Eelpout
Family of fishes / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Zoarcidae?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the 300 species are marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts are predominantly found in the Northern Hemisphere. The Arctic, north Pacific and north Atlantic oceans have the highest concentration of species; however, species are found around the globe.
Eelpout | |
---|---|
Gymnelus hemifasciatus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
Suborder: | Zoarcoidei |
Family: | Zoarcidae Swainson, 1839[1][2] |
Subfamilies | |
see text |
They are conventionally placed in the "perciform" assemblage; in fact, the Zoarcoidei seem to be specialized members of the Gasterosteiformes-Scorpaeniformes group of Acanthopterygii.[3]
The largest member of the family is Zoarces americanus, which may reach 1.1 m in length. Other notable genera include Lycodapus and Gymnelus.