Hemitripteridae
family of fishes
The Hemitripteridae is a family of the perciform clade Cottoidei, known as sea ravens. They are bottom-dwelling fish that feed on small invertebrates, found in the northwest Atlantic and north Pacific Oceans. They are covered in small spines (modified scales).
Taxonomy
The sea raven subfamily Hemitripterinae was first proposed as a taxonomic grouping in 1872 by the American biologist Theodore Gill. It was later treated as a family, the Hemitripteridae, within the Cottoidea superfamily, but phylogenetic analyses in the 21st century placed the grouping within the family Agonidae. However, a 2026 study found it to form a distinct clade together with Hemilepidotus and Nautichthys, and morphologically distinct enough to deserve its own family.
Genera
The following three genera are classified within the family Hemitripteridae:
Blepsias Cuvier, 1829
Hemitripterus Cuvier, 1829
The fossil genus †Hemitripterella Nazarkin, 1999 is known from the Middle Miocene of Sakhalin, Russia.
Characteristics
Hemitripterid species are called sea ravens because early zoologists posited that their large pectoral fins may be used to fly in the air. Another name is sailfin sculpins, referring to their tall dorsal fins, in particular the very tall first dorsal fin of Nautichthys oculofasciatus. Their head and body are clothed with tiny "prickles", these being modified, platelike scales each having one spine which is covered in skin.
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