Bandfish

The bandfishes belong to the family Cepolidae, of the order acanthuriformes. The family was created in 1810 by the French naturalist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. Subfamilies and genera The family Cepolidae has 23 species which are arranged into two subfamilies and three genera as follows: • Subfamily Cepolinae Rafinesque, 1815 • Genus Acanthocepola Bleeker, 1874 • Genus Cepola Linnaeus, 1764 • Subfamily Owstoninae Jordan, Tanaka & Snyder, 1913 • Genus Owstonia Tanaka, 1908 Some authorities recognise an additional two genera Pseudocephala and Sphenanthias Homonymy The name Cepolidae Rafinesque, 1815 is a senior homonym for the family Cepolidae Ihering, 1909 a family of land snails belonging to the superfamily Helicoidea. The case needs be submitted to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to resolve the homonymy. ==Characteristics==

The bandfishes are characterised by the possession of a continuous dorsal fin with anything between 0 and 4 spines, frequently 3, spines and an anal fin which has 0 to 2 spines. There is a single pair of postcleithra and there are 6 branchiostegal rays. The lateral line lies along the base of the dorsal fin. The epineural ribs in some of the vertebrae of the trunk are fused where they are closest to the corresponding pleural ribs. The overall colour of the body s normally red or pink. The maximum length attained is in Cepola rubescens. normally equipped with a single row of thin weakly curved teeth on each jaw, there are no vomerine teeth or palatine teeth. They have large eyes. They have cycloid scales which have crenulated edges. The distal pelvic fin rays are unbranched, the remaining proximal four rays are branched. ==Distribution==

The bandfishes are found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Indo-West Pacific region, as far south as New Zealand. ==Biology==

The bandfishes are mostly fossorial, creating burrows in areas with fine sand or mud substrates. They leave these burrows to feed on zooplankton in the water column. The lay pelagic eggs. ==Cultural references==

The oldest recipe by a named author involves the preparation of a bandfish. The original recipe book, by Mithaecus, is now lost, but the recipe itself survives thanks to being quoted in the Deipnosophistae. ==References==