Genus: Petrotyx, Cusk-eels, Redfin Brotula
papillae cover snout; lips fringed
head scaled
head scaled
operculum & preoperculum - no spines
3 gill rakers
3 gill rakers
pelvic: 2 rays under preoperculum
PETROTYX
CUSK-EELS
Elongate, compressed, tapering to rear; eye relatively small; snout and jaw tips with patches of fleshy papillae; lips with fleshy fringes; front nostril halfway between top lip and rear nostril; preopercle margin overgrown with skin, without spines; operculum without spines; 3 developed gill rakers; dorsal and anal fins continuous with pointed tail fin; pelvic fin a double rayed filament under preoperculum; scales small, smooth, embedded in skin, on head and body; lateral line on front half of body.
The tropical genus, with 2 species, is restricted to the new world; one species is endemic to the Greater Caribbean.
