The Scorpaeniformes  are a diverse order of ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei.
It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of species, with over 1,320.Umich.edu
They are known as "mail-cheeked" fishes due to their distinguishing characteristic, the suborbital stay: a backwards extension of the third circumorbital bone (part of the lateral head/cheek skeleton, below the eye socket) across the cheek to the preoperculum, to which it is connected in most species.
Scorpaeniform fishes are carnivorous, mostly feeding on crustaceans and on smaller fish.
Most species live on the sea bottom in relatively shallow waters, although species are known from deep water, from the midwater, and even from fresh water.
They typically have spiny heads, and rounded pectoral and caudal fins.
Most species are less than  in length, but the full size range of the order varies from the velvetfishes belonging to the family Aploactinidae, which can be just  long as adults, to the skillfish (Erilepis zonifer), which can reach  in total length.
One of the suborders of the scorpaeniformes is the scorpaenoidei.
This suborder of scorpaeniformes are usually found in the benthic zone, which is the lowest region of any water body such as oceans or lakes.
There are two groups of the scorpaenoidei.
The sea robins is the first, which are further classified into two families: the sea robins and the armored sea robins.
One significant difference between the two families of sea robins is the presence of spine-bearing plate on the armored sea robins which is absent in the sea robins family.
The second group of the scorpaenoidei suborder is the scorpionfishes, which according to Minouri Ishida's work in 1994 and recent studies, have twelve families.
The scorpionfishes are very dynamic in size with the smallest one having a range of 2–3 cm, while the largest have a length of approximately 100 cm.
Classification
The division of Scorpaeniformes into families is not settled; accounts range from 26 to 35 families.
The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the order as follows:
Order Scorpaeniformes
Suborder Scorpaenoidei
Family Scorpaenidae Risso, 1827 (Scorpionfishes)
Family Aploactinidae Jordan & Starks, 1904 (Velvetfishes)
Family Eschmeyeridae  Mandrytsa, 2001 (the cofish)
Family Pataecidae Gill, 1872 (Australian prowlfishes)
Family Gnathanacanthidae Gill, 1892 (Red velvetfish)
Family Congiopodidae Gill, 1889 (Racehorses, pigfishes or horsefishes)
Suborder Platycephaloidei
Family Triglidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Searobins)
Family Peristediidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 (Armored searobins)
Family Bembridae Kaup, 1873 (Deepwater flatheads)
Family Platycephalidae Swainson, 1839 (Flatheads)
Family Hoplichthyidae Kaup, 1873 (Ghost flatheads)
Suborder Normanichthyiodei
Family Normanichthyidae Clark, 1837 (the Barehead scorpionfish or mote sculpin)
Suborder Zoarcoidei
Family Bathymasteridae Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 (Ronquils)
Family Eulophiidae Smith, 1902 (Spinous eelpouts)
Family Zoarcidae Swainson, 1839 (Eelpouts)
Family Stichaeidae Gill, 1864 (Pricklebacks)
Family Cryptacanthodidae Gill, 1861 (Wrymouths)
Family Pholidae Gill, 1893 (Gunnels)
Family Anarhichadidae Bonaparte, 1835 (Wolffishes)
Family Ptilichthyidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 (Quillfish)
Family Zaproridae Jordan, 1896 (Prowfishes)
Family Scytalinidae Jordan & Starks, 1895 (Graveldivers)
Suborder Gasterosteoidei
Family Hypoptychidae Steindachner, 1880 (the Korean Sandlance)
Family Aulorhynchidae Gill (1861) (Tubesnouts)
Family Gasterosteidae Bonaparte, 1831 (Sticklebacks)
Suborder Cottoidei
Superfamily Anoplopomatoidea
Family Anoplopomatidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 (Sablefishes)
Superfamily Zaniolepidoidea
Family Zaniolepididae Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 (Combfishes)
Superfamily Hexagrammoidea
Family Hexagrammidae Jordan, 1888 (Greenlings)
Superfamily Trichodontoidea H. Imamura, S. Shirai, M. Yabe, 2005
Family Trichodontidae Bleeker, 1859 (Sandfishes)
Superfamily Cottoidea
Family Jordaniidae Jordan & Evermann, 1898 (Longfin sculpins)
Family Rhamphocottidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 (Grunt sculpins)
Family Scorpaenichthyidae Jordan & Evermann, 1898
Family Agonidae Swainson, 1839 (Poachers and searavens)
Family Cottidae Bonaparte, 1831 (Sculpins)
Family Psychrolutidae Günther, 1861 (Bighead sculpins)
Family Bathylutichthyidae Balushkin & Voskoboinikova, 1990 (Antarctic sculpins)
Superfamily Cyclopteroidea
Family Cyclopteridae Bonaparte, 1831 (lumpfishes or lumpsuckers)
Family Liparidae Gill, 1861 (Snailfishes)
This classification is not settled, however, and some authorities classify these groupings largely within the Order Perciformes as the suborders Scorpaenoidei, Platycephaloidei, Triglioidei and Cottoidei, Cottodei including the infraorders Anoplopomatales, Zoarcales, Gasterosteales, Zaniolepidoales, Hexagrammales and Cottales.
These infraorders largely correspond with the superfamilies in the Cottoidei set out in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.
Timeline of genera
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color:eocene bar:NAM1  from:-55.8    till:-48.6 text:[[Eosynanceja]]  color:eocene bar:NAM2  from:-55.8    till:-33.9 text:[[Eocottus]]  color:eocene bar:NAM3  from:-55.8    till:-5.33 text:[[Ctenopomichthys]]  color:eocene bar:NAM4 from:-55.8    till:0 text:[[Platycephalus]]  color:eocene bar:NAM5 from:-37.2    till:0 text:[[Lepidotrigla]]  color:eocene bar:NAM6 from:-37.2    till:0 text:[[Notesthes]]  color:eocene bar:NAM7 from:-37.2    till:0 text:[[Podothecus]]  color:eocene bar:NAM8  from:-37.2    till:0 text:[[Scorpaena]]  color:oligocene bar:NAM9  from:-33.9    till:0 text:[[Agonus]]  color:oligocene bar:NAM10  from:-33.9    till:0 text:[[Pontinus]]  color:oligocene bar:NAM11 from:-33.9    till:0 text:[[Sebastes]]  color:oligocene bar:NAM12 from:-33.9    till:0 text:[[Trigla]]  color:miocene bar:NAM13 from:-23.03    till:0 text:[[Neoplatycephalus]]  color:miocene bar:NAM14  from:
-23.03    till:0 text:[[Peristedion]]  color:miocene bar:NAM15 from:-15.97    till:0 text:[[Hoplichthys]]  color:miocene bar:NAM16  from:-11.61    till:-5.33 text:[[Achrestogrammus]]  color:miocene bar:NAM17  from:-11.61    till:-5.33 text:[[Lirosceles]]  color:miocene bar:NAM18  from:-11.61    till:0 text:[[Sebastodes]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM19 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Artedius]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM20 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Chitonotus]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM21 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Enophrys]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM22 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Icelinus]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM23 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Lepidocottus]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM24 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Leptocottus]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM25 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Malacocottus]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM26 from:-5.33    till:0 text:[[Prionotus]]  color:pliocene bar:NAM27 from:
-5.33    till:0 text:[[Radulinus]]  color:pleistocene bar:NAM28 from:-2.59    till:0 text:[[Cyclopterus]]  color:pleistocene bar:NAM29 from:-2.59    till:0 text:[[Eutrigla]]  color:pleistocene bar:NAM30 from:-2.59    till:0 text:[[Ophiodon]]  color:pleistocene bar:NAM31 from:-2.59    till:0 text:[[Scorpaenichthys]]  color:pleistocene bar:NAM32 from:-2.59    till:0 text:[[Zaniolepis]]
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See also
List of fish families
Notes
References
