| Jellynose fishes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||
|
Ateleopus indicus Ateleopus japonicus Ateleopus natalensis Ateleopus purpureus Ateleopus tanabensis Guentherus altivelis Ijimaia antillarum Ijimaia dofleini Ijimaia loppei Ijimaia plicatellus Parateleopus microstomus |
The jellynose fishes are a small order (Ateleopodiformes) of ray-finned fish, consisting of a single family (Ateleopodidae) with about a dozen species in four genera.
Jellynoses are deep-water marine fish. Their skeletons are largely cartilage (thus the name), although they are true teleosts, and not at all related to Chondrichthyes. Heads are large, with a bulbous nose, and the (usually) elongated body tapers towards the tail. Their caudal fins are very small, and merged with long anal fins, and the pelvic fins are single rays, except for Guentherus. Dorsal fins tend to be prominent and placed just behind the head. The species have a range of sizes, the longest reaching 2 meters.
They are found in the Caribbean Sea, eastern Atlantic Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific area. Most of the species are poorly-known, but the highfin tadpole fish Guentherus altivelis is of potential interest for commercial fishing.