Alepocephalidae
| Slickheads | |
|---|---|
| California slickhead, Alepocephalus tenebrosus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Superorder: | Alepocephali |
| Order: | Alepocephaliformes |
| Family: | Alepocephalidae Bonaparte, 1846 |
| Genera | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Slickheads, also known as nakedheads or smoothheads, are deep water fishes that belong to the family Alepocephalidae. They are most commonly found in the bathypelagic layer, which is approximately 3000m below the surface. They get their name from the lack of scales on their heads. Similarly, the scientific name is from the Greek ᾰ̓- (a-, "not"); λέπος (lepos, "scale"); and κεφαλή (kephalē, "head"). It has about 22 genera with ca. 96 species.
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