Synopsis of the Pearlfish Subfamily Pyramodontinae (Pisces: Carapidae)

The pearlfish subfamily Pyramodontinae is characterized by the following synapomorphies: 24–30 pectoral fin rays, distinctive upward curvature of the posterior portion of the lateral canal above the opercle, visceral cradle, elaborate predorsal bone and relatively deep-bodied vexillifer larvae with short predorsal length.Pyramodon differs from Snyderidia in having pelvic fins present, pterygiophores 3–22 to 24 forming visceral cradle (3–13 in Snyderidia) and total lamellae in olfactory rosette 13 (15–16 in Snyderidia). The Atlantic Ocean S. bothrops differs from the Indo-Pacific S. canina in having one row of dentary teeth (2–3 rows in the latter).

The geographic range of Pyramodon is extended to the eastern Pacific, off Chile, and that of Snyderidia bothrops from the Caribbean off Panama north to the Gulf of Mexico.