Synodontidae

{{Short description|Family of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Lizardfishes | image = Synodus intermedius.jpg | image_caption = ''Synodus intermedius'' | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Eocene|recent}}<ref name=Fish>{{FishBase_family|family=Synodontidae|year=2008|month=December}}</ref> | taxon = Synodontidae | authority = T. N. Gill, 1862 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = * ''Harpadon'' * ''Saurida'' * ''Synodus'' * ''Trachinocephalus'' | synonyms = Harpadontidae }}

The '''Synodontidae''' or '''lizardfishes'''<ref group=note>(or '''typical lizardfish''' to distinguish them from the Bathysauridae and Pseudotrichonotidae)</ref> are benthic (bottom-dwelling) marine and estuarine bony fishes that belong to the aulopiform fish order, a diverse group of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world.

Lizardfishes are generally small, although the largest species measures about {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. They have slender, somewhat cylindrical bodies, and heads that superficially resemble those of lizards. The dorsal fin is located in the middle of the back, and accompanied by a small adipose fin placed closer to the tail.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Johnson, R.K. |author2=Eschmeyer, W.N. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 123–124|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}</ref> They have mouths full of sharp teeth, even on the tongue.<ref name=Fish/>

Lizardfishes are benthic animals that live in shallow coastal waters; even the deepest-dwelling species of lizardfish live in waters no more than {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep. Some species in the subfamily Harpadontinae live in brackish estuaries. They prefer sandy environments, and typically have body colours that help to camouflage them in such environments.<ref name=EoF/>

The larvae of lizardfishes are free-swimming. They are distinguished by the presence of black blotches in their guts, clearly visible through their transparent, scaleless skin.

==Taxonomy== Three genera of the Synodontidae are known to inhabit the western Atlantic, including ''Synodus'', represented by six species, ''Saurida'', represented by four species, and ''Trachinocephalus'', represented by a single species.<ref name="FishBull">{{cite journal | url=http://fishbull.noaa.gov/1112/frable.pdf | title=A New Species of Western Atlantic Lizardfish (Teleostei: Synodontidae: ''Synodus'') and Resurrection of ''Synodus bondi'' Fowler, 1939, as a Valid Species from the Caribbean with Redescriptions of ''S. bondi'', ''S. foetens'' (Linnaeus, 1766), and ''S. intermedius'' (Agassiz, 1829) |author1=Benjamin W. Frable |author2=Carole C. Baldwin |author3=Brendan M. Luther |author4=Lee A. Weigt |name-list-style=amp | journal=Fish. Bull. |date=March 2013 | volume=111 | issue=NMFS Fishery Bulletin | pages=122–146 | doi=10.7755/FB.111.2.2| doi-access=free }}</ref> The six species comprising the genus ''Synodus'' are ''S. intermedius'', ''S. saurus'', ''S. synodus'', ''S. foetens'', ''S. bondi'', and ''S. macrostigmus''.<ref name="FishBull"/> The four species comprising the genus ''Saurida'' are ''S. umeyoshii'', ''S. pseudotumbil'', ''S. undosquamis'', and ''S. tumbil''. The single species of ''Trachinocephalus'' is ''T. myops''. The extinct ''Argillichthys'' is represented only by a single species, ''A. toombsi'', from the Eocene-aged London Clay formation.<ref name="EoF"/>

==See also== * Bombay duck * Deepsea lizardfish * USS ''Lizardfish'' (a US submarine)

==Notes== <references group=note/>

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}

Category:Synodontidae Category:Aulopiformes families Category:Taxa named by Theodore Gill