Brazilian flathead

The Brazilian flathead (Percophis brasiliensis) is a species of ray-finned fish which is the only species of the genus Percophis in the monotypic family Percophidae.^[3] It is considered the most basal member of the Notothenioidei, which also contains the Antarctic icefishes.^[4] It occurs in the southwestern Atlantic off the South American coast from southern Brazil to central Argentina.^[5] It is fished commercially, and is considered overfished in southern Brazil.^[6]

Brazilian flathead
A depiction of Percophis brasiliensis in Le Règne Animal (Georges Cuvier).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Notothenioidei
Family:	Percophidae Swainson, 1839[1]
Genus:	Percophis Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
Species:	P. brasiliensis
Binomial name
Percophis brasiliensis Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
Synonyms[2]
Percophis brasilianus (Misspelling)

Percophidae was first proposed as a family in 1839 by the English zoologist William Swainson as a subfamily of the Percidae.^[7] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classified this family within the order Trachiniformes and included the Bembropinae and Hemerocoetinae within it as subfamilies.^[8] However, more recent phylogenetic studies have found such a placement to be paraphyletic, and have recognized it as a monotypic family within the Notothenioidei containing a single species.^[3]