Spadefish

Ephippidae spadefishes have deep, oval-shaped, laterally compressed bodies with a short head and small terminal mouth. There are bands of brush like teeth on the jaws but there are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. The preoperculum has a finely serrated margin. There is a single dorsal fin which has 9 spines and between 21 and 28 soft rays, with the spiny portion of the fin being low. The front part of the soft part of the dorsal fin and the anal fin are elongated. The anal fin has 3 spines and between 16 and 24 soft rays. The pectoral fins are short and the pelvic fins are long and are beneath the pectoral fins. The caudal fin is slightly concave, They have complete lateral line and the head, body and most of the fins are scaled. Young are frequently marked with black bars.

Ephippidae fishes are found throughout the warmer waters of the world but are absent from the central Pacific. Ephippidae spadefishes (Chaetodipterus faber) are the only ephippid found in the western Atlantic Ocean. While Ephippidae spadefishes are common in the western Atlantic from New England to southern Brazil, adult spadefishes are difficult to harvest commercially due to their size and preferred habitats of submerged spaces, despite consumer appeal for its nutrients and quality of flesh.