Gempylidae

The **Gempylidae** are a family of fishes that are called **snake mackerels**. They belong in the order Scombriformes. The family includes about 25 species.

## Description

These creatures are elongated fishes with a similar appearance to barracudas, having a long dorsal fin just like them. However, they are smaller. They have fangs like a barracuda.The largest species, including the snoek (_Thyrsites atun_), grow up to 2 m long, and the oilfish (_Ruvettus pretiosus_) can reach 3 m.

## Families and genera

- Subfamily **Clade 1** <small>Mthethwa, 2023</small>
    - Genus _Diplospinus_
        - _Diplospinus multistriatus_ <small>Maul, 1948</small> (Striped escolar)
    - Genus _Gempylus_
        - _Gempylus serpens_ <small>G. Cuvier, 1829</small> (Snake mackerel)
    - Genus _Nealotus_
        - _Nealotus tripes_ <small>J. Y. Johnson, 1865</small> (Black Snake mackerel)
    - Genus _Nesiarchus_
        - _Nesiarchus nasutus_ <small>J. Y. Johnson, 1862</small> (Black gemfish)
    - Genus _Paradiplospinus_
        - _Paradiplospinus antarcticus_ <small>Andriashev, 1960</small> (Antarctic escolar)
        - _Paradiplospinus gracilis_ <small>(A. B. Brauer, 1906)</small> (Slender escolar)
    - Genus _Promethichthys_
        - _Promethichthys prometheus_ <small>(G. Cuvier, 1832)</small> (Roudi escolar)
    - Genus _Rexea_
        - _Rexea alisae_ <small>C. D. Roberts & A. L. Stewart, 1997</small>
        - _Rexea antefurcata_ <small>Parin, 1989</small> (Long-finned escolar)
        - _Rexea bengalensis_ <small>(Alcock, 1894)</small> (Bengal escolar)
        - _Rexea brevilineata_ <small>Parin, 1989</small> (Short-lined escolar)
        - _Rexea nakamurai_ <small>Parin, 1989</small> (Nakamura's escolar)
        - _Rexea prometheoides_ <small>(Bleeker, 1856)</small> (Royal escolar)
        - _Rexea solandri_ <small>(G. Cuvier, 1832)</small> (Silver gemfish)
    - Genus _Rexichthys_
        - _Rexichthys johnpaxtoni_ <small>Parin & Astakhov, 1987</small> (Paxton’s escolar)
    - Genus _Thyrsites_
        - _Thyrsites atun_ <small>(Euphrasén, 1791)</small> (Snoek)
    - Genus _Thyrsitoides_
        - _Thyrsitoides marleyi_ <small>Fowler, 1929</small> (Blacksail snake mackerel**)**
    - Genus _Thyrsitops_
        - _Thyrsitops lepidopoides_ <small>(G. Cuvier, 1832)</small> (White Snake Mackerel)
    - Genus _Tongaichthys_
        - _Tongaichthys robustus_ <small>I. Nakamura & E. Fujii, 1983</small> (Tonga escolar)
- Subfamily **Clade 2** <small>Mthethwa, 2023</small>
    - Genus _Epinnula_
        - _Epinnula magistralis_ <small>Poey, 1854</small>
        - _Epinnula pacifica_ <small>Ho, Motomura, Hata & Jiang, 2017</small>
    - Genus _Lepidocybium_
        - _Lepidocybium flavobrunneum_ <small>(A. Smith, 1843)</small> (Escolar)
    - Genus _Neoepinnula_
        - _Neoepinnula americana_ <small>(M. G. Grey, 1953)</small> (American sackfish)
        - _Neoepinnula minetomai_ <small>Nakayama, Y. Kimura & Endo, 2014</small> (Large-eyed sackfish)
        - _Neoepinnula orientalis_ <small>(Gilchrist & von Bonde, 1924)</small> (Sackfish)
    - Genus _Ruvettus_
        - _Ruvettus pretiosus_ <small>Cocco, 1833</small> (Oilfish)

## Related pages

- Balistomorphus
- Brook silverside
- Brook stickleback
- Pleuropholidae
- Titan triggerfish
- Triggerfish

## References

1. <small>Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). "Gempylidae" in FishBase. April 2013 version.</small>
1. <small>"Gempylidae". _Encyclopedia.com_.</small>

## Other websites

- Deep water fish species - Lanzarote