Cladistia is a
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
of
bony fishes whose only living members are the
bichirs. Their major
synapomorphies
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...
are a heterocercal tail in which the
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...
has independent rays, and a posteriorly elongated
parasphenoid.
Cladistia are the earliest diverging branch of living
Actinopterygii
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 h ...
, sister group of
Actinopteri
Actinopteri is the sister group of Cladistia in the class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish).
Dating back to the Permian period, the Actinopteri comprise the Chondrostei (sturgeons and paddlefish) and the Neopterygii (bowfin, gars, and teleosts). ...
, the group which includes all other living ray finned fish.
Aside from bichirs, other extinct fish groups thought to be members of the group include the
Scanilepiformes, known from the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
period.
Taxonomy
Based on work done by
Lund
Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...
2000
* Order †
Guildayichthyiformes
Guildayichthyidae is a prehistoric family of marine fish from the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana. It is the only family in the order Guildayichthyiformes. Guildayichthyids possess an uncommon mixture of primitive and modern charac ...
Lund 2000
** Family †
Guildayichthyidae
Guildayichthyidae is a prehistoric family of marine fish from the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana. It is the only family in the order Guildayichthyiformes. Guildayichthyids possess an uncommon mixture of primitive and modern charac ...
Lund 2000
*** Genus †''
Guildayichthys''
Lund 2000
**** Species †''
Guildayichthys carnegiei''
Lund 2000
*** Genus †''
Discoserra
''Discoserra'' is a prehistoric ray-finned fish from the Mississippian of Montana, a member of the Guildayichthyiformes, with a round body and a skull possessing primitive and modern traits. ''Discoserra'' is about 60 mm long. In 2006, ''D ...
''
Lund 2000
**** Species †''
Discoserra pectinodon
''Discoserra'' is a prehistoric Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish from the Mississippian (geology), Mississippian of Montana, a member of the Guildayichthyiformes, with a round body and a skull possessing primitive and modern traits. ''Discoserra' ...
''
Lund 2000
* Order
Polypteriformes
Bichirs and the reedfish comprise Polypteridae , a family of archaic ray-finned fishes and the only family in the order Polypteriformes .Helfman GS, Collette BB, Facey DE, Bowen BW. 2009. The Diversity of Fishes. West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Pub ...
Bleeker 1859
** Genus †''
Latinopollia''
Meunier and Gayet 1998
*** Species †''
Latinopollia suarezi''
(Meunier & Gayet 1996) Meunier & Gayet 1998
** Genus †''
Dagetella''
Gayet & Meunier 1991
*** Species †''
Dagetella sudamericana''
Gayet & Meunier 1991
** Genus †''
Bartschichthys''
Gayet & Meunier 1996 'Bartschia'' Gayet & Meunier 1996 non Rehder 1943*** Species †''
B. arnoulti''
(Gayet & Meunier 1996) 'Bartschia_arnoulti''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996.html" ;"title="Bartschia_arnoulti.html" ;"title="'
'Bartschia_arnoulti''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996">Bartschia_arnoulti.html"_;"title="'Bartschia_arnoulti">'Bartschia_arnoulti''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996***_Species_†''[
'Bartschia_arnoulti''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996">Bartschia_arnoulti.html"_;"title="'Bartschia_arnoulti">'Bartschia_arnoulti''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996***_Species_†''Bartschichthys_napatensis">B._napatensis''_
Werner_&_Gayet_1997
***_Species_†''Bartschichthys_tubularis.html" ;"title="artschichthys_napatensis.html" ;"title="Bartschia arnoulti">'Bartschia arnoulti''
Gayet & Meunier 1996">Bartschia_arnoulti.html" ;"title="'Bartschia arnoulti">'Bartschia arnoulti''
Gayet & Meunier 1996*** Species †''Bartschichthys napatensis">B. napatensis''
Werner & Gayet 1997
*** Species †''Bartschichthys tubularis">B. tubularis''
(Gayet & Meunier 1996) [''Bartschia tubularis''
Gayet & Meunier 1996]
** Genus †''Sudania''
Werner & Gayet 1997
*** Species †''Sudania gracilis, S. gracilis''
Werner & Gayet 1997
*** Species †''
S. oblonga''
Werner & Gayet 1997
** Genus †''
Saharichthys''
Werner & Gayet 1997
*** Species †''
S. nigeriensis''
(Gayet & Meunier 1996) 'Sainthilairia_nigeriensis''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996.html" ;"title="Sainthilairia_nigeriensis.html" ;"title="'
'Sainthilairia_nigeriensis''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996">Sainthilairia_nigeriensis.html"_;"title="'Sainthilairia_nigeriensis">'Sainthilairia_nigeriensis''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996***_Species_†''Saharichthys_africanus.html" ;"title="Sainthilairia nigeriensis">'Sainthilairia nigeriensis''
Gayet & Meunier 1996">Sainthilairia_nigeriensis.html" ;"title="'Sainthilairia nigeriensis">'Sainthilairia nigeriensis''
Gayet & Meunier 1996*** Species †''Saharichthys africanus">S. africanus''
(Gayet & Meunier 1996) [''Sainthilairia africana''
Gayet & Meunier 1996]
** Genus †''Sainthilairia''
Gayet & Meunier 1996
*** Species †''S. beccussiformis''
Gayet & Meunier 1996
*** Species †''S. elongata''
Werner & Gayet 1997
*** Species †''S. falciformis''
Gayet & Meunier 1996
*** Species †''S. grandis''
Gayet & Meunier 1996
*** Species †''S. intermedia''
Werner & Gayet 1997
** Genus †''
Inbecetemia''
Werner & Gayet 1997
*** Species †''
I. torta''
(Gayet & Meunier 1996) 'Sainthilairia_torta''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996.html" ;"title="Sainthilairia_torta.html" ;"title="'
'Sainthilairia_torta''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996">Sainthilairia_torta.html"_;"title="'Sainthilairia_torta">'Sainthilairia_torta''_
Gayet_&_Meunier_1996***_Species_†''Inbecetemia_tortissima.html" ;"title="Sainthilairia torta">'Sainthilairia torta''
Gayet & Meunier 1996">Sainthilairia_torta.html" ;"title="'Sainthilairia torta">'Sainthilairia torta''
Gayet & Meunier 1996*** Species †''Inbecetemia tortissima">I. tortissima''
(Gayet & Meunier 1996) [''Sainthilairia tortissima''
Gayet & Meunier 1996]
** Genus †''Nagaia''
Werner & Gayet 1997
*** Species †''Nagaia extrema''
Werner & Gayet 1997
** Family Polypteridae
Lacépède 1803 sensu stricto
*** Genus †''
Bawitius''
Grandstaff et al. 2012
**** Species †''
Bawitius bartheli''
(Schaal 1984) Grandstaff et al. 2012 'Polypterus_bartheli''_
Schaal_1984.html" ;"title="Polypterus_bartheli.html" ;"title="'Polypterus bartheli">'Polypterus bartheli''
Schaal 1984">Polypterus_bartheli.html" ;"title="'Polypterus bartheli">'Polypterus bartheli''
Schaal 1984*** Genus †''Serenoichthys''
Dutheil 1999
**** Species †''Serenoichthys kemkemensis''
Dutheil 1999
*** Genus ''Erpetoichthys''
Smith 1865 [''Calamoichthys''
Smith 1866]
**** Species ''
Erpetoichthys calabaricus''
*** Genus ''
Polypterus
''Polypterus'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the bichir family (Polypteridae) of order Polypteriformes. The type species is the Nile bichir (''P. bichir''). Fish in this genus live in various areas in Africa. ''Polypterus'' is the only kno ...
''
Lacepède 1803
**** Species ''
Polypterus ansorgii''
Boulenger, 1910
**** Species ''
Polypterus bichir
''Polypterus bichir'', the Nile bichir, is a fish which lives in the Nile and some of its tributaries in Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 millio ...
''
Lacépède, 1803
**** Species ''
Polypterus congicus''
Boulenger, 1898
**** Species ''
Polypterus delhezi
The barred bichir, armoured bichir, bandback bichir, or banded bichir (''Polypterus delhezi'') is an elongated fish found in the Congo River, specifically in the upper and middle portions. This species is one of the more commonly available in comm ...
''
Boulenger, 1899
**** Species ''
Polypterus endlicheri
''Polypterus endlicheri'' Heckel 1847, the saddled bichir, is one of the largest species of the ''Polypterus'' genus of freshwater fish.
Named in honor of botanist Stephan Endlicher (1804-1849), who apparently discovered the species in the fis ...
''
Heckel, 1847
**** Species ''
Polypterus mokelembembe''
Schliewen & Schäfer
Schaefer is an alternative spelling and cognate for the German language, German word Wikt:Schäfer, ''schäfer'', meaning Wikt:shepherd, 'shepherd', which itself descends from the Old High German ''Wikt:scāphare, scāphare''. Variants "Shaefer", " ...
, 2006
**** Species ''
Polypterus ornatipinnis''
Boulenger, 1902
**** Species ''
Polypterus palmas
''Polypterus palmas'', also called the shortfin or marbled bichir, is a fish in the family Polypteridae found in freshwater environments throughout West Africa.
Distribution
''P. palmas'' has a wide range; it can be found in freshwater environm ...
''
Ayres, 1850
**** Species ''
Polypterus polli''
J. P. Gosse, 1988
**** Species ''
Polypterus retropinnis''
Vaillant, 1899
**** Species ''
Polypterus senegalus
''Polypterus senegalus'', the Senegal bichir, gray bichir or Cuvier's bichir, and sometimes called the "dinosaur eel" (a misnomer, as the creature is neither an eel nor a dinosaur), "dinosaur bichir", or "dragon fish" is in the pet trade due to ...
''
Cuvier, 1829
**** Species ''
Polypterus teugelsi
''Polypterus teugelsi'' (Teugelsi bichir) is a species of carnivorous, nocturnal bichir (a group of ray-finned fishes) that lives in the Cross River drainage basin in the country of Cameroon. ''P. teugelsi'' was described in 2004 by Ralf Britz ...
''
Britz
Britz () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Neukölln.
History
The village of ''Britzig'' was first mentioned in 1273. It was incorporated by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act. It is known for being the sit ...
, 2004
**** Species ''
Polypterus weeksii''
Boulenger, 1898
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q144462
Ray-finned fish taxonomy
Vertebrate subclasses