Schedophilus Cocco, 1839
Medium- to large-sized fishes with a deep to moderately elongate body, generally soft musculature and a broad, short caudal peduncle. Margin of preoperculum with 9-20 distinct spines. Mouth large. Very small conical teeth in a single series in the jaws; no teeth on roof of the mouth, basibranchials or tongue. A single dorsal fin originating before the pectoral fin base, with 3-7 weak to moderately strong spines graduating in length to the dorsal finrays; anal fin originating behind midbody, with 3 weak to moderately strong spines preceding the finrays; pectoral fin rounded in the young, pointed in the adult and becoming relatively quite long in some species; pelvic fins originating under pectoral fin base; caudal fin broad and forked. Scales small to moderate, usually cycloid but with a few very weak cteni in some, easily shed and covering the bases of the median fins; lateral line arched anteriorly, straightening out at midbody and extending onto the caudal peduncle; top of the broad, soft, deep head naked. Skin thin with numerous small pores. Colour pattern varies from mottled brown to greenish to silvery.
A hard-spined inshore group and a weak-spined offshore oceanic group. One representative of each group in the Clofnam area. Species occur from the Atlantic Ocean to the Australian region and seas of China; occur around some Pacific islands, but not in the eastern Pacific.
See family for biology, etc.
Species about 10; in Clofnam area 2.
Recent revisions: Haedrich (1967), Ahlstrom et al. (1976), McDowall (1979).
Species of this genus in the program:
Schedophilus medusophagus
Schedophilus ovalis