Genus: Ostichthys, Bigeye Soldierfish, Soldierfishes

OSTICHTHYS

SOLDIERFISHES

Body oblong, deep; mouth large, oblique; snout blunt, forehead slightly concave; a broad triangular groove on center of snout; bones on head rough and spiny; eye very large; no spines on bone under eye or at corner of preopercle, which has a slightly crescentic edge; opercle with one short spine; dorsal fin XII spines, continuous but deeply notched between last 2 spines; anal with IV spines, 3rd spine stoutest and longest, 10-12 rays; pelvics I, 7; tail forked; scales large, very rough.

A genus of deep water soldierfishes with 11 species, found in the Indo-central Pacific and W Atlantic, where there is one species.