They are found in the temperate waters of the southern hemisphere and in the North Pacific Ocean.

[2][3] A result of this rearrangement is that the only species which would remain in Cheilodactylidae are Cheilodactylus fasciatus and C. pixi from southern Africa.

[2][4] These studies appear to show that most of the species in Cheilodactylus sensu lato instead apparently to belong in several different genera and are not even members of the same family, but how many and their exact delimitation is not clear at present.

[6][4][2] The name of the genus is a compound of cheilos meaning “lip”, a reference to the thick, fleshy lips of the adults, and daktylos which means “finger”, a reference to the elongated lower rays on the pectoral fins.

[7] The genus Cheilodactylus sensu lato includes sixteen species, this list shows the genera they have been assigned to under the proposed revised taxonomy:[1][8]