Bulletin of Fish Biology Volume 19 02.06.2020 65-67

Short note/Kurze Mitteilung

On the Etymology of the Cope, 1878 (, )

Zur Etymologie des Genus Metynnis Cope, 1878 (Characiformes, Serrasalmidae)

Axel Zarske Paracelsusstr. 2, 01237 Dresden, [email protected]

Zusammenfassung: Anhand der Literatur wird belegt, dass COPE (1878) das Vorhandensein eines Prä- dorsalstachels und nicht die Serrae am Bauchkiel als Grundlage für die Benennung seines neuen Genus Metynnis benutzt hat. There are currently two different views on the Myletes mainly by the presence or absence of etymological composition of the genus name a predorsal spine. In the same article he also of the silver dollars of the genus Metynnis (meta treats the following of the genus Myletes: Gr. with; hynnis, Gr. = ploughshare) Cope, 1878 (1) Myletes herniarius Cope, 1872 (today a junior (Characiformes, Serrasalmidae). While TAPHORN synonym of aureum (Spix & Agassiz, (1992) and SCHARPF & LAZARA (2020) assume 1829)), (2) Myletes nigripinnis Cope, 1878 (today that the name was formed by COPE due to the a junior synonym of Colossoma macropomum presence of saw teeth on the abdominal keel (ser- (Cuvier, 1816)) and (3) Myletes bidens Spix & rae), other authors consider the presence of the Agassiz, 1829 (today a junior synonym of predorsal spine in this genus to be eponymous. Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier, 1818). However, This opinion is particularly held in the Euro pean these three species belong to the only three literature for amateurs (RACHOW 1921, 1939; genera of the Serrasalmidae, which do not have STERBA 1956; FREY 1957; ZARSKE 2004, 2011, a predorsal spine. 2018). Since COPE (1878) has not explained the Formally, COPE separates his new genus derivation of the generic name, the interpreta- Metynnis from the genus Myletes by the presence tions given above seem to be purely speculative. of a predorsal spine in Metynnis. This opinion A closer look at the situation, however, reveals was also shared by other ichthyologists at that understandable arguments for COPE’s actions. time. BERG, who transferred Myletes maculatus He characterized his new genus Metynnis Kner, 1858 into the genus Metynnis, noted in a as follows: „This is Myletes with an external footnote: „En vista del spiritus asper que lleva la horizontal cultriform spine at the base of the palabra δυυις (reja de arado ó vómer), este nom- dorsal fi n as in Serrasalmo and Stethaprion. The bre genérico debe escribise Methynnis y no Metyn- premaxillary teeth are in two series, and have nis, como lo escribó COPE. El género Methynnis an oblique, more or less in conspicuous cutting se distingue del Myletes, al parecer, únicamente edge, as in Myletes. Two conical teeth behind por la espina predorsal dirigida hacia adelante, the mandibular series. The belly is armed with con tal que no hyada diferencia en cuanto á la spiniferous? interhaemal bones. This form is estructura y dispositión de los dientes inter- related to Myletes precisely as Stethaprion is to maxilares. Éstos, á lo menos en la M. maculata, Tetragonopterus. But one species is known to me.“ tienen ciertas particularidades: los de la primera (COPE 1878, p. 692-693). serie son pequenos, sobre todo los del medio, From this it can be seen that COPE distin- y los de la segunda, bastante grandes y más guished the genus Metynnis from the genus obtusos ó bidentados.“ [In view of the spiritus

Bull. Fish Biol. 19 1 asper which bears the word δυυις (plowshare COPE, E.D. 1878. Synopsis of the fi shes of the or vomer), this generic name should be written Peruvian Amazon, obtained by Professor Orton Methynnis and not Metynnis, as COPE wrote it. The during his expeditions of 1873 and 1877. Pro- genus Methynnis is distinguished from the Myletes, ceedings of the American Philosophical Society 17(101), 673-701. apparently only by the predorsal spine directed CUVIER, G. 1814. Mémoire sur la composition de forward, provided there is no difference in the la mâchoire supérieure des poissons, et sur le parti structure and arrangement of the intermaxillary qu’on peut en tirer pour la distribution méthodique teeth. These, at least in M. maculata, have certain de ces animaux. Bulletin des Sciences, par la Société peculiarities: those of the fi rst series are small, Philomathique de Paris, Sér. 3, 1, 73-78. especially those in the middle, and those of the DAGET, J., GOSSE, J.-P., & THYS VAN DEN AUDENAERDE, second series are rather large and more obtuse D.F.E. (eds). 1984. Check-list of the freshwater fi shes or bidentate] (see BERG 1897, pp. 286–287). of Africa. CLOFFA I 1. Orstom; Paris. Apart from the correction of the spelling of FREY, H. 1957. Das Aquarium von A bis Z. Neumann Verlag; Radebeul. the genus name Metynnis, which is no longer GÉRY, J. 1976. Les genres de Serrasalmidae (Pisces, valid today, BERG (1897) also describes only taxa Characoidei). Bulletin Zoölogisch Museum, Univer- of the genus Myletes without a predorsal spine: siteit van Amsterdam 5(6), 47-54. Myletes duriventris Cuvier, 1818 (today Mylossoma GÉRY, J., & MAHNERT, V. 1994. Alestes Müller & Tro- duriventre (Cuvier, 1818) and Myletes orbignyanus schel, 1844 (Osteichthyes, Characiformes): conserva- Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1850, tion proposée. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature which today is considered a junior synonym of 51(1), 35-40. Mylossoma duriventre (Cuvier, 1818). MONOD, T. 1950. Notes d’ichtyologie ouest-africaine. It remains to be mentioned that the genus Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Afrique Noire 12(1), 1-71. name Myletes Cuvier, 1814 (type species: Salmo Opinion 1813. 1995. Alestes Müller & Troschel, 1844 dentex Hasselquist, 1762 (= Cyprinus dentex Lin- (Osteichthyes, Characiformes): conserved. Bulletin of naeus, 1758)) is not available and was put on Zoological Nomenclature 52(2), 219-221. the offi cial index of unavailable names by GÉRY PAUGY, D. 1984. Characidae, pp. 140-183. In: DAGET, & MAHNERT (1994) (Opinion 1813). The type J., GOSSE, J.-P., & THYS VAN DEN AUDENAERDE, D.F.E. species of this genus would thus be the African (eds): Check-list of the freshwater fi shes of Africa. species Alestes niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the CLOFFA I . Orstom; Paris. genus Alestes Müller & Troschel, 1844, which RACHOW, A. 1921. Die Characiniden, Teil 1. Bibliothek has nothing to do with the South American für Aquarien- und Terrarienkunde 21. Verlag Gustav Wenzel; Braunschweig. species of the genus Myleus Müller & Troschel, RACHOW, A. 1939. (Kner, 1858). 1844, which have a predorsal spine (MONOD Tafeln 327-328; LNr. 7D/II, 8. In: Die Aquarienfi - 1950; PAUGY 1984). sche in Wort und Bild (HOLLY, M., H. MEINKEN, & From all this it can be concluded that COPE A. RACHOW, eds). Alfred Kernen Verlag; Stuttgart. used the predorsal spine present in his new ge- SCHARPF, C., & K.J. LAZARA. 2020. The ETYfi sh nus Metynnis as a basis for the name (in contrast projekt. http.//www: etyfi sh.org to the representatives of the imaginary genus STERBA, G. 1956. Aquarienkunde. Band 2. Urania Myletes Cuvier, 1814, known to him, which do Verlag; Leipzig, Jena, Berlin. not have such a spine) and not the saw teeth (ser- TAPHORN, D.C. 1992. The characiform fi shes of the Apure River drainage, Venezuela. Biollania Edición rae) present in all genera of the Serrasalmidae. Especial, 4. Monografi as Cientifi cas del Museo de Ciencias Naturales, UNELLEZ 1-537. References ZARSKE, A. 2004. Characiformes, pp. 642-643. In: Das große Lexikon der Aquaristik (SCHÄFER, C., & BERG, C. 1897. Contribuciones al conocimiento de T. SCHRÖER, eds). Ulmer Verlag; Stuttgart. los peces Sudamericanos, especialmente de los de la ZARSKE, A. 2011. Erstmals importiert: Metynnis luna República Argentina. Anales del Museo Nacional de Cope, 1878 – der Hohe Scheibensalmler. Aquaristik Historia Natural de Buenos Aires 5, 263-302. Fachmagazin 44(3), 94-95.

2 ZARSKE, A. 2012. Das Typusmaterial der Characifor- ZARSKE, A., & H.O. BERKENKAMP. 2015. Das Stan- mes des Museums für Naturkunde zu Berlin. Teil 2b dardwerk „Holly, Meinken & Rachow: Die Aquari- (3): Südamerikanische Characiformes im weiteren enfi sche in Wort und Bild” und seine Bedeutung für Sinne (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes: Ser- die Ichthyologie. Bulletin of Fish Biology 15, 53-119. rasalmidae, Acestrorhynchidae, Erythrinidae, Lebiasi- nidae). Vertebrate Zoology 62, 297-356. Received: 25.03.2020 ZARSKE, A. 2018. Die Scheibensalmler der Gattung Metynnis. Eleganz im Schwarm. Aquaristik Fachma- Accepted: 05.05.2020 gazin 50(1), 6-25. Published: 02.06.2020

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