Labriformes

Labriformes
Temporal range:
Cuckoo wrasse (Labrus mixtus)
Atlantic stargazer Uranoscopus scaber
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Clade: Eupercaria
Order: Labriformes
Kaufman & Liem, 1982
Type species
Labrus mixtus
Families

See text

Labriformes is an order of ray-finned fishes within the clade Percomorpha. Some authors include the Labriformes as the clade Labroidei within the Perciformes while others include more families within the Labriformes, such as the cichlids and damselfishes. This order was previously restricted to wrasses, parrotfishes, cales, and their close relatives, but most recent studies suggest that the Labriformes also contains highly aberrant groups such as the stargazers and sand lances, which are placed in their own suborder. Almost all members of this order are marine, with the only exception being the amphidromous torrentfish of New Zealand.