The Digital Fish Library

Distribution:
Worldwide, marine (tropical and subtropical seas) and brackish water, occasionally in freshwater.

Habitat:
Coastal waters, river mouths and estuaries, generally over sand or mud bottoms.

Remarks:
The common name "Threadfins" derives from their odd pectoral fins, the lower portion of which consist of 3-16 detached, threadlike rays. In addition, Threadfins have eyes covered by adipose tissue, blunt noses, two widely separated dorsal fins, and a deeply forked caudal fin.

These fish are supposedly very tasty and are can be found in fish markets throughout the tropical Pacific. The swim bladder is valued for isinglass in some areas. The maximum length is achieved by Eleutheronema tetradactylum of the Indo- West Pacific and is 1.8 m.

There are eight genera and 41 species.

References:
Allen & Robertson 1994; Feltes, pp. 3090-3116, in: Carpenter & Niem 2001; Nelson 2006