Cyclopteroidea is a superfamily of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

es within the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Scorpaeniformes The Scorpaeniformes are a diverse Order (biology), order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei. It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of spec ...

. The superfamily comprises 2 families, the Cyclopteridae, the lumpsuckers, of the cool northern seas and the widespread Liparidae, the snailfishes. A common feature shared by these families is that they typically have the pelvic fins modified to form a disc shaped sucker.

Taxonomy

Cyclopteroidea was first proposed as a taxonomic grouping in 1873 by the American biologist

Theodore Gill Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist, and librarian. Career Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural hist ...

to include the Cycopteridae and the Liparidae as relatives of the

Cottidae The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology ...

. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' classifies the superfamily within the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Cottoidei Cottoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes which, according to the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'', is placed within the order Scorpaeniformes, alongside the scorpionfishes, flatheads, eelpouts, sticklebacks and related fishes. Taxon ...

of the order Scorpaeniformes. Other authorities do not recognise the superfamily and classify the two families, Cyclopteridae and Liparidae, within the

infraorder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between Family_(biology), family and Class_(biology), class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classific ...

Cottales alongside the

sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Perciformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand acros ...

s, within the order

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. ''Perciformes'' means " perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters ( Percidae), and als ...

. An osteological analysis found that the genus '' Bathylutichthys'' was intermediate between the

Psychrolutidae The fish family Psychrolutidae (commonly known as blobfishes, flathead sculpins, or tadpole sculpins) contains over 35 recognized species in 8 genera. This family consists of bottom-dwelling marine sculpins shaped like tadpoles, with large heads ...

and the two families making up the Cyclopteroidea, meaning that those two families would not be supported as a superfamily within the

Families

The following 2 families are classified under Cyclopteroidea: *

Cyclopteridae The Cyclopteridae are a family of marine fishes, commonly known as lumpsuckers or lumpfish, in the order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the cold waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific oceans. The greatest number of species ar ...

Bonaparte, 1831 (Lumpfishes or lumpsuckers) *

Liparidae The snailfishes or sea snails (not to be confused with invertebrate sea snails), are a family of marine ray-finned fishes. These fishes make up the Liparidae, a family classified within the order Scorpaeniformes. Widely distributed from the ...

Gill, 1861 (Snailfishes)

Characteristics

Cyclopteroidea have pelvic fins, if present, that are placed on the thorax and modified into a disc which uses suction to attach to the substrate. They lack

vomerine teeth The vomer (; ) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxillary bones. The vomer forms t ...

. They typically do not possess a

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

and have only a small gill opening.

Distribution and habitat

Cyclopteroidea are widely distributed, especially the snailfishes in the family Liparidae which are found throughout the world's seas and are an important component of the fish fauna of the Southern Ocean and they are found in a wide range of habitats and depths, including very deep water. The lumpsuckers of the family Cyclopteridae are restricted to the cooler waters of the Northern Hemisphere with most species being benthic on the continental shelf and upper continental slop with a few species found in very deep waters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3008569 Cottoidei Taxa named by Theodore Gill