Order Ophidiiformes
A diverse group comprising five families of small to medium-sized benthic fishes, most found in deep waters of the continental slope and beyond, although some species inhabit shallow coral and rocky reefs; a few species are limited to freshwater.
Families in Australian waters:
References
Cohen, D.M. & J.G. Nielsen. 1978. Guide to the identification of genera of the fish order Ophidiiformes with a tentative classification of the order. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS Circ. 417: 1-72.
Fahay, M.P. & J.A. Hare. 2006. Ch. 49 Order Ophidiiformes: Aphyonidae, Bythitidae, Ophidiidae, p. 661 In W.J. Richards (ed). Early Stages Of Atlantic Fishes: An Identification Guide For The Western Central North Atlantic. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, 2640 pp.
Gordon, D.J., D.F. Markle & J.E. Olney. 1984. Order Ophidiiformes, pp. 308-319 In Moser H.G., W.J. Richards, D.M. Cohen, M.P. Fahay, A.W. Kendall, Jr. & S.L. Richardson (eds). Ontogeny and Systematics of Fishes. Am. Soc. Ichthyol. Herpetol. Spec. Publ. No. 1.
Nielsen, J. 1999. Order Ophidiiformes: Families Carapidae, Ophidiidae, Bythitidae, Aphyonidae, pp. 1978-1985 In Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem. Species identification guide for fisheries purposes. The living marine resources of the western central Pacific. Batoid fishes, chimeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). FAO, Rome.
Nielsen, J.G., D.M. Cohen, D.F. Markle & C.R. Robins. 1999. Ophidiiform Fishes of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of pearlfishes, cusk-eels, brotulas and other ophidiiform species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125, Vol. 18, 178 pp.