Phylum Chordata Scientific name Zoarcidae Rank Family | ||
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Lower classifications Viviparous eelpout, Ocean pout, Pachycara, Lycenchelys, Bothrocara | ||
Eelpouts
The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance, with elongated bodies and the dorsal and anal fins continuous with the caudal fin. All of the roughly 300 species are marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths.
Contents
They are conventionally placed in the "perciform" assemblage; in fact, the Zoarcoidei seem to be specialized members of the Gasterosteiformes-Scorpaeniformes group of Acanthopterygii.
The largest member of the family is Zoarces americanus, which may reach 1.1 m in length. Other notable family members include Lycodapus and Gymnelus.
Joe goes to the eelpout festival
Genera
This family contains about 61 genera and 300 species:
References
Eelpout Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA