Pseudotunidae

Pseudotunidae is a proposed family of ray-finned fishes within the order Lophiiformes, commonly known as anglerfishes. This family was suggested to accommodate species that possess certain unique morphological characteristics distinguishing them from other anglerfish families. However, the classification of Pseudotunidae is not universally accepted within the ichthyological community, and it is often considered a synonym of the family Oneirodidae by many researchers.

The species that would fall under Pseudotunidae are typically deep-sea dwellers, inhabiting the bathyal and abyssal zones of the world's oceans. Like other ceratioid anglerfishes, they are characterized by extreme sexual dimorphism, with males being significantly smaller and often parasitic on the much larger females. Females possess a bioluminescent esca, a modified dorsal fin spine, used to attract prey in the aphotic depths.

Key features that led to the proposal of Pseudotunidae included specific arrangements of illicium and esca, as well as differences in fin ray counts and skeletal structures. However, ongoing research and molecular analyses have often placed these distinctive species within the existing framework of the Oneirodidae family, suggesting that the proposed family may not represent a distinct evolutionary lineage. Therefore, it is common to find references to these fishes classified under Oneirodidae.