Beardfish
| Beardfishes Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Stout Beardfish, (P. nobilis) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| (unranked): | Acanthomorpha |
| Order: | Polymixiiformes |
| Family: | Polymixiidae Bleeker, 1859 |
| Type species | |
| Polymixia nobilis R. T. Lowe, 1838 | |
| Families | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
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The beardfishes consist of a single extant genus, Polymixia, of deep-sea marine ray-finned fish named for their pair of long hyoid barbels. They are classified in their own order Polymixiiformes /pɒliˈmɪksi.ɪfɔːrmiːz/. But as Nelson says, "few groups have been shifted back and forth as frequently as this one, and they were recently added to Paracanthoptergii". For instance, they have previously been classified as belonging to the Beryciformes. They are of little economic importance.
They are found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Ocean. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found down to about 800 m (2,600 ft) depth. Most are relatively small fish, although one species, Polymixia berndti, is over 40 cm (16 in) in length.
The earliest fossils are from the Turonian of Canada, from the former Western Interior Seaway.