see text The Scorpaeniformes /skɔːrˈpiːnɪfɔːrmiːz/ are a diverse order of ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei.

[1] They are known as "mail-cheeked" fishes due to their distinguishing characteristic, the suborbital stay: a backwards extension of the third circumorbital bone (part of the lateral head/cheek skeleton, below the eye socket) across the cheek to the preoperculum, to which it is connected in most species.

This suborder is usually found in the benthic zone, which is the lowest region of any water body like oceans or lakes.

The second group of the Scorpaenoidei suborder is the scorpionfishes, which according to Minouri Ishida's work in 1994 and recent studies, have twelve families.

These infraorders largely correspond with the superfamilies in the Cottoidei set out in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.