Tatia gyrina renamed to Tatia gyrinus
Posted: 21 Aug 2024, 13:45
Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. & Van der Laan, R. (eds). 2024. ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: GENERA, SPECIES, REFERENCES. (http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/r ... atmain.asp). Electronic version accessed 13 August 2024.
This action stems from the following backstory:
Sharpf, C. 2024. Name of the Week 2024. The ETYFish Project. Online 21 August 2024. https://etyfish.org/name-of-the-week2024/
This action stems from the following backstory:
Sharpf, C. 2024. Name of the Week 2024. The ETYFish Project. Online 21 August 2024. https://etyfish.org/name-of-the-week2024/
The reason I began looking into tadpole-inspired fish names was to determine the proper spelling of Centromochlus gyrinus, an Amazonian catfish (Auchenipteridae) described by Carl H. Eigenmann (1863–1927) and William Ray Allen (1885–1955) in 1942. (Eigenmann began the manuscript, lost in aboard a train; it was located in the lost-and-found after Eigenmann’s death and completed by his student Allen.) The authors did not provide an etymology, nor did they mention “tadpole” or anything rounded or curved in their description, but their accompanying illustration (shown here) shows what could be described as a tadpole-shaped fish, especially its large head. In 1974, Dutch ichthyologist-ornithologist Gerloff F. Mees (1926–2013) reassigned Centromuchlus gyrinus to the genus Tatia. Since Tatia is a feminine genus (whereas Centromuchlus is masculine), Mees changed the spelling from gyrinus to gyrina, apparently believing the name to be an adjective and, hence, needing to agree in gender with the genus. That spelling, , has remained in usage until earlier this month, when I took a closer look.
Considering all the fish taxa named for the Latin noun gyrinus (including several not mentioned above), I believe Eigenmann & Allen named their catfish in the same manner. In addition, per ICZN 31.2.2, if the origin of a zoological name is uncertain, it is to be treated as a noun. Since the spellings of nouns are not emended to agree with the gender of the genus, I contend that Eigenmann & Allen’s original spelling should be retained. I sent these comments to the editors of Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes (ECoF) and they agreed. As 13 August 2024, ECoF changed the spelling of Tatia gyrina to .
