Slickheads, also known as nakedheads or smoothheads, are deep water fishes that belong to the family Alepocephalidae. They are most commonly found in the bathypelagic layer, which is approximately 3000m below the surface. They get their name from the lack of scales on their heads. Similarly, the scientific name is from the Greek ᾰ̓- (a-, "not"); λέπος (lepos, "scale"); and κεφαλή (kephalē, "head"). It has about 22 genera with ca. 96 species.
Leptochilichthys is a genus of fishes containing four species. Leptochilichthys is the only genus in the former family Leptochilichthyidae but is now included within the broader family Alepocephalidae.
Bajacalifornia is a genus of slickheads. It was described in 1925 by Charles Haskins Townsend and John Treadwell Nichols on the basis of Bajacalifornia burragei which was discovered in 1911 during the deep sea expedition of the research vessel USS Albatross off the coast of Todos Santos Bay at the Baja California peninsula. In 1952 Ichthyologist Albert Eide Parr published a revision of this genus.
Alepocephalus is a genus of slickheads found in all oceans.
Asquamiceps is a genus of slickheads that occurs in all oceans. It is one of nineteen genera in the family Alepocephalidae.
Bathyprion, is a genus of deepwater marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Alepocephalidae, the slickheads. Its only extant species is Bathyprion danae, the fangtooth smooth-head. This species is found in the Atlantic and western Pacific Oceans.
Conocara is a genus of deepwater marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Alepocephalidae, the smooth-heads. These fishes are found in the deeper waters of the Oceans around the world.
Einara is a small genus of slickheads found in the deep waters of the oceans. They can grow to 22 cm (8.7 in) standard length
Leptoderma is a genus of slickheads found in the deep waters of the oceans.
Microphotolepis is a genus of slickheads found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Narcetes is a genus of slickheads. It was formally described by Alfred William Alcock in 1890. It currently contains six described species.
Rouleina is a genus of slickheads. The genus is named for the ichthyologist Louis Roule.
Talismania is a genus of slickheads.
Xenodermichthys is a small genus of slickheads.
Bathylaco is a genus of slickheads found in deep oceanic waters. It is one of nineteen genera in the family Alepocephalidae.
Herwigia is a monospecific genus of deepwater maine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Alepocephalidae, the slickheads. The only species in the genus is Herwigia kreffti, or Krefft's smooth-head, a species found at depths of 1,000 to 3,200 metres in the oceans. This species grows to a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) SL.
Bathytroctes elegans is a species of slickheads (Alepocephalidae). It is found in the Western Indian Ocean.
Murray's smooth-head, also called Murray's slickhead, is a species of fish in the family Alepocephalidae.
The elongate smooth-head, also called the elongate slickhead, is a species of fish in the family Alepocephalidae.
Vaillant's smooth-head is a species of deepwater marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Alepocephalidae, the smooth-heads. This species is found in the Atlantic Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.
