Otuquis, Paraguay, type locality (also occurs in Argentina and Bolivia)

Metynnis polystictus Zarske & Géry 2008 poly, many; stictus, spot, referring to numerous small spots on body

Mylesinus Valenciennes 1850 -inus, adjectival suffix, i.e., Myleus-like, referring to similarity to that genus

Mylesinus paraschomburgkii Jégu, Santos & Ferreira 1989 para-, near, referring to previous misidentification as M. schomburgkii

Mylesinus paucisquamatus Jégu & Santos 1988 paucus, few; squamatus, scaled, referring to fewer lateral line scales compared to other myleinine fishes

Mylesinus schomburgkii Valenciennes 1850 in honor of explorer Robert Hermann Schomburgk (1804-1865), who collected type

Myleus Müller & Troschel 1844 like a millstone, presumably referring to disk-like shape

Myleus altipinnis (Valenciennes 1850) altus, high; pinnis, fin, referring to long posterior dorsal-fin rays, longer than those on Tometes unilobatus (=T. trilobatus)

Myleus arnoldi (Ahl 1936) in honor of German aquarist Johann Paul Arnold (1869-1952), who donated specimens to the Zoological Museum of Berlin

Myleus knerii (Steindachner 1881) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Steindachner’s friend and colleague, ichthyologist Rudolf Kner (1810-1869), who described several serrasalmid fishes

Myleus levis Eigenmann & McAtee 1907 smooth, polished or bald, allusion not explained nor evident

Myleus lobatus (Valenciennes 1850) lobed, referring to anterior rays of anal fin forming a rounded lobe

Myleus knerii. From: Steindachner, F. 1881. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Flussfische Südamerika’s. II. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien,

Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe. v. 43: 103-146, Pls. 1-7.


Myleus micans (Lütken 1875) shining or twinkling, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to silvery iridescent markings on sides

Myleus pachyodus Andrade, Jégu, Buckup & Netto-Ferreira 2018pachy, dense, thick or bulky; odon, tooth, referring to teeth of adults, which are much thicker when compared with the flat, incisiform teeth of congeners

Myleus pacu (Jardine 1841) a “provincial name” for several species in Guyana, including this one, derived from the Tupí word pa’ku

Myleus rhomboidalis (Cuvier 1818) -alis, adjectival suffix: presumably referring to rhomboid-like shape of body

Myleus schomburgkii (Jardine 1841) in honor of explorer Robert Hermann Schomburgk (1804-1865), who collected type

Myleus setiger Müller & Troschel 1844 seti, setae (hair-like structures); -iger, to bear, i.e., bristly, referring to serrate ventral keel composed of 28-33 spinous plates

Myleus ternetzi (Norman 1929) in honor of ichthyologist and naturalist Carl Ternetz (1870-1928), who made extensive collections in French Guiana for the British Museum (including, presumably, type of this species)

Myleus tiete (Eigenmann & Norris 1900) etymology not explained, probably referring to Tieté River system (São Paulo, Brazil), which includes Piracicaba River, type locality

Myleus torquatus (Kner 1858) adorned with a necklace or collar, referring to black vertical band on sides

Myloplus Gill 1896 etymology not explained; proposed as a subgenus of Myletes (a suppressed name in the synonymy of Alestes, Alestidae), Mylo- may refer to similar disk-shaped serrasalmids with the same generic prefix, with plus meaning “more” (i.e., an additional Myleus-like taxon)

Myloplus asterias (Müller & Troschel 1844) starry, presumably referring to round, orange-colored spots on body

Myloplus lucienae Andrade, Ota, Bastos & Jégu 2016in honor of Luciene Maria Kassar Borges, for her “pioneer attempt” (a 1986 Ph.D. disseration) to organize what is known about herbivorous Serrasalmidae from the rio Negro basin

Myloplus planquettei Jégu, Keith & Le Bail 2003 in honor of Paul Planquette (1940-1996), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Kourou, French Guiana) for his work studying the fishes of French Guiana

Myloplus rubripinnis (Müller & Troschel 1844) ruber, red; pinnis, fin, referring to distinctive red-hooked anal fin on adult males

Myloplus tumukumak Andrade, Jégu & Gama 2018named for the Tumuk-Humak Mountain Range, where type locality (Oyapock River and its tributaries between Brazil and French Guiana) is situated, and where it appears to be endemic

Myloplus zorroi Andrade, Jégu & Giarrizzo 2016in honor of Mauricio Camargo-Zorro, a researcher at the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia (São Paulo), for his “invaluable” contribution to the fish fauna inventory from the Marmelos Conservation Area (boundaries of Amazonas and Rondônia states, Brazil, where this species occurs); also alludes to the Latin-American fictional character “Zorro,” which was the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega, because its features “masked” it as Tometes, concealing its true identity

Mylossoma Eigenmann & Kennedy 1903 mylos, millstone; soma, body, referring to disk-like body shape

Mylossoma acanthogaster (Valenciennes 1850) acanthus, thorn; gaster, belly, referring to serrate ventral keel

Mylossoma albiscopum (Cope 1872)albus, white; scopus, watcher (i.e., eye), allusion not explained nor evident (perhaps eyes appeared white in spirits)

Mylossoma aureum (Spix & Agassiz 1829) gold, referring to golden coloration

Mylossoma duriventre (Cuvier 1818) durus, hard or rough; ventris, belly, probably referring to spiny serrae on ventral keel

8 · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Serrasalmidae · The ETYFish Project

Mylossoma unimaculatum (Steindachner 1908) uni-, one; maculatum, spotted, referring to a “deep, round, sharply demarcated spot a short distance above the lateral line and in the vertical direction, slightly behind the beginning of the dorsal” (translation); modern accounts and photographs do not mention nor show this spot, but do report a conspicuous black or brown blotch on opercle

Ossubtus Jégu 1992 os, mouth; subtus, below, referring to strictly ventral position of mouth, unique in the family

Ossubtus xinguense Jégu 1992 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio Xingu, Altamira, Pará, Brazil, type locality

Piaractus Eigenmann 1903 piar, fat; actinos, ray, referring to rayed adipose fin

Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier 1818) brachy, short; pomum, operculum, referring to shorter operculum compared to Colossoma macropomum

Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg 1887) -icus, belonging to: meso-, middle or in between; potamos, river, allusion not explained but almost certainly referring to Región Mesopotámica (or La Mesopotamia), the northeast region of Argentina located between the rivers Paraná and Uruguay (Stefan Koerber, pers. comm.), where this species occurs

Pristobrycon Eigenmann 1915 etymology not explained, probably pristis-, saw, referring to serrate ventral keel; brycon, generalized term used in generic names of many characiform fishes, derived from bryco, to bite, gnash teeth or eat greedily, originally an allusion to fully toothed maxillae, i.e., a serrate “brycon”

Pristobrycon aureus (Spix & Agassiz 1829) gold, referring to olive and “shining gold” (translation) coloration

Pristobrycon calmoni (Steindachner 1908) patronym not identified but based on information in Steindachner’s 1907 description of the loricariid catfish Pareiorhaphis cameroni (a lapsus for calmoni), probably in honor of Miguel Calmon du Pin e Almedia (1879-1935), Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, as a “token of my respect and gratitude” (translation)

Pristobrycon careospinus Fink & Machado-Allison 1992 careo, without; spinus, spine, referring to lack of pre-anal spine

Pristobrycon maculipinnis Fink & Machado-Allison 1992 maculata, spotted; pinnis, fins, referring to extensive spotting of vertical fins, a rare pattern in serrasalmids

Pristobrycon striolatus (Steindachner 1908) striated or furrowed, referring to light and dark bands (present only on juveniles)

Pygocentrus Müller & Troschel 1844 pygo-, rump; kentron, thorn or spine, referring to serrate abdomen

Pygocentrus cariba (Humboldt 1821) local Venezuelan equivalent of the Brazilian word piranha

Pygocentrus nattereri Kner 1858 in honor of Johann Natterer (1787-1843), who explored South America and collected specimens for 18 years, including some males of this species

Pygocentrus piraya (Cuvier 1819) along with piranha, one of the local names for serrasalmid fishes in Brazil

Pygopristis Müller & Troschel 1844pygo-, rump; pristis, saw, referring to serrated spines on abdomen

Pygopristis denticulata (Cuvier 1819) diminutive of dens, tooth, referring to narrower, less oblique teeth compared to other serrasalmids Cuvier had examined

Serrasalmus Lacepède 1803 serra, saw, referring to serrate ventral keel; salmus, referring to salmon-like adipose fin

Serrasalmus altispinis Merckx, Jégu & Santos 2000 altus, high; spinus, referring to “deeper” serrae compared to S. rhombeus

Serrasalmus altuvei Ramírez 1965 in honor of Néstor Altuve, Director of Natural Resources of the Agriculture Ministry in Venezuela, where it is endemic

Serrasalmus auriventris (Burmeister 1861) aureus, gold; ventris, belly, referring to golden-yellow belly


Serrasalmus brandtii Lütken 1875 patronym not identified, possibly in honor of German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt (1802-1879)

Serrasalmus compressus Jégu, Leão & Santos 1991compressed, referring to its deep and compressed body

Serrasalmus eigenmanni Norman 1929 in honor of Carl H. Eigenmann (1863-1927), for his work on characid fishes

Serrasalmus elongatus Kner 1858 referring to relatively elongate body, the most elongate piranha species

Serrasalmus geryi Jégu & Santos 1988in honor of ichthyologist Jacques Géry (1917-2007), for his “important” (translation) work among serrasalmids and Serrasalmus in particular

Serrasalmus gibbus Castelnau 1855 hump or humpback, referring to “curved back of the head” (translation)

Serrasalmus gouldingi Fink & Machado-Allison 1992 in honor of conservation ecologist Michael Goulding (b. 1950), for his “indefatigable efforts” in collecting Amazonian fishes and understanding the ecosystem in which they live, helping the senior author in the field, and for sharing his first-hand knowledge of Amazonian piranhas

Serrasalmus hastatus Fink & Machado-Allison 2001 spear-shaped, referring to pointed and highly compressed snout

Serrasalmus hollandi Eigenmann 1915 in honor of zoologist-paleontologist William J. Holland (1848-1932), Director of the Carnegie Museum, which published many of Eigenmann’s papers

Serrasalmus humeralis Valenciennes 1850 referring to large, blackish humeral spot

Serrasalmus irritans Peters 1877 bothersome, allusion not explained, perhaps referring, as Peters noted, to its less-aggressive behavior compared to S. (=Pygocentrus) nattereri

Serrasalmus maculatus Kner 1858 spotted, referring to rounded blackish spots on body

Serrasalmus manueli (Fernández-Yépez & Ramírez 1967) in honor of Manuel, the second author’s son, who died early, and who since early childhood had accompanied the authors on their “memorable” (translation) fishing expeditions

Serrasalmus marginatus Valenciennes 1837 margined, referring to black-edged anal fin

Serrasalmus medinai Ramírez 1965 in honor of Gonzalo Medina, chief of the Division of Fauna, Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Venezuela, where it is endemic

Serrasalmus nalseni Fernández-Yépez 1969 in honor of Bo Jaime Nalsen, who helped collect type and works at the fish research station of Venezuela’s Oficina Nacional de Pesca

Serrasalmus neveriensis Machado-Allison, Fink, López Rojas & Rodenas 1993 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Neveri, Querechual, Estado Anzoálegui, Venezuela, type locality

Serrasalmus nigricans Spix & Agassiz 1829 blackish, referring to body coloration

Serrasalmus nigricauda (Burmeister 1861) nigra, black; cauda, tail, referring to broad black band at beginning of tail

Serrasalmus odyssei Hubert & Renno 2010 etymology explained but meaning unclear: Bolivian name “applied to the locally known piranha ‘suave’ and referring to the taxonomic confusion with this species at the beginning of the fieldwork during the present study”

Serrasalmus rhombeus (Linnaeus 1766) probably referring to rhomboid shape of adults

Serrasalmus sanchezi Géry 1964 in honor of Peruvian fisheries biologist Jorge Sanchez Romero

10 · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Hemiodont idae · The ETYFish Project

Serrasalmus serrulatus (Valenciennes 1850) diminutive of serra, saw, i.e., small saw-toothed, referring to its “clearly serrate” abdomen

Serrasalmus spilopleura Kner 1858 spilos, spot; pleuro-, side, referring to numerous black spots on sides of juvenile specimens

Tometes Valenciennes 1850etymology not explained, probably tomeus, cutter or knife (i.e., one who cuts), referring to obliquely beveled incisors; according to Valenciennes, name was coined in the same way that Cuvier in 1814 coined Myletes (now a synonym of Alestes but at the time including both alestids and serrasalmids) for characiform fishes with molariform teeth (mylos, millstone, referring to a molar’s grinding function)

Tometes ancylorhynchus Andrade & Giarrizzo 2016ancylo, curved; rhynchus, snout, referring to relatively short and curved snout, resembling the curved beak of a parrot

Tometes camunani Andrade, Giarrizzo & Jégu 2013 vernacular for this species among the Wai-Wai, who inhabit the upper rio Trombetas basin (Pará State, Brazil) and consider this species of great cultural importance; name is also used by local quilombolas (inhabitants of settlements founded by escaped slaves of African origin), who capture the fish using the fruit of the camu-camu tree (Myrciaria dubia, Myrtaceae) as bait

Tometes kranponhah Andrade & Giarrizzo 2016in honor of the indigenous Pytako tribe inhabiting the banks of the Xingu River basin (Brazil), who know this fish as kranponhah, meaning long-haired (kran, head; ponhah, hair or hairy), referring to long dorsal-fin filaments of mature males

Tometes lebaili Jégu, Keith & Belmont-Jégu 2002 in honor of Pierre-Yves Le Bail, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Rennes, France), for research and revisionary studies of the fishes of French Guiana, including the first collection of this species

Tometes makue Jégu, Santos & Belmont-Jégu 2002 makue ñigi, local Tukano (also spelled Tucano) name for this species, meaning “black pacu”

Tometes siderocarajensis Andrade, Machado, Jégu, Farias & Giarrizzo 2017 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Serra dos Carajás (the largest high-grade iron deposit in the world, from sidero, iron), Tocantins-Araguaia River basin, Pará, Brazil, type locality

Tometes trilobatus Valenciennes 1850 tri-, three; lobatus, lobed, presumably referring to anal-fin lobe formed by its middle (three?) rays

Utiaritichthys Miranda Ribeiro 1937 Utiarity, referring to Salto Utiarity, or Utiarity Falls, Mato Grosso, Brazil, type locality of U. sennaebragai; ichthys, fish

Utiaritichthys esguiceroi Pereira & Castro 2014 in honor of André L. H. Esguícero, University of São Paulo, who collected type

Utiaritichthys longidorsalis Jégu, Tito de Morais & Santos 1992 longus, long; dorsalis, dorsal, referring to longer dorsal-fin base compared to U. sennaebragai

Utiaritichthys sennaebragai Miranda Ribeiro 1937 in honor of Colonel Senna Braga, Commander of the 5º Militar Grupamento de Engenharia (equivalent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), who helped Miranda Ribeiro obtain types when he visited Salto Utiarity (or Utiarity Falls, type locality) in May 1909

Family HEMIODONTIDAE Halftooths 5 genera · 32 species/subspecies

Subfamily Anodontinae

Anodus Cuvier 1829 an-, without; odous, teeth, referring to lack of jaw teeth (based on a manuscript name apparently coined by Spix)

Anodus elongatus Agassiz 1829 referring to slender, elongate body and/or elongate, laterally compressed head

Anodus orinocensis (Steindachner 1887) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Orinoco (probably in Venezuela), type locality (also occurs in Brazil)

Micromischodus Roberts 1971 micro-, small; mischos, stalk, petiole or peduncle; odous, teeth, referring to minute, unicuspid teeth

Micromischodus sugillatus Roberts 1971 black-and-blue spotted or bruised, referring to color of dorsal fin and opercle

The ETYFish Project · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Hemiodont idae · 11

Subfamily Hemiodontinae

Argonectes Böhlke & Myers 1956 argos, shining, bright, glistening or swift; nectes, swimmer, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “striking” appearance of black, collar-like markings that border gill openings of A. scapularis (=longiceps)

Argonectes longiceps (Kner 1858) longus, long; ceps, head, presumably referring to length of head, which is ¼ of SL

Argonectes robertsi Langeani 1999 in honor of ichthyologist Tyson R. Roberts (b. 1940), for his contributions to the study of hemiodontid fishes

Bivibranchia Eigenmann 1912 bivium, intersection (bi-, two; via, way); branchia, gills, referring to modified gills in which gill-rakers on each arch interlock with rakers between subsequent arches, used to filter food particles from sand

Bivibranchia bimaculata Vari 1985 bi-, two; maculata, spotted, referring to two dark spots on lateral surface of body and caudal peduncle

Bivibranchia fowleri (Steindachner 1908) patronym not identified, probably in honor of ichthyologist Henry Weed Fowler (1878-1965), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

Bivibranchia notata Vari & Goulding 1985 marked, referring to prominent spot on midlateral surface of body

Bivibranchia simulata simulata Géry, Planquette & Le Bail 1991 copied or imitated, referring to resemblance to B. bimaculata

Bivibranchia simulata surinamensis Géry, Planquette & Le Bail 1991 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Suriname, where this subspecies is endemic

Bivibranchia velox (Eigenmann & Myers 1927) swift, “every line of their contours suggests speed”

Hemiodus Müller 1842hemi-, half; odous, teeth, referring to teeth in upper jaw but not lower

Hemiodus amazonum (Humboldt 1821) although epithet translates as “of the Amazons,” referring to warrior women for whom the Amazon was named, it actually refers to the river itself (“de la riviere des Amazones”), where it occurs in Peru

Hemiodus argenteus Pellegrin 1909 silvery, referring to “beautiful silver color” (translation) of sides and belly

Hemiodus atranalis (Fowler 1940) ater, black; analis, anal, referring to anal fin “obscured with blackish brown specks and dots, appearing blackish”

Hemiodus goeldii Steindachner 1908 patronym not identified but probably in honor of Swiss-Brazilian zoologist Émil (or Emílio) Goeldi (1859-1917), Director of the Museo Paraense and author of numerous works on the natural history of Brazil

Hemiodus gracilis Günther 1864 slender, presumably referring to elongate body

Hemiodus huraulti (Géry 1964) in honor of Jean-Marcel Hurault, “expert” ethnologist of the forest tribes of French Guiana, who collected type

Hemiodus iratapuru, live paratype. From: Langeani, F. and C. R. Moreira. 2013. Hemiodus iratapuru, a new species of Hemiodontidae from the Rio Jari, Amazon Basin, Brazil (Teleostei, Characiformes).

Journal of Fish Biology v. 82: 1259-1268.

12 · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Anostomidae · The ETYFish Project

Hemiodus immaculatus Kner 1858 im-, not; maculatus, spotted, referring to absence of black spots or bands on sides

Hemiodus iratapuru Langeani & Moreira 2013 referring to type locality, Rio Iratapuru, Laranjal do Jari, Brazil

Hemiodus jatuarana Langeani 2004 Portuguese vernacular, derived from the Tupí-Guaraní, applied to most species of Hemiodus in the Brazilian Amazon

Hemiodus langeanii Beltrão & Zuanon 2012in honor of Francisco Langeani (Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas-Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”-UNESP, Brazil), for his “highly relevant contributions” to the knowledge of hemiodontid fishes

Hemiodus microlepis Kner 1858 micro-, small; lepis, scale, referring to minute scales (“squamae minutiae”), 110-112 along lateral line

Hemiodus orthonops Eigenmann & Kennedy 1903 acknowledged by Eigenmann (1907) as a misprint for othonops: otho, veil; ops, eye, referring to eye covered, with exception of a short slit over pupil, by broad adipose lids

Hemiodus parnaguae Eigenmann & Henn 1916of Lagoa de Parnagua, Brazil, type locality

Hemiodus quadrimaculatus Pellegrin 1909 quadri-, four; maculatus, spotted, referring to four large black vertical bands (not spots) on sides

Hemiodus semitaeniatus Kner 1858 semi-, half; taeniatus, banded, referring to black lateral band that extends from a black spot behind dorsal fin to root of caudal fin

Hemiodus sterni (Géry 1964) in honor of Max Stern (1898-1982), founder of Hartz Mountain Bird Company, who “has done so much for the aquarium industry”

Hemiodus ternetzi Myers 1927 in honor of ichthyologist and naturalist Carl Ternetz (1870-1928), who “through his personal effort, has brought together for Indiana University one of the finest collections of South American fresh-water fishes in existence,” including type of this one

Hemiodus thayeria Böhlke 1955 referring to “striking” similarity in coloration between it and type species of Thayeria, T. obliquua (Characidae)

Hemiodus tocantinensis Langeani 1999 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Tocantins River basin, Brazil, type locality

Hemiodus unimaculatus (Bloch 1794) uni-, one; maculatus, spotted, referring to single black spot on sides

Hemiodus vorderwinkleri (Géry 1964) in honor of William Vorderwinkler, “well-known” scientific writer and aquarist, and editor of Tropical Fish Hobbyist (in which description appeared), who helped collect type

Family ANOSTOMIDAE Toothed Headstanders 15 genera · 157 species/subspecies

Abramites Fowler 1906 -ites, like, referring to “superficial” resemblance to European bream, Abramis brama

Abramites eques (Steindachner 1878) horseman or rider, allusion not explained, probably referring to oblique saddle-like marking on sides (Steindachner used this name for two other characiforms with saddle-like markings, Nannostomus eques and Hyphessobrycon eques)

Abramites hypselonotus (Günther 1868) hypselos, high; notus, back, referring to steeped dorsal profile, giving it a high-backed appearance

Anostomoides Pellegrin 1909 -oides, having the form of: “closely allied to Anostomus, but with different dentition” (translation)

Anostomoides atrianalis Pellegrin 1909 atria-, black; analis, anal, referring to blackish anal fin

Anostomoides laticeps (Eigenmann 1912)latus, wide; ceps, head, referring to broad, somewhat depressed head

The ETYFish Project · CHARACIFORMES (part 2) : Anostomidae · 13

Anostomoides passionis Santos & Zuanon 2006 passionate, referring to round to heart-shaped dark blotches on sides and deep red color of fins

Anostomus Scopoli 1777 tautonymous with Salmo anostomus, referring to upturned (ano-) mouth (stomus)

Anostomus anostomus (Linnaeus 1758) ano-, upward; stomus, mouth, referring to upturned (superior) mouth

Anostomus brevior Géry 1961 shorter, referring to shorter body depth compared to A. anostomus

Anostomus longus Géry 1961 long, referring to more elongate shape compared to A. anostomus

Anostomus ternetzi Fernández-Yépez 1949 in honor of ichthyologist and naturalist Carl Ternetz (1870-1928), who collected type

Gnathodolus Myers 1927gnathus, jaw; dolus, trap, referring to lower jaw, which folds upward to close or seal the mouth

Gnathodolus bidens Myers 1927 bi-, two; dens, teeth, referring to two hooked, projecting teeth at tip of lower jaw

Hypomasticus Borodin 1929 hypo-, under; masticus, mouthed, referring to inferior mouth of H. mormyrops

Hypomasticus despaxi (Puyo 1943) in honor of zoologist Raymond Despax (1886-1950), University of Toulouse, where Puyo studied

Hypomasticus julii (Santos, Jégu & Lima 1996) in honor of Júlio Garavello, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, for his contributions to the taxonomy of anostomids

Hypomasticus lineomaculatus Birindelli, Peixoto, Wosiacki & Britski 2013 lineo, line; maculatus, spotted, referring to two rows of longitudinally aligned dark blotches on body

Hypomasticus megalepis (Günther 1863) mega-, large; lepis, scale, referring to larger scales compared to Leporinus friderici (considered congeneric at time of description)

Hypomasticus mormyrops (Steindachner 1875) ops, appearance, referring to resemblance of fleshy snout to that of African osteoglossiform genus Mormyrus

Hypomasticus pachycheilus (Britski 1976) pachys, thick; cheilus, lip, referring to its “lábios grossos” (thick lips)

Hypomasticus thayeri (Borodin 1929) presumably in honor of financier and philanthropist Nathaniel Thayer, Jr. (1808-1883), who sponsored a 15-month expedition to Brazil (1865-1866) that secured a rich collection of new species (studied, in large part, by Steindachner and Eigenmann), including type of this one

Laemolyta Cope 1872 laemo-, throat; lyo, free, referring to branchisostegal membranes of L. taeniata, which are entirely free from isthmus

Laemolyta fasciata Pearson 1924 banded, referring to 7-8 bars on sides

Laemolyta fernandezi Myers 1950 in honor of Venezuelan ichthyologist Augustin Fernández-Yépez, who collaborated with Myers in studying anostomids

Laemolyta garmani (Borodin 1931) in honor of Harvard ichthyologist-herpetologist Samuel Garman (1843-1927), who revised Anostomus, and proposed Schizodontopsis as a subgenus of Laemolyta in 1890

Laemolyta orinocensis (Steindachner 1879) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Orinoco River basin, Venezuela, where it is endemic

Laemolyta proxima (Garman 1890) near, referring to close relationship and similar appearance to L. taeniata

Laemolyta taeniata (Kner 1858) banded, referring to wide black band extending from head to tail

Leporellus Lütken 1875diminutive of Leporinus, originally proposed as a subgenus of Leporinus


Leporellus cartledgei Fowler 1941 in honor of Prof. Franklin Fisher Cartledge, of Philadelphia, to whom Fowler is “indebted for many local fishes”

Leporellus pictus (Kner 1858) painted or colored, probably referring to yellow, orange and black dorsal and caudal fins

Leporellus retropinnis (Eigenmann 1922) retro, back; pinnis, fin, referring to origin of dorsal fin farther back on body (about halfway between tip of snout and base of caudal fin) compared to L. pictus and L. vittatus

Leporellus vittatus (Valenciennes 1850) banded, referring to indistinct blackish band along lateral line and/or black bands on dorsal and caudal fins

Leporinus Agassiz 1829 hare- or rabbit-like, presumably referring to elongate incisors, reminiscent of those in the mammal family Leporidae

Leporinus acutidens (Valenciennes 1837) acutus, sharp or pointed; dens, teeth, referring to its sharp teeth, compared to blunt teeth of L. obtusidens

Leporinus affinis Günther 1864 related, described as closely allied to L. fasciatus but with fewer bands

Leporinus agassizii Steindachner 1876 in honor of zoologist-geologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), at the time the leading authority on Brazilian fishes, who led the Thayer Expedition (1865-1866) to Brazil, which provided Steindachner with many specimens to study

Leporinus aguapeiensis Amaral Campos 1945 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio Aguapeí, Estado de São Paulo, Brazil, type locality

Leporinus alternus Eigenmann 1912 alternating, presumably referring to “broad and heavy” cross bands that alternate with “narrower” ones

Leporinus altipinnis Borodin 1929altus, high; pinnis, fin, referring to its high, sharply pointed dorsal fin

Leporinus amae Godoy 1980 in honor of AMA (Assessoria Para Meio Ambiente), an agency of the Brazilian energy company Eletrosul, for promoting health and environmental initiatives in southern Brazil

Leporinus amazonicus Santos & Zuanon 2008 -icus, belonging to: Rio Amazonas of Brazil, where entire type series comes from

Leporinus amblyrhynchus Garavello & Britski 1987 amblys, blunt; rhynchus, snout, referring to rounded snout

Leporinus apollo Sidlauskas, Mol & Vari 2011 Apollo, the god of sun, music and healing in Greek and Roman mythology, referring to extremely slender form that is reminiscent of the arrow that was Apollo’s favored weapon and predominant symbol, and yellow cast of body and fins and rounded shape of the lateral markings, which evoke the sun that was one of Apollo’s primary aspects

Leporinus arcus Eigenmann 1912 bow, probably referring to smaller of two lateral bands, “arched from the eye downward and back along the lower margin of the caudal peduncle to the caudal”

Leporinus arimaspi Burns, Frable & Sidlauskas 2014named after the mythical Arimaspi people of northern Scythia in Greek mythology, referring to large black spot at middle of body, reminiscent of the single, centrally located eye that the Arimaspi people were said to possess

Leporinus aripuanaensis Garavello & Santos 1981 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Aripuanã River, type locality, and/or Aripuanã River basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil, where it is endemic

Leporinus badueli Puyo 1948of Baduel, French Guiana, type locality

Leporinus bahiensis Steindachner 1875 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Bahia, Brazil, where it is endemic

Leporinus bimaculatus Castelnau 1855 bi-, two; maculatus, spotted, referring to two large blacks spots on lateral line

Leporinus bistriatus Britski 1997 bi-, two; striatus, striped, referring to two wide longitudinal stripes on body

Leporinus bleheri Géry 1999 in honor of explorer and ornamental-fish wholesaler and supplier Heiko Bleher (b. 1944), who collected type


Leporinus boehlkei Garavello 1988 in honor of the late James E. Böhlke (1930-1982), former Curator of Fishes at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who helped collect type in 1969 and loaned specimens to Garavello for study

Leporinus britskii Feitosa, Santos & Birindelli 2011 in honor of Heraldo A. Britski (Universidade de São Paulo), for his “valuable contribution to our knowledge of Neotropical fishes, and especially for his important role in our understanding of Leporinus taxonomy”

Leporinus brunneus Myers 1950 brown, referring to dull, yellowish-brown color in alcohol

Leporinus copelandii Steindachner 1875 patronym not identified, probably in honor of Edward Copeland, a Boston volunteer on the Thayer Expedition to Brazil (1865-1866), during which type was collected (perhaps same person as Herbert Copeland; see Hyphessobrycon copelandi [Characidae: Stethaprioninae])

Leporinus crassilabris Borodin 1929 crassus, thick; labrum, lip, referring to large, thick, papillose fleshy lips

Leporinus cylindriformis Borodin 1929 cylindros, cylinder; formis, shape, referring to slender, nearly round body shape

Leporinus desmotes Fowler 1914 prisoner, referring to multiple dark cross-bands, “suggestive of convict garb”

Leporinus ecuadorensis Eigenmann & Henn 1916 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Ecuador, where it is endemic

Leporinus enyae Burns, Chatfield, Birindelli & Sidlauskas 2017 in honor of the singer Enya (b. 1961), whose “beautiful song ‘Orinoco Flow’ celebrates the flow of the mighty Orinoco River, which the new species inhabits” [actually, the song has nothing to do with the river; it was named for Orinoco Studios, London, where the song was recorded, and represents a metaphorical musical journey for the team that created and produced Enya’s Watermark album, on which the song appeared]

Leporinus fasciatus (Bloch 1794) banded, referring to 8-11 brown-to-black transverse bands between head and caudal fin

Leporinus friderici (Bloch 1794) in honor of Jurriaan François Friderici (1751-1812), Governer General of Suriname, who sent fishes to Bloch, including this one

Leporinus geminis Garavello & Santos 2009 twin, referring to similarity of young specimens to L. unitaeniatus

Leporinus gomesi Garavello & Santos 1981 in honor of João Gomes da Silva, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, who collected type

Leporinus gossei Géry, Planquette & Le Bail 1991 in honor of Jean-Pierre Gosse (1924-2001), curator of vertebrates, Institut Royal des Sciences Naturalles de Belgique, who collected type

Leporinus granti Eigenmann 1912 in honor of William Grant, Eigenmann’s “most efficient Indian guide” in Guyana, who made many collections of new species, including type of this one

Leporinus guttatus Birindelli & Britski 2009 spotted or dappled, referring to dark blotches scattered over body, more numerous than any known congeners

Leporinus jamesi Garman 1929 in honor of student volunteer William James (trained as a physician, later a philosopher, and brother of novelist Henry James), who collected type during the Thayer Expedition (1865-1866) to Brazil

Leporinus jatuncochi Ovchynnyk 1971 of Lake Jatun Cocha, Province Napo, Ecuador, type locality

Leporinus klausewitzi Géry 1960 in honor of ichthyologist Wolfgang Klausewitz (b. 1922), Senckenberg Museum, who made two small lots of South American fishes from the Museum’s collection available to Géry for study

Leporinus lacustris Amaral Campos 1945 lacustrine (belonging to a lake), presumably reflecting its local name, Piáu de lagoa

Leporinus lebaili Géry & Planquette 1983 in honor of colleague and friend Pierre-Yves Le Bail, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Rennes, France), who collected type and provided photographs of living specimens and their habitat


Leporinus leschenaulti Valenciennes 1850 in honor of botanist-ornithologist Jean-Baptiste Louis Claude Theodore Leschenault de La Tour (1773-1826), who, along with entomologist Adolphe Jacques Louis Doumerc (1802-1868), provided type

Leporinus maculatus Müller & Troschel 1844 spotted, referring to large black spots on sides (appearing as transverse bands on some specimens)

Leporinus marcgravii Lütken 1875 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of German naturalist and astronomer Georg Marcgrave (also spelled Marggraf, 1610-1644), co-author of Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (1648), the first scientific book on the natural history of Brazil

Leporinus melanopleura Günther 1864 melano-, black; pleuro-, side, referring to broad black band running from gill opening to root of caudal fin, immediately below lateral line

Leporinus melanopleurodes Birindelli, Britski & Garavello 2013 -oides, having the form of: referring to similarity to L. melanopleura

Leporinus melanostictus Norman 1926 melano-, black; stictus, spot, referring to black spot on caudal peduncle

Leporinus microphthalmus Garavello 1989 micro-, small; ophthalmus, eye, referring to smaller orbit (eye socket) compared to L. lacustris

Leporinus microphysus Birindelli & Britski 2013 micro-, small; physus, bladder, referring to small gas bladder

Leporinus moralesi Fowler 1942 in honor of biology professor Carlos Morales Machedo, director of the Museo de Historia Natural (Lima, Peru) from 1938-1947

Leporinus multifasciatus Cope 1878 multi-, many; fasciatus, banded, referring to 14 vertical brown bands on sides

Leporinus multimaculatus Birindelli, Teixeira & Britski 2016multi-, many; maculatus, spotted, referring to many dark blotches on body

Leporinus nattereri Steindachner 1876in honor of Johann Natterer (1787-1843), who explored South America and collected specimens for 18 years, including type of this species

Leporinus niceforoi Fowler 1943 in honor of Brother Nicéforo Maria, Museo del Instituto de La Salle (Bogota), who collected type and gifted it, and other specimens, to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

Leporinus nigrotaeniatus (Jardine 1841) nigro-, black; taeniatus, banded, referring to black band running from below dorsal fin, along lateral line, to base of caudal fin

Leporinus nijsseni Garavello 1990 in honor of friend and colleague Han Nijssen (1935-2013), Zoölogisch Museum, Amsterdam, who collected type

Leporinus moralesi. From: Fowler, H. W. 1942. Los peces del Peru. Catálogo sistematico de los peces que habitan en aguas peruanas. Boletim Museum del Historia Natural,

Javier Prado, Lima, University San Marcos ano 6 (no. 21): 206-222.


Leporinus octofasciatus Steindachner 1915 octo-, eight; fasciatus, banded, referring to eight dark gray-purple cross-bands on trunk (not including bands on head and caudal peduncle)

Leporinus octomaculatus Britski & Garavello 1993 octo-, eight; maculatus, spotted, referring to eight midlateral dark blotches along body

Leporinus ortomaculatus Garavello 2000 orto-, variant of ortho-, straight or upright; maculatus, spotted, allusion unclear, perhaps referring to how spots above lateral line sit directly above those below lateral line, with overall form of each pair reminiscent of a colon (:)

Leporinus pachyurus Valenciennes 1850 pachys, thick; oura, tail, referring to thick caudal fin rays

Leporinus parae Eigenmann 1907 of Pará State, lower Amazon, Brazil, where it is endemic

Leporinus paralternus Fowler 1914 para-, near, referring to similarity to its “ally” or “related” species, L. alternus

Leporinus paranensis Garavello & Britski 1987 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Paraná River basin, Brazil, where it is endemic

Leporinus parvulus Birindelli, Britski & Lima 2013 thin or slender, referring to slender body

Leporinus pearsoni Fowler 1940 in honor of Nathan Everett Pearson (1895-1982), Indiana University, who collected 6,775 fish specimens in Bolivia in 1921-1922

Leporinus pellegrinii Steindachner 1910 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of French ichthyologist Jacques Pellegrin (1873-1944)

Leporinus piau Fowler 1941indigenous name for this species in Brazil

Leporinus pitingai Santos & Jégu 1996 of the Rio Pitinga, Amazonas, Brazil, where it is endemic

Leporinus platycephalus Meinken 1935 platy, broad; cephalus, head, referring to “relatively broad skull” (translation) compared to L. nigripinnis (=Abramites hypselonotus) and L. friderici

Leporinus punctatus Garavello 2000 spotted, referring to three elongate brown blotches along lateral line

Leporinus reticulatus Britski & Garavello 1993 net-like or netted, referring to large number of dark blotches scattered on body

Leporinus santosi Britski & Birindelli 2013 in honor of Geraldo Mendes dos Santos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Manaus), for his “important” contributions to our knowledge of the fish fauna of the lower rio Tocantins via his studies on anostomids and on the impacts of the Tucuruí dam

Leporinus sexstriatus Britski & Garavello 1980 sex, six; striatus, striped, referring to six longitudinal body stripes

Leporinus silvestrii Boulenger 1902 in honor of Italian entomologist Filippo Silvestri (1873-1949), who collected type

Leporinus spilopleura Norman 1926 spilos, mark or spot; pleura, side, referring to ~12 indistinct darker cross-bars on back and upper parts of sides and/or large black spot on lateral line above pelvic fins

Leporinus steindachneri Eigenmann 1907 in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), who described this species as L. affinis in 1875 but used a preoccupied name: L. affinis Günther 1864

Leporinus steyermarki Inger 1956 in honor of botanist Julian A. Steyermark (1909-1988), Chicago Natural History Museum, who led expedition that collected type

Leporinus striatus Kner 1858 striped, referring to horizontal light-and-dark stripes on adults


Leporinus subniger Fowler 1943subter, below; niger, black, referring to “largely blackish” ventral and anal fins

Leporinus taeniatus Lütken 1875banded, referring to dark lateral band on body

Leporinus taeniofasciatus Britski 1997 taenia, ribbon or band; fasciatus, banded, referring to color pattern, combining a longitudinal dark stripe in middle of flank with a transverse dark dorsum

Leporinus tigrinus Borodin 1929 tiger-like, referring to eight cross-bands on body, “divided on the back by two branch bands”

Leporinus torrenticola Birindelli, Teixeira & Britski 2016 torrens, rushing waters; incola, inhabitant, referring to its preference for fast flowing-waters

Leporinus trimaculatus Garavello & Santos 1992 tri-, three; maculatus, spotted, referring to large, circular, light-brown patches along lateral line and a small, less conspicuous brown blotch on caudal peduncle

Leporinus tristriatus Birindelli & Britski 2013 tri-, three; striatus, striped, referring to three dark stripes on body

Leporinus unitaeniatus Garavello & Santos 2009 uni-, one; taeniatus, banded, referring to single, slender horizontal dark brown stripe on lateral line

Leporinus vanzoi Britski & Garavello 2005 in honor of Paulo Emílio Vanzolini (nicknamed Vanzo), founder of Expedição Permanente à Amazônia (EPA), which greatly contributed to the Amazonian fish collection at MZUSP (Universidade de São Paulo, Museu de Zoologia, São Paulo, Brazil) and to Brazilian fish studies in general; type specimens were collected by EPA under the direction of Vanzolini

Leporinus venerei Britski & Birindelli 2008in honor of Paulo Cesare Venere, who collected first known specimens in 1995

Leporinus villasboasorum Burns, Chatfield, Birindelli & Sidlauskas 2017in honor of Orlando (1914-2002) and his brothers Cláudio (1916-1998) and Leonardo Villas-Bôas (1918-1961), Brazilian activists for indigenous peoples, for their efforts to conserve and protect the rio Xingu’s biodiversity, of which this species forms part

Leporinus wolfei Fowler 1940 in honor of Thomas W. Wolfe (also spelled Wolf in same paper), who assisted William C. Morrow in his 1937 collecting expedition to the Ucayali River basin of Peru

Leporinus y-ophorus Eigenmann 1922 y-, the letter y, ophorus, bearer, referring to second vertical bar, which is divided above lateral line to form a “Y” that opens dorsally

Megaleporinus Ramirez, Birindelli & Galetti 2016mega-, large, referring to large size of most congeners; Anostomus, genus in which most species had previously been assigned

Megaleporinus brinco (Birindelli, Britski & Garavello 2013) Portuguese for earring, referring to red blotch behind head, immediately dorsal to pectoral-fin origin

Megaleporinus conirostris (Steindachner 1875) conus, cone; rostris, snout, referring to rounded snout

Megaleporinus elongatus (Valenciennes 1850) referring to elongate body, with proportionally longer head and snout compared to L. pachyurus

Megaleporinus garmani (Borodin 1929) in honor of Harvard ichthyologist-herpetologist Samuel Garman (1843-1927), who began the work of studying anostomid fishes from the Thayer Expedition (1865-1866) to Brazil

Megaleporinus macrocephalus (Garavello & Britski 1988) macro-, long; cephalus, head, presumably referring to bigger head compared to L. trifasciatus

Megaleporinus muyscorum (Steindachner 1900) -orum, belonging to: the Muisca (also spelled Muysca) people of Colombia’s Eastern Range, an area that includes Santander, type locality

Megaleporinus obtusidens (Valenciennes 1837) obtusus, blunt; dens, teeth, referring to its blunt teeth, compared to sharp teeth of L. acutidens


Megaleporinus piavussu (Britski, Birindelli & Garavello 2012) local name for this species (also spelled piavuçu) along upper Rio Paraná basin, Brazil, translating as piava, fishes of the genus Leporinus, and ussu (or uçu), big, i.e., a big Leporinus

Megaleporinus reinhardti (Lütken 1875) in honor of Danish zoologist Johannes Theodor Reinhardt (1816-1882), with whom Lütken collaborated on many studies, and who published an important paper on characiform fishes in 1867

Megaleporinus trifasciatus (Steindachner 1876) tri-, three; fasciatus, banded, referring to three dark-brown crossbands on body

Petulanos Sidlauskas & Vari 2008 petulans, impudent or petulant, referring to upturned mouth, which gives these fishes such an appearance; anos-, first four letters of Anostomus from which Petulanos was separated

Petulanos intermedius (Winterbottom 1980) referring to intermediate position in morphometrics and color pattern between P. plicatus and P. spiloclistron

Petulanos plicatus (Eigenmann 1912) folded, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to skin folds of its “very prominent lips”

Petulanos spiloclistron (Winterbottom 1974) spilos, spot; clistron, bar, referring to “striking” color pattern of spots and bars (or bands)

Pseudanos Winterbottom 1980 pseudo-, false; anos, first four letters of Anostomus, i.e., although this genus may externally be very similar to Anostomus, such an appearance is false

Pseudanos gracilis (Kner 1858) slender, referring to elongate body, length of head exceeding height of body

Pseudanos trimaculatus (Kner 1858) tri-, three; maculatus, spotted, referring to three large, conspicuous spots or blotches on sides

Pseudanos varii Birindelli, Lima & Britski 2012 in honor of Richard P. Vari (1949-2016), Smithsonian Institution, for his “vast, invaluable contribution to the knowledge of systematics of characiform fishes, particularly the anostomoid fishes”

Pseudanos winterbottomi Sidlauskas & Santos 2005 in honor of Richard Winterbottom (b. 1944), Royal Ontario Museum, for his “significant” contributions to anostomine systematics and natural history

Rhytiodus Kner 1858 rhytido-, wrinkled; odus, tooth, presumably referring to finely denticulated teeth

Rhytiodus argenteofuscus Kner 1858 argenteus, silvery; fuscus, dark or dusky, referring to dark brown sides and silver abdomen

Rhytiodus elongatus (Steindachner 1908) elongate, referring to “strikingly slim” (translation) body shape

Rhytiodus lauzannei Géry 1987 in honor of “éminent collègue” Laurent Lauzanne, who helped collect type

Rhytiodus microlepis Kner 1858 micro-, small; lepis, scale, referring to smaller, more numerous scales compared to R. argenteofuscus

Sartor Myers & Carvalho 1959 Latin for tailor, mender, or one who works with a needle, a “perhaps fanciful allusion” to the long, awl-like mandibular teeth of S. respectus

Sartor elongatus Santos & Jégu 1987 referring to very elongate body shape compared to congeners, which are more robust in shape

Sartor respectus Myers & Carvalho 1959 looking backward or about, referring to raised anterior rim of eye, which allows it to see backward better than forward

Sartor tucuruiensis Santos & Jégu 1987-ensis, suffix denoting place: Tocantins River basin, Tucuruí, Pará, Brazil, type locality

Schizodon Agassiz 1829schizo-, cut or divided; odon, tooth, referring to bi- to pentacuspid incisiform teeth, which form a continuous crenulate cutting border

Schizodon altoparanae Garavello & Britski 1990 altus, high, i.e., from upper Paraná River basin, Brazil, where it appears to be endemic


Schizodon australis Garavello 1994 southern, referring to distribution in southern region of South America (Uruguay River basin, Brazil)

Schizodon borellii (Boulenger 1900) in honor of zoologist Alfonso Borelli (1857-1943), Università di Torino, who led three expeditions to South America and collected many animals, including type of this species

Schizodon dissimilis (Garman 1890) different, nearly related to S. vittatus and S. fasciatus but lacking spot at base of caudal fin and darker in color than S. fasciatus

Schizodon fasciatus fasciatus Spix & Agassiz 1829 banded, referring to four vertical black bands on body

Schizodon fasciatus corti Schultz 1944 common name for this fish in Maracaibo, Venezuela; it means “cut,” probably referring to its sharp, cutting teeth

Schizodon intermedius Garavello & Britski 1990 etymology not explained, presumably intermediate in coloration between S. altoparanae and S. fasciatus

Schizodon isognathus Kner 1858 iso-, equal; gnathus, jaw, presumably referring to eight crenulated incisors in both upper and lower jaws

Schizodon jacuiensis Bergmann 1988 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Jacuí, referring to largest tributary in drainage system (Laguna dos Patos, Brazil), where it is endemic

Schizodon knerii (Steindachner 1875) patronym not identified but clearly in honor of ichthyologist Rudolf Kner (1810-1869), who was Steindachner’s teacher and friend (and who studied anostomid fishes)

Schizodon nasutus Kner 1858 large-nosed, referring to somewhat pointed snout, with upper jaw projecting beyond lower jaw

Schizodon platae (Garman 1890) of the La Plata River basin, Argentina, where it is endemic

Schizodon rostratus (Borodin 1931) beaked, probably referring to thick, broad, subobtuse snout, “somewhat swollen in the region of the nostrils”

Schizodon scotorhabdotus Sidlauskas, Garavello & Jellen 2007 scotos, dark; rhabdos, rod or stick (i.e., line or stripe), referring to prominent dark lateral stripe

Schizodon succinctus Burmeister 1861 short, presumably referring to smaller size compared to S. fasciatus

Schizodon vittatus (Valenciennes 1850) banded, referring to three transverse band-like spots on sides

Synaptolaemus Myers & Fernández-Yépez 1950 synaptos, joined together; laimos, throat, referring to broad union of gill membranes with throat

Synaptolaemus latofasciatus (Steindachner 1910)latus, wide; fasciatus, banded, referring to eight brownish-violet wide cross-bands on body, alternating with narrow golden-yellow (sometimes red or orange) bands

Family CHILODONTIDAE Headstanders 2 genera · 8 species

Caenotropus Günther 1864 etymology not explained, perhaps caeno-, new; trope, turn or revolution, possibly referring to rudimentary, moveable teeth

Caenotropus labyrinthicus (Kner 1858) referring to the similarity of last gill arch to labyrinthine fishes of the genus Anabas (Perciformes: Anabantidae)

Caenotropus maculosus (Eigenmann 1912) spotted, referring to dark spots on scales and/or conspicuous black spot on tip of anterior dorsal-fin rays

Caenotropus mestomorgmatos Vari, Castro & Raredon 1995 mestos, full; omorgmatos, spotted, referring to numerous spots of dark pigmentation on body

Caenotropus schizodon Scharcansky & Lucena 2007 schizo-, cut or divided; odon, tooth, referring to bifid premaxillary teeth


Chilodus Müller & Troschel 1844 cheilos, lip; odus, tooth, presumably referring to single row of minute teeth on both jaws

Chilodus fritillus Vari & Ortega 1997 dice or spotted, referring to regular pattern on spots on body

Chilodus gracilis Isbrücker & Nijssen 1988 slender, referring to slender body shape, body depth 3.3-3.6 in SL

Chilodus punctatus Müller & Troschel 1844 spotted, referring to dark spot on each scale of sides and dorsum

Chilodus zunevei Puyo 1946 in honor of M. (probably Monsieur) Zunêve, service agent, Eaux et Forêts (Waters and Forests), French Guiana, who provided type

Chilodus zunevei. From: Puyo, J. 1946. Chilodus zunevei poisson d’eau douce de la Guyane française. Bulletin de la Société d’Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse v. 80 (1945): 183-185.

characiformes (part 2) · 1 the etyfish project · acnodon senai jégu & santos 1990 in memory...

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