Gempylidae
| Gempylidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Oilfish, Ruvettus pretiosus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Suborder: | Scombroidei |
| Family: | Gempylidae T. N. Gill, 1862 |
| Genera[1] | |
| |
The Gempylidae are a family of perciform fishes, commonly known as snake mackerels or escolars. The family includes about 25 species.
They are elongated fishes with a similar appearance to barracudas, having a long dorsal fin, usually with one or finlets trailing it. The largest species, including the snoek, Thyrsites atun, grow up to 2 m long, and the Oilfish can reach 3 m, though they rarely surpass 150 cm. Like the barracudas, they are predators, with fang-like teeth.[2]
They are deep-water benthopelagic fishes, and several species are important commercial and game fishes.
Timeline[]
See also[]
- Euzaphlegidae, an extinct group of relatives from Paleocene to Late Miocene-aged marine strata of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains,[3] India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Italy,[4] and Southern California.[5]
References[]
- ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). "Gempylidae" in FishBase. April 2013 version.
- ^ Johnson, G.D.; Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 190. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ Danilʹchenko, P. G. 1967 Bony fishes of the Maikop deposits of the Caucasus
- ^ Bannikov, ALEXANDRE F. "A new genus and species of putative euzaphlegid fish from the Eocene of Bolca in norther Italy (Periformes, Trichiuroidea)." Studi e Ricerche sui giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, XII Miscellanea Paleontologica 9 (2008): 99-107. [1]
- ^ David, Lore Rose. January 10, 1943. Miocene Fishes of Southern California The Society p 104-115
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gempylidae. |
- Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
- Scientia Marina - Population biology of the roudi escolar Promethichthys prometheus (Gempylidae) off the Canary Islands
- Deep water fish species - Lanzarote
| hide Authority control  | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Other | |
Categories:
- Gempylidae
- Ray-finned fish families