Lophiiformes; anglerfishes
Sturgeon
An order of bony fish. There are 4 suborders, 16 families, 65 genera and 297 species. All are marine fish, and most species live in the deep sea. It is found in the Arctic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The body is flattened or laterally flattened, and the body length can reach 1.2 meters. The skin is bare or densely covered with tiny spines. The first spines of the first dorsal fin, if present, are independent free spines, located on the head and specialized as kissing tentacles. At the end of the kissing tentacles are cortical spike-like baits that are used to lure other animals. The ventral fin, if present, is located in front of the pectoral fin and has 1 fin spine and 4 to 5 fins. The second dorsal and fins are basal short. The pectoral fin has 2 to 4 slender fin bones. Gill foramen are small, close to or later at the base of the pectoral fin. Gill lid strips 5 to 6.
Batfish
The 4 suborders are: (1) Suborder Trout. It has ventral fins and gills, and has no scales. Only 1 family of troutidae is a marine fish. The kissing tentacles have a fleshy protrusion that moves like a small flag, luring small fish to prey near its large mouth. There are 4 genera and 25 species worldwide. Commonly seen are black trout, brown trout, and broad gill. (2) Suborder Dracopods. It has a ventral fin and the pectoral fin muscles are arm-shaped. The body is scaleless and has small skin spines. There are gills. Most species are demersal fish , with only gymnods living in the ocean sargasso. There are 47 species in 3 families and 15 genera. It is found in all tropical and subtropical seas. (3) Suborder Batfish. The body is flattened , with shorter snouts and no other hard spiny fins. The mouth is nearly horizontal. The batfish family is found in all tropical and subtropical seas. There are only 62 species in 9 genera of batfish. Such as echinocarp, batfish, double gill gill and so on. (4) Suborder Horned Trout. There are no ventral fins, no gills, no scales, and often small spines or bone plates. The hypopharyngeal bone degenerates without teeth. Only females have kissing tentacles, and often have a light emitter at the apex. Hermaphroditic, the male is small and parasitizes the female. Living in the deep sea. It is found in all tropical and subtropical seas. There are about 149 species in 11 families and 35 genera. Such as the black-horned catfish family, the whip-crowned fish family, the two-horned catfish family, the dream horned catfish family and so on.
The sturgeon fish living in shallow seas have certain economic value, and those living in the deep sea are generally not eaten and have no economic value due to their small numbers.
Excerpt from: The Encyclopedia of China (2nd Edition), Volume 1, Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, 2009