Acipenseriformes
Sign in to savethumb|Fossil of the Chondrosteidae|chondrosteid Strongylosteus hindenburgi, Tübingen thumb|Fossil of the Peipiaosteidae|peipiaosteid Yanosteus longidorsalis, [[MHNT]] thumb|The living Polyodontidae|polyodontid Polyodon spathula (American paddlefish) thumb|The living Acipenseridae|acipenserid Acipenser ruthenus (sterlet) thumb|The living Acipenseridae|acipenserid [[Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni (false shovelnose sturgeon)]]
AI overview
Acipenseriformes is an order of fish that includes both extinct groups (like Chondrosteidae and Peipiaosteidae) and living families such as sturgeons and paddlefish. These fish are scientifically important for understanding the evolutionary history of ray-finned fishes, and some living species like the sterlet and American paddlefish remain significant in their ecosystems today.
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Article
7 sectionsContents
- Description
- Evolutionary history
- Classification
- Conservation
- Hybridization
- References
- External links
thumb|Fossil of the Chondrosteidae|chondrosteid Strongylosteus hindenburgi, Tübingen thumb|Fossil of the Peipiaosteidae|peipiaosteid Yanosteus longidorsalis, [[MHNT]] thumb|The living Polyodontidae|polyodontid Polyodon spathula (American paddlefish) thumb|The living Acipenseridae|acipenserid Acipenser ruthenus (sterlet) thumb|The living Acipenseridae|acipenserid [[Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni (false shovelnose sturgeon)]]
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 diverging group of living ray-finned fish after the bichirs. Despite being early diverging, they are highly derived (modified from their ancestors), having only weakly ossified skeletons that are mostly made of cartilage, and in modern representatives highly modified skulls.