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Acanthopterygii

(Superorder)

Overview

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Acanthopterygii (meaning "spiny finned one") is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are also known as the ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name is also often given to the class Actinopterygii as a whole.

Orders:

b>Acanthopterygii (meaning "spiny finned one") is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are also known as the ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name is also often given to the class Actinopterygii as a whole.

Orders:

Notes

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  1. ^ In ITIS, Gobiesociformes is placed as the suborder Gobiesocoidei of the order Perciformes.
  2. ^ In ITIS, Syngnathiformes is placed as the suborder Syngnathoidei of the order Gasterosteiformes.

Sources

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External links

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Taxonomy

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The Superorder Acanthopterygii is further organized into finer groupings including:

Orders

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Ateleopodiformes

The jellynose fishes or tadpole fishes are the small order Ateleopodiformes. This group of ray-finned fish is monotypic, containing a single family Ateleopodidae. It has about one dozen species in four genera, but these enigmatic fishes are in need of taxonomic revision.  [more]

Atheriniformes

Atheriniformes, also known as the silversides, is an order 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 order 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 ray-finned fishes. This is a very poorly understood group of 16 families[], 57 genera, and about 219 species. Some people[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 order 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

Dactylopteriformes is an order of bony fish. [more]

Gasterosteiformes

Gasterosteiformes is an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the sticklebacks and relatives. [more]

Lampriformes

Lampriformes is an order of ray-finned fish. They are collectively called "lamprids" (which is more properly used for the Lampridae) or lampriforms, and unite such open-ocean and partially deep-sea Teleostei as the crestfishes, oarfish, opahs and ribbonfishes. A synonym for this order is Allotriognathi, while an often-seen but apparently incorrect spelling variant is Lampridiformes. They contain 7 extant families which are generally small but highly distinct, and a mere 12 lampriforms genera with some 20 species altogether are recognized. [more]

Perciformes

Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is one of the largest orders of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means "perch-like". They belong to the class of ray-finned fish, and comprise over 7,000 species found in almost all aquatic environments. It contains about 155 families, which is the most of any order within the vertebrates. They are also the most variably sized order of vertebrates, ranging from the 7 millimeters (0.28 in) Schindleria brevipinguis to the 5 meters (16 ft) Makaira species. They first appeared and diversified in the Late Cretaceous. Among well-known members of this group are cichlids, sunfish/bluegill, damselfish, bass, and, of course, perch. [more]

Pleuronectiformes

The flatfish are an order (Pleuronectiformes) of ray-finned demersal fish, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. 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 ray-finned fish, but it has also been called the Scleroparei. [more]

Synbranchiformes

Synbranchiformes, often called swamp eels, is an order 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 order of ray-finned fishes that includes the pipefishes and seahorses. [more]

Tetraodontiformes

The Tetraodontiformes are an order 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 order 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 89 species and subspecies belong to the Order Zeiformes.

More info about the Order Zeiformes may be found here.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ In ITIS, Gobiesociformes is placed as the suborder Gobiesocoidei of the order Perciformes.
  2. ^ In ITIS, Syngnathiformes is placed as the suborder Syngnathoidei of the order Gasterosteiformes.

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 17:25:28