The Ipnopidae (deepsea tripod fishes) are a family of fishes in the order Aulopiformes. They are small, slender fishes, with maximum length ranging from about . They are found in temperate and tropical deep waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. A number of species, especially in the genus ''

Bathypterois ''Bathypterois'' is a genus of deepsea tripod fishes. They are a diverse genus that belong to the greater family Ipnopidae and order Aulopiformes. They are distinguished by having two elongated pelvic fins and an elongated caudal fin, which allo ...

'', have elongated pectoral and

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s. In the case of the tripodfish, '' Bathypterois grallator'', these fins are three times as long as the body — up to a meter in length — and are used for standing on the sea floor. Ipnopids either have tiny eyes, or very large eyes that lack any lens; in either case they have very poor vision and are unable to form an image. Ipnopidae is a species of fish that have adapted to living in the deep. Their skeleton is flatter with reinforced bony heads on its fin rays and its pelvic fins are located through the tips of the pectoral fin rays.“Tripod Fish.” Nature (London), vol. 240, no. 5379, 1972, pp. 284–284.

References

* Taxa named by Theodore Gill Ray-finned fish families {{Aulopiformes-stub