Family ZoarcidaeEelpouts Selected Characters: Body elongate; dorsal and anal fins long, confluent with caudal; pelvic fins, if present, small and anterior to pectoral fins; scales tiny or absent; gill membranes attached to ishthmus. This is a large family of marine fishes which range from the Arctic to the Antarctic and are primarily benthic, preferring cold water. Three of the approximately 220 species are ovoviviparous and the rest are oviparous. Some eelpouts display parental care. There are five species found in Puget Sound. Our largest species, the Wattled Eelpout, grows to about 50 cm. Eelpouts are generally too small and inaccessible to interest humans as food fishes, but they have great significance as prey of other bottom-dwelling fishes. Though rarely encountered, this family is common in Puget Sound. Puget Sound Species Lycodapus mandibularis Pallid Eelpout Lycodes brevipes Shortfin Eelpout Lycodes diapterus Black Eelpout Lycodes pacifica Blackbelly Eelpout Lycodes palearis Wattled Eelpout |