Centrarchiformes is an obsolete

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, now included amongst the

perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

, with 17 previously included families. This order first appeared about 55.8 million years ago in the Eocene Era, and is composed primarily of

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutr ...

s. The order has a wide range that includes the continents of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. Many Centrarchiformes look essentially perch-like, featuring a stocky build and a spine-bearing dorsal fin, and range in size from 2.5 cm in length (for '' Elassoma gilberti),'' to 1.8 meters for the '' Maccullochella peelii.'' The order Centrachiformes is not recognized in the 5th Edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

''.

Previously included families

* Aplodactylidae *

Centrarchidae Centrarchidae, better known as sunfishes, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes (formerly belonging to the deprecated order Centrarchiformes), native only to North America. There are eight universally inc ...

* Cheilodactylidae *

Chironemidae ''Chironemus'' is a genus of marine ray finned fish, commonly known as kelpfishes, belonging to the family Chironemidae. They are found in the temperate waters of the Southern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy The Kelpfishes were placed in the monogene ...

Cirrhitidae Cirrhitidae, the hawkfishes, are a family of marine perciform ray-finned fishes found in tropical seas and which are associated with coral reefs. Taxonomy The Cirrhitidae were first recognised as a family by the Scots-born Australian naturali ...

Dichistiidae ''Dichistius'' is a genus of perciform fishes, the galjoen fishes, native to the Atlantic coast of southern Africa (''D. capensis'') and the Indian Ocean coast of southern Africa (''D. multifasciatus''). Growing to lengths of (''D. capensis'') ...

* Elassomatidae (likely belong within Centrarchidae) * Enoplosidae * Girellidae *

Kuhliidae The flagtails (' or ' in the Hawaiian language) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the Indo-Pacific area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are euryhaline and often found in brackish water, but th ...

Kyphosidae The sea chubs, also known as rudderfish and pilot fish and in Hawaiian as ''enenue'' or ''nenue'', are a family, Kyphosidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans usually close to shore in marine w ...

* Latridae *

Oplegnathidae ''Oplegnathus'' is currently the sole recognized genus in the knifejaw family (Oplegnathidae) of marine perciform fishes. The largest, the Cape knifejaw, can reach a maximum length around 90 cm (35 in). Knifejaws have teeth fused int ...

Percalatidae ''Macquaria'' is a genus of medium-sized, predatory temperate perches endemic to Australia. They are found in rivers and estuaries of the eastern part of the continent. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Macquaria ...

Percichthyidae The members of the family Percichthyidae are known as the temperate perches. They belong to the order Perciformes, the perch-like fishes. The name Percichthyidae derives from the Latin ''perca'' for perch and Ancient Greek ἰχθύς, ''ichthy ...

Perciliidae ''Percilia'' is a genus of perch-like fish in the monogeneric family Perciliidae. Species The genus ''Percilia'' currently contains these two species which are endemic to Chile: * ''Percilia gillissi'' Girard, 1855 * ''Percilia irwini'' Eigenma ...

Sinipercidae Sinipercidae, the Chinese perches or Oriental perches, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes , part of the superfamiy Percoidea, suborder Percoidei of the order Perciformes.They have been placed within the temperate perch family, Percichth ...

Terapontidae Grunters or tigerperches are ray-finned fishes in the Family (biology), family Terapontidae (also spelled Teraponidae, Theraponidae or Therapontidae). This family is part of the Superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Percoidea of the Order (biology ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17521922 Obsolete vertebrate taxa