Scorpaeniformes is an order of
ray-finned fish, but it has also been called the
Scleroparei. Species in this order have recently been reclassified into the
Perciformes.
They are known as "mail-cheeked" fishes due to their distinguishing characteristic, the suborbital stay: a backwards extension of the third circumorbital bone (part of the lateral head/cheek skeleton, below the eye socket) across the cheek to the preoperculum, to which it is connected in most species.
Classification
The division of Scorpaeniformes into families is not settled; accounts range from 26 families to 35 families.
Notes and references
