Family AgonidaePoachers Selected Characters: Body elongate, covered with bony plates; pectoral fins fanlike; pelvic fins small. These marine fishes are found in the Arctic, North Pacific and North Atlantic, except for one species found off of southern South America. They are bottom dwellers, ranging from intertidal zones to over 1 km deep. Poachers haul their plated bodies along the bottom by undulating the pectoral fins. Most agonids feed on crustaceans. There are 44 species in the Agonidae with 14 recorded in Puget Sound. This family is moderately common in Puget Sound. Puget Sound Species Agonopsis vulsa Northern Spearnose Poacher Agonus acipenserinus Sturgeon Poacher Anoplagonus inermis Smooth Alligatorfish Bathyagonus alascana Gray Starsnout Bathyagonus infraspinata Spinycheek Starsnout Bathyagonus nigripinnis Blackfin Starsnout Bathyagonus pentacanthus Bigeye Starsnout Bothragonus swani Rockhead Hypsagonus quadricornis Fourhorn Poacher Occella verrucosa Warty Poacher Odontopyxis trispinosa Pygmy Poacher Pallasina barbata Tubenose Poacher Xeneretmus latifrons Blacktip Poacher Xeneretmus triacanthus Bluespotted Poacher |