Zaproridae

noun

Distribution: North Pacific. Body and head stout and compressed; snout blunt; mouth terminal and large. Dorsal and anal fins high and evenly contoured. Dorsal fin with 54-58 thin, flexible spines. Anal fin with 3 or 4 thin spines and 24-30 soft rays. Caudal fin large and rounded, peduncle short and deep. Pectoral fins large, with 20-25 rays. Pelvic fins and girdle absent. Soft rays of anal, caudal, and pectoral fins branched two, three, or more times. One pair of nostrils (posterior pair absent). Scales small, cycloid, present on body and median fins. Pores of cephalic lateral line canals large and numerous: suborbital 8, preopercular 7, mandibular 4. Trunk lateral line canal absent, up to three incomplete lines of widely spaced superficial neuromasts discernible in fresh specimens. Jaw teeth sharp, uniserial; vomerine and palatine teeth absent. Gill membranes broadly united and free from isthmus. Branchiostegal rays 6. Pyloric caeca numerous (36-77). Swim bladder absent. Vertebrae 61-64. Adults grayish blue to green with white-, yellow-, or pale-blue-rimmed head pores; young fish orange-brown with inconspicuous head pores. Attains total length of 1 m or more. Adults occur near bottom to depth of 675 m or more, juveniles and young adults often taken near surface over deep water. Often found in association with jellyfishes, Juveniles take shelter under the medusae and are often mistaken for medusafish, Icichthys lockingtoni (Centrolophidae).

The family Zaproridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 1 genus and 1 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is anguilliform.