Macroramphosinae

Macroramphosinae
Macroramphosus scolopax
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Syngnathiformes
Suborder:	Syngnathoidei
Superfamily:	Centriscoidea
Family:	Centriscidae
Subfamily:	Macroramphosinae Bleeker, 1879

Macroramphosinae, the snipefishes and bellowsfishes is a subfamily of oviparous, marine fish which form part of the superfamily Centriscoidea, which is one of the three superfamilies in the suborder Syngnathoidei of the order Syngnathiformes, which includes the seahorses, pipefishes, trumpetfishes and dragonets.

It has been considered to be a subfamily of the Centriscidae ^[1] but Nelson (2016) classified it as a family. ^[2] However, Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (2025) has returned to treating it as a subfamily. ^[3]

Genera

There are currently eight recognized extant species in three genera which are placed in the Macroramphosidae: ^[4]

• Centriscops Gill, 1862
• Macroramphosus Lacepède, 1803
• Notopogon Regan, 1914

Fossil record

The earliest known syngnathiform is a species of Macroramphosidae, Gasteroramphosus zuppichini from the late Cretaceous, which is similar in form to Marcroramphosus but which has some characters which are suggestive of a relation to Gasterosteoidei. ^[4]

References

1. Bailly N, ed. (2017). "Macroramphosinae Bleeker, 1879". FishBase . World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 12 June 2018.
2. Nelson, JS; Grande, TC & Wilson, MVH (2016). "Classification of fishes from Fishes of the World 5th Edition" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
3. Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
4. Nelson, JS; Grande, TC & Wilson, MVH (2016). Classification of fishes from Fishes of the World 5th Edition. John Wiley & Sons. p. 410. ISBN   978-1119220817.