Macroramphosidae, the snipefishes and bellowsfishes is a family of oviparous, marine fish which form part of the superfamily Centriscoidea, which is one of the two superfamilies in the suborder Aulostomoidei of the order Syngnathiformes, which includes the seahorses, pipefishes, trumpetfishes and dragonets. It has been considered to be a subfamily of the Centriscidae[1] but Nelson (2016) classified it as a family.[2]
| Macroramphosidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Macroramphosus scolopax | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Syngnathiformes |
| Suborder: | Aulostomoidei |
| Superfamily: | Centriscoidea |
| Family: | Macroramphosidae Bleeker, 1879 |
Genera
There are currently three recognised extant genera which are placed in the Macroramphosidae:[3]
- Centriscops Gill, 1862
- Macroramphosus Lacepède, 1803
- Notopogon Regan, 1914
Fossil record
The earliest known syngnathiform is a species of Macroramphosidae, Gasteroramphosus zuppichini from the late Cretaceous, which is similar in form to Marcroramphosus but which has some characters which are suggestive of a relation to Gasterosteoidei.[3]