Epigonidae
Family of ray-finned fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Epigonidae, the deepwater cardinalfishes, are a family of acropomatiform ray-finned fishes. The family includes about 43 species.[3] Despite their name, they are not closely related to the true cardinalfishes of the family Apogonidae.
| Epigonidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bigeye, Epigonus pandionis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acropomatiformes |
| Family: | Epigonidae Poey, 1861[1] |
| Genera[2] | |
|
See text | |
They are small fishes: the largest, Epigonus telescopus, reaches 75 cm (30 in) in length,[4] and most grow to no more than 20 cm (7.9 in) or so.
They are found in temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world. They are bathydemersal fishes (inhabiting deep waters close to the sea bed) and have been found at depths of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).[5]
Fossil epigonid skeletons, tentatively assigned to Epigonus, are known from the earliest Eocene-aged Danata Formation of Turkmenistan.[6]
Timeline
Genera
The following genera are included in the family:[8]
- Brephostoma Alcock, 1889
- Epigonus Rafinesque, 1810
- Florenciella Mead & de Falla, 1965
- Microichthys Rüppell, 1852
- Rosenblattia Mead & de Falla, 1965
- Sphyraenops Gill, 1861