See text Stichaeinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, classified within the family Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies.

[4] Stichaeinae pricklebacks are less elongated in shape than most of the other species in the family with a relatively large head which is smooth and scaleless.

The head has well-developed sensory canals with paired sensory pores in the supraorbital, postorbital, suborbital,and occipital regions, The lateral line system on the body is complex with many canals and branches.

There are teeth on the vomerine and palatine and the gill membranes have a wide joint and are separated from the isthmus.

[5] The smallest species in this subfamily is the seven-lined prickleback (Ernogrammus zhirmunskii) with a maximum published standard length of 7.5 cm (3.0 in) while the largest species are Stichaeus grigorjewi and Stichaeus nozawae which have maximum published total lengths of 60 cm (24 in).