Artedidraconidae

The Artedidraconidae, barbeled plunderfishes, are a family of marine perciform fishes comprising four genera. Artedidraconidae are endemic to deep waters off Antarctica. The operculum carries a hook-shaped spine and four or five hypurals are present. Artedidraconidae have 33 to 41 vertebrae. The name Artedidraconidae is derived from a combination of Artedi (from Peter Artedi, the "father of ichthyology") and the Greek drakōn (δράκων, dragon). A mental barbel is a characteristic of this family; the morphology of this barbel is variable with the species. Species of Artedidraconidae are said to have speciated sympatrically.