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The Lizardfishes are a family, the Synodontidae, of aulopiform
Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes is an order of ray-finned fish consisting of thirteen living families of marine fish. They are grouped together because of common features in the structure of their gill arches....
 fish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world.

Lizardfishes are generally small fish, although the largest species are about long. They have slender, somewhat cylindrical bodies, and heads that resemble those of lizard
Lizard

Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
s. The dorsal fin
Dorsal fin

A wikt:dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of some fish, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the ichthyosaurs. Its main purpose is to stabilize the animal against rolling and assist in sudden turns....
 is located in the middle of the back, and accompanied by a small adipose fin placed closer to the tail.






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The Lizardfishes are a family, the Synodontidae, of aulopiform
Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes is an order of ray-finned fish consisting of thirteen living families of marine fish. They are grouped together because of common features in the structure of their gill arches....
 fish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world.

Lizardfishes are generally small fish, although the largest species are about long. They have slender, somewhat cylindrical bodies, and heads that resemble those of lizard
Lizard

Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
s. The dorsal fin
Dorsal fin

A wikt:dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of some fish, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the ichthyosaurs. Its main purpose is to stabilize the animal against rolling and assist in sudden turns....
 is located in the middle of the back, and accompanied by a small adipose fin placed closer to the tail. They have mouths full of sharp teeth, even on the tongue.

They are bottom-dwelling fish, living in shallow coastal waters; even the deepest dwelling lizardfish lives in waters no more than . Some species in the subfamily Harpadontinae even live in brackish estuaries. They prefer sandy environments, and typically have body colours that help to camouflage them in such environments.

The larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of lizardfishes are free-swimming. They are distinguished by the presence of black blotches in their guts, clearly visible through their transparent, scale-less, skin.

Species

There are 67 species, grouped into four genera:

Family Synodontidae
  • Subfamily Synodontinae
    • Genus Synodus
      Synodus

      Synodus is a genus in the lizardfish family , with 37 species....
      • Synodus amaranthus Waples & Randall, 1988
      • Two-spot lizard fish, Synodus binotatus Schultz, 1953
      • Capricorn lizardfish, Synodus capricornis Cressey & Randall, 1978
      • Sand lizardfish, Synodus dermatogenys Fowler, 1912
      • Arrowtooth lizardfish
        Arrowtooth lizardfish

        The arrowtooth lizardfish, Synodus doaki, is a lizardfish of the family Synodontidae, found in the indo-Pacific oceans, at depths of between 9 and 200 m....
        , Synodus doaki Russell & Cressey, 1979
      • Engleman's lizardfish, Synodus englemani Schultz, 1953
      • Inotted lizardfish, Synodus evermanni Jordan & Bollman, 1890
      • Synodus falcatus Waples & Randall, 1988
      • Inshore lizardfish
        Inshore lizardfish

        The Inshore Lizardfish is a species of lizardfish that inhabits the east coast of the Americas. In shape they are elongated and can grow to 16 inches in length....
        , Synodus foetens (Linnaeus, 1766)
      • Synodus fuscus Tanaka, 1917
      • Synodus gibbsi Cressey, 1981
      • Blackear lizardfish, Synodus hoshinonis Tanaka, 1917
      • Indian lizardfish, Synodus indicus (Day, 1873)
      • Sand diver, Synodus intermedius (Spix & Agassiz, 1829)
      • Lighthouse lizardfish, Synodus jaculum Russell & Cressey, 1979
      • Synodus janus Waples & Randall, 1988
      • Gunther's lizard fish, Synodus kaianus (Günther, 1880)
      • Sauro lizardfish, Synodus lacertinus Gilbert, 1890
      • Synodus lobeli Waples & Randall, 1988
      • California lizardfish, Synodus lucioceps (Ayres, 1855)
      • Synodus macrocephalus Cressey, 1981
      • Triplecross lizardfish, Synodus macrops Tanaka, 1917
      • Lizardfish, Synodus marchenae Hildebrand, 1946
      • Synodus mascarensis
      • Synodus oculeus Cressey, 1981
      • Synodus orientalis
      • Offshore lizardfish, Synodus poeyi Jordan, 1887
      • Synodus randalli Cressey, 1981
      • Redmarbled lizardfish, Synodus rubromarmoratus Russell & Cressey, 1979
      • Speartoothed grinner, Synodus sageneus Waite, 1905
      • Atlantic lizardfish, Synodus saurus (Linnaeus, 1758)
      • Shorthead lizardfish, Synodus scituliceps Jordan & Gilbert, 1882
      • Sechura lizardfish, Synodus sechurae Hildebrand, 1946
      • Lavender lizardfish
        Lavender lizardfish

        The lavender lizardfish, Synodus similis, is a lizardfish of the family Synodontidae, found in the western Pacific including Japan, north eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island, and northern New Zealand, at depths down to 75 m....
        , Synodus similis McCulloch, 1921
      • Diamond lizardfish, Synodus synodus (Linnaeus, 1758)
      • Synodus tectus Cressey, 1981
      • Red lizard fish, Synodus ulae Schultz, 1953
      • Synodus usitatus Cressey, 1981
      • Variegated lizardfish
        Variegated lizardfish

        The variegated lizardfish, Synodus variegatus, is a lizardfish of the family Synodontidae, found in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean, at depths from 4 m to 90 m....
        , Synodus variegatus (Lacepède, 1803)
    • Genus Trachinocephalus
      • Snakefish
        Snakefish

        Snakefish is a colloquial term used for a number of species of fish that resemble snakes. Trachinocephalus myops, native to parts of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in particular is known by this name....
        , Trachinocephalus myops
        Trachinocephalus myops

        Trachinocephalus myops is a marine biology fish. It is a member of the lizardfish family and sometimes known as the snakefish and is the sole member of its genus....
         (Forster, 1801)
  • Subfamuly Harpadontinae
    • Genus Harpadon - Bombay Duck
      Bombay duck

      The Bombay duck or bummalo is, despite its name, not a duck but a lizardfish. It is native to the waters between Mumbai and Kutch in the Arabian Sea, and a small number are also found in the Bay of Bengal....
      s
      • Harpadon erythraeus Klausewitz, 1983
      • Harpadon microchir Günther, 1878
      • Bombay duck, Harpadon nehereus
        Bombay duck

        The Bombay duck or bummalo is, despite its name, not a duck but a lizardfish. It is native to the waters between Mumbai and Kutch in the Arabian Sea, and a small number are also found in the Bay of Bengal....
         (Hamilton, 1822)
      • Harpadon squamosus (Alcock, 1891)
      • Glassy Bombay Duck, Harpadon translucens Saville-Kent, 1889
    • Genus Saurida
      Saurida

      Saurida is a genus of prehistoric fish....
      • Shortfin saury, Saurida argentea Macleay, 1881
      • Brazilian lizardfish, Saurida brasiliensis Norman, 1935
      • Smallscale lizardfish, Saurida caribbaea Breder, 1927
      • Slender lizardfish, Saurida elongata (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846)
      • Saurida filamentosa Ogilby, 1910
      • Orangemouth lizardfish, Saurida flamma Waples, 1982
      • Gracile lizardfish, Saurida gracilis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
      • Grey saury, Saurida grandisquamis Günther, 1864
      • Shortjaw saury, Saurida isarankurai Shindo & Yamada, 1972
      • Longfin lizardfish, Saurida longimanus Norman, 1939
      • Saurida microlepis Wu & Wang, 1931
      • Shortfin lizardfish, Saurida micropectoralis Shindo & Yamada, 1972
      • Clouded lizardfish, Saurida nebulosa Valenciennes, 1850
      • Shortjaw lizardfish, Saurida normani Longley, 1935
      • Saurida pseudotumbil Dutt & Sagar, 1981
      • Suspicious lizardfish, Saurida suspicio Breder, 1927
      • Greater lizardfish, Saurida tumbil (Bloch, 1795)
      • Saurida umeyoshii Inoue & Nakabo, 2006.
      • Brushtooth lizardfish, Saurida undosquamis (Richardson, 1848)
      • Wanieso lizardfish, Saurida wanieso Shindo & Yamada, 1972

See also

  • USS Lizardfish (a US submarine)