TORPEDINIFORMES · 1 The ETYFish Project © Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara COMMENTS: v. 9.1 - 16 Oct. 2019 Subivision BATOIDEA -oides, having the form of: batis, Greek for a flat fish, usually applied to a skate or ray Order TORPEDINIFORMES 5 families · 15 genera · 64 species Family PLATYRHINIDAE Fanrays 2 genera · 5 species Platyrhina Müller & Henle 1838 platy, broad; rhinos, snout, presumably referring to short, broadly rounded snout Platyrhina hyugaensis Iwatsuki, Zhang & Nakaya 2011 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Hyuga Nada Sea (southern Japan), where authors believe it to be endemic and common Platyrhina psomadakisi White & Last 2016 in honor of Peter N. Psomadakis, Food and Agriculture Association (Rome), “whose efforts to obtain valuable specimens of sharks and rays, as well as many teleosts, from a number of poorly sampled locations in the northern Indian Ocean have greatly improved our understanding of the biogeography of this complex region” Platyrhina sinensis (Bloch & Schneider 1801) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Sinica (China); description based from a drawing of a Chinese specimen Platyrhina tangi Iwatsuki, Zhang & Nakaya 2011 in honor of ichthyologist D.-S. Tang, Amoy (now Xiamen) University (Xiamen, Fujian, China), whose P. limboonkengi 1933 the authors synonymized with P. sinensis Platyrhinoidis Garman 1881 -oides, having the form of: referring to similarity to Platyrhina Platyrhinoidis triseriata (Jordan & Gilbert 1880) tri-, three; series, row, referring to three rows of hook-like spines extending along back and tail Family TORPEDINIDAE Electric Rays 2 genera · 18 species Tetronarce Gill 1862 tetra-, four, referring, according to Gill (1895), to “four-sided form” of T. occidentalis, perhaps an allusion to how the ray’s disc (two pectoral fins) and two pelvic fins appear as four sides (or lobes) when seen from above (Marcelo R. de Carvalho, pers. comm.); narce, from narke, numbness, an ancient Greek word used for any electric fish, based on their ability to cause a numbing sensation [Gill attempted to change spelling to Tetranarce in 1895, saying Tetronarce was “purely a printer’s blunder,” but original spelling is retained] Tetronarce californica (Ayres 1855) -ica, belonging to: California, “a very interesting addition to the fauna of California” Tetronarce cowleyi Ebert, Haas & Carvalho 2015 in honor of Paul Cowley, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, for his contributions to the study of fishes in southern Africa Tetronarce formosa (Haas & Ebert 2006) connoting both Ilha Formosa, the historical name of the type locality, Taiwan, and the Latin word for beautiful, referring to purplish brown coloration of fresh specimens Tetronarce nobiliana (Bonaparte 1835) -ana, belonging to: Leopoldo Nobili (1784-1835), Italian physicist who studied animal electricity Tetronarce occidentalis (Storer 1843) western, referring to its distribution in the Western Atlantic (compared to distribution of the similar T. nobiliana in the Eastern Atlantic) Tetronarce puelcha (Lahille 1926) etymology not explained; since name is used for other Argentine taxa (e.g., bivalves), it may refer to the Puelche people and/or territory of central Argentina, which existed prior to the arrival of Europeans 2 · TORPEDINIFORMES: Torpedinidae · The ETYFish Project Tetronarce tokionis Tanaka 1908 -is, genitive singular of: Tokyo (type was obtained in a Tokyo fish market) Tetronarce tremens (de Buen 1959) trembling, presumably referring to its ability to produce an electric shock Torpedo Duméril 1806 presumably tautonymous with Raja torpedo (no species mentioned); Latin word historically used for any electric fish, derived from torpere, meaning numbness or paralysis Torpedo adenensis Carvalho, Stehmann & Manilo 2002 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Gulf of Aden, only known locality Torpedo andersoni Bullis 1962 in honor of fishery biologist William W. Anderson (1909-1993), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “colleague and mentor, whose labors have contributed immeasurably to our knowledge of the marine fauna of the southeastern United States” Torpedo bauchotae Cadenat, Capapé & Desoutter 1978 in honor of Marie-Louise Bauchot (b. 1928), ichthyologist and assistant manager, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) Torpedo fuscomaculata Peters 1855 fuscus, dark; maculatus, spotted, referring to numerous closely packed dark brown spots seen on some specimens Torpedo mackayana Metzelaar 1919 -ana, belonging to: Donald Jacob Baron Mackay (1839-1921), colonial administrator and governor in India; he was one of the promoters of the expedition that collected type in the Dutch West Indies (1904-1905) Torpedo marmorata Risso 1810 marbled, referring to mottled or marbled coloration Torpedo panthera Olfers 1831 referring to its leopard-like spots Torpedo sinuspersici Olfers 1831 sinus, gulf; persici, Persian, described from Persian Gulf Torpedo suessii Steindachner 1898 patronym not identified but probably in honor of Steindachner’s friend, geologist Eduard Suess (1831-1914), who suggested that Steindachner study fossil fishes Torpedo mackayana. From: Metzelaar, J. 1919. Report on the fishes, collected by Dr. J. Boeke in the Dutch West Indies 1904-1905, with comparative notes on marine fishes of tropical West Africa. F. J. Belanfante, ‘s-Gravenhage. 1-314. The ETYFish Project · TORPEDINIFORMES: Hypnidae · 3 Torpedo torpedo (Linnaeus 1758) Latin word historically used for any electric fish, derived from torpere, meaning numbness or paralysis Family HYPNIDAE Coffin Ray Hypnos Duméril 1852 sleep, referring to numbing effect of its electric discharge Hypnos monopterygius (Shaw 1795) mono-, one; pterygius, fin; struck by the strangeness of this ray’s appearance, Shaw surmised that it might be a “single- finned” member of the monkfish genus Lophius, perhaps referring to how its pelvic fins are joined together to form a disc Family NARCINIDAE Numbfishes 5 genera · 31 species Benthobatis Alcock 1898 benthos, of the deep, presumably referring to occurrence of B. moresbyi at 430 fathoms; batis, Greek for a flat fish, usually applied to a skate or ray Benthobatis kreffti Rincon, Stehmann & Vooren 2001 in honor of Gerhard Krefft (1912-1993), Institute für Seefischerei (Hamburg), who first collected this species in 1968, for his contributions to elasmobranch systematics, particularly among elasmobranchs from the southwest Atlantic Benthobatis marcida Bean & Weed 1909 withered or weak, possibly referring to its “lax and flabby” skin, “making it difficult to see the true shape of the creature and take its measurements” Benthobatis moresbyi Alcock 1898 in memory of Capt. Robert Moresby (1794-1854), British Royal Navy, “whose surveys (1834-38) in the seas where this curious fish is found are known to all readers of Darwin’s ‘Coral-Reefs’” Benthobatis yangi Carvalho, Compagno & Ebert 2003 in honor of Hung-Chia (also spelled Hung-Jia) Yang, Taiwanese Fisheries Research Institute, for his research on Taiwanese cartilaginous fishes and superb fish illustrations Diplobatis Bigelow & Schroeder 1948 diplo-, twofold, referring to nostril subdivided into two separate apertures; batis, Greek for a flat fish, usually applied to a skate or ray Diplobatis colombiensis Fechhelm & McEachran 1984 -ensis, suffix denoting place: the coast of northern Colombia, only known area of occurrence Diplobatis guamachensis Martín Salazar 1957 -ensis, suffix denoting place: El Guamache, port city near where type was collected, Gulf of Cariaco, Sucre, Venezuela Diplobatis ommata (Jordan & Gilbert 1890) eyed, referring to ocellated spot on center of disk Diplobatis picta Palmer 1950 painted, referring to dorsal surface with highly variable color pattern of spots, mottlings and ocelli of various sizes Discopyge Heckel 1846 disc, disk; pyge, rump, referring to pelvic fins, which are merged beneath the tail to form a continuous disc Discopyge castelloi Menni, Rincón & García 2008 in honor of marine biologist Hugo P. Castello, who suggested to the authors that this species could be new to science Discopyge tschudii Heckel 1846 in honor of Swiss naturalist and explorer Johann Jakob von Tschudi (1818-1889), who collected type Narcine Henle 1834 from narke, numbness, ancient Greek word used for any electric ray, based on their ability to cause a numbing sensation Narcine atzi Carvalho & Randall 2003 in honor of James W. Atz (1915-2013), Curator Emeritus, Department of Ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History, for “his many contributions to different aspects of ichthyology, and for his unparalleled enthusiasm for the study of fishes” Narcine baliensis Carvalho & White 2016 -ensis, suffix denoting place: the island of Bali, close to type locality between islands of Bali and Lombok, Indonesia 4 · TORPEDINIFORMES: Narcinidae · The ETYFish Project Narcine bancroftii (Griffith & Smith 1834) in honor of Edward Bancroft (1744-1821), American physician-naturalist (and double-agent spy during the American Revolution), who studied electric fishes and painted the illustration upon which description was based Narcine brasiliensis (Olfers 1831) -ensis, suffix denoting place: Brazil, type locality (occurs throughout Western Atlantic) Narcine brevilabiata Bessednov 1966 brevis, short; labiatus, lipped, referring to shorter anterior nasal lobe compared to N. prodorsalis Narcine brunnea Annandale 1909 brown, referring to “warm chocolate-brown” dorsal surface Narcine entemedor Jordan & Starks 1895 Spanish equivalent of “Intimidator” but allusion is not explained (perhaps the name of a ship?) Narcine