Order Perciformes
Family Embiotocidae
(Surfperches)

Diagonosis:

• Small- to medium-sized fish
• All compressed and elliptical in outline
• Groove along either side of dorsal fin
• Dorsal fin continuous with 9 to 11 spines and 19 to 28 rays
• Anal fin has three spines and 15 to 35 rays
• Pelvic fins thoracic with one spine and five rays
• Caudal fin forked
• No vomerine teeth
• Lateral line continuous and high
• Viviparous
• All surfperches have cycloid scales
• Twenty-three species with nine species in British Columbia waters (one California species is freshwater, all others marine). Of British Columbia species Amphistichus koelzi (Calico Surfperch), Amphistichusrhodoterus (Redtail Surfperch), Hyperprosopon argenteum (Walleye Surfperch), and Hyperprosopon ellipticum (Silver Surfperch) are not included here.

Remarks: it is difficult to use scale morphology (including meristic measurements) to identify the Embiotocidae to the species level. The scales across species are generally the same (no distinguishing characteristic), and size is not a desirable characteristic since many of the species overlap in size. Size can be used to suggest a species (or a number of them), but with only a small degree of confidence.