Caristiidae

Caristiidae, the manefishes, are a family of scombriform ray-finned fishes which today includes 19 extant species distributed in four genera.

Caristiidae Temporal range: Late Miocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Platyberyx opalescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Scombriformes
Suborder:	Scombroidei
Family:	Caristiidae T. N. Gill & H. M. Smith, 1905[1]
Genera[2]
Caristius Neocaristius Paracaristius Platyberyx †Absalomichthys †Chalcidichthys

Taxonomy

The following genera are known:

• Caristius Gill & Smith, 1905
• Neocaristius Stevenson & Kenaley, 2011
• Paracaristius Trunov, Kukuev & Parin, 2006
• Platyberyx Zugmayer, 1911

In addition, the extinct genera Chalcidichthys and Absalomichthys are known from the Late Miocene of Southern California.

Biology

They are deep-sea marine fishes found in the mesopelagic zone that eat siphonophores.^[3] An adult manefish is less than 25 cm in length and most of them are entirely black, which helps camouflage them from predators.^[4]