Duckbills are a family, Percophidae, of perciform fishes.

They are found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 and Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

s and in the southwestern and southeastern Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

They are small fishes: the largest species, the Brazilian flathead, Percophis brasiliensis, grows up to about 50 cm, but 10 to 20 cm is more typical.

A few species are fished commercially, including the Brazilian flathead.

Species

• Genus Acanthaphritis
  • Acanthaphritis barbata (Okamura & Kishida, 1963).
  • Acanthaphritis grandisquamis Günther, 1880.
  • Acanthaphritis ozawai (McKay, 1971).
  • Acanthaphritis unoorum Suzuki & Nakabo, 1996.
• Genus Bembrops
  • Duckbill flathead, Bembrops anatirostris
    Bembrops anatirostris
    Bembrops anatirostris, commonly known as a duckbill flathead, is a species of fish in the Percophidae family. It is a deepwater fish typically found at depths between 100–400 meters in Western Atlantic ocean regions. It can grow to a length of 35 centimeters.-References:*M...
    
    Ginsburg, 1955.
  • Bembrops cadenati Das & Nelson, 1996.
  • Bembrops caudimacula Steindachner
    Franz Steindachner
    Franz Steindachner was an Austrian zoologist.- Work and career :Being interested in natural history, Steindachner took up the study of fossil fishes on the recommendation of his friend Eduard Suess...
    
    , 1876.
  • Bembrops curvatura Okada & Suzuki, 1952.
  • Sharpnosed duckbill, Bembrops filifera Gilbert, 1905.
  • Goby flathead, Bembrops gobioides
    Bembrops gobioides
    Bembrops gobioides is a species of fish in the Percophidae family.-References:*A. Alcock and P. K. Talwar , A descriptive catalogue of the Indian deep-sea fishes in the Indian Museum: being a revised account of the deep sea fishes, Baptist Mission Press....
    
    (Goode, 1880).
  • Roundtail duckbill, Bembrops greyi Poll, 1959.
  • Squaretail duckbill, Bembrops heterurus (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1903).
  • Bembrops macromma Ginsburg, 1955.
  • Bembrops magnisquamis Ginsburg, 1955.
  • New Zealand flathead
    New Zealand flathead
    The New Zealand flathead, Bembrops morelandi, is a duckbill of the family Percophidae, subfamily Bembropinae, found only around New Zealand, at depths of between 365 and 395 m. Their length is up to 20 cm.-References:...
    
    , Bembrops morelandi Nelson, 1978.
  • Bembrops nelsoni Thompson & Suttkus, 2002.
  • Bembrops nematopterus Norman, 1939.
  • Ocellate duckbill, Bembrops ocellatus Thompson & Suttkus, 1998.
  • Natal duckbill, Bembrops platyrhynchus (Alcock
    Alfred William Alcock
    Alfred William Alcock was a British physician naturalist and carcinologist.Alcock was the son of a sea-captain, John Alcock in Bombay, India who retired to live in Blackheath...
    
    , 1894).
  • Bembrops quadrisella Thompson & Suttkus, 1998.
  • Bahama duckbill, Bembrops raneyi Thompson & Suttkus, 1998.
• Genus Chrionema
  • Chrionema chlorotaenia McKay, 1971.
  • Chrionema chryseres Gilbert, 1905.
  • Chrionema furunoi Okamura & Yamachi, 1982.
  • Chrionema pallidum Parin, 1990.
  • Chrionema squamentum (Ginsburg, 1955).
  • Chrionema squamiceps Gilbert, 1905.
• Genus Dactylopsaron
  • Dactylopsaron dimorphicum Parin & Belyanina, 1990.
• Genus Enigmapercis
  • Enigmapercis acutirostris Parin, 1990.
  • Broad sandfish, Enigmapercis reducta Whitley, 1936.
• Genus Hemerocoetes
  Hemerocoetes
  Hemerocoetes is a genus of duckbill fishes....
  
  
  • Hemerocoetes artus
    Hemerocoetes artus
    Hemerocoetes artus is a duckbill fish of the genus Hemerocoetes, found only around the subantarctic islands south of New Zealand at depths of between 100 and 600 m. Their length is between 10 and 25 cm.-References:...
    
    Nelson, 1979.
  • Hemerocoetes macrophthalmus
    Hemerocoetes macrophthalmus
    Hemerocoetes macrophthalmus is a duckbill fish of the genus Hemerocoetes, found only around New Zealand, and around the South Island at depths of between 100 and 500 m. Their length is between 10 and 25 cm.-References:...
    
    Regan, 1914.
  • Opalfish
    Opalfish
    The opalfish, Hemerocoetes monopterygius, is a duckbill of the genus Hemerocoetes, found only around New Zealand, at depths of between 5 and 200 m...
    
    , Hemerocoetes monopterygius (Schneider
    Johann Gottlob Schneider
    Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German classicist and naturalist.-Biography:Schneider was born at Collm in Saxony...
    
    , 1801).
  • Hemerocoetes morelandi
    Hemerocoetes morelandi
    Hemerocoetes morelandi is a duckbill fish of the genus Hemerocoetes, found only around New Zealand at depths of between 20 and 100 m. Their length is between 10 and 25 cm.-References:...
    
    (Nelson, 1978).
  • Hemerocoetes pauciradiatus
    Hemerocoetes pauciradiatus
    Hemerocoetes pauciradiatus is a duckbill fish of the genus Hemerocoetes, found only around New Zealand at depths of between 20 and 200 m. Their length is between 10 and 25 cm.-References:...
    
    Regan, 1914.
• Genus Matsubaraea
  • Matsubaraea fusiforme (Fowler, 1943).
• Genus Osopsaron
  • Osopsaron formosensis Kao & Shen, 1985.
  • Osopsaron karlik Parin, 1985.
  • Osopsaron natalensis Nelson, 1982.
  • Osopsaron verecundum (Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Snyder, 1902).
• Genus Percophis
  • Brazilian flathead, Percophis brasiliensis Quoy
    Jean René Constant Quoy
    Jean René Constant Quoy was a French zoologist.Along with Joseph Paul Gaimard he served as naturalist aboard La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey during its circumnavigation of the globe , and the Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville...
    
     & Gaimard
    Joseph Paul Gaimard
    Joseph Paul Gaimard was a French naval surgeon and naturalist.Along with Jean René Constant Quoy he served as naturalist on the ships L'Uranie under Louis de Freycinet 1817-1820, and L'Astrolabe under Jules Dumont d'Urville 1826-1829...
    
    , 1825.
• Genus Pteropsaron
  • Pteropsaron evolans Jordan
    David Starr Jordan
    David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
    
     & Snyder, 1902.
  • Pteropsaron heemstrai Nelson, 1982.
  • Pteropsaron incisum Gilbert, 1905.
• Genus Squamicreedia
  • Obtuse sandfish, Squamicreedia obtusa Rendahl, 1921.