Peristediidae
by J.-C. Hureau
Small to medium-sized bottom fishes; body elongate, covered with spinous scutes; head large, bony with many ridges and spines; snout flattened, ending anteriorly in a pair of broad projections (rostrum) of the sub-orbital bones; mouth inferior; presence of mandibular and chin barbels. Two dorsal fins close together, the first with 7 or 8 spines and the second with 16-20 rays; pectoral fins with the 2 lowermost rays separated from the other finrays.
Fishes found on mud or rocky bottoms of the shelf or the slope from 50 to a maximum of 1,200 m depth.
Genera 5; in Clofnam area 1.