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your internet guide to all things catfish


THE GLOSSARY PAGE Blinded by a bit too much science!. Check out our glossary page and find out what that name or description really means.

A

Abdomen	Belly, the ventral side of the fish surrounding the cavity containing the digestive and reproductive organs.
Adipose fin	Fleshy finlike projection without rays, behind the rayed dorsal fin.
Aductor mandibulae	Adductor mandibulae muscles (english) Paired head muscles originating on the lateral faces of the quadrate process of the palatoquadrates and inserting on the lateral surface of the Meckel's cartilages; the primary jaw-closing muscles of the sharks.
aff.	affinis = similar, but distinct species.
Airbladder	Gas filled sac located in the body cavity below the vertebrae
Albino	Lacking melanin, usually white with pink/red eyes.
Algae	Group of Thallophytes, the seaweeds and allied forms.
Amphibious	Living or adapted to life or use, on land and in or on water.
Anal fin	The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
Anatomy	The science of the structure of the animal body.
Anoxic	A deficient supply of oxygen to the tissues.
Anterior	The head end.
Anteriordorsal	Front of dorsal.
Anterolateral	Pertaining to the direction or position between the front and side of an object.
Anthropogenic	Of, or relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature.
Aufwuchs	( German "surface growth" or "overgrowth") is the collection of small animals and plants that adhere to open surfaces in aquatic environments, such as parts of rooted plants. In both marine and freshwater environments, algae – particularly green algae and diatoms – make up the dominant component of aufwuchs communities. Small crustaceans, rotifers, and protozoans are also commonly found in fresh water and the sea, but insect larvae, oligochaetes and tardigrades are peculiar to freshwater aufwuchs faunas.

B

Barbels	Whisker-like structure on the heads of most catfish.
Bethnic	Sea-bottom dwellers.
Bicuspid	Ending in two points; a tooth with two cusps or points.
Brackish	A mix of salt and fresh water.
Branchial	Pertaining to the gills.
Branchiostegal	Slender bones which support the gill membranes.

C

Carnivorous	Meat eating, also piscivorous.
Casque	Shaped like a helmet.
Caudal fin	The tail.
Caudal peduncle	The narrow part of a fish's body to which the caudal or tail fin is attached.
cf.	Conferre: same species, but with different characteristics.
Clade	A group defined by at least one shared derived character or synapomorphy inherited from a common ancestor; a monophyletic higher taxon, a branch on a cladogram.
Cleithral process	A flattened pointed posterior extension of the pectoral girdle (most prominent in the genus Synodontis)
Cleithrum	The major bone of the pectoral girdle, extending upward from the pectoral fin base and forming the rear margin of the gill cavity, also: the principal bow-shaped bone of the prectoral girlde, dermal in origin, forming the rear margin of the gill cavity. It articulates dorsally with the supracleithrum and ventrally with the scapula and coracoid.
Compressed	Flattened from side to side.
Conspecifics	Belonging to the same species; individuals or populations of the same species.
Coracoid	Middle and lower section of the pectoral girdle.
Crepuscular	Active at dusk.
Cryptic	Hidden, obscure, little seen.

D

Depressed	Flattened from top to bottom.
Dermal ossifications	Small bony skin plates.
Detritus	An aggregate of loosened fragments.
Dimorphism	The morphological variations of one species.
Diurnal	Active during daylight hours.
Dorsal fin	The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Dorsolateral	Extending from the top to the side.
Dorsum	The upper (dorsal) surface of the head or body.

E

Ecology	The study of plants and animals.
Emarginate	Concave; used to describe the posterior border of a caudal fin which is inwardly curved; a caudal fin with a slightly concave margin.
Endemic	Native to a particular area only.
Entopterygoid	A paired bone articulating with the palatine in front.
Epibenthic	Refers to organisms that live on or just above the bottom sediments in a body of water. These organisms, many of which support commercial and recreational fisheries, tend to forage on the creatures that live in or on the sediments.
Estuarine	The inhabitants of a wide lower tidal part of a river.

F

Falcate	When the anterior fin rays are prolonged.
Filaments	Thread-like extensions on the fins.
Fontanel	The space(s) between the bones on top of the skull covered by skin.
Foramen	Magnum (Latin: great hole) is a large oval opening (foramen) in the occipital bone of the skull in humans and various other animals. It is one of the several oval or circular openings (foramina) in the base of the skull.
Fry	Young fish at the age when the yolk has been consumed and is actively feeding.
Fulcra	Bony plates.
Fusiform	Spindle or cigar shaped.

G

Genital papilla	A small, fleshy tube behind the anus in some fishes, from which the sperm or eggs are released; the sex of a fish often can be determined by the shape of its papilla.
Gills	The organs utilized to obtain oxygen from the water.
Gill arches	The bearer of the gill filaments.
Gill filament	Structure on the lower portion of the gill arches.
Gill rakers	Structure on the upper portion of the gill arches.

H

Herbivorous	A vegetable eater.
Holotype	The specimen on which the description of a new species is based.
Humeral process	Bony extension of the pectoral girdle.
Hyaline	Transparent or clear without pigment.
Hybrid	The progeny of two individuals belonging to different species; the progeny of two individuals belonging to different subspecies of the same species are not hybrids.
Hyomandibula	Line of enlarged pores extending posteriorly from the mouth corners.

I

Ichthyology	The science of the study of fishes.
-idae (suffix)	The family name always ends in -idae, as in Callichthyidae
-inae (suffix)	The subfamily name always ends in -inae as in Corydoradinae
incertae sedis	Latin: of uncertain position (seat) signifies a taxonomic group difficult to place in the larger taxonomic scheme.
Inferior	Visible only from beneath the head, usually referring to the eyes or mouth.
Interoperculum	Between the preoperculum and the operculum, sometimes very small, and in some Loricariidae bearing spines.
Interorbital	The space between the orbits of the eyes.
Isomorphic	The lack of dimorphism.

L

Lacustrine	Pertaining to lakes.
Lateral line	A sensory line, along the sides of the body.
Larvae	Young fish in the first state of development.
Lecotype	Specimen chosen from a syntype series.
Leucistic	(Of an animal) having whitish fur, plumage, or skin due to a lack of pigment.
Littoral	The shallow area along a shoreline in lakes or sea.

M

Mandibular	Pertaining to the lower jaw. (mandibular barbels).
Maxillary	Pertaining to the upper jaw. (maxillary barbels).
Medial	Middle or inner.
Median	Middle or towards the midline.
Melanin	The dark pigment that gives the colouring to the fish.
Melanophores	The pigment cells that permit colour change, and the concentration of pigment granules within these cells determine the type of colour that is produced.
Membrane	A thin flexible tissue.
Mental	Pertaining to the chin, on the lower jaw. (mental barbels).
Metamorphosis	A sharp change in form.
Metapterygoid	Posterior bone that ossifies in the cartilaginous palatoquadrate arch. It first appears as a rod of bone with an anterodorsally projecting process from the middle of the dorsal surface (6.4 mm). The adult metapterygoid is roughly rectangular in shape with rounded corners and an anterodorsally projecting spine that meets the entopterygoid medially in a synostosis at its posteromedial edge. The posterior end curves dorsally to form the posteroventral surface of the orbit.
Monotypic	Having only one species, such as a monotypic family of fishes.
Myomeres	The skeletal muscle tissue found commonly in chordates. They are commonly zig-zag, "W" or "V"-shaped muscle fibers. The myomeres are separated from adjacent myomere by connective tissues and most easily seen in larval fishes or in the olm.

N

Nasal	On top of the head, by the nostrils. (nasal barbels).
Neotype	Specimen which replaces Holotype when lost.
Nocturnal	Active at night.
Nomenclature	A system of names for the objects of study in any branch of science.
Nomen nudum	Name without description.
Nomina nuda	A designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be a scientific name, but fails to be one because it has not (or has not yet) been published with an adequate description (or a reference to such a description). This makes it a "bare" or "naked" name, one which cannot be accepted as it stands.
Nuchal	Area between the skull and dorsal fin.

O

Occipital	A median bone on the upper surface of the back of the head; pertaining to the occiput.
Odontodes	Hair - like stuctures on the body.
Omnivorous	Pertaining to both vegetable and flesh diet.
Opercle	The bony covering of the gills of fishes.
Opisthure	The tip of the vertebral column which protrudes beyond the caudal fin.
Operculum	The bony covering of the gills of fishes.
Orbit	The dermal or bony eye socket; bony cavity in the skull where the eyeball is housed; the eye socket, usually surrounded by bone.
Osteological	Pertaining to the study of bones, part of anatomy.
Oviparous	Describing a species that lays eggs.
Ovoviviparous	Describing a species that produces eggs that hatch in the mother, resulting in the delivery of live young.

P

Palatine teeth	The teeth present on the palatine bone which lies laterally in the roof of the mouth.
Papilla	A small fleshy projection, plural papillae.
Paratype	Remaining specimens after Holotype has been selected.
Pectoral fins	The paired fins just behind the head.
Pectoral girdle	The bony or cartilaginous skeletal arch supporting the pectoral fins.
p.H.	The symbol of relative alkalinity or acidity in liquid (potential of hydrogen).
Pharyngeal Teeth	Teeth located in the throat on the pharyngeal jaw apparatus.
Phylogentic	Descendant lines.
Pelagic	Pertaining to the open water (ocean).
Pelvic fins	The paired fins, between the pectorals and the anal fins. (also referred to as ventrals).
Piscivorous	Fish eating.
Plankton	The floating organism that drifts with the movement of the water.
Plicate	Covered in small ridges.
Posterior	The tail end of the fish. Situated behind.
Potamodromous	Freshwater fish migrations are usually shorter, typically from lake to stream or vice versa, for spawning purposes.
Predator	Something that lives on other forms of life.
Predorsal plate	In front of the dorsal fin spine.
Premaxillary	In relation to the premaxilla (an upper jaw bone) e.g. premaxillary tooth band.
Preoperculum	The anterior bone of the opercular series, forming the border of the cheek.
Preorbital	The first and usually the largest of the suborbital bones; located along the ventro-anterior rim of the eye. Sometimes called the lacrimal bone; the bone or region before and below the eye.
Pterotic-supracleithrum	Large combined bone on the head, placed behind the eye.

R

Ramifications	Side branches (as on the barbels on many Synodontis species).
Retrorse	Pointing or curved backwards or inwards; opposite of atrose.
Rictal	Pertaining to the barbels on the corners of the mouth (Corydoras).
Riverine	Only inhabiting rivers.
Rostrum	Snout (usually applied to long snouts).
Rugose	Covered in ridges, knobs or protuberances, deeply wrinkled etc.

S

Saline	Salty.
Scapular	The shoulder region.
Scutes	Bony covering.
Sensu stricto	In a narrow or strict sense.
Serrae	Saw-like notches along an edge.
Serrated	With sharp, forward-pointing teeth.
SL	Standard length as measured from the snout to the caudal peduncle.
Snout	The part of the head in front of the eyes.
Spawn	Mass of eggs laid in water.
Spatulate teeth	Having an end that is broad and flattened, like a spatula.
Spinous	Spiny.
Subcutaneous	Positioned beneath the skin.
Subocular	Beneath the eye.
Substrate	Sea or river bottom/floor.
Sub-terminal	Just below.
Superior	Visible from above the head, usually referring to the eyes or mouth.
Supraoccipital	Unpaired bone at the back of the skull, usually with a crest.
Swim bladder	The air sac that gives fish buoyancy and balance. Acts as sound resonator in some fish.
Sympatric	Referring to two or more species living in the same or overlapping geographical area.
Syntopic	Defined as being similar in appearance.
Syntype	Type series (listed for new description) of which none have been selected as Holotype.
Synonym	Different name for the same fish.
Systematics	A set of things considered as a connected whole.

T

Taxon	According to the Code, any formal taxonomic unit or category of organisms (species, genus, family, order, class, etc.). Taxa (pl.).
Taxonomic	Classification based on similarities of structure.
Taxonomy	The study and classification of living creatures.
Temperate	Moderate in temperature.
Terminal	The end point.
Thoracic	Pertaining to the chest area.
TL	Total length measured from the snout to the end of the fish (tail).
Troglomorphic	Morphological characters that are adaptions to living in the constant darkness of caves, such as loss of pigments and reduced eyes.
Truncate	Cut off, blunt. (as in squared off caudal fin).
Tubercles	Tentacle-like projections.

V

Ventral	The lower surface.
Ventral fins	The paired fins, between the pectorals and the anal fins.
Ventrolateral	Extending from below and to the side.
Vertebrae	The bones of the axial skeleton; divided into two sections, precaudal and caudal vertebrae.
Villiform	Elongated cardiform teeth.
Villose	Covered with villosities (minute hair-like projections).
Viviparous	Describing a species that produces living young that have been nourished during development by their mother.
Vomer	The anterior bone in the mid-line of the roof of the mouth.
Vomerine teeth	Teeth present on the vomer.
Voracious	Eating greadily or in large quantities.

W
Weberian apparatus	Modified 4 vertebrae, connecting the swim bladder with the inner ear.

Y
Yolk sac	In embryos and early fish larvae, a bag-like ventral extension of the gut containing nutritive materials.

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THE GLOSSARY PAGE

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SCOTCAT.COM

your internet guide to all things catfish

THE GLOSSARY PAGE

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Y