The poachers are a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 (Agonidae) of small bottom-dwelling cold-water marine fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

. They are also known as alligatorfishes, starsnouts, hooknoses, and rockheads. Poachers are notable for having elongated bodies covered by scales modified into bony plates, and for using their large pectoral fins to move in short bursts. The family includes about 47 species in some 20 genera, some of which are quite widespread.

The pelvic fins are nearly vestigial, typically consisting of one small spine and a couple of rays. The swim bladder is not present.

At 42 centimetres (16.5 in) in length, the dragon poacher Percis japonica is the largest member of the family, while the pixie poacher Occella impi is only 2 centimetre (0.78740157480315 in) long as an adult; most are in the 20-30 cm range.

Poachers generally feed on small crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s and marine worm

Marine worm

Any worm that lives in a marine environment is considered a marine worm. Marine worms are found in several different phyla, including the Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida , Chaetognatha, Hemichordata, and Phoronida....

s found on the bottom. Some species camouflage

Camouflage

Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

 themselves with hydras

Hydra (genus)

Hydra is a genus of simple fresh-water animal possessing radial symmetry. Hydras are predatory animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa. They can be found in most unpolluted fresh-water ponds, lakes, and streams in the temperate and tropical regions and can be found by...

, sponge

Sea sponge

Sponges are animals of the phylum Porifera . Their bodies consist of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells. While all animals have unspecialized cells that can transform into specialized cells, sponges are unique in having some specialized cells, but can also have...

s, or seaweed

Seaweed

Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...

. They live at up to 1280 metres (4,199.5 ft) depth, with only a few species preferring shallower, coastal waters. All but one species are restricted to the northern hemisphere.

Species

• Genus Agonomalus
  • Agonomalus jordani Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Starks, 1904.
  • Kelp poacher, Agonomalus mozinoi Wilimovsky & Wilson, 1979.
  • Agonomalus proboscidalis (Valenciennes
    Achille Valenciennes
    Achille Valenciennes was a French zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology...
    
    , 1858).
• Genus Agonopsis
  • Agonopsis asperoculis Thompson, 1916.
  • Agonopsis chiloensis (Jenyns, 1840).
  • Southern spearnose poacher, Agonopsis sterletus (Gilbert, 1898).
  • Northern spearnose poacher, Agonopsis vulsa (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Gilbert, 1880).
• Genus Agonus
  • Hooknose (fish), Agonus cataphractus (Linnaeus
    Carolus Linnaeus
    Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
    
    , 1758).

• Genus Anoplagonus
  • Smooth alligatorfish, Anoplagonus inermis (Günther, 1860).
  • Anoplagonus occidentalis Lindberg, 1950.
• Genus Aspidophoroides
  • Aleutian alligatorfish, Aspidophoroides bartoni Gilbert, 1896.
  • Alligatorfish, Aspidophoroides monopterygius (Bloch
    Marcus Elieser Bloch
    Marcus Elieser Bloch was a German medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century.- Life :...
    
    , 1786).
• Genus Bathyagonus
  • Gray starsnout, Bathyagonus alascanus (Gilbert, 1896).
  • Spinycheek starsnout, Bathyagonus infraspinatus (Gilbert, 1904).
  • Blackfin poacher, Bathyagonus nigripinnis Gilbert, 1890.
  • Bigeye poacher, Bathyagonus pentacanthus (Gilbert, 1890).
• Genus Bothragonus
  • Bothragonus occidentalis (Lindberg, 1950).
  • Rockhead, Bothragonus swanii (Steindachner
    Franz Steindachner
    Franz Steindachner was an Austrian zoologist.- Work and career :Being interested in natural history, Steindachner took up the study of fossil fishes on the recommendation of his friend Eduard Suess...
    
    , 1876).
• Genus Brachyopsis
  • Brachyopsis segaliensis (Tilesius, 1809).
• Genus Chesnonia
  • Warty poacher, Chesnonia verrucosa (Lockington, 1880).
• Genus Freemanichthys
  • Freemanichthys thompsoni (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Gilbert, 1898).
• Genus Hypsagonus
  • Hypsagonus corniger Taranetz, 1933.
  • Fourhorn poacher, Hypsagonus quadricornis (Cuvier
    Georges Cuvier
    Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
    
    , 1829).
• Genus Leptagonus
  • Atlantic poacher, Leptagonus decagonus (Bloch
    Marcus Elieser Bloch
    Marcus Elieser Bloch was a German medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologists of the 18th century.- Life :...
    
     & Schneider
    Johann Gottlob Schneider
    Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German classicist and naturalist.-Biography:Schneider was born at Collm in Saxony...
    
    , 1801).
• Genus Occella
  • Bering poacher, Occella dodecaedron (Tilesius, 1813).
  • Occella iburia (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Starks, 1904).
  • Occella kasawae (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Hubbs, 1925).
  • Occella kuronumai (Freeman, 1951).
• Genus Odontopyxis
  • Pygmy poacher, Odontopyxis trispinosa Lockington, 1880.
• Genus Pallasina
  • Tubenose poacher, Pallasina barbata (Steindachner
    Franz Steindachner
    Franz Steindachner was an Austrian zoologist.- Work and career :Being interested in natural history, Steindachner took up the study of fossil fishes on the recommendation of his friend Eduard Suess...
    
    , 1876).
• Genus Percis
  • Dragon poacher, Percis japonica (Pallas
    Peter Simon Pallas
    Peter Simon Pallas was a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia.- Life and work :Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery Simon Pallas. He studied with private tutors and took an interest in natural history, later attending the University of Halle and the University...
    
    , 1769).
  • Percis matsuii Matsubara, 1936.
• Genus Podothecus
  • Sturgeon poacher, Podothecus accipenserinus (Tilesius, 1813).
  • Podothecus hamlini Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Gilbert, 1898.
  • Podothecus sachi (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Snyder, 1901).
  • Podothecus sturioides (Guichenot, 1869).
  • Podothecus veternus Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Starks, 1895.
• Genus Sarritor
  • Sawback poacher, Sarritor frenatus (Gilbert, 1896).
  • Sarritor knipowitschi Lindberg & Andriasev, 1937.
  • Longnose poacher, Sarritor leptorhynchus (Gilbert, 1896).
• Genus Stellerina
  • Pricklebreast poacher, Stellerina xyosterna (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Gilbert, 1880).
• Genus Tilesina
  • Tilesina gibbosa Schmidt, 1904.
• Genus Ulcina
  • Arctic alligatorfish, Ulcina olrikii (Lütken, 1876).
• Genus Xeneretmus
  • Blacktip poacher, Xeneretmus latifrons (Gilbert, 1890).
  • Smooth-eye poacher, Xeneretmus leiops Gilbert, 1915.
  • Stripefin poacher, Xeneretmus ritteri Gilbert, 1915.
  • Bluespotted poacher, Xeneretmus triacanthus (Gilbert, 1890).