Skip to content
Category

Neopterygii

page 1
Teleostei
Teleostei (; ), members of which are known as teleosts (), is, by far, the largest group of ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii), with 96% of all extant species of fish. The Teleostei, which is variously considered a division or an infraclass in different taxonomic systems, include over 26,000 species that are arranged in about 40 orders and 448 families. Teleosts range from giant oarfish measuring or more, and ocean sunfish weighing over , to the minute male anglerfish Photocorynus spiniceps, just long. Including not only torpedo-shaped fish built for speed, teleosts can be flattened vert
Neopterygii
Neopterygii (from Ancient Greek νέος (néos), meaning "new", and πτέρυξ (ptérux), meaning "wing, 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 fishes, and over half of all living vertebrate species. While living holosteans include only freshwater taxa, teleosts are diverse in both freshwater and marine environments. Many new species of teleosts are scientifically described each year.
Holostei
Holostei is a group of ray-finned bony fish. It is divided into two major clades, the Halecomorphi, represented by the single living genus, Amia with two species, the bowfins (Amia calva and Amia ocellicauda), as well as the Ginglymodi, the sole living representatives being the gars (Lepisosteidae), represented by seven living species in two genera (Atractosteus, Lepisosteus). The earliest members of the clade, which are putative "semionotiforms" such as Acentrophorus and Archaeolepidotus, are known from the Middle to Late Permian and are among the earliest known neopterygians.
Halecostomi
Halecostomi is the name of a group of neopterygian fish uniting the halecomorphs (represented by the living bowfin and many extinct groups) and the teleosts, the largest group of extant ray-finned fish.
Teleosteomorpha
Teleosteomorpha is an infraclass of ray-finned fishes containing all teleost fish and their closest extinct relatives. Also in this group are two diverse Mesozoic fish orders, the Aspidorhynchiformes and the Pachycormiformes. Several other non-teleostomorph teleosteans existed throughout the Mesozoic, although not as dominant as the two main clades in the group.