Aulopidae

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Aulopiformes
Family:	Aulopidae
Genus:	Aulopus

Species

See Text

The Aulopidae are a small family of aulopiform fish, containing the single genus Aulopus. They are found in most tropical and subtropical oceans, being absent only in the eastern Pacific.

The aulopids resemble lizardfishes in appearance, and range up to 60 centimetres (24 in) in length. They have large dorsal fins, the first ray of which is greatly extended in the males. A unique identifying characteristic is the presence of two additional bones (the supramaxillae) in the upper jaw. They are bottom-dwelling fish, living at depths of up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).[1]

Species

The family and genus contains eleven species:[2]

Family Aulopidae

Genus Aulopus
- Aulopus bajacali - Eastern Pacific flagfin
- Aulopus cadenati - Guinean flagfin
- Aulopus curtirostris - Shortsnout threadsail
- Aulopus damasi
- Aulopus diactithrix
- Aulopus filamentosus - Royal flagfin
- Aulopus formosanus
- Aulopus japonicus - Japanese thread-sail fish
- Aulopus microps
- Aulopus milesii
- Aulopus purpurissatus - Sergeant baker

References

1. ^ Johnson, R.K. & Eschmeyer, W.N. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed.. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 124. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
2. ^ "Aulopidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. December 2008 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2008.