Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a
class of
bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living
vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
.
The ray-finned
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
es are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines (rays), as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class
Sarcopterygii
Sarcopterygii (; ) — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii () — is a taxon (traditionally a class or subclass) of the bony fishes known as the lobe-finned fishes. The group Tetrapoda, a mostly terrestrial superclass includi ...
(lobe-finned fish). These actinopterygian fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent the link or connection between these fins and the internal skeleton (e.g., pelvic and pectoral girdles).
By species count, actinopterygians dominate the
vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...
s, and they constitute nearly 99% of the over 30,000 species of fish. They are ubiquitous throughout
freshwater and
marine environments from the deep sea to the highest mountain streams. Extant species can range in size from ''
Paedocypris
''Paedocypris'' is a genus of tiny cyprinid fish found in swamps and streams on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Bintan.
''Paedocypris progenetica'' has been claimed to be the one of smallest known species of fish in the world ...
'', at , to the massive
ocean sunfish
The ocean sunfish or common mola (''Mola mola'') is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, ''Mola alexandrini''. Adults typically weigh between . The spe ...
, at , and the long-bodied
oarfish, at . The vast majority of Actinopterygii (~99%) are
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. Tele ...
s.
Characteristics
Ray-finned fishes occur in many variant forms. The main features of typical ray-finned fish are shown in the adjacent diagram. The swim bladder is the more derived structure.
Ray-finned fishes have many different types of scales; but all
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. Tele ...
s have
leptoid scales. The outer part of these scales fan out with bony ridges, while the inner part is crossed with fibrous connective tissue. Leptoid scales are thinner and more transparent than other types of scales, and lack the hardened enamel or dentine-like layers found in the scales of many other fish. Unlike ganoid scales, which are found in non-teleost actinopterygians, new scales are added in concentric layers as the fish grows.
Ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes sometimes possesses lungs used for aerial respiration. Only bichirs retain ventrally budding lungs.
Body shapes and fin arrangements
Ray-finned fish vary in size and shape, in their feeding specializations, and in the number and arrangement of their ray-fins.
Reproduction
In nearly all ray-finned fish, the sexes are separate, and in most species the females spawn eggs that are fertilized externally, typically with the male inseminating the eggs after they are laid. Development then proceeds with a free-swimming larval stage. However other patterns of
ontogeny
Ontogeny (also ontogenesis) is the origination and development of an organism (both physical and psychological, e.g., moral development), usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the s ...
exist, with one of the commonest being
sequential hermaphroditism
Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...
. In most cases this involves
protogyny
Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...
, fish starting life as females and converting to males at some stage, triggered by some internal or external factor.
Protandry
Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...
, where a fish converts from male to female, is much less common than protogyny.
Most families use
external
External may refer to:
* External (mathematics), a concept in abstract algebra
* Externality
In economics, an externality or external cost is an indirect cost or benefit to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party' ...
rather than
internal fertilization
Internal fertilization is the union of an egg and sperm cell during sexual reproduction inside the female body. Internal fertilization, unlike its counterpart, external fertilization, brings more control to the female with reproduction. For inte ...
.
Of the
oviparous teleosts, most (79%) do not provide parental care.
Viviparity
Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the ...
,
ovoviviparity, or some form of parental care for eggs, whether by the male, the female, or both parents is seen in a significant fraction (21%) of the 422 teleost families; no care is likely the ancestral condition.
The oldest case of viviparity in ray-finned fish is found in
Middle Triassic
In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between Ma and ...
species of ''
Saurichthys''. Viviparity is relatively rare and is found in about 6% of living teleost species; male care is far more common than female care.
Male territoriality
"preadapts" a species for evolving male parental care.
There are a few examples of fish that self-fertilise. The
mangrove rivulus
The mangrove killifish or mangrove rivulus, ''Kryptolebias marmoratus'' ( syn. ''Rivulus marmoratus''), is a species of killifish in the family Rivulidae. It lives in brackish and marine waters (less frequently in fresh water) along the coasts ...
is an amphibious, simultaneous hermaphrodite, producing both eggs and spawn and having internal fertilisation. This mode of reproduction may be related to the fish's habit of spending long periods out of water in the mangrove forests it inhabits. Males are occasionally produced at temperatures below and can fertilise eggs that are then spawned by the female. This maintains genetic variability in a species that is otherwise highly inbred.
Classification and fossil record
Actinopterygii is divided into the classes
Cladistia
Cladistia is a clade of bony fishes whose only living members are the bichirs. Their major synapomorphies are a heterocercal tail in which the dorsal fin has independent rays, and a posteriorly elongated parasphenoid.
Cladistia are the earliest ...
and
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 teleos ...
. The latter comprises the subclasses
Chondrostei
Chondrostei is a group of non-neopterygian ray-finned fish, while the term originally referred to a paraphyletic group of all non-neopterygian ray-finned fish, it was redefined by Patterson in 1982 to be a clade comprising the Acipenseriformes (w ...
and
Neopterygii
Neopterygii (from Greek νέος ''neos'' 'new' and πτέρυξ ''pteryx'' 'fin') is a subclass of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii). Neopterygii includes the Holostei and the Teleostei, of which the latter comprise the vast majority of extant ...
. The
Neopterygii
Neopterygii (from Greek νέος ''neos'' 'new' and πτέρυξ ''pteryx'' 'fin') is a subclass of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii). Neopterygii includes the Holostei and the Teleostei, of which the latter comprise the vast majority of extant ...
, in turn, is divided into the infraclasses
Holostei
Holostei is a group of ray-finned bony fish. It is divided into two major clades, the Halecomorphi, represented by a single living species, the bowfin ('' Amia calva''), as well as the Ginglymodi, the sole living representatives being the gars ...
and
Teleostei
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. Te ...
. During the
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
(
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
,
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...
,
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
) and
Cenozoic the teleosts in particular
diversified widely. As a result, 96% of living fish species are teleosts (40% of all fish species belong to the teleost subgroup
Acanthomorpha), while all other groups of actinopterygians represent depauperate lineages.
The classification of ray-finned fishes can be summarized as follows:
* Cladistia, which include bichirs and reedfish
* Actinopteri, which include:
** Chondrostei, which include Acipenseriformes (paddlefishes and sturgeons)
** Neopterygii, which include:
***Teleostei (most living fishes)
***Holostei, which include:
****Lepisosteiformes (gars)
****Amiiformes (bowfin)
The
cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...
below shows the main
clades of living actinopterygians and their evolutionary relationships to other
extant groups of
fishes
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
and the four-limbed vertebrates (
tetrapods
Tetrapods (; ) are four-limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids (reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids ( pelycosaurs, extinct therapsi ...
).
The latter include mostly terrestrial
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
but also groups that became
secondarily aquatic (e.g.
Whales and Dolphins). Tetrapods
evolved
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
from a group of
bony fish during the
Devonian period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
.
Approximate
divergence
In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of t ...
dates for the different actinopterygian clades (in
millions of years, mya) are from Near et al., 2012.
The polypterids (bichirs and reedfish) are the
sister lineage of all other actinopterygians, the Acipenseriformes (sturgeons and paddlefishes) are the sister lineage of Neopterygii, and Holostei (bowfin and gars) are the sister lineage of teleosts. The
Elopomorpha
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 and the bonefishes of the Albuliformes, to the long and slender, smooth-bodi ...
(
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 early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
s and
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) appear to be the most
basal teleosts.
The earliest known
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
actinopterygian is ''
Andreolepis hedei'', dating back 420 million years (
Late Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleoz ...
), remains of which have been found in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Sweden, and
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. Crown group actinopterygians most likely originated near the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary.
The earliest fossil relatives of modern teleosts are from the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
(''
Prohalecites'', ''
Pholidophorus''),
although it is suspected that teleosts originated already during the
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
Era
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
.
Taxonomy
The listing below is a summary of all
extinct (indicated by a
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
, †) and living groups of Actinopterygii with their respective
taxonomic rank
In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain. While ...
. The
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
follows
Phylogenetic Classification of Bony Fishes with notes when this differs from Nelson,
ITIS
The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagen ...
and
FishBase and extinct groups from Van der Laan 2016 and Xu 2021.
* Order †?
Asarotiformes Schaeffer 1968
* Order †?
Discordichthyiformes Minikh 1998
* Order †?
Paphosisciformes Grogan & Lund 2015
* Order †?
Scanilepiformes Selezneya 1985
* Order †
Cheirolepidiformes Kazantseva-Selezneva 1977
* Order †
Paramblypteriformes Heyler 1969
* Order †
Rhadinichthyiformes
* Order †
Palaeonisciformes Hay 1902
* Order †
Tarrasiiformes sensu Lund & Poplin 2002
* Order †
Ptycholepiformes Andrews et al. 1967
* Order †
Haplolepidiformes Westoll 1944
* Order †
Aeduelliformes Heyler 1969
* Order †
Platysomiformes Aldinger 1937
* Order †
Dorypteriformes Cope 1871
* Order †
Eurynotiformes Sallan & Coates 2013
* Class
Cladistia
Cladistia is a clade of bony fishes whose only living members are the bichirs. Their major synapomorphies are a heterocercal tail in which the dorsal fin has independent rays, and a posteriorly elongated parasphenoid.
Cladistia are the earliest ...
Pander 1860
** Order †
Guildayichthyiformes 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 Pu ...
Bleeker 1859 (
bichir
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 Pu ...
s and
reedfish
The reedfish, ropefish (more commonly used in the United States), or snakefish, ''Erpetoichthys calabaricus'', is a species of fish in the bichir family and order. It is the only member of the genus ''Erpetoichthys''. It is native to fresh and ...
es)
* Class
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 teleos ...
Cope 1972 s.s.
** Order †
Elonichthyiformes Kazantseva-Selezneva 1977
** Order †
Phanerorhynchiformes
** Order †
Bobasatraniiformes Berg 1940
** Order †
Saurichthyiformes
Saurichthyiformes is an extinct order of ray-finned fish which existed in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America, during the late Permian to early Middle Jurassic. Saurichthyiiformes comprise two families, Saurichthyidae and ...
Aldinger 1937
** Subclass
Chondrostei
Chondrostei is a group of non-neopterygian ray-finned fish, while the term originally referred to a paraphyletic group of all non-neopterygian ray-finned fish, it was redefined by Patterson in 1982 to be a clade comprising the Acipenseriformes (w ...
Müller, 1844
*** Order †
Birgeriiformes Heyler 1969
*** Order †
Chondrosteiformes Aldinger, 1937
*** Order
Acipenseriformes
Acipenseriformes is an order of basal ray-finned fishes that includes living and fossil sturgeons and paddlefishes (Acipenseroidei), as well as the extinct families Chondrosteidae and Peipiaosteidae. They are the second earliest div ...
Berg 1940 (includes
sturgeons and
paddlefish
Paddlefish (family Polyodontidae) are a family of ray-finned fish belonging to order Acipenseriformes, and one of two living groups of the order alongside sturgeons (Acipenseridae). They are distinguished from other fish by their titular elongla ...
es)
** Subclass
Neopterygii
Neopterygii (from Greek νέος ''neos'' 'new' and πτέρυξ ''pteryx'' 'fin') is a subclass of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii). Neopterygii includes the Holostei and the Teleostei, of which the latter comprise the vast majority of extant ...
Regan 1923 sensu Xu & Wu 2012
*** Order †
Pholidopleuriformes Berg 1937
***Order †
Redfieldiiformes Berg 1940
***Order †
Platysiagiformes Brough 1939
***Order †
Polzbergiiformes Griffith 1977
***Order †
Perleidiformes Berg 1937
***Order †
Louwoichthyiformes Xu 2021
*** Order †
Peltopleuriformes Lehman 1966
*** Order †
Luganoiiformes Lehman 1958
*** Order †
Pycnodontiformes Berg 1937
*** Infraclass
Holostei
Holostei is a group of ray-finned bony fish. It is divided into two major clades, the Halecomorphi, represented by a single living species, the bowfin ('' Amia calva''), as well as the Ginglymodi, the sole living representatives being the gars ...
Müller 1844
**** Division
Halecomorphi
Halecomorphi is a taxon of ray-finned bony fish in the clade Neopterygii. The sole living Halecomorph is the bowfin (''Amia calva''), but the group contains many extinct species in several families (including Amiidae, Caturidae, Liodesmidae ...
Cope 1872 sensu Grande & Bemis 1998
***** Order †
Parasemionotiformes
Parasemionotiformes is an extinct order of neopterygian ray-finned fish that existed globally during the Triassic period. It comprises the families Parasemionotidae and Promecosominidae. Many of the included genera are monotypic and most specie ...
Lehman 1966
***** Order †
Ionoscopiformes Grande & Bemis 1998
***** Order
Amiiformes
The Amiiformes order of fish has only one extant species, the bowfin (''Amia calva''). These Amiiformes are found in the freshwater systems of North America, in the United States and parts of southern Canada. They live in freshwater streams, riv ...
Huxley 1861 sensu Grande & Bemis 1998 (
bowfins)
**** Division
Ginglymodi
Ginglymodi is a clade of ray-finned fish containing modern-day gars (Lepisosteidae) and their extinct relatives, including the family Lepidotidae and the orders Semionotiformes and Kyphosichthyiformes, and various other extinct taxa. Ginglymod ...
Cope 1871
***** Order †
Dapediiformes Thies & Waschkewitz 2015
***** Order †
Semionotiformes
Semionotiformes is an order of primitive, ray-finned, primarily freshwater fish from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). The best-known genus is ''Semionotus'' of Europe and North America. Their closest living re ...
Arambourg & Bertin 1958
***** Order
Lepisosteiformes Hay 1929 (
gar
Gars are members of the family Lepisosteidae, which are the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, an ancient holosteian group of ray-finned fish, which first appeared during the Triassic, over 240 million years ago. Gars comprise seven livin ...
s)
*** Clade Teleosteomorpha Arratia 2000 sensu Arratia 2013
**** Order †
Prohaleciteiformes Arratia 2017
**** Division Aspidorhynchei Nelson, Grand & Wilson 2016
***** Order †
Aspidorhynchiformes Bleeker 1859
***** Order †
Pachycormiformes
Pachycormiformes is an extinct order of marine ray-finned fish known from the Early Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous. It only includes a single family, Pachycormidae. They were characterized by having serrated pectoral fins (though more rece ...
Berg 1937
**** Infraclass
Teleostei
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. Te ...
Müller 1844 sensu Arratia 2013
***** Order †?
Araripichthyiformes
***** Order †?
Ligulelliiformes Taverne 2011
***** Order †?
Tselfatiiformes Nelson 1994
***** Order †
Pholidophoriformes Berg 1940
***** Order †
Dorsetichthyiformes Nelson, Grand & Wilson 2016
***** Order †
Leptolepidiformes
***** Order †
Crossognathiformes
Crossognathiformes is an extinct order of ray-finned fish that lived from the Late Jurassic to the Eocene. Its phylogenetic placement is disputed; some authors have recovered it as part of the teleost stem group, while others place it in a basal ...
Taverne 1989
***** Order †
Ichthyodectiformes Bardeck & Sprinkle 1969
***** Teleocephala de Pinna 1996 s.s.
******Megacohort Elopocephalai Patterson 1977 sensu Arratia 1999 (
Elopomorpha
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 and the bonefishes of the Albuliformes, to the long and slender, smooth-bodi ...
Greenwood et al. 1966)
******* Order
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 se ...
Gosline 1960 (
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 and
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 ...
)
******* Order
Albuliformes Greenwood et al. 1966 sensu Forey et al. 1996 (bonefishes)
******* 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 (
halosaurs and
spiny eel
The name spiny eel is used to describe members of two different families of fish: the freshwater Mastacembelidae of Asia and Africa, and the marine (and generally deep sea) Notacanthidae. Both are so-named because of their eel-like shape and stur ...
s)
******* Order
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 stag ...
Jarocki 1822 sensu Goodrich 1909 (true
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 early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
s)
****** Megacohort Osteoglossocephalai sensu Arratia 1999
*******Supercohort Osteoglossocephala sensu Arratia 1999 (
Osteoglossomorpha
Osteoglossomorpha is a group of bony fish in the Teleostei.
Notable members
A notable member is the arapaima (''Arapaima gigas''), the largest freshwater fish in South America and one of the largest bony fishes alive. Other notable members in ...
Greenwood et al. 1966)
******** Order †
Lycopteriformes Chang & Chou 1977
******** Order
Hiodontiformes
Hiodontiformes is an order of ray-finned fish consisting of the two living species of the mooneye family, Hiodontidae, and three extinct genera.
These are traditionally classified within the order Osteoglossiformes, a placement some author ...
McAllister 1968 sensu Taverne 1979 (
mooneye
Hiodontidae, commonly called mooneyes, is a family of ray-finned fish with a single included genus ''Hiodon''. The genus comprise two living species native to North America and three to five extinct species recorded from Paleocene to Eocene age ...
and
goldeye)
******** Order
Osteoglossiformes
Osteoglossiformes (Greek: "bony tongues") is a relatively primitive order of ray-finned fish that contains two sub-orders, the Osteoglossoidei and the Notopteroidei. All of at least 245 living species inhabit freshwater. They are found in South ...
Regan 1909 sensu Zhang 2004 (bony-tongued fishes)
******* Supercohort Clupeocephala Patterson & Rosen 1977 sensu Arratia 2010
********Cohort Otomorpha Wiley & Johnson 2010 (
Otocephala; Ostarioclupeomorpha)
********* Subcohort Clupei Wiley & Johnson 2010 (
Clupeomorpha Greenwood et al. 1966)
********** Order †
Ellimmichthyiformes Grande 1982
********** Order
Clupeiformes
Clupeiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the herring family, Clupeidae, and the anchovy family, Engraulidae. The group includes many of the most important forage and food fish.
Clupeiformes are physostomes, which means that ...
Bleeker 1859 (
herrings and
anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
)
********* Subcohort Alepocephali
********** Order
Alepocephaliformes Marshall 1962
********* Subcohort
Ostariophysi
Ostariophysi is the second-largest superorder of fish. Members of this superorder are called ostariophysians. This diverse group contains 10,758 species, about 28% of known fish species in the world and 68% of freshwater species, and are present ...
Sagemehl 1885
********** Section Anotophysa (Rosen & Greenwood 1970) Sagemehl 1885
*********** Order †
Sorbininardiformes Taverne 1999
*********** Order
Gonorynchiformes
The Gonorynchiformes are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the important food source, the milkfish (''Chanos chanos'', family Chanidae), and a number of lesser-known types, both marine and freshwater.
The alternate spelling "Gonorhy ...
Regan 1909 (
milkfish
The milkfish (''Chanos chanos'') is the sole living species in the family Chanidae. However, there are at least five extinct genera from the Cretaceous.
The repeating scientific name ( tautonym) is from Greek ( ‘mouth’).
The species has man ...
es)
********** Section Otophysa Garstang 1931
*********** Order
Cypriniformes
Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches, and relatives. Cypriniformes is an Order within the Superorder Ostariophysi consisting of " Carp-like" Ostariophysins. This order contains 11-12 famili ...
Bleeker 1859 sensu Goodrich 1909 (
barbs,
carp,
danios,
goldfish
The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have bec ...
es,
loaches,
minnow
Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens.
Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are c ...
s,
rasbora
''Rasbora'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are native to freshwater habitats in South and akistan s_...
s)
***********_Order_Characiformes.html" ;"title="outheast Asia, as well as southeast China. A single species, ''R. gerlachi'', is only known from an old Zoological specimen">s ...
s)
*********** Order Characiformes">outheast Asia, as well as southeast China. A single species, ''R. gerlachi'', is only known from an old Zoological specimen">s ...