ABSTRACT
Melanonids were formerly placed in the family Moridae; however, they lack an otophysic connection and X-Y caudal bones, and, therefore, are considered to be a separate family (Marshall 1965). The family Includes one genus and two species of meso-to bathypelagic fishes: Melanonus gracilis, which is circumantarctic; and Melanonus zugmayeri, which has been found in tropical and warm-temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea (Howes 1991).
