Alciopids are pelagic carnivores. They are found from surface waters to a depth of at least 300 m, throughout the oceans of the world excepting, apparently, the Arctic Ocean.
Diversity
Recent taxonomic reviews of the Alciopidae are Dales & Peter (1972), Uschakov
(1974) and Rice (1987).
Ten genera and about 34 species of Alciopidae are known (Rice 1987;
Støp-Bowitz 1991). Five species are known from Australian
mainland waters; none are endemic. Another three species live
in the waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory. In Australia, as elsewhere, the scarcity of records and fragility of those specimens that are collected means that relatively little is known of the diversity of the Alciopidae.
