Scorpaenoid fishes (rockfish, scorpionfish, stonefishes, and their allies) form a dominant element of the fauna of all tropical and warm seas. Although commercially and medically important, their taxonomy, biology, and evolutionary history are poorly understood. This study will complete taxonomic revision of several included families, provide an estimate of the interrelationships of thse scorpaenoid families with emphasis on stonefish relatives, provide detailed morphological and morphometric analyses of several biologically important features unique to the group, provide analyses of shape and other changes important to comparisons with other fishes, and generate additional collections of rare and poorly known species.
