see text Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes in the suborder Zoarcoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes.

Stichaeidae was first proposed as a family in 1864 by the American zoologist Theodore Gill, although he called it the Stichaeoidae.

[2] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this family within the suborder Zoarcoidei, within the order Scorpaeniformes.

[5][6][7][8][9][10] The family Stichaeidae is classified into 6 subfamilies and 36 genera as follows († means extinct):[2] Catalog of Fishes classifies these fishes as follows:[5][6][7][8][9][10] The name of the family comes from that of its type genus Stichaeus, which means "set in a row", which may be an allusion to the row of black spots on the dorsal fins of the species in that genus.

They are coastal fishes which are found beneath rocks and in algae from the intertidal zone to shallow bays.