The Aulopidae are a small family of aulopiform

Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes is an order of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families with about 45 genera and over 230 species. The common names grinners, lizardfishes and allies or aulopiforms are sometimes used for this group...

 fish, containing the single genus Aulopus. They are found in most tropical and subtropical oceans, being absent only in the eastern Pacific and commonly known as flagfins.

The aulopids resemble lizardfishes in appearance, and range up to 60 centimetres (23.6 in) in length. They have large dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

s, the first ray of which is greatly extended in the males. A unique identifying characteristic is the presence of two additional bones (the supramaxillae) in the upper jaw. They are bottom-dwelling fish, living at depths of up to 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft).

Species

The family and genus contains eleven species:

Family Aulopidae

• Genus Aulopus
  • Aulopus bajacali - Eastern Pacific flagfin
  • Aulopus cadenati - Guinean flagfin
  • Aulopus curtirostris - Shortsnout threadsail
  • Aulopus damasi
  • Aulopus diactithrix
  • Aulopus filamentosus - Royal flagfin
  • Aulopus formosanus
  • Aulopus japonicus - Japanese thread-sail fish
  • Aulopus microps
  • Aulopus milesii
  • Aulopus purpurissatus - Sergeant baker