Aulopiformes are the only order belonging to the Cyclosquamata superorder.
(“A Damsel in Distress”. Photo by © Daniel Stassen. thescuttlefish.com)
Aulopiformes are inhabitants of warm waters, and waters of middle latitudes of all oceans. The order comprises 17 existing families, about 45 genera and more than 230 fish species.
10 following representatives of 3 suborders and 6 families occur in the Adriatic: the Alepisauroidei suborder with the Evermannelidae family and the Paralepididae family, the Chlorophthalmoidei suborder with the Chlorophthalmidae family and the Ipnopidae family, and the Synodontoidei suborder with the Aulopidae family and the Synodontidae family.