spinyfin

{{Short description|Family of fishes}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Spinyfins

| image = Diretmus argenteus.jpg

| image_caption = Silver spinyfin, Diretmus argenteus.
from plate 45 of Oceanic Ichthyology by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean, published 1896

| taxon = Diretmidae

| authority = T. N. Gill, 1896

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision_ref = {{FishBase family | family = Diretmidae| month = October | year = 2012}}

| subdivision =

Diretmichthys

Diretmoides

Diretmus

}}

Spinyfins are a family, Diretmidae, of trachichthyform fishes. The family name is derived from the type genus, Diretmus, from Greek, di meaning "two" and eretmos meaning "oar". They are found worldwide in deep waters, as deep as {{convert|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R.|editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.| pages=162–163|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}

As the common name implies, spinyfins have heavy spines along their fins. They have deep, compressed bodies, and almost vertically aligned mouths. They are dark silver in colour, and reach up to {{convert|37|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length.