Scorpaenoidei is a suborder of

ray-finned fishes Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, part of the order

Scorpaeniformes The Scorpaeniformes are a diverse order of ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei. It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of species, with over 1,320. They are ...

, that includes the scorpionfishes, lionfishes and velvetfishes. This suborder is at its most diverse in the Pacific and Indian Oceans but is also found in the Atlantic Ocean.

Taxonomy

Scorpaenoidei was first named as a suborder in 1899 by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Samuel Garman Samuel Walton Garman (June 5, 1843 – September 30, 1927), or "Garmann" as he sometimes styled himself, was a naturalist/zoologist from Pennsylvania. He became noted as an ichthyologist and herpetologist. Biography Garman was born in Indian ...

as a suborder of the

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

. Some authorities still treat the suborder as being part of the Perciformes but the 5th Edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' recognises the

as a valid order and places this suborder within it. The subfamilies of the family Scorpaenidae are treated as families by some authors. It has been argued by some authors that the suborder is

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

and that a more correct classification is that the grouping, with some differences, be placed on the

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

Scorpaenoidea.

Families and subfamilies

The suborder Scorpaenoidei is classified into

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

and subfamilies in the 5th Edition of ''

'' as follows: Suborder Scorpaenoidei * Family

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

Risso, 1827 (Scorpionfishes) ** Subfamily

Sebastinae Sebastinae is a subfamily of marine fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, rock perches, ocean perches, sea perches, thornyheads, scorpionfishes, sea ruffes and rockcods. De ...

Kaup, 1873 (Rockfishes) *** Tribe

Sebastini Sebastini is a tribe of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae of the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes. Taxonomy Sebastini was first formally recognised as a grouping in 1873 by the German naturalist Johann ...

Kaup, 1873 *** Tribe

Sebastolobini Sebastini is a tribe of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae of the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes. Many species have the common name thornyhead. Taxonomy Sebastolobini was first formally recognised ...

Matsubara, 1943 ** Subfamily

Setarchinae Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, is a small subfamily of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, it is part of the family Scorpaenidae. They are small marine fishes, growing up to 25 cm, and are found in tropical and subtropical wate ...

Matsubara, 1943 ** Subfamily

Neosebastinae Neosebastinae, the gurnard scorpionfishes or gurnard perches, is a small subfamily of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, it is part of the family Scorpaenidae. These fishes are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Several of the species in this fa ...

Matsubara, 1943 ** Subfamily

Scorpaeninae Scorpaeninae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes, it includes the scorpionfishes, the lionfishes and turkeyfishes. They bear venomous spines in the anal, dorsal and pelvic fins which ...

Risso, 1927 (Scorpionfishes and lionfishes) *** Tribe

Scorpaenini Scorpaenini is a tribe of marine ray-finned fishes, one of two tribes in the subfamily Scorpaeninae. This tribe contains the "typical" or "true" scorpionfishes. The taxonomy of the scorpionfishes is in some flux, the 5th Edition of Fishes of the ...

Risso, 1927 *** Tribe

Pteroini Pteroini is a tribe of marine ray-finned fishes, one of two tribes in the subfamily Scorpaeninae. This tribe includes the lionfishes, sawcheek scorpionfishes and turkeyfishes. The taxonomy of the scorpionfishes is in some flux; the 5th Edition o ...

Kaup, 1873 ** Subfamily

Caracanthinae ''Caracanthus'', the coral crouchers, or orbicular velvetfishes, are a genus of ray-finned fishes. They live in coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific. This genus is the only member of the monotypic subfamily Caracanthinae, part of the family ...

Gill, 1885 (Orbicular velvetfishes or coral crouchers) ** Subfamily

Apistinae Apistinae, the wasp scorpionfishes, is a subfamily of venomous, marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and related species. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. T ...

Gill, 1859 (Wasp scorpionfishes) ** Subfamily

Tetraroginae Tetraroginae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as waspfishes or sailback scorpionfishes, belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the W ...

J.L.B. Smith, 1949 (Sailback scorpionfishes or wasp fishes) ** Subfamily Synanceiinae Swainson, 1839 (Stonefishes) *** Tribe

Minoini ''Minous'', is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, it is the only genus in the tribe Minoini, one of the three tribes which are classified within the subfamily Synanceiinae within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relativ ...

Jordan & Starks, 1904 *** Tribe Choridactylini Kaup, 1859 *** Tribe

Synanceiini Synanceiini commonly known as stonefishes, is a tribe of venomous ray-finned fishes classified within the subfamily Synanceiinae, the stonefishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found ...

Swainson 1839 ** Subfamily Plectrogeniinae Fowler, 1938 * Family

Aploactinidae Little velvetfishes or simply velvetfishes are a family, the Aploactinidae, of marine ray-finned fishes classified within the order Scorpaeniformes. They are small fish that have skin with a velvet texture. They live on the sea bottom close to t ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

& Starks, 1904 (Velvetfishes) * Family

Eschmeyeridae ''Easchmeyer nexus'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish; it is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Eschmeyer'' and monogeneric family Eschmeyeridae. This fish is only known from the Pacific Ocean, near Fiji. Taxonomy ''Eschmeyer nexu ...

Mandrytsa, 2001 (the cofish) * Family

Pataecidae The Australian prowfishes are a small family, the Pataecidae, of ray-finned fishes classified within the order Scorpaeniformes. Australian prowfishes are distinguished by a long dorsal fin that begins far forward on the head, forming a "prow" s ...

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, 1872 (Australian prowlfishes) * Family Gnathanacanthidae Gill, 1892 (Red velvetfish) * Family

Congiopodidae Congiopodidae, commonly known as pigfishes, horsefishes and racehorses, is a family of ray-finned fish classified with in the order Scorpaeniformes. These fishes are native to the Southern Hemisphere. Taxonomy Congiopodidae was first formally ...

Gill, 1889 (Racehorses, pigfishes or horsefishes)

Characteristics

Scorpaenoidei is rather varied grouping of around 470 species of moderately-sized fishes which have 24 to 44 vertebrae and the ribs towards the head are either absent or rigidly attached to the spine.

Distribution and habitat

Scorpaenoidei are found in all the tropical and temperate oceans of the world but most species are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The suborder includes benthic and pelagic species and marine and freshwater species.

Venom

Scorpaenoidei contaiuns some of the most

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

ous fish species known, including

lionfish ''Pterois'' is a genus of venomous marine fish, commonly known as lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific. Also called firefish, turkeyfish, tastyfish, or butterfly-cod, it is characterized by conspicuous warning coloration with red, white, crea ...

es, stonefishes and

scorpionfish The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

es.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1144699 Scorpaeniformes Taxa named by Samuel Garman Ray-finned fish suborders