Anoplopomatidae

Anoplopomatidae was first proposed as a family in 1883 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert. In 1965 Jay C. Quast proposed that the sablefishes were so different from other members of the Cottoidei that they should be classified within their own superfamily, the Anoplopomatoidea. However, other authorities place it within the infraorder Anoplopomatales which is close to the infraorder Zoarcales at the base of the Cottoidei within the order Perciformes. ==Genera==

Anoplopomatidae contains two monospecific genera: ==Characteristics==

Anoplopomatidae fishes have heads which lack spines, ridges, or cirri. They have two dorsal fins, the second dorsal fin having between 16 and 21 soft rays. The anal fin has three weak spines and between 11 and 19 soft rays. Their pelvic fins have a single spine and 5 soft rays, There are two well-developed nostrils on either side of the snout. The gill membranes are joined to isthmus. There is a single lateral line. ==Distribution==

Anoplopomatidae species are both distributed in the North Pacific Ocean from Japan to the Bering Sea and along the western coast of North America especially California, ==References==