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SPECIES
NAMES PAGE 'M'
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Genus Names A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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| macanuda | Named after the word ‘macanuda’, a regional adjective to describe a ’large and strong’ person, referring to the species being the largest of the genus. |
| machadoi | Named for Antonio Machado-Allison, in recognition of his lifelong dedication and contributions to Neotropical ichthyology. |
| maclareni | Named in memory of Peter Ian Rupert MacLaren (ca. 1919-1956), who used his position as Fisheries Development Officer of Nigeria to collect fishes for the British Museum, including type specimen of this catfish (from Cameroon) in 1948. He died from wounds inflicted by a crocodile in what is now Zambia. |
| maclurei | Corydoras maclurei is named in honour of Robert “Rob” McLure, dear friend and renowned Corydoradinae breeder. Rob has been the main English-language reviewer of the first author’s publications, in addition to providing valuable information and live photos of several species of Corydoradinae. A genitive noun. |
| macracanthus | Large spined. |
| macronotacanthus | macro-, large; notos, back; acanthus, spine, referring to the thick dorsal spine (Arius macronotacanthus). |
| macrocephala | The specific name of macrocephala: macro-, large; cephala, head, referring to larger head compared to Imparfinis nemacheir, its presumed congener at the time (Pimelodella macrocephala). |
| macrocephalus | The species is named macrocephalus for its large head: macro- (large) and cephalus (head) - (Cnidoglanis macrocephalus). |
| macrodon | Large teeth. |
| macrops | Large appearance. |
| macropterus | Large wing, (referring to the fins). |
| macrophthalmus | Specific name is derived from the Greek makrós (large) and ophthalmós (eye). |
| macrostigma | Large spots. |
| macrostoma | From the Greek makros, meaning long and stoma, meaning mouth; in reference to the size of the mouth. |
| maculatus | Spotted. |
| maculicauda | Spotted tail. |
| maculifer | Carrying spots. |
| maculippinis | Spotted fins. |
| maculosus | Latin for speckled, referring to eye-sized spots along middle of body (Aspidoras maculosus). |
| madeirensis | From a geographical locality. |
| magdalenae/atum | From the Magdalena River, South America. |
| magna | Great, being the largest known species of the genus. |
| magoi | In honour of Francisco Mago-Leccia (1931-2004), for his contributions to the study and knowledge of Venezuelan fishes, and his valuable work forming a new generation of ichthyologists (Ageneiosus magoi). |
| major | Larger; senior to another. |
| majusculus | Somewhat greater, referring to the relatively larger adipose-fin base and pectoral and dorsal fins when compared to Bagrichthys macracanthus, its closest congener. |
| malabarbai | The specific name honours Luiz Roberto Malabarba for his active contribution to the knowledge of the Neotropical ichthyofauna. |
| malabarensis | Named for the older name for the region of northern Kerala, (‘Malabar’) in which this species occurs (Glyptothorax malabarensis). |
| malabaricus | From the Malabar coast, India. |
| malarmo | Local name of this species “in the territory of the hostile Motilone Indians” of Venezuela, meaning bony-cheek, referring to the ossified part of maxillary barbels (Platysilurus malarmo). |
| malayensis | From Malaya. |
| mamore | From the Rio Mamore for this Corydoras species. |
| mancoi | For the Inca Ayar Manco, coloniser of Cuzco, the “Moses of the Peruvian Indians”, who, about 1100 A.D. led the exodus from Tampu-tocco.” (Eigenmann & Allen, 1942). |
| mandibularis | From the Latin "mandibula" (lower jaw), probably refering to the rather well developed mandibular barbels. |
| mangois | Latinisation of Manggoi, local Gangetic name for this catfish (Amblyceps mangois). |
| manillensis | The specific name for Arius manillensis found in the area around Manila, The Philippines. |
| maracaya | The specific name maracaya (also mbaracaya) is a Tupi-Guarani Amerindian name for the margay wild cat (Leopardus wiedii), an allusion both to the blotched pigmentation pattern of this species and its predatory habits on vertebrates (tadpoles), (Trichomycterus maracaya). |
| marapoama | The specific epithet marapoama is in reference to the county of the city in which the new species was collected. It is treated as a noun in apposition. |
| marcapatae | Named for the type locality of this Ancistrus; Marcapata Valley, E. Peru. |
| marginatum | Provided with a margin (edge). |
| marginalis | The specific name of marginalis from the Latin margo, meaning margin, and -alis, in allusion to the distribution of the species in the northern margin of the Brazilian Shield. An adjective. |
| margaritatus | The specific epithet is Latin for “adorned with pearls,” referring to the dense white spots on the body. |
| mariae | After a personal name. |
| marginatoides | –oides, having the form of: Liobagrus marginatus, to which it is compared (Liobagrus marginatoides). |
| marginatus | Margined, referring to white margins on all fins (Liobagrus marginatus). |
| marinus | Meaning of the sea, the “Salt-water Catfish” of New York State (USA) (Bagre marinus). |
| marmoratus | Marbled; mottled. |
| marthae (1) | In honour of Martha Ruth Myers, wife of Dr.G.S. Myers. |
| marthae (2) | In honour of Martha Elizabeth Sands. |
| martini | In honour of geologist Bethea Martin, Lago Petroleum Corporation, who aided Schultz in the collection of fishes in Venezuela (Ancistrus martini). |
| masteri | In honour of George Masters (1837-1912), Curator of the Macleay Museum, Sydney University, to whom Ogilby was “indebted for much valuable information on the fine collection under his charge, and whose general knowledge of the Australian fauna is possibly exceeded by none” (Pararius masteri). |
| maydelli | In honour of Gustav Adolf von Maydell (1919-1959), University of Hamburg, who collected type (Hemibagrus maydelli). |
| maydeni | Named for Richard L. Mayden in recognition of his work on species concepts and his contributions to ichthyology, particularly the systematics and biology of central highland fishes. |
| mediadiposalis | –alis, adjectival suffix: media-, middle, presumably referring to high and long adipose fin centered on back between dorsal and caudal fins (Liobagrus mediadiposalis). |
| meesi | In honour of Dr.G. Mees of the Leiden Natural History Museum, Germany. |
| megacanthus | Latinised from Greek megas (megas), large, great and akanthos (akanthos), thorn, spine, in reference to the large pectoral-fin spines of the new species. A noun in apposition (Ancistrus megacanthus). |
| megalopteryx | From the Greek megale, meaning large, and pteryx, meaning wing or fin, alluding to its large pectoral fin. |
| megistus | Probably latinised form of the ancient Greek word megistos, which means “the greatest”. |
| meizospilos | meizon, comparative of mégas, i.e., greater or larger; spílos, mark or spot, referring to larger size of dots compared with white-spotted congeners of southern Brazil (Hemiancistrus meizospilos). |
| melanistius | From the Greek melan = 'black' and histion = 'sail', alluding to the dorsal fin. |
| melanocheilus | melanos, black; cheilos, lip, referring to black, large lower lip of nuptial males (Loricariichthys melanocheilus). |
| melanogaster | Black belly. |
| melanopterus | melanos, black; pterus, fin, referring to its predominantly black fins (Xyliphius lepturus). |
| melanotaenia | From the Greek melan = 'black' and the Latin taenia = ribbon, fillet , tapeworm. |
| melapterus | mela[no]-, black; pterus, fin, referring to “violet-black” (translation) colouration on rayed dorsal, pectoral, ventral and anal fins, and “black-violet” (translation) border on caudal fin (Bagroides melapterus). |
| melas | Black. |
| melini | Named in honour of Dr. Douglas Melin. |
| membranaceus | Refers to the presence of a membrane on the barbels of this Synodontis. |
| menezesi | The specific name, menezesi, is in honour of Dr. Rui Simões de Menezes, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Brazil, in recognition to his studies of the life history of freshwater fishes of northeastern Brazil. |
| menoda | Local name for this species in Bangladesh (Hemibagrus menoda). |
| mephisto | The epithet “mephisto” refers to the shortened name of Mephistopheles, demon from the German folklore. Mephistopheles comes from the Greek by the combination of three words: (me), a negation, (phos), meaning light, and (philis), meaning loving, literally “not-light-loving”, or the one who does not love the light, making allusion to the subterranean behavior of the new species. A noun in apposition. |
| merevari | Ye-kuana name for the Caura River, Bolívar State, Venezuela, type locality (Harttia merevari). |
| meridionalis | Southern, presumably referring to the distribution south of the nilotic Bagrus bajad in the upper Shire River of Malawi (Bagrus meridionalis). |
| merianiensis | –ensis, suffix denoting place: presumably a variant spelling of Mariani, referring to Mariani Junction, Assam, India, type locality (Batasio merianiensis). |
| mesembrinus | Southern, the southern-most of all Hara (now Erethistes) species. |
| metae | From the River (Rio) Meta, South America (Colombia). |
| metaense | The specific name refers to the type locality, Meta River, a tributary of the Orinoco River in Colombia and Venezuela. |
| micracanthus | From the Greek; mikros = small; akantha = thorn, prickle. |
| microcphalus | From the Greek, mikros = small; galaeus = helmet. |
| microgalaeus | Small head. |
| microlepidogaster | Small scales on the belly. |
| micromaculatus | From the Greek, mikros = small; maculatus; spotted. |
| micropunctatus | From the Greek, mikros = small. From the Latin punctatus = 'spotted'. |
| microps | Small appearance. |
| midgleyi | In honour of Stephen Hamar Midgley (1918-2014), amateur ichthyologist and limnologist, and his wife Mary, for bringing this catfish to the attention of the senior author, and for their “enthusiastic and dedicated study” of the fresh waters of northern Australia [preferably spelled midgleyorum since name honours more than one person, but ICZN 32.5.1 forbids such a correction], (Neoarius midgleyi) |
| microphthalmus | micro-, small; ophthalmus, eye, presumably referring to eye diameter 1/6 length of head (Hemibagrus microphthalmus). |
| micropogon | micro-, small; pogon, beard, referring to eight slender barbels (Leiocassis micropogon). |
| microstoma/us | Small mouth. |
| militaris | Soldier or war-like, presumably referring to long dorsal spine, serrated on both sides (Osteogeneiosus militaris). |
| mimulus | Specific name derived from a Latin word, mimulus, diminutive of minus, meaning actor, given with reference to the mimicry in colour pattern with Corydoras diphyes. |
| mino | Presumably a local name for this fish along upper Ganges estuaries in India (Batrachocephalus mino). |
| minut(sculus)es | Minute, known for its small size. |
| mirini | Named for Rio Piracicaba-mirini, near Piracicaba, Brazil, type locality (Imparfinis mirini). |
| mirissumba | Local name for this catfish in the village of Maromba (Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), probably derived from the Tupí-Guaraní, its meaning unknown (tadpoles), (Trichomycterus mirissumba). |
| mishky | Quichua word for sweet, in memory of Patricia Garcia Tartalo, friend and student, who died tragically in February 2006 (Imparfinis mishky). |
| misionera | Refers to Misiones, the Argentinian Province containing the type locality. |
| miurus | miurus meaning curtailed, probably referring to the short appearance of this fish (Noturus). |
| mojicai | The epithet specific mojicai, is a tribute to the Doctor José Iván Mojica, Director of the Museum of Ichthyology of the Institute of natural sciences of the National University of Colombia - Bogotá, for his contributions to the knowledge of the Colombian Ichthyology. |
| moijiri | The specific epithet moijiri (Spinipterus moiijri) comes from Moijiri; this species is known among the Paumari Indians that inhabit the Río Tapauá, Purus basin. The meaning of the word Moijiri is unknown so far. The Paumari language belongs to the Arawa linguistic group. |
| moli | Named after Dr. Jan Mol for his contributions to the knowledge of Suriname’s fishes. |
| mollespiculum | Named for its soft, flexible dorsal spine. |
| mongoensis | The specific epithet refers to the Rio Mongo, a tributary to the Rio Wele in Equatorial Guinea, where the species is presumed endemic (Chiloglanis mongoensis). |
| monkei | In honour of Dr. H. Monke, who collected the type specimen (Parauchenoglanis monkei). |
| monsembulai | Named in honour of Raoul Monsembula Iyaba (professor of biology, University of Kinshasa) for collecting the type series of this species, and in recognition of his substantial contributions to central African ichthyology. |
| morrowi | For William Morrow, who collected this fish. |
| montanus | Mountain, allusion not explained, probably referring to its occurrence in hill or mountain streams (Mystus montanus). |
| morrisi | In honour of Percival Morris, who collected type and served as Eigenmann’s assistant, majordomo and interpreter in the Iquitos region of Peru (Hemidoras morrisi). |
| msirii | The species name is dedicated to King Mwenda Msiri Ngelengwa (1830-1891); he founded and ruled the Yeke Kingdom of south-east Katanga, now DRC, from about 1856 to 1891 and was murdered for resisting Belgian colonial rule in his area; it is dedicated to the King Msiri in acknowledgement and in honour of his service and defence of the integrity of his people (Chiloglanis msirii). |
| mucosus | Latin, mucosa, mucosus = mucous. This refers to the numerous large pores under the lower jaw, which Vallant refered to as mucous pores (but are sensory pores). |
| multitaeniatus | Referring to the origin of the type material of this species, collected in the Cameroons. |
| multimaculatus | From the Latin multi = 'many', and maculatus = 'spotted', alluding to the many spots on the specimen. |
| multifasciatus | Many banded. |
| multipunctatus | Many Spotted. |
| multiradiatus | Many (fin) rays. |
| multispinis | multi-, many; spinus, spine, referring to 20-25 spines on interoperculum (Ancistrus multispinis). |
| munduruku | Named after the Munduruku, a large indigenous group inhabiting a large part of the southwestern Para' State along the Rio Tapajo's until the Rio Madeira in the Amazon State and the northern part of the Mato Grosso State in Brasil. The Munduruku people are well known for being powerful warriors and great strategists, and in recent years they have drawn much attention for the fight against the hydroelectric dams in the Xingu and the ones planned in the Tapajo's Rivers. |
| muricata | From the Latin adjective muricata, meaning spiny (like a murex), in reference to its elongate dorsal and pectoral-fin spines. |
| murinus | murinus; meaning mouse gray and refers to its colour. |
| murius | From Muri vacha, local Gangetic name for this catfish (Eutropiichthys murius). |
| musaicus | Referring to its mosaic colour pattern (Centromochlus musaicus). |
| mysticetus | Generic name of baleen whales, referring to numerous slender, baleen-like gill rakers (Mystus mystictus). |
| mystus | "Mystax" meaning whiskered. Mystus was first used by Belon in 1553 to describe all fish with whiskers. |
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