Cetomimidae

Cetomimidae
Cetomimus gillii
Hairyfish (Mirapinna esau)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cetomimiformes
Family:	Cetomimidae Goode & T. H. Bean, 1895
Genera
Ataxolepis Cetichthys Cetomimoides Cetomimus Cetostoma Danacetichthys Ditropichthys Eutaeniophorus Gyrinomimus Megalomycter Mirapinna Notocetichthys Parataeniophorus Procetichthys Rhamphocetichthys Vitiaziella

Cetomimidae is a family of small, deep-sea cetomimiform fish. They are among the most deep-living fish known, with some species recorded at depths in excess of 3,500 m (11,500 ft). Females are known as flabby whalefishes, Males are known as bignose fishes, while juveniles are known as tapetails and were formerly thought to be in a separate family, dubbed Mirapinnidae. Adults exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism, and the adult males were once thought to be exemplars of still another family, Megalomycteridae.^[1]

Thought to have a circumglobal distribution throughout the Southern Hemisphere, Cetomimidae are the most diverse family of whalefishes. The largest species, Gyrinomimus grahami, reaches a length of some 40 cm, though most species average around 20 cm.^[2] They are distinguished from other whalefishes by their loose, scaleless skin and lack of photophores.