Distribution:
Circumglobal
Habitat:
Marine; deep-sea
Remarks:
The Halosauridae family gets its name from the Greek word hal, which means sea, and sauros, which means lizard. The Halosaurs are a small family of deep-sea fishes occurring in many areas of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. These lizard-like, elongate fishes have a spineless dorsal fin located anteriorly to anus, with 9-13 soft rays. They are also characterized for having a long anal fin which extends from the ventral to the tip of the tail and separated branchiostegal membranes.
This family contains three genera with 15 species.
References: Nelson 2006; Wheeler 1975; FishBase 2009