Understanding the Scientific Names of Marine Aquarium Inhabitants

Understanding the Scientific Names of Marine Aquarium Inhabitants

Scientific names are the nomenclature of living beings to establish their unique, universal identity, agreed as per the international standards. They are helpful in easily identifying even exotic lives, which may have varied & multiple local names in different regions. Therefore, to avoid any confusion among similar fishes, it is always better to know their scientific name. Understanding the origin of a fish enables you to remember its name without much difficulty.

Phylogeny or Taxonomy is the branch of science dealing with biological classification. The technique adopted is similar to a family tree, which shows how each member of a category is related to the other. At the naming level, living organisms are classified into genus and species. Genus mostly specify the broad category, while species go specific, based on the attributes, including color, spots, stripes, breeding type, personal name, native name, and location of collection. First part of the scientific name is Genus and is represented with first Cap, while the second part is Species, reflected in all small. For example, in Chaaetopyge melanosa, Chaaetopyge is Genus and melanosa is species.

Phylogeny is effective for aquarists to understand fish names. The right identification of your water pet enables you to arrange for better water conditions, appropriate food, and safe breeding. Here are some broad categories to recognize different marine animals.

Scientific names of some popular marine fishes:

Angelfish: These are big, hardy, marine fishes. Based on their morphological features, such as tail structure, size, etc, they have various genuses, like Pomacanthus, Centropyge, Chaaetopyge, Holacanthus, Chaetodontoplus. Some examples of species are:

Bicolor Angelfish: Centropyge (Genus) bicolor (Species)

Black Velvet Angelfish: Chaaetopyge melanosa

Blue Angel fish: Holacanthus bermudensis

Blue-faced Angel fish: Pomacanthus xanthometopon

Blue-striped Angelfish: Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis

Butterfly Fishes: Colorful with butterfly like patterns, these fishes have Chaetodon, Chelmon, Heniochus, and Forcipiger as genuses. Some examples are:

Bennett's Butterflyfish: Chaetodon (Genus) bennetti (Species)

Copperband Butterflyfish: Chelmon rostratus

Long-nosed Butterflyfish: Forcipiger flavissimus

Heniochus diphreutes

Blennies: Peaceful, colorful, this category exists in several genuses as well. Meiacanthus, Ecsenius, and Salarius being some of the key genuses, few examples are:

Lawnmower Blenny: Salarias (Genus) fasciatus (Species)

Bicolor blenny: Ecsenius bicolor

Blackline fang blenny: Meiacanthus nigrolineatus

Red-lipped Blenny: Ophiblennius atlanticus

Clownfish: Also known as Anemonefish, Amphipirion is the key genus here. These fishes are attractive and peaceful.

Cinnamon anemonefish: Amphiprion (Genus) melanopus (Species)

Clarkii anemonefish: Amphiprion clarkii

Hawkfishes: Beautiful and small, they attack small invertebrates, including decorative shrimps. Some commonest examples are:

Falco Hawkfish: Cirrhitichthys (Genus) falco (Species)

Flame Hawkfish: Neocirrhites armatus

Longnose Hawkfish: Oxycirrhites typus

Lionfish: Full of toxic spines, these fishes have Pterois as their key Genus. Some examples of the type are:

Antennata Lionfish: Pterois (Genus) antennata (Species)

Shortfin Lionfish: Dendrochirus brachypterus

Some other key marine aquarium fishes include:

Anthias

Bass & Groupers

Basslets & Assessors

Batfish

Boxfish & Pufferfish

Cardinalfish

Chromis

Damsels

Dartfish

Dragonets

Eels

Filefish

Foxface

Flatfish

Frogfish

Goatfish

Gobies

Grunts

Hamlet

Hogfish

Jacks

Jawfish

Parrotfish

Pipefish

Pseudochromis

Rabbitfish

Rays

Scorpionfish

Seahorse

Squirrelfish

Sharks

Snappers

Tangs

Tilefish

Triggerfish

Wrasse

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