Philibert Commerson, sometimes spelled Commerçon by contemporaries, was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766–1769.
Agonostomus telfairii, the fairy mullet, is a species of fish in the family Mugilidae, the mullets. It is known by the common name fairy mullet. It is native to the islands off the eastern coast of Africa, where it can be found in freshwater bodies and estuaries in Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, and Réunion. It returns to the sea to spawn.
The red-tailed silverside, or zona is a species of Madagascar rainbowfish endemic to the Mananjary River drainage in Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss and introduced species. It has often been confused with the related B. madagascariensis, which is common in the aquarium trade. In addition to meristics, the two can be separated by the exact colour pattern on their tail fin and the distinct red spot on the lower jaw of breeding male B. geayi. B. geayi was described in 1907 by Jacques Pellegrin from a type collected by the pharmacist and natural history collector Martin François Geay (1859-1910), who Pellegrin honoured with its specific name.
Bedotia madagascariensis (zona) is a species of fish in the family Bedotiidae. It is endemic to Madagascar, where found in rivers and lakes between the Ivoloina River and the Manambolo Creek. It is commonly seen in the aquarium trade, where it often has been confused with the related B. geayi. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was described by Charles Tate Regan in 1903, with Madagascar given as the type locality, Regan deposited the type in the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Genève and named the genus in honour of its director Maurice Bedot (1859-1927).
Bedotia marojejy is a freshwater species of fish in the Bedotiidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar and can be found in the Manantenina River. It is threatened by habitat loss. This species was described by Melanie Stiassny nd Ian Harrison in 2000 from types collected from the Manantenina River on the south eastern boundary of the Marojejy National Park, after which the species is named.
Bedotia alveyi, the Makira rainbowfish, is a species of Madagascar rainbowfish from rivers and streams in the Makira region of Madagascar where it occurs in the tributaries of the Antainambalana and Vohimaro rivers. This species was described in 2010 by Christopher C. Jones, Leo Smith and John S. Sparks from types collected from a small stream north of Ambodivoankongy, in a tributary of the Antainambalana River in Toamasina Province. The specific name honours Mark Alvey of the Field Museum in Chicago.
Eleotris pellegrini is a species of fish in the family Eleotridae endemic to Madagascar where it can be found in mangrove swamps. This species can reach a length of 23 cm (9.1 in). The specific name honours the French ichthyologist Jacques Pellegrin (1873-1944), who discovered this species in 1933 but thought that it was Eleotris vittata.
Pachypanchax sparksorum is a species of Aplocheilid killifish endemic to Madagascar where it is found in the Anjingo River and streams feeding into the Ankofia River. Its natural habitat is rivers. The specific name of this fish honours the ichthyologist John S. Sparks of the United States National Museum and his wife Karen Riseng Sparks, they collected many of the type series.
Pachypanchax arnoulti is a species of aplocheilid killifish endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is rivers and lakes. It is threatened by habitat loss and invasive species. The specific name of this fish honours the French ichthyologist and herpetologist Jacques Arnoult (1914-1995) in recognition of his contributions to the knowledge of Madagascar's fish fauna. It was described by Paul V. Loiselle in 2006 with the type locality given as "Swamp draining into tributary stream of Ikopa River, flowing parallel to RN-4 at Antanimbray village, 17°10'79"S, 46°50'97"E, Betsiboka River drainage, Madagascar, elevation 246 meters".
The damba is a species of cichlid.
The kotso is a species of cichlid fish from northwestern Madagascar. Currently rated as data deficient by the IUCN, this species is virtually unknown. The only known specimen is a juvenile that was collected more than 80 years ago. It is not entirely clear where it was collected, but likely from the Maintimaso River or Lake Ambanja, which both are part of the Betsiboka River drainage. Erroneously, the name P. petiti has often been applied to members of a different species, P. dambabe. The specific name honours the French zoologist and anatomist Georges Petit (1892-1973) of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, who collected type.
Ptychochromis loisellei is a species of cichlid from the Mahanara River basin north of Sambava in northeastern Madagascar. It remains common within its small range, but it is threatened by habitat loss and introduced species. It reaches about 11.9 centimetres (4.7 in). The similar named Paretroplus loisellei is also restricted to the Mahanara River basin. The specific name honours Paul V. Loiselle, Emeritus Curator of Freshwater Fishes at the New York Aquarium and a researcher in, and campaigner for the conservation of, the freshwater fish of Madagascar.
Rheocles derhami is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Bedotiinae, the Madagascar rainbowfishes. It is endemic to the Ambalona River and Mangarahar River in Madagascar. Its natural habitat is rivers. It was described by Melanie Stiassny and Damaris Rodriguez in 1992 and was named in honour of the Swiss conservationist Patrick De Rham.
Rheocles sikorae is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Bedotiinae, the Madagascar rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Madagascar where found in tropical rivers and streams. It can reach the maximum recorded length of 11.5 cm (4.5 in).
Rheocles wrightae, is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Bedotiinae, the Madagascar rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Madagascar where its occurs in the Manambola River, near Anosibe. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was described by Melanie Stiassny in 1990 from a type locality given as "Sandrangato River, south of Moramanga". The specific name honours the American primatologist Patricia Wright.
Teramulus kieneri, the Keiner's silverside or vily, is a species of silverside endemic to Madagascar where it is found in rivers around on the eastern coast. This species was described by J.L.B. Smith in 1965 with the type locality given as the coastal swamps near Tamatave. It has since been found in other areas of the island, including the basin of the Nosivolo River and in the Bemarivo River. Smith gave this species the specific name keineri to honour the French fisheries scientist, André Kiener, who assisted in the collection of the type in 1961, although it was initially reported as Atherinomorus duodecimalis. It is the type species of the genus Teramulus.
Teramulus waterloti is a species of silverside from the subfamily Atherinomorinae which is endemic to Madagascar. This species occurs in rivers, creeks, and streams in north western Madagascar from the Mananjeba River south to the Anjingo River. The IUCN classify this species as Endangered and it is threatened by deforestation which degrades its habitat through sedimentation and by the introduction of invasive fish species such as Channa maculata. This fish was described in 1932 as the subspecies waterloti of Atherina duodecimalis by Jacques Pellegrin who named it after Georges Waterlot (1877-1939), a collector of specimens in Africa and Madagascar for Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, including the type of this species, which he collected from Antikotazo Creek, District d'Ambilobé, Diégo Suarez Province.
Typhleotris pauliani is a critically endangered species of fish in the family Milyeringidae that is endemic to Madagascar, where it is only known from a few caves and sinkholes in the southwestern portion of the island. This blind cavefish lacks pigmentation and can reach a standard length of 7.1 cm (2.8 in). It feeds on invertebrates and guano. Part of its range receive some protection, but the species is threatened by disturbance from recreational activities and collectors of guano. The specific name honours the French entomologist and former deputy director of the Institut de recherche pour le développement in Madagascar, Renaud Paulian (1913-2003), who collected the type specimens as well as contributing a lot to the knowledge of the biogeography of the western Indian Ocean.
Thalassophryne maculosa, the Cano toadfish, is a species of toadfish which is common along the Caribbean coasts of South America from Colombia to Trinidad and Venezuela. It occurs on the sandy bottoms of reef flats, lagoons, and seaward edges of reefs where it sits partially buried in the substrate. It is a venomous species with the venom being delivered through spines and wounds from the spines have been known to cause severe symptoms of pain and illness that may persist for up to a week. A study of the holotype of Batrachus uranoscopus, said to be a freshwater toadfish from Madagascar, in the Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris found that it was most probably a misslabelled specimen of Thalassophryne maculosa and that subsequent records of Batrachus uranoscopus were attributable to Allenbatrachus meridionalis, a species found in Madagascar. T. maculosa is the type species of the genus Thalassophryne, the generic name translates from Greek as "sea toad" while the specific name is Latin for "spotted".
Agonostomus catalai, the Comoro mullet, is a species of ray-finned fish, a mullet from the family Mugilidae. It is found in the Comoros and Madagascar where it is found in boulder strewn clear, fast flowing rivers, it may also occur in estuaries, It is eaten in Madagascar. The specific name honours René Catala (1901-1988) who was a coffee planter and biologist who collected type in Madagascar. It lays non adhesive, floating eggs.
