Overview
Taxonomy
The Superorder Acanthopterygii is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Order (15): Ateleopodiformes · Atheriniformes · Beloniformes · Beryciformes · Cyprinodontiformes · Dactylopteriformes · Gasterosteiformes · Lampriformes · Perciformes · Pleuronectiformes · Scorpaeniformes · Synbranchiformes · Syngnathiformes · Tetraodontiformes · Zeiformes
Orders
Ateleopodiformes
The jellynose fishes are a small (Ateleopodiformes) of ray-finned fish, consisting of a single family (Ateleopodidae) with about a dozen species in four genera. [more]
Atheriniformes
Atheriniformes, also known as the silversides, is an of ray-finned fish that includes the Old World silversides and several less-familiar families, including the unusual Phallostethidae. They are found worldwide in tropical and temperate marine and freshwater environments. [more]
Beloniformes
The Beloniformes are an of five families of freshwater and marine ray-finned fish: the Adrianichthyidae (ricefish and medakas); Belonidae (needlefish); Exocoetidae (flyingfishes); Hemiramphidae (halfbeaks): and the Scomberesocidae (sauries). With the exception of the Adrianichthyidae, these are streamlined, medium-sized fishes that live close to the surface of the water feeding on algae, plankton, or smaller animals including other fishes. Most are marine, though a few needlefish and halfbeaks inhabit brackish and fresh waters. [more]
Beryciformes
Beryciformes is an order of . This is a very poorly understood group of 16 families[citation needed], 57 genera, and about 219 species. Most[who?] believe that it is probably an artificial assemblage of unrelated taxa that are thrown together for convenience only; there are no convincing characteristics that tie all members together. Most species live in deep marine waters, and avoid bright light, although they may come closer to the surface at night. [more]
Cyprinodontiformes
The Cyprinodontiformes is an of ray-finned fish, comprising mostly small, fresh-water fish. Many popular aquarium fish, such as killifish and live-bearers, are included. They are closely related to the Atheriniformes and are occasionally included with them. A colloquial term for the order as a whole is toothcarps, though they are not actually close relatives of the true carps – the latter belong to the superorder Ostariophysi, while the toothcarps are Acanthopterygii. [more]
Dactylopteriformes
Gasterosteiformes
Gasterosteiformes is an of ray-finned fishes that includes the sticklebacks and relatives. [more]
Lampriformes
Lampriformes (also spelt Lampridiformes) are an of ray-finned fish that includes about 50 living species of deep sea fishes, including the opahs, crestfishes, ribbonfishes, and oarfish. These are acanthomorph teleosts which diverged from other teleosts during the Cretaceous, in the late Campanian epoch, when the first lamprid, Nardovelifer appears in the fossil record. The lampriforms then began a radiation even in the succeeding Paleocene period, 60 million years ago. Their sister order is the Myctophiformes. [more]
Perciformes
The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is the largest of vertebrates containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch-like. They belong to the ray-finned fish and comprise over 7000 species found in almost all aquatic environments. They are also the most variably sized order of vertebrates, ranging from the 7mm Schindleria brevipinguis to the 5mMakaira species. They first appeared and diversified in the Late Cretaceous. [more]
Pleuronectiformes
The flatfish are an (Pleuronectiformes) of ray-finned fish, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. The name means "side-swimmers" in Greek. In many species both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through and around the head during development. Some species face their "left" side upward, some face their "right" side upward, and others face either side upward. [more]
Scorpaeniformes
Scorpaeniformes is an order of , but it has also been called the Scleroparei. [more]
Synbranchiformes
Synbranchiformes, often called swamp eels, is an of ray-finned fishes that are eel-like but have spiny rays, indicating that they belong to the superorder Acanthopterygii. [more]
Syngnathiformes
Syngnathiformes is an of ray-finned fishes that includes the pipefishes and seahorses. [more]
Tetraodontiformes
The Tetraodontiformes are an of highly derived ray-finned fish, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the Perciformes. The Tetraodontiformes are represented by ten families and approximately 360 species overall; most are marine and dwell in and around tropical coral reefs, but a handful of species are found in freshwater streams and estuaries. They have no close relatives, and descend from a line of coral-dwelling species that emerged around 40 million years ago. [more]
Zeiformes
The Zeiformes are a small of marine ray-finned fishes most notable for the dories, a group of common food fish. The order consists of about 40 species in seven families, mostly deep-sea types. [more]
At least 77 species and subspecies belong to the Order Zeiformes.
More info about the Order Zeiformes may be found here.
Sources
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