What is "centropomidae"

Centropomidae \Centropomidae\ n. a natural family of fishes comprising the robalos (also called snooks).

Syn: family Centropomidae.

Centropomidae is a family of freshwater and marine fishes in the Perciformes. The sole genus in the family is Centropomus, known commonly as the snooks or robalos. Prior to 2004, three other genera were placed in Centropomidae in subfamily Latinae, which has since been raised to the family level and renamed Latidae because a cladistic analysis showed the old Centropomidae to be paraphyletic, leaving Centropomus as the only remaining genus in this family. These are popular game and food fishes.

Dating from the upper Cretaceous, the centropomids are of typical percoid shape, distinguished by having two-part dorsal fins, a lateral line that extends onto the tail, and, frequently, a concave shape to the head. They range from in length and are found in tropical and subtropical waters.