Shrimpfish, also called razorfish, are five small species of marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 fish in the subfamily Centriscinae of the family Centriscidae

Centriscidae

Centriscidae is the family of snipefishes, shrimpfishes, and bellowfishes. A small family, consisting of only about a dozen marine species, they are of an unusual appearance, as reflected by the common names...

. The species in the genera Aeoliscus and Centriscus are found in relatively shallow tropical parts of the Indo-Pacific

Indo-Pacific

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...

, while the banded bellowsfish, which often is placed in the subfamily Macroramphosinae instead, is restricted to deeper southern oceans.

Shrimpfish are nearly transparent and flattened from side to side with long snouts and a sharp-edged belly. A thin, dark stripe runs along its body. It is from this and their shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

-like appearance that their name is derived. They swim in a synchronized manner with their heads pointing downwards. Adult shrimpfish are up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, including their snout. The banded bellowsfish more closely resembles members of the subfamily Macroramphosinae (especially Notopogon) in both behavior and bodyshape, and reaches a length of up to 30 centimetres (11.8 in).

Genera and species

• Genus Aeoliscus
  • Speckled shrimpfish, Aeoliscus punctulatus (Bianconi, 1855)
  • Razorfish, Aeoliscus strigatus
    Aeoliscus strigatus
    Aeoliscus strigatus, also known as the razorfish, is a member of the family Centriscidae of the order Gasterosteiformes. This unique fish adopts a head-down tail-up position as an adaptation for hiding among sea urchin spines....
    
    (Günther, 1861)
• Genus Centriscops
  • Banded bellowsfish
    Banded bellowsfish
    The banded bellowsfish, banded yellowfish, banded snipefish, or bluebanded bellowsfish, Centriscops humerosus, is a species of fish of the family Centriscidae, found in southern oceans at depths of...
    
    , Centriscops humerosus (Richardson, 1846)
• Genus Centriscus
  • Smooth razor-fish, Centriscus cristatus (De Vis, 1885)
  • Grooved razor-fish, Centriscus scutatus Linnaeus, 1758