fanfin

Fanfin seadevils or hairy anglerfish comprise the family Caulophrynidae, marine ray-finned fishes of the suborder Ceratioidei, the deep-sea anglerfishes. The fishes in this family are found almost around the world in the deeper, aphotic waters of the oceans.

==Taxonomy== The fanfin family, Caulophrynidae, was first proposed in 1896 by the American ichthyologists George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the Caulophrynidae within the suborder Ceratioidei of the order Lophiiformes. This family was thought to be basal within the suborder Ceratioidei of the anglerfish order Lophiiformes, but phylogenetic analyses have recovered it as forming a sister taxon to the clade containing Gigantactinidae, Neoceratiidae, and Linophrynidae, and so they are deeply embedded within the suborder. However, molecular studies show that the familial relationships within the Ceratoidei are still to be fully resolved and Caulophrynidae may be the most basal taxon in the suborder.