Caristiidae


Caristiidae, the manefishes, are a family of scombriform ray-finned fishes which today includes 19 extant species distributed in four genera.

Taxonomy

The following genera are known:Caristius Theodore [Nicholas Gill|Gill] & Hugh [McCormick Smith|Smith], 1905Neocaristius Stevenson & Kenaley, 2011Paracaristius Trunov, Kukuev & Parin, 2006Platyberyx Zugmayer, 1911
In addition, the extinct genera Chalcidichthys and Absalomichthys are known from the Late Miocene of Southern California.

Biology

They are deep-sea marine fishes found in the mesopelagic zone that eat siphonophores. An adult manefish is less than 25 cm in length and most of them are entirely black, which helps camouflage them from predators.