Scorpidinae
| Scorpidinae | |
|---|---|
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| The blue maomao, Scorpis violacea | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Centrarchiformes |
| Suborder: | Terapontoidei |
| Family: | Scorpididae Günther, 1860[1] |
| Genera | |
|
See text | |
The Scorpididae, commonly known as halfmoons, knifefishes, and sweeps, are a family of marine centrarchiform fish in the suborder Terapontoidei.[2] In the past, they were considered a subfamily of the Kyphosidae, but they are now treated as their own family.[3]
They are distributed throughout the Pacific and east Indian Oceans, with species occurring in the waters of North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and numerous islands. Most inhabit the continental shelf in shallow rock and kelp reefs and deeper offshore reefs, whilst others are found well offshore in a pelagic setting. Most of the Scorpidinae are carnivorous, taking a variety of small crustaceans, although some are partly herbivorous. A number of the larger species are fished commercially and recreationally, and are considered good table fish.
Classification
The following classification is based on Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes:[4]
- Bathystethus Gill, 1893
- Labracoglossa Peters, 1866
- Medialuna Jordan & Fesler, 1893
- Scorpis Valenciennes, 1832
The 5th edition of Fishes of the World includes Neoscorpis within the subfamily Scorpidinae[2] but Catalog of Fishes has moved it to Kyphosidae, as the only other genus within it.[4]
References
- ^ Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
- ^ a b J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 440–441. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
- ^ Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpididae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved August 7, 2025.