Pacific beardfish (Polymixia berndti ), a species more commonly caught by deep-ocean trawlers than by anglers. Growing to around 20 inches long, they are one of the largest of the 10 species that comprise the beardfish family, Polymixiidae, which is a group of fishes closely related to alfonsinos and other deepwater red-colored fishes in the family Berycidae. The Pacific beardfish lives on muddy and sandy bottoms in waters up to 1,800 feet deep throughout the Indo-Pacific region, from east Africa to the Hawaiian Islands, north to Japan, and as far south as Australia. The scientific name Polymixia is derived from the Greek words poly (a lot of) and myxos (mucus), suggesting they are slimy little fish. Their common name, "beardfish," is of course due to the presence of the two prominent sensory barbels under the chin, which they use to "taste" for smaller fish and crustaceans as they swim over the sediments.