List of fish named after animals
This is a list of fish with common names that are based on the names of other animals. The names listed here may refer to single species, broader taxa (genera, families), or assortments of types. Where names are ambiguous, the various meanings should be listed here.
Named after fish
The following fish have common names that are based on the names of other fish:
- Cod icefish
- Eel cod
- Giant salmon carp
- Loach goby
- Mackerel shark
- Northern trout gudgeon [1]
- Pike eel
- Salmon shark
- Salmon smooth-head [2]
- Shark mackerel
- Trout barb
- Trout cod
- Trout-perch
- Trout sweetlips [3]
- Wrasse bass
Named after reptiles and amphibians
The following fish have common names that are based on the names of reptiles and amphibians:
- Alligatorfish
- Crocodile icefish
- Crocodile shark
- Crocodile toothfish
- Fintail serpent eel
- Frogfish
- Lizardfish
- Salamanderfish
- Sea toad
- Several species within family Ophichthidae known as snake eels, including:
- Snake mackerel
- Toadfish
- Viperfish, genus Chauliodus, including:
Named after invertebrates
The following fish have common names that are based on the names of invertebrates:
- Anemonefish
- Butterfly ray
- Butterflyfish
- Coral grouper [4]
- Earthworm eel
- Eastern mosquitofish
- (Western) mosquitofish
- Mussel blenny
- Scorpionfish
- Seamoth
- Shrimpfish
- Snailfish
- Spiderfish
- Waspfish
- Several species within family Ophichthidae known as worm eels, including:
- Wormfish
Named after birds
The following fish have common names that are based on the names of birds:
- Avocet snipe eel
- Blackline penguinfish
- Bobtail snipe eel
- Bombay duck (a lizardfish)
- Cockfish
- Cockatoo cichlid [5]
- Cuckoo wrasse
- Eagle ray
- Goosefish
- Hawkfish
- Parrotfish
- Peacock gudgeon
- Pelican eel
- Roosterfish
- Sea raven
- Sea robin
- Turkey moray
- Several fish within family Scorpaenidae known as turkeyfish:
Named after mammals
The following fish have common names that are based on the names of mammals:
- Bat ray
- Various fish known as batfish:
- Genus Platax, including:
- Orbicular batfish
- Pinnate batfish, dusky batfish, shaded batfish, or red-faced batfish (Platax pinnatus)
- Family Ogcocephalidae, including:
- Genus Platax, including:
- Various fish known as boarfish:
- Family Caproidae
- Several fish in family Pentacerotidae, including:
- Striped boarfish
- Giant boarfish or sowfish
- Longfin boarfish
- Buffalofish
- Bull shark
- Bull trout
- Catfish
- Catshark
- Cowfish
- Cow shark
- Various fish known as dogfish:
- Family Squalidae, the dogfish sharks, including:
- Several fish in family Scyliorhinidae, including:
- Lesser spotted dogfish
- Greater spotted dogfish or nursehound
- Family Amiidae, the bowfin, including:
- Dolphinfish, genus Coryphaena, including:
- Various fish known as elephantfish:
- Flying fox
- Foxfish
- Goatfish
- Gopher rockfish
- Hog sucker
- Hogchoker
- Hogfish
- Various fish known as horse mackerel, including:
- Horsefish
- Houndshark and barbeled houndshark
- Leopard flounder
- Leopard blenny
- Leopard bush fish
- Leopard dace
- Leopard darter
- Leopard eel
- Leopard moray eel
- Leopard whipray
- Lionfish
- Panther danio
- Various fish known as pigfish:
- Family Congiopodidae
- Red pigfish
- Ponyfish
- Porcupine ray
- Porcupine river stingray
- Porcupinefish
- Rabbitfish
- Ram cichlid
- Ratfish
- Several species within genus Moxostoma known as redhorses, including:
- Redmouth whalefish
- Sand tiger shark
- Seahorse
- Smooth-hound
- Splitlevel hogfish [6]
- Squirrelfish
- Stonecat
- Tiger barb
- Tiger shark
- Tiger sorubim
- Various fish known as tigerfish:
- Genus Hydrocynus
- Several species in genus Datnioides, including:
- Tigerperch
- Weasel shark
- Whale catfish
- Whalefish
- Whale shark
- Wolffish or sea wolves, family Anarhichadidae, including:
- Wolf herring
- Zebra bullhead shark
- Zebra danio
- Zebrafish
- Zebra loach
- Zebra moray
- Zebra oto
- Zebra pleco (a catfish)
- Zebra shark
- Zebra tilapia
Named after mythical animals
The following fish have common names that are based on the names of mythical animals(not listed here is the serpent eel):
- Bigfoot dwarfgoby [7]
- Chimaera
- Various fish known as dragonfish:
- Several species in family Pegasidae, including:
- Little dragonfish
- Pegasus laternarius, the brick seamoth, also known as the long-tailed dragonfish, pelagic dragonfish, or winged dragonfish
- Family Stomiidae, the barbeled dragonfishes, including:
- Several species in family Pegasidae, including:
- Leafy seadragon
- Sphinx blenny
- Sphinx dragonet [8]
- Unicorn grenadier
- Various fish known as unicornfish:
- Unicorn crestfish
- Several species in genus Naso, including:
- Weedy seadragon
Named after two animals
The following fish have common names that are based on the names of two different animals:
- Avocet snipe eel
- Cockatoo waspfish
- Coral catshark
- Coral hawkfish
- Coral hind
- Coral scorpionfish [9]
- Coral toadfish [10]
- Crocodile snake eel
- Eel catfish
- Giraffe seahorse
- Hedgehog seahorse
- Leopard catshark
- Leopard chimaera
- Leopard coralgrouper [11]
- Leopard toadfish [12]
- Oyster toadfish
- Pony toadfish [13]
- Raccoon butterflyfish
- Striped eel catfish
- Tiger shovelnose catfish
- Tiger snake eel [14]
- Zebra lionfish or zebra turkeyfish (Dendrochirus zebra)
- Zebra seahorse
Named after parts of animals
The following fish have common names which are based on specific body parts of other animals:
- Bullhead minnow
- Bullhead shark
- Bullhead triplefin
- Various sculpins and catfish known as bullhead
- California sheephead
- Cownose ray
- Duckbill
- Eeltail catfish
- Elephantnose fish
- Foxface [15]
- Harelip sucker
- Horseface unicornfish
- Leopard-spotted goby
- Leopard-spotted swellshark (a catshark)
- Rattail
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead porgy
- Sheepshead minnow
- Snakehead
See also
References
- ^ "Mogurnda mogurnda (Richardson, 1844)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ^ "Conocara salmoneum (Gill & Townsend, 1897)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ^ "Plectorhinchus pictus (Tortonese, 1936)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ^ "Epinephelus corallicola (Valenciennes, 1828)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ^ "Apistogramma cacatuoides (Hoedeman, 1951)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ "Bodianus mesothorax (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
- ^ "Trimmatom macropodus (Winterbottom, 1989)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
- ^ "Callionymus sphinx (Fricke & Heckele, 1984)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
- ^ "Scorpaena albifimbria (Evermann & Marsh, 1900)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ^ "Sanopus splendidus (Collette, Starck & Phillips, 1974)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
- ^ "Plectropomus leopardus (Lacepède, 1802)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ^ "Opsanus pardus (Goode & Bean, 1880)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
- ^ "Chatrabus melanurus (Barnard, 1927)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
- ^ "Myrichthys maculosus (Cuvier, 1816)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
- ^ "Siganus vulpinus (Schlegel & Müller, 1845)". FishBase. Retrieved 2014-03-10.