The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains more than 200 species in 11 genera. The perches and their relatives are in this family; well-known species include the walleye, sauger, ruffe, and three species of perch. However, small fish known as darters are also a part of this family.
The common dace is a species of freshwater and brackish water ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae which is native to Europe but which has been introduced to other parts of the world. It is a quarry species for coarse anglers.
The zander, sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Percidae, which also includes perch, ruffe and darter. It is found in freshwater and brackish habitats in western Eurasia. It is a popular game fish and has been introduced to a variety of localities outside its native range. It is the type species of the genus Sander.
The sauger is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye. The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes. It is the most migratory percid species in North America. Saugers have two dorsal fins; the first is spiny and the posterior dorsal fin is soft-rayed. Their paired fins are in the thoracic position and their caudal fin is truncated, which means squared off at the corners, a characteristic of the family Percidae. Another physical characteristic of saugers is their ctenoid scales, which are common in advanced fishes. Saugers have a fusiform body structure, and as a result are well adapted predatory fishes and are capable of swimming into fast currents with minimal drag on their bodies. They may be distinguished from walleyes by the distinctly spotted dorsal fin, by the lack of a white splotch on the caudal fin, by the rough skin over their gills, and by their generally more brassy color, or darker color in some regions. The typical sauger is 300 to 400 g in weight.
The Black Sea sprat or Pontic sprat, Clupeonella cultriventris, is a small fish of the herring family, Clupeidae. It is found in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and rivers of its basins: Danube, Dnister, Dnipro (Ukraine), Southern Bug, Don, Kuban. It has white-grey flesh and silver-grey scales. A typical size is 10 cm. The life span is up to 5 years. The peak of its spawning is in April and it can be found in enormous shoals in sea-shores, filled all-round coastal shallows, moving quickly back into the sea at a depth of 6–30 metres. Used for food; it has around 12% fat in flesh.
Romanichthys is a genus of ray-finned fish, one of two genera in the tribe Romanichthyini, which along with the tribe Luciopercini, forms the subfamily Luciopercinae of the family Percidae, alongside the perches, ruffes, and darters. The genus contains the single species Romanichthys valsanicola, known as the sculpin-perch, asprete, or Romanian darter.
Ammocrypta is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish, commonly known as the sand darters, which is classified in the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae which also includes the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. The species in the genus occur in eastern North America in Canada and the continental United States.
The Pacific staghorn sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Lepidocottus.
The Tasmanian whitebait, also known as the Australian whitebait or Derwent whitebait, is a semi-anadromous osmeriform fish of the family Galaxiidae, found only in Tasmania and southern Victoria, Australia.
Plotosus is a genus of eeltail catfishes native to the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean and New Guinea.
The big-scale sand smelt is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae. It is a euryhaline amphidromous fish, up to 20 cm in length.
Gymnocephalus is a genus of ray-finned fishes from the family Percidae, which includes the perches, pike-perches and darters. They are from the Western Palearctic area, although one species, Gymnocephalus cernua has been accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes region where it is regarded as an invasive species. They have the common name "ruffe" and resemble the true perches in the genus Perca, but are usually smaller and have a different pattern.
Percarina is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Percidae found in eastern Europe. The genus is the only taxon in the monotypic subfamily Percarininae, which is characterised by having the first dorsal fin, having 9-11 spines and being widely separated from the second dorsal fin. They are thought to be closely related both to the perches of the genus Perca and to the ruffes of the genus Gymnocephalus.
The Volga pikeperch, or Volga zander, is a species of fish in the perch family Percidae. It is found in Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
The yellowtail trumpeter is a common species of coastal marine fish of the grunter family, Terapontidae. The yellowtail trumpeter is native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, ranging from Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia along the north coast to Bowen, Queensland, and along the southern coast of Papua New Guinea.
The Japanese sea bass is a species of catadromous marine ray-finned fish from the Asian sea bass family Lateolabracidae which is found in the Western Pacific.
Azov percarina is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Percidae.
Trachidermus fasciatus is a species of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins, and the only member of the monotypic genus Trachidermus. Its common name is roughskin sculpin. It has also been called four-gilled perch. It is native to the coastlines of China, Japan, and Korea, where it occurs at the mouths of rivers.
The Luciopercinae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish, classified within the family Percidae, the subfamily includes the pike-perches and zingels. The pike-perches of the genus Sander have an Holarctic distribution while the zingels of the tribe Romanichthyini are found in Europe. They are largely freshwater species but some can be found in brackish water.
Etheostomatinae is a species-rich subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fish, the members of which are commonly known as the darters. The subfamily is part of the family Percidae which also includes the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. The family is endemic to North America. It consists of three to five different genera and well over 200 species.
