A Historical Record of English and Tagalog Names for Common Philippine Fishes

From a 1948 publication of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service¹, we obtain this fairly comprehensive list of both English and Tagalog names for common Philippine fishes. These names were by no means used only in Batangas, although as the writers noted: “In general, names of fishes in the Philippines are more or less localized, sometimes being confined to a single town or barrio.” For example, the flounder or flatfish is called the tatampal in some areas but in some localities in at least the provinces of Quezon and Batangas, some refer to it irreverently as the tampal-puke².

While we the tatampal may be the flounder or flatfish to some, to others the name refers to the mantis shrimp or the aluphiang dagat³. This is why, the authors of the 1948 publication had to write that ”...the difficulty (in compiling an accurate list of local names) has, in the Philippines, become almost insuperable because of the 40 languages and more than 80 dialects⁴ in current usage.”

The reader will also please note that this list was compiled prior to its publication in 1948. Thus, it cannot be discounted that some of the names listed might have changed over time. Nonetheless, this list will provide a useful historical perspective on how the names could have evolved.

A school of fishes.  Image credit: BBC Science Focus.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

W

Y

Notes and references: