Liparidae (redirected from snailfish)

Liparidae [lə′par·ə‚dē]

(invertebrate zoology)

The equivalent name for Lymantriidae.

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Liparidae 

a family of fishes of the order Perciformes. The body is elongated and reaches 50 cm in length; in many species the body is laterally compressed. The skin is delicate, mobile, and usually naked; some species have small spines. The head is large, and the nose flat. In many Liparidae the ventral fins have evolved into a sucking disk; in deep-water species the disk is underdeveloped or absent. There are 16 genera (approximately 120 species), found primarily in the seas and oceans of the arctic and temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. In the USSR they inhabit the Baltic Sea, as well as Far Eastern and northern seas; they are found in shallow and extremely deep waters. The most common genus is Liparis, which dwells in shallow waters. Deep-water species belong to the genera Paraliparis and Care-proctus. Spawning occurs in winter. The eggs are deposited on colonies of hydroid polyps or, more rarely, on underground vegetation. Liparidae feed on invertebrates and small fishes.