name

Ragfish

Posted on by Timataquaticallatin

Aquatic scientific names in the news …

Ragfish

A an adult female Ragfish measuring around 1.6 metres in length was found on the 7th of January washed ashore near the dock in Gustavus in Southeast Alaska (Alaska Dispatch News 7th Jan.).

Ragfish2Ragfish1

         Images: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve/Facebook

A seldom seen deepwater fish whose life history is poorly documented, they are a North Pacific species with a distribution ranging from Southeastern Alaska to Japan. There is a difference in both morphology and habitat between juveniles and adults; as they grow they lose their pelvic fins and both the dorsal and anal fins reduce, at one time the different life stages were considered to be two separate species; adults occur near bottom usually at depths from 18 to 732 m (1420 m max. recorded) while juveniles can be found in shallow water or offshore near the surface.

RagfishPlate illustrating supposed species showing difference in morphology
(click to enlarge)

Icosteus aenigmaticus Lockington, 1880, the Ragfish

Etymology.

Icosteus – Greek, Ic-, eikw (εικω), yield, give way; –osteus (οστεον), bone. Loosely speaking – yielding bones.
aenigmaticus – Latin, like an enigma, obscure, enigmatic.

From the original description where the derivation of the common name can be seen:

Etymology: εικω, to yield; οστεον, bone.

Vertebrae numerous; vertebral column highly flexible and soft.
Cranial bones tolerably firm, those of the face and opercles, &c., highly, flexible.
Entire body characterized by a lack of firmness, as it can be doubled up as readily as a piece of soft, thick rag.

Lockington, W. N. 1880 Description of a new genus and some new species of California fishes (Icosteus aenigmaticus and Osmerus attenuatus). Proceedings of the United States National Museum v. 3

Ocean sunfish

Posted on by Timataquaticallatin

Aquatic scientific names in the news …

An Ocean sunfish was found on New Year’s Day 2016 washed up on Whitstable beach (Canterbury Times 4th Jan). A subtropical species with a global distribution, they are by no means rare in British waters but are most often encountered around the southern and western coasts of the British Isles during the summer months.

beached sunfishPhoto Gunther Clasen

At a reported length of 80cm it would seem to be a young specimen given that the average size of an adult Mola mola is 1.8 m from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail fin. Famously the heaviest of all the bony fishes with an average weight of around 1 tonne and a maximum recorded weight of around 2.3 tonnes.

Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758), the Ocean sunfish

Etymology.

Mola – Latin, mill, millstone; grinders, molar-teeth. Alluding to the fact that the fish is similar in shape to a millstone (G. Rondelet De Piscibus Marinis1554).

This scientific name is an example of a tautonym, that is where both the genus and species name are the same; permissible for zoological nomenclature but not allowable under the rules governing botanical names. The reason for this double naming is not clear, in keeping with the etymology of the word mola it may be a reference to its thick rough skin or possibly to its dentition with its teeth fused to form a parrot-like beak.

Giant squid

Posted on by Timataquaticallatin

Aquatic scientific names in the news …

A giant squid surfaced in Toyama Bay harbour (300km west of Tokyo) on Christmas eve, 2015. A species that is rarely observed at the surface, this animal was a juvenile of around three and half metres in length, most likely in poor health and unlikely to survive.

Video by Takayoshi Kojima

The giant squid is the second-largest mollusc only exceeded in size by the colossal squid. Poorly documented in comparison to their smaller relatives they are are a widespread species, although rare in tropical and polar latitudes, with a vertical distribution of perhaps between 300 – 1000m, largely based on data from trawled specimens and sperm whale diving behaviour.

Known since ancient times (mentioned by Aristotle) mainly from mariner’s tales and the occasional beachings it wasn’t until 2004 that a well preserved specimen was available for study and, around the same time, the first images of live specimens were captured.

It has been suggested that there may be as many as eight species of giant squid but based on the latest DNA evidence it seems likely that there is only a single species –
Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857.

Etymology.

Architeuthis – Greek, Archi-, arxi- (αρχι), chief, principal, first in authority or order (post-classical); -teuthis (τευθις), squid, cuttlefish. Loosely speaking – first squid over all other squid.
dux – Latin, commander, ruler, leader, chief, head.

Welcome to AQUATICAL•LATIN

AQUATICAL•LATIN is an ongoing project investigating the etymology of the scientific names applied to aquatic species, particularly animals such as fishes and invertebrates.

This site is intended as a resource for aquarists, naturalists, anglers, academics, divers, and anyone else curious about the meaning behind the names.

In addition to the website there is a book:

Aquatical Latin: Latin for aquarists: an etymology of tropical marine reef species.
Volume 1: Reef Fishes

This is the first in a series of books looking at the etymology of popular aquarium and angling species of fishes.

For more about the book go to: AQUATICAL•LATIN – the Book

 

The Lexicon is a work in progress, offering a generalised guide to the meaning of the Latin and Greek words used in the formation of the compound words used in the construction of scientific names.

Contact Us

If you’re curious about the scientific name of any particular species of aquatic animal or if you have any questions regarding the site, please contact AQUATICAL•LATIN via queries@aquaticallatin.info and we’ll do our best to answer your query.

Regarding the unusual name of this website, AQUATICAL•LATIN – the word ‘aquatical’ meaning, “of aquatic nature; having to do with water”. Although described by the OED as obsolete, I have used this word rather than the more usual ‘aquatic’ in homage to botanist William Stearn and his seminal work, Botanical Latin (1966), which I have found to be an invaluable guide to the study of the Greek and Latin words used in scientific names.