Notacanthiformes

The Notacanthiformes Template:IPAc-en are an order of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, consisting of the families Halosauridae and Notacanthidae (spiny eels).<ref name=FB/>

Fishes of the World (2006) lists it as the suborder Notacanthoidei of Albuliformes.<ref>Template:Cite book </ref> The notacanthiforms are much more eel-like than the albuliforms; for instance, the caudal fin has disappeared.

Fish of the order are found in oceans worldwide, at depths from Template:Convert. They are elongated fish, although not as much so as the true eels, and have various feeding strategies, like hyperbenthic and detritus feeders, epifaunal browsers, and megafaunal croppers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They typically feed on slow-moving or sessile animals, such as molluscs, echinoderms, and sea anemones. Like the true eels, they have a leptocephalus larva that floats in the surface waters before transforming into an adult. Unusually, the larva can often be larger than the adult.<ref name=EoF>Template:Cite book</ref>

Families

Notacanthiformes has the following two families clasified within it:<ref name = ECoF>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Halosauridae Günther, 1866 (Halosaurs)
• Notacanthidae Rafinesque, 1810 (Deep-sea spiny-eels)

References

Template:Notacanthiformes-stub