The superorder Elopomorpha contains a variety of types of fishes that range from typical silvery-colored species, such as the tarpons and ladyfishes of the

Elopiformes The Elopiformes are the order of ray-finned fish including the tarpons, tenpounders, and ladyfish, as well as a number of extinct types. They have a long fossil record, easily distinguished from other fishes by the presence of an additional set ...

and the bonefishes of the Albuliformes, to the long and slender, smooth-bodied eels of the

Anguilliformes Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

. The one characteristic uniting this group of fishes is they all have

leptocephalus Leptocephalus (meaning "slim head") is the flat and transparent larva of the eel, marine eels, and other members of the superorder Elopomorpha. This is one of the most diverse groups of teleosts, containing 801 species in 4 orders, 24 families, ...

larvae, which are unique to the Elopomorpha. No other fishes have this type of larvae.

Taxonomy

The Elopomorpha are a group of

teleost Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts ), is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, containing 96% of all extant species of fish. Tel ...

fishes and are separated into several orders. * Genus †''

Bullichthys ''Bullichthys'' is an extinct genus of albuliform fish which existed in the Romualdo Formation, Brazil during the Early Cretaceous (Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is ...

'' Mayrincka, Britob & Otero 2010 * Genus †''

Eichstaettia ''Eichstaettia'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived during the early Toarcian stage of the Early Jurassic epoch. See also * Prehistoric fish The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian ...

'' Arratia 1987 * Genus †'' Eoenchelys'' Lu 1994 * Genus †'' Elopomorphorum'' Weiler ex Martin & Weiler 1954 tolith* Order

Gosline 1960 ** Family † Anaethaliidae Gaudant 1968 ** Suborder Elopoidei *** Family Protelopidae de Saint Seine 1949 *** Family

Elopidae The Elopidae are a family of ray-finned fish containing a single living genus '' Elops''. They are commonly known as ladyfish, skipjacks, jack-rashes, or tenpounders. The ladyfish are a coastal-dwelling fish found throughout the tropical and sub ...

Bonaparte 1832/Valenciennes 1847 (

tenpounder The Elopidae are a family of ray-finned fish containing a single living genus ''Elops''. They are commonly known as ladyfish, skipjacks, jack-rashes, or tenpounders. The ladyfish are a coastal-dwelling fish found throughout the tropical and subt ...

ladyfish The Elopidae are a family of ray-finned fish containing a single living genus '' Elops''. They are commonly known as ladyfish, skipjacks, jack-rashes, or tenpounders. The ladyfish are a coastal-dwelling fish found throughout the tropical and sub ...

es) *** Family

Megalopidae Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Species and ...

Jordan 1882 (

Tarpon Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Species a ...

s) * Order Albuliformes Greenwood et al. 1966 sensu Forey et al. 1996 ** Family † Phyllodontidae Sauvage 1875 corrig. Jordan 1923 ** Family

Albulidae Albulidae is a family of fish, commonly known as the bonefishes, that are popular as game fish in Florida, select locations in the South Pacific and the Bahamas (where two bonefish are featured on the 10-cent coin) and elsewhere. The family is s ...

Bleeker 1849 (

Japanese gissu ''Pterothrissus gissu'', also known as the Japanese gissu, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Albulidae. The Japanese gissu is a rare fish that is distributed in deep water off northwest Pacific Ocean. This fish is known to pass throu ...

and

bonefish The bonefish (''Albula vulpes'') is the type species of the bonefish family (Albulidae), the only family in order Albuliformes. History Bonefish were once believed to be a single species with a global distribution, however 9 different species ...

es) * Order

Notacanthiformes The Notacanthiformes are an order of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, consisting of the families Halosauridae and Notacanthidae (spiny eels). The order is of relatively recent vintage; ''Fishes of the World'' (2006) lists it as the suborder Notacan ...

Goodrich 1909 **

Halosauridae Halosaurs are eel-shaped fishes found only at great ocean depths. As the family Halosauridae, halosaurs are one of two families within the order Notacanthiformes; the other being the deep-sea spiny eels, Notacanthidae. Halosaurs are thought to h ...

Günther 1868 **

Notacanthidae Notacanthidae, the deep-sea spiny eels, are a family of fishes found worldwide below , and as deep as . The earliest known spiny eel is ''Pronotacanthus sahelalmae'', from the Santonian of what is now Lebanon. Their bodies are greatly elongated ...

Rafinesque 1810 (Deep sea spiny eels) * Order

** Family † Derrhiidae Jordan 1925b ** Family † Libanechelyidae Taverne 2004 ** Family † Anguillavidae Hay 1903 ** Family † Urenchelyidae Jordan 1905 ** Suborder Protanguilloidei *** Family

Protanguillidae ''Protanguilla palau'' is a species of eel, the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Protanguilla'' (first eel), which is in turn the only genus in its family (biology), family, Protanguillidae. Individuals were found swimming in March 20 ...

Johnson, Ida & Miya 2011 (primitive cave eels) ** Suborder

Synaphobranchoidei Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas. Cutthroat eels range from in length. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found in ...

*** Family

Synaphobranchidae Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas. Cutthroat eels range from in length. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found in ...

Johnson 1862 (cutthroat eels) ** Suborder Muraenoidei Risso 1826 *** Family † Georgidentidae Sychevskaya & Prokofiev 2003 *** Family Pythonichthyidae Böhlke 1966 (mud eels) *** Family

Myrocongridae ''Myroconger'' is the only genus of eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the ear ...

Gill 1890 *** Family

Muraenidae Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are f ...

Rafinesque 1815 (moray eels) ** Suborder Chlopsoidei *** Family

Chlopsidae The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of eels found in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance. However, they are smaller than true morays, ranging from in length. Genera The family ...

Rafinesque 1815 ** Suborder

Congroidei Congroidei is a suborder of eels in the order Anguilliformes. It contains five families: * Derichthyidae (Longneck eels) * Ophichthidae (Snake eels and worm eels) * Muraenesocidae (Pike congers) * Nettastomatidae (Duckbill eels) * Congridae ...

Kaup 1856 *** Family † Parachelidae Casier 1967 *** Family

Ophichthidae Ophichthidae is a family of fish in the order Anguilliformes, commonly known as the snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ''ophis'' ("serpent") and ''ichthys'' ("fish"). Snake eels are also burrowing eels. They are named for thei ...

Günther 1870 (snake eels & worm eels) *** Family Derichthyidae Gill 1884 (longneck eels) *** Family

Muraenesocidae The Muraenesocidae, or pike congers, are a small family of marine eels found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Some species are known to enter brackish water. Pike congers have cylindrical bodies, scaleless skin, narrow heads with large ...

Kaup 1859 (pike congers) *** Family

Nettastomatidae Nettastomatidae, the duckbill eels or witch eels are a family of eels. The name is from Greek ''netta'' meaning "duck" and ''stoma'' meaning "mouth". Duckbill eels are found along the continental slopes of tropical and temperate oceans worldwid ...

Kaup 1859 (duckbill eels) *** Family

Congridae The Congridae are the family of conger and garden eels. Congers are valuable and often large food fishes, while garden eels live in colonies, all protruding from the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden (thus the name). The family i ...

Kaup 1856 (conger eels) ** Suborder Moringuoidei *** Family

Moringuidae The Moringuidae are a small family of eels commonly known as spaghetti eels or worm eels, although the latter name is also shared with other families of eels. Moringuid eels are found in shallow tropical waters worldwide. They range from about ...

Gill 1885 ** Suborder

Anguilloidei The Anguilloidei are a suborder of the order Anguilliformes (the eels) containing three families: *Anguillidae (freshwater eels) *Serrivomeridae (sawtooth eels) *Nemichthyidae (snipe eels) This suborder traditionally included several other fami ...

Regan 1909 *** Family † Anguilloididae Blot 1978 *** Family † Milananguillidae Blot 1978 *** Family † Mylomyridae Berg 1940 *** Family † Nardoechelyidae Taverne & Capasso 2014 *** Family † Paranguillidae Blot 1980 *** Family † Patavichthyidae Blot 1981 *** Family † Proteomyridae Blot 1980 *** Family

Nemichthyidae Snipe eels are a family, Nemichthyidae, of eels that consists of nine species in three genera. They are pelagic fishes, found in every ocean, mostly at depths of but sometimes as deep as . Depending on the species, adults may reach in length, y ...

Günther 1870 (snipe eels) *** Family

Serrivomeridae Sawtooth eels are a family, Serrivomeridae, of eels found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Sawtooth eels get their name from the human-like arrangement of inward-slanting teeth attached to the vomer bone in the roof of the mouth. They ...

Roule 1929 (sawtooth eels) *** Family

Anguillidae The Anguillidae are a family of ray-finned fish that contains the freshwater eels. Eighteen of the 19 extant species and six subspecies in this family are in the genus ''Anguilla''. They are elongated fish with snake-like bodies, their long dorsa ...

Rafinesque 1810 (freshwater eels) ** Suborder Saccopharyngoidei Robins 1989 *** Family Cyematidae Regan 1912 (bobtail snipe eels) *** Family

Saccopharyngidae ''Saccopharynx'' is a genus of deep-sea eels with large mouths, distensible stomachs and long, scaleless bodies. Commonly, these fish are called gulpers or gulper eels. It is the only genus in the family Saccopharyngidae, and is part of the deriv ...

Bleeker 1859 *** Family

Eurypharyngidae The pelican eel (''Eurypharynx pelecanoides'') is a deep-sea eel. It is the only known member of the genus ''Eurypharynx'' and the family Eurypharyngidae. It belongs to the "saccopharyngiforms", members of which were historically placed in the ...

Gill 1883 (pelican eels, umbrellamouth gulpers) *** Family

Monognathidae ''Monognathus'', or onejaw, is the only genus of the family Monognathidae of deep-sea eels. The name comes from the Greek ''monos'' meaning “one” and ''gnathos'' meaning “jaw”, a reference to the large mouth in comparison with the rest ...

Bertin 1936 (onejaw gulpers)

References

External links

* Fish superorders {{Rayfinned-fish-stub