Trachichthyidae

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Trachichthyidae (roughy, slimehead; subclass Actinopterygii, order Beryciformes) A small family of marine fish that have a deep and compressed body, an oblique mouth, and a slender tail with a forked tail fin. The head is large and bears slime glands in the skin, but the belly feels rough due to the presence of a series of scutes between the pelvic and anal fins. Some species are offshore fish; others, e.g. Trachichthys australis (southern, roughy), 15 cm, are near-shore reef-dwellers. There are about 14 species, distributed world-wide.

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