The eelpouts are the

ray-finned fish 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 ...

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

Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

-like in appearance. All of the roughly 300

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts are predominantly found in the Northern Hemisphere. The arctic, north pacific and north Atlantic oceans have the highest concentration of species, however species are found around the globe. They are conventionally placed in the "

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

" assemblage; in fact, the

Zoarcoidei Zoarcoidei is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. The suborder includes the wolffishes, gunnels and eelpouts. The suborder includes about 400 species. These fishes predominantly found in the boreal s ...

seem to be specialized members of the

Gasterosteiformes Gasterosteoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes that includes the sticklebacks and relatives, the 5th edition of '' Fishes of the World'' classifies this suborder within the order Scorpaeniformes. Systematics Gasterosteoidei is treated as ...

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 ...

group of

Acanthopterygii Acanthopterygii (meaning "spiny finned one") is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are sometimes called ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name ...

. The largest member of the family is ''

Zoarces americanus The ocean pout (''Zoarces americanus'') is an eelpout in the family Zoarcidae. It is found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New England and eastern Canada. The fish has antifreeze proteins in its blood, giving it the ability to ...

'', which may reach 1.1 m in length. Other notable genera include ''

Lycodapus Lycodapus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Taxonomy ''Lycodapus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1890 by ...

'' and ''

Gymnelus ''Gymnelus'' is a genus of small fish in the family (biology), family Zoarcidae found in the Arctic Ocean, and adjacent parts of the North Pacific and North Atlantic. They are highly variable in color, which has resulted in the description of sev ...

''.

Taxonomy

The eelpout family was first proposed as the family Zoarchidae in 1839 by the English naturalist William John Swainson but the spelling was changed to Zoarcidae after the spelling of the genus Zoarces was corrected by Theodore Gill in 1861. 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 ...

'' classifies this family within the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

, within the order Scorpaeniformes. Other authorities classify this family in the

infraorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Zoarcales wihin the suborder Cottoidei 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 ...

because removing the Scorpaeniformes from the Perciformes renders that taxon non

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

. ''Fishes of the World'' mentions four subfamilies but does not assign genera to the subfamilies but these were set out in Anderson and Federov's Annotated Checklist and this has been followed by ''

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

'' and ''

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

''.

Subfamilies and genera

The eelpouts are classified into four subfamilies and 61 genera with around 300 species: * subfamily

Gymnelinae Gymnelinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean but one genus is cosmopolitan, and another is endemic to the Southern Ocean. Taxonomy Gymenl ...

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 ...

, 1863 ** ''

Andriashevia ''Andriashevia'' is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamiy Gymnelinae of the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts, its only species is ''Andriasheevia aptera''. It is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where it occ ...

'' Fedorov & Neelov, 1978 ** ''

Barbapellis The moose eelpout (''Barbapellis pterygalces'') is a species of zoarcid fish found in Southern Ocean. This species is only known from a single adult female specimen from off Terre Adélie. This species is the only known member of its genus G ...

'' Iglésias, Dettai & Ozouf-Costaz, 2012 ** '' Bilabria''

Schmidt Schmidt may refer to: * Schmidt (surname), including list of people with the surname * Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer * Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater * Schmidt (Martian crater), a List of craters on ...

, 1936 ** '' Davidijordania'' Popov, 1931 ** '' Ericandersonia'' Shinohara & Sakurai, 2006 ** '' Gymnelopsis'' Soldatov, 1922 ** ''

'' Reinhardt 1834 ** '' Hadropareia'' Schmidt, 1904 ** '' Krusensterniella'' Schmidt, 1904 ** '' Magadanichthys'' Shinohara, Nazarkin & Chereshnev, 2006 ** '' Melanostigma'' Günther, 1881 ** '' Nalbantichthys'' Schultz, 1967 ** '' Opaeophacus''

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

Stein Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to: Places In Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austr ...

, 1984 ** ''

Puzanovia ''Puzanovia'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family (biology), family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The fishes in this genus are found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Species The following species are classified within the ...

'' Fedorov, 1975 ** '' Seleniolycus''

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

, 1988 * subfamily

Lycodinae Lycodinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. These eelpouts are found are in all the world's oceans, with a number of species being found off southern South America. Taxonomy Lycodinae was f ...

Gill, 1861 ** ''

Aiakas ''Aiakas'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae the eelpouts. These fishes are found in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Taxonomy ''Aiakes'' was first proposed as a genus in 1974 by the Argentina based marine ...

'' Gosztonyi, 1977 ** '' Argentinolycus'' Matallanas & Corbella, 2012 ** '' Austrolycus''

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1913 ** '' Bellingshausenia'' Matallanas, 2009 ** '' Bentartia'' Matallanas, 2010 ** '' Bothrocara''

Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

, 1890 ** '' Bothrocarina''

Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Râmnicu Sărat, Rymnik, C ...

, 1935 ** '' Crossostomus'' Lahille, 1908 ** ''

Dadyanos ''Dadyanos'' is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpout The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of t ...

'' Whitley, 1951 ** '' Derepodichthys''

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

, 1896 ** '' Dieidolycus'' Anderson, 1988 ** '' Eucryphycus'' Anderson, 1988 ** '' Exechodontes'' DeWitt, 1977 ** '' Gosztonyia'' Matallanas, 2009 ** '' Hadropogonichthys'' Fedorov, 1982 ** '' Iluocoetes'' Jenyns, 1842 ** '' Japonolycodes'' Shinohara, Sakurai & Machida, 2002 ** '' Letholycus'' Anderson, 1988 ** '' Lycenchelys'' Gill, 1884 ** ''

'' Gilbert, 1890 ** ''

Lycodes ''Lycodes'' is a genus of Zoarcidae, zoarcid fish in the subfamily (biology), subfamily Lycodinae. It is the most species-rich genus in its family (biology), taxonomic family as well as in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters. They occupy both sh ...

'' Reinhardt, 1831 ** '' Lycodichthys''

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. It ...

, 1911 ** '' Lycodonus'' Goode & Bean, 1883 ** '' Lycogrammoides'' Soldatov &

Lindberg Lindberg is a municipality in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany in the immediate neighbourhood of the larger town Zwiesel. Location Lindberg lies in the Danube Forest (''Donau-Wald'') region in the middle of the Bavarian Forest on ...

, 1928 ** '' Lyconema'' Gilbert, 1896 ** '' Maynea''

Cunningham Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people sharing this surname A–C *Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player *Abe Cunningham, American drummer * Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...

, 1871 ** ''

Notolycodes ''Notolycodes'' is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is ''Notolycodes schmidti'' which is found in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean off Brazil and Arge ...

'' Gosztonyi, 1977 ** '' Oidiphorus'' McAllister & Rees 1964 ** '' Ophthalmolycus'' Regan, 1913 ** ''

Pachycara ''Pachycara'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The fishes in this genus are found in the Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Pacific Ocean. Species There are currently 29 recognized species in t ...

'' Zugmayer. 1911 ** '' Patagolycus'' Matallanas & Corbella, 2012 ** '' Petroschmidtia'' Taranetz & Andriashev, 1934 ** '' Phucocoetes'' Jenyns, 1842 ** '' Piedrabuenia'' Gosztonyi, 1977 ** '' Plesienchelys'' Anderson, 1988 ** '' Pogonolycus''

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, 1937 ** ''

Pyrolycus ''Pyrolycus'' is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its three species are found in the Pacific Ocean. Species ''Pyrolycus'' contains 3 species: References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q628893 L ...

'' Machida & Hashimoto, 2002 ** ''

Santelmoa ''Santelmoa'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belongong to the Family (biology), family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the Antarctic in the Southern Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Species ''Santelmoa'' contains ...

'' Matallanas, 2010 ** '' Taranetzella'' Andriashev, 1952 ** '' Thermarces''

Rosenblatt Rosenblatt is a surname of German and Jewish origin, meaning "rose leaf". People with this surname include: * Albert Rosenblatt (born 1936), New York Court of Appeals judge * Dana Rosenblatt, known as "Dangerous" (born 1972), American boxer * Elie ...

& Cohen, 1986 ** '' Zestichthys''

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 ...

& Hubbs, 1925 * subfamily Lycozarcinae Andriashev, 1939 ** '' Lycozoarces'' Popov, 1935 * subfamily

Zoarcinae ''Zoarces'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is the only genus in the subfamily Zoarcinae. These eelpouts are found in the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ''Zoarc ...

Swainson, 1839 ** ''

Zoarces ''Zoarces'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family (biology), family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is the only genus in the subfamily Zoarcinae. These eelpouts are found in the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans. ...

'' Cuvier 1829

Characteristics

The body of eelpouts is relatively elongated and laterally compressed. Their heads are relatively small and ovoid. Juveniles have a more rounded snout and relatively larger eye than adults. Their scales are absent or very small. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvin ...

fins are continuous down their bodies up to their caudal fin. They produce the pigment

vivianite Vivianite () is a hydrated iron phosphate mineral found in a number of geological environments. Small amounts of manganese Mn2+, magnesium Mg and calcium Ca may substitute for iron Fe2+ in the structure.Gaines et al (1997) Dana’s New Minera ...

, which turns their bones green. This feature has no apparent evolutionary function and is harmless. Overall, there is no

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

Biology

Little is known about eelpout populations because they often slip through nets in sampling studies, and because some species live in inaccessibly deep habitats. Species for which trophic ecology has been documented are typically, if not always, benthic scavengers or predators. At least one species has also adapted to able to breathe air when out of water.

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-65.5 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

Pleist. The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:pliocene bar:NAM1 from: -5.332 till: 0 text:

Anarhichas ''Anarhichas'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes or sea wolves. These fishes are found in the northern North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Taxonomy ''Anarhichas'' was first propos ...

color:pleistocene bar:NAM2 from: -2.588 till: 0 text:

Anarrhichthys The wolf eel (''Anarrhichthys ocellatus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolf fishes. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean. Despite its common name and resemblance, it is not a true eel. It ...

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:era from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q300929 * Ray-finned fish families