Perciformes
Encyclopedia
The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is one of the largest orders
of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch
-like. They belong to the class
of ray-finned fish
and comprise over 7,000 species
found in almost all aquatic environments. It contains about 155 families, which is the most of any order within the vertebrates. They are also the most variably sized order of vertebrates, ranging from the 7 millimetre (0.275590551181102 in) Schindleria brevipinguis
to the 5 metres (16.4 ft) Makaira
species. They first appeared and diversified in the Late Cretaceous
.
Among well-known members of this group are cichlid
s, sunfish
/bluegill
, damselfish
, bass
, and of course perch
.
, Tetraodontiformes
, and Pleuronectiformes. Of the presently recognized suborders several may be paraphyletic as well.
These are grouped by suborder/superfamily, generally following the text Fishes of the World
.
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
-like. They belong to the class
Class (biology)
In biological classification, class is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, and species, with class fitting between phylum and order...
of ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii
The Actinopterygii or ray-finned fishes constitute a class or sub-class of the bony fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize...
and comprise over 7,000 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
found in almost all aquatic environments. It contains about 155 families, which is the most of any order within the vertebrates. They are also the most variably sized order of vertebrates, ranging from the 7 millimetre (0.275590551181102 in) Schindleria brevipinguis
Schindleria brevipinguis
Schindleria brevipinguis is a species of marine fish in family Schindleriidae of Perciformes. Known as the stout infantfish, it is native to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea....
to the 5 metres (16.4 ft) Makaira
Makaira
Makaira is a genus of marlins and spearfishes. It includes the black, Atlantic blue, and Indo-Pacific blue marlins.- Sustainable consumption :...
species. They first appeared and diversified in the Late Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
.
Among well-known members of this group are cichlid
Cichlid
Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...
s, sunfish
Lepomis
Lepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The most recognizable species of the sixteen in this genus is the Bluegill....
/bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
, damselfish
Damselfish
Damselfish comprise the family Pomacentridae except those of the genera Amphiprion and Premnas. They can grow up to long. While most are marine, a few species inhabit the lower stretches of rivers in freshwater. Damselfish usually have bright colors. in tropical coral reefs, and many of those are...
, bass
Bass (fish)
Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...
, and of course perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
.
Characteristics
The dorsal and anal fins are divided into anterior spiny and posterior soft-rayed portions, which may be partially or completely separated. The pelvic fins usually have one spine and up to five soft rays, positioned unusually far forward under the chin or under the belly. Scales are usually ctenoid, although sometimes they are cycloid or otherwise modified. Various technical characteristics further define the group.Taxonomy
Classification is controversial. As traditionally defined the Perciformes are almost certainly paraphyletic. Other orders that should possibly be included as suborders are the ScorpaeniformesScorpaeniformes
Scorpaeniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, but it has also been called the Scleroparei.They are known as "mail-cheeked" fishes due to their distinguishing characteristic, the suborbital stay: a backwards extension of the third circumorbital bone across the cheek to the preoperculum, to which...
, Tetraodontiformes
Tetraodontiformes
The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived ray-finned fish, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the Perciformes...
, and Pleuronectiformes. Of the presently recognized suborders several may be paraphyletic as well.
These are grouped by suborder/superfamily, generally following the text Fishes of the World
Fishes of the World
Fishes of the World by Joseph S. Nelson is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fourth edition, the work is a comprehensive overview of the 25,000-plus species known to science....
.
- Suborder PercoideiPercoideiPercoidei is one of eighteen suborders of bony fish in the order Perciformes. Many commercially harvested fish species are contained in this suborder, including the snappers, jacks, whitings, groupers, bass, perches and porgies.-Divisions:...
- Superfamily PercoideaPercoideaPercoidea is a superfamily of fish of the order Perciformes....
- AcropomatidaeAcropomatidaeAcropomatidae, also known as the lanternbellies or the temperate ocean-basses, is a family of perciform fish consisting of 33 marine species. Members of Acropoma are notable for having light-emitting organs alongside their undersides...
(temperate ocean-basses) - AmbassidaeAmbassidaeThe Asiatic glassfishes are a family, Ambassidae, of freshwater and marine fishes in the order Perciformes. The species in the family are native to the waters of Asia and Oceania and the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. The family includes eight genera and about fifty species.The family was...
(Asiatic glassfishes) - ApogonidaeApogonidaeCardinalfishes are a family, Apogonidae, of ray-finned fishes. They are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, they are chiefly marine, but some species are found in brackish water...
(cardinalfishes) - Arripidae (Australasian salmon)
- Banjosidae (Banjofish)
- Bathyclupeidae (deepsea herrings)
- Bramidae (pomfrets)
- Callanthiidae (splendid perches)
- CarangidaeCarangidaeCarangidae is a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, and scads.They are marine fish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans...
(jacks, pompanoPompanoPompanos are marine fishes in the Trachinotus genus of the Carangidae family . Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of Carangidae, or the order Perciformes. Their appearance is deep bodied and mackerel-like, typically silver and toothless with a forked tail and...
s) - Caristiidae (manefishes)
- CentracanthidaeCentracanthidaeCentracanthidae is a small family of fishes in the order Perciformes, known as picarels. They are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean. The anal fin has three sharp spines, hence the name, from Greek kentron meaning "sharp point" and akantha meaning "thorn"...
(picarels) - CentrarchidaeCentrarchidaeThe sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
(freshwater sunfishes) - CentropomidaeCentropomidaeThe Centropomidae are a single genus family of freshwater and marine fishes in Order Perciformes, including the common snook or róbalo, Centropomus undecimalis...
(snooks) - Chaetodontidae (butterflyfishes)
- CoryphaenidaeCoryphaenidaeThe Coryphaenidae are a family of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Order Perciformes. The family contains only one genus, Coryphaena, which contains two species, both of which have compressed heads and single dorsal fins that run the entire length of the fish's bodies...
(dolphinfishes) - Dichistiidae (galjoen fishes)
- Dinolestidae (Long-finned Pike)
- DinopercidaeDinopercidaeDinopercidae, also known as the cavebasses, is a family of marine perciform fish consisting of a single species, Dinoperca petersi, which is native to the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Angola....
(Cavebass) - DrepaneidaeDrepaneidaeThe sicklefishes are perciform fishes of the genus Drepane, the only genus in the family Drepaneidae. They are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, and in the eastern Atlantic near Africa...
(sicklefishes) - Echeneidae (remoras)
- EmmelichthyidaeEmmelichthyidaeRovers are a family of small to medium sized marine fish. The family was once much larger, including a wide range of plankton-eating fish, but most of the genera were discovered to be unrelated examples of parallel evolution, and were moved to other families....
(rovers) - Enoplosidae (Old Wife)
- Epigonidae (deepwater cardinalfishes)
- Gerreidae (mojarras)
- Glaucosomatidae (pearl perches)
- Grammatidae (basslets)
- HaemulidaeHaemulidaeThe grunts are a family, Haemulidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are numerous and widespread, with about 150 species in 19 genera, found in tropical fresh, brackish and salt waters around the world...
(grunts) - HowellidaeHowellidaeThe oceanic basslets are a small family of perciform fishes containing three genera and eight species of mostly deep-water, bottom-dwelling fishes:* Genus Bathysphyraenops** Bathysphyraenops declivifrons Fedoryako, 1976...
(oceanic basslets) - Inermiidae (bonnetmouths)
- Kuhliidae (flagtails)
- Kyphosidae (sea chubs)
- Lactariidae (false trevallies)
- Lateolabracidae (Asian seaperches)
- Leiognathidae (ponyfishes)
- Leptobramidae (Beachsalmon)
- LethrinidaeLethrinidaeThe emperor breams or simply emperors also known as pigface breams are a family, Lethrinidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes....
(emperor breams) - Lobotidae (tripletails)
- LutjanidaeLutjanidaeSnappers are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in freshwater. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper....
(snappers) - Malacanthidae (Tilefishes)
- Menidae (Moonfish)
- MonodactylidaeMonodactylidaeThe Monodactylidae is a family of fish within the Perciformes commonly referred to as monos, moonyfishes or fingerfishes. All are strongly laterally compressed with an approximately disc-shaped body and tall anal and dorsal fins. Unusually for fish, there are scales on the dorsal fin and sometimes...
(moonyfishes) - MoronidaeMoronidaeTemperate Bass is in the Family PercichthyidaeHow to know the freshwater fishes Samuel Eddy, James C. Underhill.Moronidae, also known as the "temperate basses", is a family of perciform fish consisting of 6 freshwater and marine species...
(temperate basses) - Mullidae (goatfishes)
- NandidaeNandidaeAsian leaffishes are small freshwater fishes of the Nandidae family, from Southern Asia. There are only four genera in this group.These fish usually have small heads, coloration that appears to have evolved to resemble leaves and very large protractile mouths...
(Asian leaffishes) - Nematistiidae (Roosterfish)
- Nemipteridae (threadfin breams)
- OpistognathidaeOpistognathidaeOpistognathidae , commonly referred to as jawfishes, are classified within Order Perciformes, Suborder Percoidei. They are found throughout shallow reef areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico.Physically similar to blennies, jawfish are generally smaller-sized fish with an...
(jawfishes) - OplegnathidaeOplegnathidaeOplegnathidae is a family of marine fish within the Perciformes commonly known as knifejaws; some species are known as beakfish. It contains a single genus, Oplegnathus. The largest, the Cape knifejaw, can reach a maximum length of about 90 cm . Knifejaws have teeth fused into a parrotlike beak...
(knifejaws) - Ostracoberycidae (shellskin alfonsinos)
- Pempheridae (sweepers)
- Pentacerotidae (armorheads)
- Percichthyidae (temperate perches)
- PercidaePercidaeThe Percidae are a family of perciform fish found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains about 200 species in ten genera...
(perchPerchPerch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
es and dartersDarter (fish)The fish popularly known as darters are small perch-like fish.They inhabit freshwater streams in North America. They are members of the family percidae and include members of the Ammocrypta, Crystallaria, Etheostoma and Percina genera....
) - Plesiopidae (roundheads)
- PolycentridaePolycentridaeLeaffishes are small freshwater fishes of the Polycentridae family, from South America.They usually have large heads, cryptic colors and very large protractile mouths...
(leaffishes) - Polynemidae (threadfins)
- Polyprionidae (wreckfishes)
- Pomacanthidae (marine angelfishes)
- Pomatomidae (Bluefish)
- PriacanthidaePriacanthidaePriacanthidae is a family of fish, common name bigeye, comprising 18 species of marine fishes. "Catalufa" is an alternate common name for some members of the priacanthidae family. The etymology of the scientific name refers to the family's very rough, spined scales...
(bigeyes) - Pseudochromidae (dottybacks)
- Rachycentridae (Cobia)
- SciaenidaeSciaenidaeSciaenidae is a family of fish commonly called drums, croakers, or hardheads for the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make...
(drums) - Scombropidae (gnomefish)
- SerranidaeSerranidaeSerranidae is a large family of fishes, belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species of serranids in 64 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers...
(sea basses, grouperGrouperGroupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
s & relatives) - SillaginidaeSillaginidaeThe Sillaginidae, commonly known as the smelt-whitings, whitings, sillaginids, sand borers and sand-smelts, are a family of benthic coastal marine fishes in the order Perciformes. The smelt-whitings inhabit a wide region covering much of the Indo-Pacific, from the west coast of Africa east to Japan...
(whitings & relatives) - SparidaeSparidaeThe Sparidae is a family of fish, included in the order Perciformes. The fish of the family are commonly called sea breams and porgies . The sheepshead, scup, and red sea bream are species in this family. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters and are bottom-dwelling carnivores....
(sea breams & porgies) - TerapontidaeTerapontidaeGrunters or tigerperches are fishes in the family Terapontidae . They are found in shallow coastal waters in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific, where they live in saltwater, brackish and freshwater habitats...
(grunters) - Toxotidae (archerfishes)
- Acropomatidae
- Superfamily Cirrhitoidea
- AplodactylidaeAplodactylidaeMarblefishes are a family, Aplodactylidae, of perciform fishes. They are native to southern Australia, New Zealand, Peru and Chile.-Species:There are six species in two genera:* Genus Aplodactylus** Aplodactylus arctidens Richardson, 1839....
(marblefishes) - Cheilodactylidae (morwongs)
- Chironemidae (kelpfishes)
- Cirrhitidae (hawkfishes)
- LatridaeLatridaeTrumpeters are a family of perciform fishes, Latridae. They are found in southern waters off Australia, New Zealand, and Chile, where they are fished commercially and for sport...
(trumpeters)
- Aplodactylidae
- Superfamily Cepoloidea
- Cepolidae (bandfishes)
- Superfamily Percoidea
- Suborder Elassomatoidei
- Elassomatidae (pygmy sunfishes)
- Suborder LabroideiLabroideiLabroidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the wrasses, cichlids and parrotfish....
- Cichlidae (cichlids)
- EmbiotocidaeEmbiotocidaeThe surfperches are a family, Embiotocidae, of perciform fishes. They are found in coastal waters of the northern Pacific and grow up to 45 cm long....
(surfperches) - Labridae (wrasses)
- OdacidaeOdacidaeOdacidae is a small family of fishes in the order Perciformes, commonly known as butterfish, cales, and weed-whitings. They are related to the much larger families of the wrasses and parrotfish....
(cales and weed whitings) - PomacentridaePomacentridaePomacentridae are a family of perciform fish, comprising the damselfishes and clownfishes. They are primarily marine, while a few species inhabit freshwater and brackish environments . They are noted for their hardy constitutions and territoriality...
(damselfishDamselfishDamselfish comprise the family Pomacentridae except those of the genera Amphiprion and Premnas. They can grow up to long. While most are marine, a few species inhabit the lower stretches of rivers in freshwater. Damselfish usually have bright colors. in tropical coral reefs, and many of those are...
es) - Scaridae (parrotfishes)
- Suborder ZoarcoideiZoarcoideiZoarcoidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the wolffishes, gunnels and eelpouts....
- AnarhichadidaeAnarhichadidaeThe wolffish are a family, Anarhichadidae, of perciform fish. They are native to cold waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where they live on the continental shelf and slope, to depths of about . They are bottom-feeders, eating hard-shelled invertebrates such as clams, echinoderms...
(wolffishes) - Bathymasteridae (ronquils)
- CryptacanthodidaeCryptacanthodidaeCryptacanthodidae is a family of fish containing a single genus, Cryptacanthodes. There are four species in the genus Cryptacanthodes. This family is also known by the common names risueños, terrassiers and wrymouths.-External links:*...
(wrymouths) - PholidaePholidaeThe gunnels are a family, Pholidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes.They are elongated fishes native to the coasts of the northern Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, where they inhabit intertidal and subtidal waters and eat crustaceans and molluscs.-Species:There are fifteen species in three...
(gunnels) - Ptilichthyidae (Quillfish)
- Scytalinidae (Graveldiver)
- Stichaeidae (pricklebacks)
- Zaproridae (Prowfish)
- Zoarcidae (eelpouts)
- Anarhichadidae
- Suborder NotothenioideiNotothenioideiThe Antarctic icefish belong to the perciform suborder Notothenioidei and are the largely endemic, dominant fish taxa in the cold continental shelf waters surrounding Antarctica. At present, the suborder includes 8 families with 43 genera and 122 species...
(sometimes included in Percoidei)- BathydraconidaeBathydraconidaeThe Antarctic dragonfishes are a family, Bathydraconidae, of deep-sea perciform fishes.They are benthopelagic fishes found in Antarctic waters...
(Antarctic dragonfishes) - Bovichthyidae (thornfishes)
- ChannichthyidaeChannichthyidaeThe crocodile icefish or white-blooded fish are a family of perciform fish found in the cold waters around Antarctica and southern South America. Water temperature can drop below 0°C in the Antarctic sea but stays rather constant. There are sixteen known species of crocodile icefish...
(crocodile icefishes) - HarpagiferidaeHarpagiferidaeHarpagiferidae, also known as Spiny Plunderfishes, are a type of living, vertebrata fish. This fish carries an IUCN Red List status of "Not Evaluated".-References:*http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Harpagiferidae*http://www.eol.org/pages/5315...
(spiny plunderfishes) - NototheniidaeNototheniidaeThe cod icefishes or nothothens are the family Nototheniidae of acanthopterygian fishes, containing about 50 species in 13 genera. They are traditionally placed in the perciform assemblage together with their relatives, but like every lineage in the "Perciformes" their actual relationships are not...
(cod icefishes)
- Bathydraconidae
- Suborder TrachinoideiTrachinoideiTrachinoidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the weeverfish, stargazers and torrent fish....
- Ammodytidae (sand lances)
- Champsodontidae (crocodile toothfishes)
- Cheimarrhichthyidae (Torrent Fish)
- ChiasmodontidaeChiasmodontidaeChiasmodontidae, the snaketooth fishes, is a family of deep-sea fishes in the order Perciformes.-Species:There are 22 species in four genera:* Genus Chiasmodon Johnson, 1864 ** Chiasmodon bolangeri Osório, 1909....
(snaketooth fishes) - Creediidae (sandburrowers)
- Leptoscopidae (southern sandfishes)
- PercophidaePercophidaeDuckbills are a family, Percophidae, of perciform fishes.They are found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and in the southwestern and southeastern Pacific....
(duckbills) - PholidichthyidaePholidichthyidaePholidichthys is a genus of perciform fish which consists of two species of the tropical Pacific Ocean. It is the only genus in the family Pholidichthyidae.-Species:* Pholidichthys anguis Springer & Larson, 1996...
(convict blennies) - Pinguipedidae (sandperches)
- Trachinidae (weeverfishes)
- TrichodontidaeTrichodontidaeThe Trichodontidae, or sandfishes are a small perciform family of fishes that occur in the North Pacific. The family consists of two monotypic genera:* Arctoscopus Jordan and Evermann, 1896...
(sandfishes) - Trichonotidae (sanddivers)
- Uranoscopidae (stargazers)
- Suborder BlennioideiBlennioideiThe common name blenny is ambiguous at best, as it has been applied to several families of perciform marine, brackish and some freshwater fishes all sharing similar morphology and behaviour. There are six families considered "true blennies", all grouped together under the suborder Blennioidei; its...
- Blenniidae (combtooth blennies)
- ChaenopsidaeChaenopsidaeThe blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies and flagblennies: all perciform marine fish. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North to South America...
(pike-, tube- and flagblennies) - Clinidae (clinids)
- Dactyloscopidae (sand stargazers)
- Labrisomidae (labrisomids)
- Tripterygiidae (threefin blennies)
- Suborder Icosteoidei
- Icosteidae (Ragfish)
- Suborder Gobiesocoidei
- GobiesocidaeGobiesocidaeClingfishes are fishes of the family Gobiesocidae. Most species are marine, being found in shallow waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are bottom-dwelling fishes; some species shelter in sea urchins or crinoids.-Description:...
(clingfishes)
- Gobiesocidae
- Suborder CallionymoideiCallionymoideiCallionymoidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the Dragonets....
- Callionymidae (dragonets)
- DraconettidaeDraconettidaeDraconettidae, the slope dragonets, is a small family of fish in the order Perciformes. They are found in temperate to tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. They are closely related to, and appear similar to, the fish of the Callionymidae. They are small fish, the...
(slope dragonets)
- Suborder GobioideiGobioideiGobioidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the gobies....
- EleotridaeEleotridaeSleeper gobies are members of the Eleotridae fish family, found predominantly in the tropical Indo-Pacific. There are approximately 35 genera and 150 species. While many eleotrids pass through a planktonic stage in the sea and some spend their entire lives in the sea, as adults the majority live in...
(sleepers) - Gobiidae (gobies)
- KraemeriidaeKraemeriidaeThe sand darters, family Kraemeriidae, are a small family of fishes containing eight species in two genera in the order Perciformes.Sand darters live in sandy shallow pools. They are found among coral. In breeding coloration the male fish has an occelated spot at the rear of the first dorsal fin....
(sand darters) - Microdesmidae (wormfishes)
- OdontobutidaeOdontobutidaeFreshwater sleepers is a small family of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are native to fresh water rivers flowing into the South China Sea and the northwestern Pacific Ocean.-Species:There are twenty species in six genera:...
(freshwater sleepers) - Ptereleotridae (dartfishes)
- RhyacichthyidaeRhyacichthyidaeThe family Rhyacichthyidae, or loach gobies is a small family of perciform fish that consists of two genera and three species. They inhabit marine and fresh water in Oceania and the eastern Pacific.-Species:*Genus Protogobius...
(loach gobies) - Schindleriidae (infantfishes)
- XenisthmidaeXenisthmidaeCollared Wrigglers are perciform fishes in the family Xenisthmidae. They are native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, where they are mostly reef-dwelling...
(collared wrigglers)
- Eleotridae
- Suborder Kurtoidei
- Kurtidae (nurseryfishes)
- Suborder AcanthuroideiAcanthuroideiAcanthuroidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the surgeonfish and Moorish idol....
- AcanthuridaeAcanthuridaeAcanthuridae is the family of surgeonfishes, tangs, and unicornfishes. The family includes about 80 species in six genera, all of which are marine fish living in tropical seas, usually around coral reefs...
(surgeonfishes) - EphippidaeEphippidaeEphippidae is the fish family containing the spadefishes. There are about eight genera, with a total of 20 species, mostly marine. The most well-known species are probably those in the reef-dwelling genus Platax, the batfishes, which are kept as aquarium fish. They are spade-shaped, laterally...
(spadefishes) - Luvaridae (Louvar)
- ScatophagidaeScatophagidaeThe scats are a small family, Scatophagidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes.They are small fish native to the Indian and western Pacific Ocean that have been popular in the aquarium trade in the last 30 years...
(scats) - Siganidae (rabbitfishes)
- Zanclidae (Moorish Idol)
- Acanthuridae
- Suborder Scombrolabracoidei
- Scombrolabracidae (Longfin Escolar)
- Suborder ScombroideiScombroideiScombroidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the barracuda, tuna, mackerel and swordfish....
- Sphyraenidae (barracudas)
- Gempylidae (snake mackerels)
- Trichiuridae (cutlassfishes)
- ScombridaeScombridaeScombridae is the family of the mackerels, tunas, and bonitos, and thus includes many of the most important and familiar food fishes. The family consists of about 55 species in 15 genera and two subfamilies...
(mackerelMackerelMackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
s and tunaTunaTuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
s) - Xiphiidae (Swordfish)
- Istiophoridae (marlins)
- Suborder StromateoideiStromateoideiStromateoidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the medusafishes, Squaretails and driftfishes which associate with jellyfish, the latter families preying on them while the medusafish use them for protection while scavenging food scraps....
- Amarsipidae (Bagless Glassfish)
- AriommatidaeAriommatidaeAriommatidae is a family of perciform fishes. The family contains a single genus Ariomma.- Species :There are 10 species in a single genus:* Genus Ariomma** Ariomma bondi Fowler, 1930.** Ariomma brevimanus ....
(ariommatids) - Centrolophidae (medusafishes)
- Nomeidae (driftfishes)
- Tetragonuridae (squaretails)
- StromateidaeStromateidaeThe family Stromateidae of butterfishes contains 17 species of fish in 3 genera. Butterfishes live in coastal waters off the Americas, western Africa and in the Indo-Pacific.-Species:* Genus Pampus...
(butterfishes)
- Suborder AnabantoideiAnabantoideiThe Anabantoidei is a suborder of perciform ray-finned freshwater fish distinguished by their possession of a lung-like labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. The fish in the Anabantoidei suborder are known as anabantoids or labyrinth fish...
- Anabantidae (climbing gouramies)
- Osphronemidae (gouramies)
- Helostomatidae (Kissing Gourami)
- Suborder Channoidei
- ChannidaeChannidaeThe Snakeheads are members of the freshwater perciform fish family Channidae, native to Africa and Asia. These elongated predatory fish are distinguished by a long dorsal fin, large mouth and shiny teeth. They breathe air with a suprabranchial organ, a primitive form of a labyrinth organ...
(snakeheads)
- Channidae