names of fishes in Spanish

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itziar

Contributor
Messages
127
Reaction score
1
Location
Puebla, Mexico
# of dives
500 - 999
Does anybody know of a good web page with the translations of the names of tropical fishes into Spanish? I have just received my Humann & DeLoach identification books in English, and they are great. I am having great fun looking at the charts and recognizing so many fishes from my recent dives. I just would like to know how they are named in my native language... Can anybody help?

Thanks,

Itziar -
 
Thanks chiara, that is a good starting point

Itziar
 
You can get the book I have for sale on the forum, Guide to Corals and Fishes of Florida, Bahamas and the Caribbean in Spanish, search in Classifieds under other gear or under my posts. This is the standard fish ID book but in the Spanish language.
 
Fish Base has options for finding information in different languages, and even translates the whole site into Spanish by way of a mouse click on the "Languages" tab at the top of the window. Fish Base in Spanish.

1. When you identify a fish in your fish guide that you want to know the Spanish name for, find the scientific name in the fish guide first.
2. Type it in to the appropriate field (Genus + Species) on the webpage I've linked to above, and then click "Search."
3. You will be taken to a page with all sorts of information about the fish. Amongst the initial information you will see a line called "Common Names" which lists a few and then invites you to learn More. Click that "more."
4. You will now see a chart that gives lots of common names. Look in the country list to find the names used in Mexico. It's interesting to note that there may be several common names for the very same fish in different countries that share a common language or even in different parts of the same country.

For example, when I check in my own language, Portuguese, for a fish I know as Gray Angelfish and which is listed in the guides under the scientific name, Pomacanthus arcuatus, I find the two common names I'm most familiar with in Portuguese, "Frade" and "Enxada," but I also find seventeen other common names listed.

Have fun!

 
Mexfish.com provides the Spanish names as does Thompson et al. Reef Fishes of the Sea of Cortez.
 
The American Fisheries Society (AFS) publishes the official names of North American fishes about every 10 years. Common names in English, Spanish, and French are listed, along with the scientific names. I consider this the ultimate authority on fish names for North America. The following information pasted from the AFS web site:
Joseph S. Nelson, Edwin J. Crossman, Héctor Espinosa-Pérez, Lloyd T. Findley, Carter R. Gilbert, Robert N. Lea, and James D. Williams. 386 pages Published by American Fisheries Society Publication date: July 2004. Summary. Special Publication 29. This authoritative reference provides an accurate, up-to-date checklist of common and scientific names for all described and taxonomically valid fish species living in fresh and marine waters of North America. This edition contains 1,271 additional species and reflects numerous taxonomic changes that have occurred since 1991. This book includes: * 3,700 species * 262 families * 52 established exotics * 13 named hybrids * the rationale and methodology for common name allocation * history of changes from previous edition * extensive references * Spanish and French names * a companion CD-ROM
 
Does anybody know of a good web page with the translations of the names of tropical fishes into Spanish? I have just received my Humann & DeLoach identification books in English, and they are great. I am having great fun looking at the charts and recognizing so many fishes from my recent dives. I just would like to know how they are named in my native language... Can anybody help?

Thanks,

Itziar -


  • pescado frito
  • pescado asado
  • tacos de pescado
:D

flots.
 
The difficulty factor is that sometimes the same fish will have a number of different local names - perhaps even more in Castilian / Spanish than in English. In the end, the most useful thing to know is the scientific (binomial nomenclature) name and find out what it is called locally, or use the resources above for a general name - but be aware, the fish may be known by another name where you dive.

Even pretty organized folks differ on this: places like the excellent Monterey Bay Aquarium go to efforts to translate well, and then occasionally still use very localized words that may not be meaningful to the majority of visitors. For example, they use the term "cachiyuyo" or "bosque de cachiyuyo", but "cachiyuyo" if memory serves is useful in Chile - loss in Mexico, from which many Spanish speaking visitors originate. "Bosque de algas marinas - cachiyuyo" - might be more useful.

My esteemed fellow member flots am (y tu también, hermano Boricua) must be pardoned for his gross mistake of overlooking of "pescado al mojo de ajo". :D
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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