Trichonotus is a genus of marine perciform fishes in suborder Trachinoidei

Trachinoidei

Trachinoidei is a suborder of the Perciformes, the largest order of fish. The suborder includes the weeverfish, stargazers and torrent fish....

. Trichonotus is the only genus included in the family Trichonotidae. Species of Trichonotus are distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 is Trichonotus setiger.

Description

Trichonotus have a jutting lower jaw. There are five soft rays and one pelvic spine. In males the anterior rays on the 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...

 may be extended. The lateral line

Lateral line

The lateral line is a sense organ in aquatic organisms , used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water. Lateral lines are usually visible as faint lines running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill covers to the base of the tail...

 runs along the middle flank. On the back end of the lateral line scales, there is a deep "V-shaped" notch. The type species is Trichonotus setiger.