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Osteichthyes

(Superclass)

Overview

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Taxonomy

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The Superclass Osteichthyes is a member of the Infraphylum Gnathostomata. Here is the complete "parentage" of Osteichthyes:

The Superclass Osteichthyes is further organized into finer groupings including:

Classes

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Actinopterygii

The Actinopterygii (), or ray-finned fishes, constitute a class or sub-class of the bony fishes. [more]

Gastropoda

The Gastropoda or gastropods, more commonly known as snails and slugs, are a large taxonomic class within the phylum Mollusca. The class Gastropoda includes snails and slugs of all kinds and all sizes from microscopic to quite large. There are huge numbers of sea snails and sea slugs, as well as freshwater snails and freshwater limpets, and land snails and land slugs. [more]

Osteichthyes

Osteichthyes (), also called bony fish, are a taxonomic group of fish that have bony, as opposed to cartilaginous, skeletons. The vast majority of fish are osteichthyes, which is an extremely diverse and abundant group consisting of over 29,000 species. It is the largest class of vertebrates in existence today. Osteichthyes is divided into the ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) and lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii). The oldest known fossils of bony fish are about 420 million years ago, which are also transitional fossils, showing a tooth pattern that is in between the tooth rows of sharks and bony fishes. [more]

At least 49,409 species and subspecies belong to the Class Osteichthyes.

More info about the Class Osteichthyes may be found here.

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 19:59:31