ABSTRACT
This monotypic family of enigmatic lineage has most often been aligned with the beryciform fishes; here we follow Johnson & Patterson (1993) and Nelson (1994) who placed this group in its own order, Polymixiiformes. Two of the five species of Polymixia are found in the western central North Atlantic having gained their common name, beardfishes, by the presence of a pair of hyoid barbels inserted well behind the tip of the lower jaw. These small to medium sized fishes inhabit soft and semi-hard bottoms on the continental shelf and slope primarily in tropical and semitropical areas.
