Agonidae is a family of small, bottom-dwelling, cold-water marine fish. Common names for members of this family include poachers, Irish lords, sea ravens, alligatorfishes, starsnouts, hooknoses, and rockheads. They are notable for having elongated bodies covered by scales modified into bony plates, and for using their large pectoral fins to move in short bursts. The family includes about 59 species in some 25 genera, some of which are quite widespread.
Percis is a genus of poachers native to the northern Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific spaghetti eel is a sand dwelling eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Tokiharu Abe, M. Miki and Minoru Asai in 1977. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from the northwestern and southwestern Pacific Ocean, including Japan and New Zealand. It dwells at a maximum depth of 30 metres (98 ft). It is non-migratory, and inhabits sand flats near reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres (39 in); the diameter of the body is approximately 10 millimetres. Spaghetti eels will typically occur in large groups that can consist of hundreds of eels.
The southern spearnose poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1898, originally under the genus Averruncus. It is a marine, subtropical fish which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including California, USA to Baja California, Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 42 to 91 metres, and inhabits soft benthic sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in).
The northern spearnose poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1880, originally under the genus Agonus. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the eastern Pacific Ocean, including southeastern Alaska to southern California, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 163 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in).
The sturgeon poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau in 1813. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including the western Bering Sea, Cape Navarin, the Commander Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Aleutian Islands, and northern California, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 2 to 710 metres, and inhabits soft benthic sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 30.5 centimetres (12.0 in).
The veteran poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Edwin Chapin Starks in 1895. It is a marine, polar water-dwelling fish which is known from the northwestern Pacific Ocean, including Peter the Great Bay; Robben Island, Sakhalin; and the Sea of Okhotsk. It dwells at a depth range 10 to 605 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 28 centimetres (11 in).
The sawback poacher is a species of fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1896, originally under the genus Odontopyxis. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including Japan, the Gulf of Anadyr, the Bering Sea, the Aleutian chain, and British Columbia, Canada. It dwells at a depth range of 18 to 975 metres, and inhabits soft sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 27 centimetres (11 in).
The longnose poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1896, originally under the genus Odontopyxis. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling fish which is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including the Bering Sea, southeastern Alaska, northern Japan, the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. It dwells at a depth range of 20 to 460 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in).
the smooth alligatorfish is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1860. It is a marine fish which dwells in temperate waters, and is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including California, USA, and possibly Korea. It dwells at a depth range of 8–102 metres, usually around rocks. Males can reach a maximum total length of 15 centimetres.
The gray starsnout is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1896. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the eastern Pacific Ocean, from the coast of the Bering Sea in Alaska, to the Oregon-California border. It dwells at a depth range of 18–252 metres, and inhabits rocky areas. Males can reach a maximum total length of 13 centimetres.
The blackfin poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1890. It is a marine, boreal water-dwelling fish which is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including Komandorski Island and Avachin Bay in Russia, St. Mathew Island in the Bering Sea, and Eureka, California, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 18–1290 metres, most often at around 400–700 m, and inhabits soft bottoms. It is known to live for a maximum of 9 years. Males can reach a maximum total length of 24.2 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 20 cm.
The bigeye poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1890. It is a marine, subtropical fish which is known from the Gulf of Alaska to southern California, USA, in the northern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 110–910 metres, and inhabits soft bottoms. Males can reach a maximum total length of 23 centimetres.
The blacktip poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1890. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling fish which is known from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 18–400 metres, and inhabits soft benthic sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 19 centimetres.
The Stripefin poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1915. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling fish which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including southern California, USA; Baja California, Mexico; and an isolated population in the Gulf of California. It dwells at a depth range of 183–366 metres, and inhabits soft benthic sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 16 centimetres.
The bluespotted poacher is a fish in the family [Agonidae]]. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1890, originally in the genus Xenochirus. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling fish which is known from British Columbia, Canada to northern central Baja California, Mexico, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 73–373 metres, and inhabits soft benthic sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 18 centimetres.
Bothragonus swanii, the rockhead, deep-pitted poacher or deep-pitted sea-poacher, is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Franz Steindachner in 1876, originally in the genus Hypsagonus. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Carmel Bay, California down to depths of 18 metres. It can also inhabit the intertidal zone. Males can reach a maximum total length of 8.9 centimetres.
The Bering poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau in 1813, originally in the genus Agonus. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including Kotzebue Sound, the northern Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, Akun Island, and the Gulf of Alaska. It dwells at a depth range of 0–325 metres. Males can reach a maximum standard length of 21.6 centimetres.
The kelp poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Norman Joseph Wilimovsky and Donald Edward Wilson in 1979, originally under the genus Hypsagonus. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from northern British Columbia, Canada to central California, USA, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a maximum depth of 11 metres (36 ft), and inhabits shallow, rocky regions. It uses its pectoral fins to climb the faces of rocks and crawl on the bottom. Its body is camouflaged by a coating of sponges and seaweed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 8.9 centimetres (3.5 in).
The fourhorn poacher is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by Achille Valenciennes in 1829, originally under the genus Aspidophorus. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the Bering Sea, the Kuril Islands, and Washington, USA. It is non-migratory, and dwells at a depth range of 0 to 452 metres, most often at around 100 to 150 metres. It inhabits sediments of sand and gravel. Males can reach a maximum total length of 12 centimetres (4.7 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 10 centimetres (3.9 in). The maximum recorded weight is 24 grams (0.053 lb), and the maximum recorded age is 7 years.
