SCOTCAT.COM
your internet guide to all things catfish
SPECIES
NAMES PAGE 'T'
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Genus Names A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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| tachiraense | –ense, Latin suffix denoting place: Río Táchira, Táchira state, Venezuela, type locality (Chaetostoma tachiraense). |
| taeniatus | Striped; banded. |
| tamanae | Of Río Tamana, Río San Juan system, Chocó Department, Colombia, type locality (Sturisomatichthys tamanae). |
| tamboensis | From the Rio Tambo in Peru. |
| tandanus | Latinisation of Tandan, aboriginal name for this catfish in New South Wales, Australia. |
| tanganyikaensis | From Lake Tanganyika. |
| tankei | A patronym in honour of Andreas Tanke, a German aquarist very dedicated to the genus Panaqolus, studying its behavior, reproduction, and differences between known forms, keeping these fishes in the aquarium, visiting their habitats, and publishing his findings. He probably was the first to reproduce Panaqolus tankei in captivity. For his (successful) efforts to improve communications between aquarists and scientists to join their forces in an era of less and less money for research and an ever accelerating destruction of natural habitats. |
| tapanahoniensis | From the Tapanahony river, Guyana. |
| taphorni | In honour of American ichthyologist Donald C. Taphorn (b. 1951), colleague, friend, and student of Venezuelan fishes (he also helped collect holotype), (Hypostomus taphorni). |
| tarabinii | In honour of Giovanni Tarabini Castellani (1910–1992), director of the leprosarium at Gelib, Somalia, who provided holotype, which was caught by a local fisherman (Pardiglanis tarabinii). |
| taunayi | The specific name of taunayi: in honour of Brazilian historian, professor and novelist Alfonso d’ Escragnolle Taunay (1876-1958), director of Museu Paulista (Ancistrus taunayi). |
| taxistigmus | táxis, row; stigmus, from stígmaor stigmê, mark or spot, referring to series of large dark blotches along lateral line, (Henonemus taxistigmus). |
| taylori | After a personal name. |
| teaguei | In honour of Gerard Warden Teague (1885-1974), amateur ichthyologist-herpetologist, British Vice-Consul for Paraguay, and Director of Midland Uruguay Railway Company, and Devincenzi’s “enthusiastic collaborator” (translation), who collected part of the type series and co-authored volume in which description appeared (Trachelyopterus teuguei). |
| teffeana | Meaning, –ana, belonging to: Amazon River near Teffé (now spelled Tefé), Amazonas State, Brazil, the type locality. |
| teiniagua | Named for Teiniaguá, a princess transformed to a witch (a character from a fictional tale entitled ‘Salamanca do Jarau’ popularised in the Rio Grande do Sul State by the writer Simões Lopes Neto, that lives in a cave at the hill ‘Cerro do Jarau’, which is inserted in the area of distribution of the new species; noun in apposition (Scleronema teiniagua). |
| telchitta | Presumably a local name for this catfish in Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal) and the Indian state of Bihar, (Glyptothorax telchitta). |
| temmincki | In honour of C. Temminck, the Dutch physician. |
| tenebrosa | The specific name of tenebrosa (Phenacorhamdia tenebrosa) meaning dark, referring to darker coloration compared to its presumed congener at the time, Imparfinis piperatus. |
| tenebrosum | The specific epithet “tenebrosum” derives from the Latin noun “tenebrae”, which means “darkness, gloom”, plus “-osum”, a Latin suffix used to form adjectives from nouns. In Brazil, the adjective tenebrous is often used to describe something that is frightening, gloomy, or malevolent. The name alludes to the powerful toxin released by the new species under stress, which kills any fish kept in the same bag/container during transport. An adjective (Hoplisoma tenebrosum). |
| tengana | Presumably local Bengali name for this species in India (Batasio tengana). |
| tengara | From the native 'ting ga rah'. |
| tenharim | The specific epithet “tenharim” pays tribute to the Tenharim people, an indigenous tribe native to the Madeira-Tapajós interfluve. They are known for their self-denomination as Kagwahiva, meaning “we” or “us” in the Tenharim language, as well as for their close cultural ties with the hydrographic systems in which they live. Unfortunately, since the construction of the Trans- Amazonian highway, the survival of the Tenharim people has been in jeopardy. A noun in apposition (Hoplisoma tenharim). |
| tentaculatus | –atus (L.), provided with: tentacule (L.), feeler, i.e., small tentacle, referring to tentacules along snout in nuptial males (Lasiancistrus tentaculatus). |
| tenuicauda | tenuis (L.), thin or slender; cauda (L.), tail, referring to thinner caudal peduncle compared with S. emarginata (Isorineloricaria tenuicauda). |
| tenuirostre | tenuis, thin; rostris, snout, referring to its thin snout, thinner than congeners Steindachner knew about at the time (Sturisoma tenuirostre). |
| tenuis | Slender or thin. |
| tenuispinis | tenuis, thin; spinis, spine, referring to short and slender dorsal and pectoral-fin spines (Amblyceps tenuispinis). |
| ternetzi | In honour of ichthyologist and naturalist Carl Ternetz (1870-1928), who collected type. |
| terracanticum | Name from Latin 'terra' or earth and 'canticum' for song; dedicated to the Llanos work songs (cantos de vaquería), (Spatuloricaria terracanticum). |
| tessmanni | In honour of German explorer, ethnographer and plant collector Günter Tessmann (1884–1969), who collected holotype (Synodontis tessmanni). |
| teteae | The specific epithet ‘teteae’ honours Almerice da Silva Santos (1924–2011), better known as Dona Teté, an influential composer, singer, and dancer of Cacuriá from Maranhão. A central figure in Maranhão's popular culture, she played a pivotal role in the appreciation, preservation, and renewal of regional dance traditions, transmitting them across generations. Her cultural legacy was officially recognised in 2025, when the Government of Maranhão established the State Day of Cacuriá, celebrated annually on June 27, her birthday (Loricaria teteae). |
| tetramerus | Ancient Greek, meaning "devided in four parts", referring to the body pattern. |
| thanatos | From the Greek thánatos, which means ?death?), the Greek god or personification of death, and the twin brother of Hypnos, the god/personification of sleep. |
| thayeria | In honour of Nathaniel Thayer Jr., who sponsored Louis Agassiz on his expedition to Brazil in 1866. |
| theodorae | Matronym not explained and remained a mystery until 1979, when Peter B. N. Jackson uncovered that the name honours Theodora Jacoba Sleeswijk (née van Bosse, 1874-1953), the niece of Weber’s wife, who accompanied him on his visit to South Africa (Clarias theodorae). |
| thomasi | In honour of H. S. Thomas. |
| thomersoni | In honour of American ichthyologist Jamie E. Thomerson (1935–2015), Southern Illinois University, who introduced the senior author to the study of fishes and led his first trip to South America (he also led expedition during which holotype was collected), (Rhinodoras thomersoni). |
| thomsoni | Named in the honour of Mr. Kay Thomson, who collected the original specimens in Villeta. |
| tibicen | Latinisation of trompetter, or trompetfisi (trumpeter), Dutch-Surinamese local name for this and other aspredinid catfishes, alluding to the sound they make when taken out of the water (Isaäc J.H. Isbrücker, pers. comm.), (Aspredinichthys tibicen). |
| tietensis | –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Rio Tietê, São Paulo, Brazil, type locality (also endemic to the Rio Tietê basin), (Hypostomus tietensis). |
| tigrinum | Striped |
| tigris/nus | Striped as tiger. |
| timbira | Named for the Timbira indigenous groups who live in the area (lower Tocantins and Mearim river basins in Maranhão, Pará and Tocantins states, Brazil) where this catfish occurs (Pseudobunocephalus timbira). |
| tiraquae | Of Tiraque, Cochabamba Department, Bolivia, type locality (Trichomycterus tiraquae). |
| titan | From the Greek Titan, son or daughter of Uranus and Gaea, representing brute force and large size, masculine (Lajun et al 2010). |
| tocantinsensis | From the Tocantins river basin. |
| tokiensis | –ensis, suffix denoting place: Tokyo, Japan, type locality (Tachysurus tokiensis). |
| tolima | The specific name is a noun in apposition and refers to the princess Yulima who was executed and martyred by the Spanish conquistadores, and to the Department of Tolima, where the type locality is located. |
| torosus | Muscular. |
| totae | Coming from Lago de Tota, Colombia, the only place this catfish, now extinct, was known to occur (Rhizosomichthys totae). |
| thalassina | Of the sea, a marine and brackish-water catfish described from the Red Sea (Netuma thalassina). |
| thoracatum | Armoured. |
| tourei | In honour of Moussa Touré, forestry inspector in Mamou, a city in the Fouta Djallon area of Guinea, where this catfish occurs (Synodontis tourei). |
| trachycorystes | trachys, rough; corystes, helmeted, referring to rugose cranial shield (Trachycorystes trachycorystes). |
| transmontanus | The speciic name of trans-, over; montanus, mountains, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its occurrence in the Andean valleys of Colombia and Ecuador (Batrochoglanis transmontanus). |
| travancoria | Named afer the Indian region of Travancore in Kerala. |
| treitlii | Named in honour of Mr.Treitl. |
| trewavasae | In honour of Dr. Ethelwynne Trewavas, at one time Curator of Fishes at the British Museum. |
| triactis | tri– (L.), three; aktís, ray, unique among congeners in having three (vs. four) branched anal-fin rays (Leporacanthicus triactis). |
| tricornis | tri– (L.), three; cornis (L.), horn, referring to three horn-shaped odontodes along the interopercular in both sexes (Hopliancistrus tricornis). |
| trifasciatus | Three banded. |
| trigonocephalus | Name from Latin 'trigonocephalus' referring to the triangular ('trigono-) shape of the head ('-cephalus) in dorsal or ventral views (Sorubim trigonocephalus). |
| trilineatus | Three lined. |
| trilobatus | tri (latin) = three; lobes = lapet, lobe; lobatus (adjective) = with lappets, lobes; the caudal fin of this species has three lobes. |
| trimaculatus | Three spots, one at the base of each lobe of the tail fin, and another at the base of the dorsal fin (Tenellus trimaculatus). |
| trinitatis | Named from the type locality of the island of Trinidad (Ancistrus trinitatis). |
| triplax | tri– (L.), three; pláx, anything flat and broad (e.g., flat land, the ocean surface, but here used to mean plate), referring to three series of abdominal plates (compared with two in known congeners at the time), (Acestridium triplax). |
| triradiatus | Three rays. |
| trombetensis | –ensis, suffix denoting place: Trombetas River basin, above Cachoeira Porteira falls, Brazil, where it appears to be endemic (Harttia trombetensis). |
| tropeira | The specific name tropeira substantive in apposition, is given in honour of drovers who for many years traveled carrying horses and mules for the occurrence of species. |
| tropicanus | Named in reference to the region of northeastern Australia that represents the species range (Tandanus tropicanus). |
| truculenta | Latin for harsh, cruel or brutish, alluding to its size, the largest species of this hematophagous genus, (Paracanthopoma truculenta). |
| truncatus | Specific name from the Latin truncatus (truncated), in reference to the relatively short head of this species. |
| tubbi | In honour of Mr. J. Allan Tubb. |
| tuira | Named in honour of a Brazilian Indian woman from Mebêngôkre/Kaiapó ethnicity who became a symbol of the resistance against construction of hydroelectric dams on the Rio Xingu. |
| tupinamba | Named for the indigenous tribe who lived in the eastern region of São Paulo State (Brazil), where this catfish occurs, in the 16th and early 17th centuries; Tupinamba, in Tupí language, means first or ancient, further reflecting its presumed basal relationship with Cambeva, (Pericambeva tupinamba). |
| tukano | Named after the Tukano indians, a tribe that lives in the area of the Rio Tiquié. |
| typica/us | Serving as type of genus. |
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