WHAT’S IN A FISH’S NAME?
Betty Staugler, Florida Sea Grant Agent - UF/IFAS Extension, Charlotte County
EAS-051815-003
So when was the last time you bragged to your friends
about catching a big Megalops atlanticus or a nice
Centropomus undecimalis? Umm yeah probably never!
Most of us don’t speak scientific geek and aren’t
impressed when others do, but for geeky scientists
there’s good reason to use those scientific names.
Worldwide there are around 28,000 named fish species.
Some species have multiple common names often
differing by geographic region, think crappie, no, it’s a
speckled perch, unless of course it’s a speck. Oh wait,
that’s right they’re the same fish! Even more
complicating, some common names are used to describe
more than one fish species, think kingfish which could
mean king mackerel, southern kingfish, gulf kingfish, or
northern kingfish. This is exactly why scientists rely on
scientific names, because no matter where they are in the
world, when they say Mycteroperca microlepis it means
the same thing (gag grouper).
Gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis)— Photo Capt.
Ralph Allen
Enough about the importance of scientific names, what I
really want to talk about is the meaning of names.
Scientific names are generally either Latin or Greek in
origin. Most are long and hard to say, so my advice for
those who ask how to pronounce them is to say them
really fast and like you know what you’re talking about,
and don’t take a breath, just keep on talking.
Tarpon (Megalop atlanticus)—Photo Capt. Billy Barton
It is true that some species are named after the person
who discovered them or conducted a lot of research on
them. A prime example is Karenia brevis or Florida red
tide which was named after Karen Steidinger who
devoted much of her career studying the organism. But
most species get their names based on physical
characteristics that relate to their form or function.
Take Megalops atlanticus or Tarpon from my earlier
paragraph for instance, megalops has Greek origins and
means big eyed, and atlanticus refers to it being from the
Atlantic Ocean. My other example Centropomous
undecimalis or common snook is a bit trickier. Centro
comes from the Greek word kentron meaning a point or
spine, and poma refers to the cover or operculum. Und
means both dim and a wave, and cimal stems from the
Greek word simil which means like or to emulate.
How about a few more? Sciaenops ocellatus or redfish
means perch-like with an eye-spot; makes sense. And
then there’s southern flounder Paralichthyes lethostigma
which means beside or parallel fish with forgotten spots. I
think that one is pretty cool. Another one I personally like
is Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus maculatus. Scomber
is Latin for mackerel, moros means silly or stupid, and
maculatus means spotted. Going back to my kingfish
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WHAT’S IN A FISH’S NAME
May 18, 2015
example, the species name cavalla in King mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla originates from the Latin word caballa
which means horse. Another kingfish Lampris guttatus, more commonly called opah or moonfish, but yes kingfish too,
means brilliant or clear and spotty.
Ok, are you ready to figure out for yourself how scientific names relate to the fish they describe? Here you go: Match the
fish name on the right to its word bank meaning on the left (from Project Oceanography).
Fish Name
Meaning
a. Flag cichlid – Aequidens curviceps
1. Half, mark, red, banded
b. Pearl cichlid – Geophagus braziliensis
2. Black, band, glittering, belonging to a
river
3. Equal, teeth, curved, head
c. Crimson-spotted rainbowfish – Melanotaenia
splendida fluviatilis
d. Glowlight tetra – Hemigrammus erythrozonus
4. Earth, to eat, from Brazil
Answers – a(3), b(4), c(2), d(1)
Sources:
Borror, DJ. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms: Combined from Greek, Latin and
other languages, with special emphasis on biological terms and scientific names. 1st Ed. Mayfield Publishing Company, Mountain View, California.
Florida Museum of Natural History. 2015. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Education/bioprofile.htm
Jaeger, EC. 1966. A Source-book of Biological Names and Terms. 3rd Ed. Charles C. Thomas Publisher,
Springfield, Illinois.
Project Oceanography 1999. http://www.marine.usf.edu/pjocean/packets/
BETTY STAUGLER
Florida Sea Grant Agent
[email protected]
UF/IFAS EXTENSION, CHARLOTTE COUNTY
25550 Harbor View Road, Suite 3 - Port Charlotte, Florida 33980
941.764.4340 - 941.764.4343 (fax) - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu