Dactylopteridae

Flying gurnards
Dactyloptena orientalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Scorpaeniformes
Suborder:	Dactylopteroidei
Family:	Dactylopteridae
Genera
Dactyloptena Dactylopterus See text for species.

The flying gurnards are a family, Dactylopteridae, of marine fish notable for their greatly enlarged pectoral fins, which they use to "walk" along sandy sea floors while looking for crustaceans and other small invertebrates. They are the only family in the suborder Dactylopteroidei.

The family is small, with seven species in two genera.

Genera and species

Genus Dactyloptena

• Dactyloptena gilberti, Snyder, 1909
• Spotwing flying gurnard, Dactyloptena macracantha (Bleeker, 1854)
• Oriental flying gurnard, Dactyloptena orientalis (Cuvier, 1829)
• Butterfly flying gurnard, Dactyloptena papilio Ogilby, 1910
• Starry flying gurnard, Dactyloptena peterseni (Nyström, 1887)
• Dactyloptena tiltoni, Eschmeyer, 1997

Genus Dactylopterus

• Flying gurnard, Dactylopterus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)

Reference

• FishBase entry for Dactylopteridae