The Acanthoclininae is a subfamily of ray-finned fishes, one of two in the family Plesiopidae. They are characterised by the head being scaleless or nearly scaleless, a dorsal fin which has 17âÂÂ26 spines and 2âÂÂ6 soft rays, an anal fin having 7âÂÂ16 spines and 2âÂÂ6 soft rays while the pelvic fin has one spine and two soft rays. There are between one and four lateral lines, the number of vertebrae is between 26 and 35. They grow to a maximum length about .
The genera currently recognised as belonging to the subfamily Acanthoclininae are: