Zaniolepis, the combfishes, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, it is one of two genera in the family Zaniolepididae. These fishes are native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Z. frenata that was a source of food to the Native American inhabitants of San Nicolas Island off the coast of southern California, United States during the Middle Holocene.[1]
Zaniolepis was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1858 by the French zoologist Charles Frédéric Girard when he described Z. longispinis from Fort Steilacoom on Puget Sound in Washington. This genus is one of two genera in the family Zaniolepidae, each of which is classified within a monotypic subfamily.[2] The subfamily Zaniolepinae, along with the Oxylebiinae, haves been classified as two subfamilies in the Hexagrammidae.
Zaniolepis is a combination of xanion, which is a Greek word for a comb used to card wool, and lepis, meaning "scale", referring to the overlapping, almost ctenoid scales of Z. latipinnis.[3]
The currently recognized species in this genus are:
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zaniolepis frenata C. H. Eigenmann & R. S. Eigenmann, 1889 | shortspine combfish | Pacific Ocean southern Oregon, USA to central Baja California, Mexico. | |
| Zaniolepis latipinnis Girard, 1858 | longspine combfish | northeast Pacific Ocean | |
Zaniolepis combfishes have a deep incision in the rear third their dorsal fin and the first 3 spines in the dorsal fin are highly elongated, extremely so in Z. latipinnis. The anal fin contains 3 spines while the first 2 rays in the pelvic fins are long and robust and extend past the origin of the anal fin. The caudal fin truncated.[2] These fishes reach a maximum length of .
Zaniolepis combfishes are found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California. They are benthic fishes.