Peristediidae, the armored sea robins or armoured gurnards, is a family of Actinopterygii belonging to the suborder Platycephaloidei in the order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the deep water in the tropical and warm temperate of the world's oceans.
Taxonomy
Peristediidae was first proposed as a family in 1883 by the American
David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert.
[ The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the family within the Platycephaloidei, which is a suborder of the order Scorpaeniformes.]
Genera
The family Peristediidae is classified into about 45 species in 6 genera:[
]
Taxonomists working on the armoured gurnards have found that the family is monophyletic and that it divides into two Clade, one consisting of only the genus Peristedion and the other 5 genera making up the other clade.
Etymology
Peristediidae takes its name from the genus Peristedion which is a combination of peri, meaning "around", and stedion, which is a diminutive of stethos, which is Greek for "breast" or "chest", an allusion to the bony plates lining the underside of the body, similar to a plastron, the feature Lacépède use to distinguish Peristidion from Trigla.
Characteristics
Peristediidae fishes have the body encased in 4 rows of thick scutes, each plate is spined, on each side of the body. The mouth is under the snout with barbels on the lower jaw. Each of the preorbitals have a forward pointing projection.[ The smallest species in the family is Peristedion paucibarbiger which has a maximum published standard length of while the largest species is the black-finned armoured-gurnard ( Satyrichthys moluccensis) which has a maximum standard length of .]
Distribution and habitat
Peristediidae fishes are found in the warmer waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.[ These fishes are found on continental or insular slopes, typically at depths greater than .]
