Snailfish
| Snailfish | |
|---|---|
| Snailfish (probably Elassodiscus tremebundus) caught in the eastern Bering Sea | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota | 
| Kingdom: | Animalia | 
| Phylum: | Chordata | 
| Class: | Actinopterygii | 
| Order: | Perciformes | 
| Suborder: | Cottoidei | 
| Superfamily: | Cyclopteroidea | 
| Family: | Liparidae T. N. Gill, 1861 | 
| Type genus | |
| Liparis Scopoli, 1777 | |
The snailfishes or sea snails (not to be confused with invertebrate sea snails), are a family of marine ray-finned fishes. These fishes make up the Liparidae, a family classified within the order Scorpaeniformes.
Widely distributed from the Arctic to Antarctic Oceans, including the oceans in between, the snailfish family contains more than 30 genera and about 410 described species, but there are also many undescribed species. Snailfish are found at depths ranging from shallow coastal waters to more than 8,300 m (27,200 ft), including in seven ocean trenches.