ABSTRACT
The family comprises two subfamilies (Holocentrinae, the squirrelfishes and Myripristinae, the soldierfishes) in our area. They are the only nocturnal, shallow to moderately deep water beryciform fishes and are often associated with coral & rocky reefs (Nelson 1994). Lyczkowski-Shultz et al. (2000) briefly listed Gulf of Mexico species and reviewed what little is known about the ELH stages. On a worldwide basis Tighe & Keene (1984) reviewed the ELH information of the family and Kotylar (1998) reviewed the adult species and their distributions. In our area there are three Holocentrinae genera (Holocentrus, Neoniphon, and Sargocentron) and four Myripristinae genera (Myripristis, Ostichthys, Corniger, and Plectrypops). Only one genus (Pristilepis) is not represented in our waters thus larval identifications from outside our area are helpful. The only problem is that little progress has been made on specific identifications.
