actinopterygii

{{Short description|Class of ray-finned bony fishes}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| taxon = Actinopterygii

| name = Ray-finned fish

| fossil_range =
Late SilurianPresent, {{fossil range|earliest=Late Silurian|425|0|ref={{Cite journal |last1=Zhao |first1=W. |last2=Zhang |first2=X. |last3=Jia |first3=G. |last4=Shen |first4=Y. |last5=Zhu |first5=M. |year=2021 |title=The Silurian-Devonian boundary in East Yunnan (South China) and the minimum constraint for the lungfish-tetrapod split |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353479392 |journal=Science China Earth Sciences |volume=64 |issue=10 |pages=1784–1797 |doi=10.1007/s11430-020-9794-8 |bibcode=2021ScChD..64.1784Z |s2cid=236438229}}}}

| image = {{center|

File:Actinopterygii.jpg||300px

rect 0 0 333 232 Electric eel

rect 0 232 333 470 Red-bellied piranha

rect 0 696 333 470 Sockeye salmon

rect 0 928 333 700 Peacock flounder

rect 0 1160 333 930 Atlantic cod

rect 0 1392 333 1160 Spotted gar

rect 666 0 333 232 Yellowfin tuna

rect 666 232 333 470 Spotfin lionfish

rect 666 696 333 470 Fanfin

rect 666 928 333 700 Japanese pineconefish

rect 666 1160 333 930 American paddlefish

rect 666 1392 333 1160 Striped marlin

rect 999 0 666 232 Queen angelfish

rect 999 232 666 470 Northern pike

rect 999 696 666 470 Long-spine porcupinefish

rect 999 929 666 700 Leafy seadragon

rect 999 1160 666 930 Wels catfish

rect 999 1392 666 1160 Two-banded seabream

}}

| image_caption =

| subdivision_ranks = Subclasses

| subdivision = *Cladistia (bichirs)

| authority = Klein, 1885

}}

Actinopterygii ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|k|t|ᵻ|n|ɒ|p|t|ə|ˈ|r|ɪ|dʒ|i|aɪ|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-actinopterygii.wav}}; {{etymology|grc|{{wikt-lang|grc|ἀκτίς}} (aktis)|having rays||{{wikt-lang|grc|πτέρυξ}} (ptérux)|wing, fins}}), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish{{cite book |title=Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution |last=Kardong |first=Kenneth |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-07-802302-6 |location=New York |pages=99–100}} that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species.{{cite book |last=Nelson |first=Joseph S. |author-link=Joseph S. Nelson |title=Fishes of the World |year=2016 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6}} They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of skin supported by radially extended thin bony spines called lepidotrichia, as opposed to the bulkier, fleshy lobed fins of the sister clade Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish). Resembling folding fans, the actinopterygian fins can easily change shape and wetted area, providing superior thrust-to-weight ratios per movement compared to sarcopterygian and chondrichthyian fins. The fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent the articulation between these fins and the internal skeleton (e.g., pelvic and pectoral girdles).

The vast majority of actinopterygians are teleosts. By species count, they dominate the subphylum Vertebrata, and constitute nearly 99% of the over 30,000 extant species of fish.(Davis, Brian 2010). They are the most abundant nektonic aquatic animals and are ubiquitous throughout freshwater and marine environments from the deep sea to subterranean waters to the highest mountain streams. Extant species can range in size from Paedocypris, at {{cvt|8|mm|in|1}}; to the massive ocean sunfish, at {{cvt|2300|kg|lb|-1}}; and to the giant oarfish, at {{cvt|11|m|ft|0}}. The largest ever known ray-finned fish, the extinct Leedsichthys from the Jurassic, has been estimated to have grown to {{cvt|16.5|m|ft|0}}.

Characteristics

File:Anatomia dei pesci.jpg)}}

A: dorsal fin, B: fin rays, C: lateral line, D: kidney, E: swim bladder, F: Weberian apparatus, G: inner ear, H: brain, I: nostrils, L: eye, M: gills, N: heart, O: stomach, P: gall bladder, Q: spleen, R: internal sex organs (ovaries or testes), S: ventral fins, T: spine, U: anal fin, V: tail (caudal fin). Possible other parts not shown: barbels, adipose fin, external genitalia (gonopodium)]]

Ray-finned fishes occur in many variant forms. The main features of typical ray-finned fish are shown in the adjacent diagram.

The swim bladder is a more derived structure and used for buoyancy.{{cite journal |last1=Funk |first1=Emily |last2=Breen |first2=Catriona |last3=Sanketi |first3=Bhargav |last4=Kurpios |first4=Natasza |last5=McCune |first5=Amy |author5-link=Amy McCune |title=Changing in Nkx2.1, Sox2, Bmp4, and Bmp16 expression underlying the lung-to-gas bladder evolutionary transition in ray-finned fishes |journal=Evolution & Development |date=2020 |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=384–402|doi=10.1111/ede.12354 |pmid=33463017 |pmc=8013215 }} Except from the bichirs, which just like the lungs of lobe-finned fish have retained the ancestral condition of ventral budding from the foregut, the swim bladder in ray-finned fishes derives from a dorsal bud above the foregut.{{Cite journal|title=Changes in Nkx2.1, Sox2, Bmp4, and Bmp16 expression underlying the lung-to-gas bladder evolutionary transition in ray-finned fishes|first1=Emily C.|last1=Funk|first2=Catriona|last2=Breen|first3=Bhargav D.|last3=Sanketi|first4=Natasza|last4=Kurpios|first5=Amy|last5=McCune|author5-link=Amy McCune|date=25 September 2020|journal=Evolution & Development|volume=22|issue=5|pages=384–402|doi=10.1111/ede.12354|pmid=33463017|pmc=8013215}} In early forms the swim bladder could still be used for breathing, a trait still present in Holostei (bowfins and gars).{{Cite journal|title=A single-cell atlas of West African lungfish respiratory system reveals evolutionary adaptations to terrestrialization|first1=Ruihua|last1=Zhang|first2=Qun|last2=Liu|first3=Shanshan|last3=Pan|first4=Yingying|last4=Zhang|first5=Yating|last5=Qin|first6=Xiao|last6=Du|first7=Zengbao|last7=Yuan|first8=Yongrui|last8=Lu|first9=Yue|last9=Song|first10=Mengqi|last10=Zhang|first11=Nannan|last11=Zhang|first12=Jie|last12=Ma|first13=Zhe|last13=Zhang|first14=Xiaodong|last14=Jia|first15=Kun|last15=Wang|first16=Shunping|last16=He|first17=Shanshan|last17=Liu|first18=Ming|last18=Ni|first19=Xin|last19=Liu|first20=Xun|last20=Xu|first21=Huanming|last21=Yang|first22=Jian|last22=Wang|first23=Inge|last23=Seim|first24=Guangyi|last24=Fan|date=13 September 2023|journal=Nature Communications|volume=14|issue=1|pages=5630|doi=10.1038/s41467-023-41309-3|pmid=37699889 |pmc=10497629 |bibcode=2023NatCo..14.5630Z }} In some fish like the arapaima, the swim bladder has been modified for breathing air again,{{Cite journal|title=Morphology of the Amazonian Teleost Genus Arapaima Using Advanced 3D Imaging|first1=Miriam|last1=Scadeng|first2=Christina|last2=McKenzie|first3=Weston|last3=He|first4=Hauke|last4=Bartsch|first5=David J.|last5=Dubowitz|first6=Dominik|last6=Stec|first7=Judy|last7=St. Leger|date=25 November 2020|journal=Frontiers in Physiology|volume=11|page=260 |doi=10.3389/fphys.2020.00260 |pmid=32395105 |pmc=7197331 |doi-access=free }} and in other lineages it has been completely lost.{{Cite journal|title=Bone Density Variation in Rattails (Macrouridae, Gadiformes): Buoyancy, Depth, Body Size, and Feeding|first1=Rene P|last1=Martin|first2=Abigail S|last2=Dias|first3=Adam P|last3=Summers|first4=Mackenzie E|last4=Gerringer|date=16 October 2022|journal=Integrative Organismal Biology|volume=4|issue=1|pages=obac044|doi=10.1093/iob/obac044|pmid=36381998|pmc=9652093}}

The teleosts have urinary and reproductive tracts that are fully separated, while the Chondrostei have common urogenital ducts, and partially connected ducts are found in Cladistia and Holostei.[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46900-8 Post-testicular sperm maturation in ancient holostean species]

Ray-finned fishes have many different types of scales; but all teleosts have leptoid scales. The outer part of these scales fan out with bony ridges, while the inner part is crossed with fibrous connective tissue. Leptoid scales are thinner and more transparent than other types of scales, and lack the hardened enamel- or dentine-like layers found in the scales of many other fish. Unlike ganoid scales, which are found in non-teleost actinopterygians, new scales are added in concentric layers as the fish grows.{{Cite web|title=Actinopterygii Klein, 1885|url=https://www.gbif.org/species/113225725|access-date=2021-09-20|website=www.gbif.org|language=en}}

Teleosts and chondrosteans (sturgeons and paddlefish) also differ from the bichirs and holosteans (bowfin and gars) in having gone through a whole-genome duplication (paleopolyploidy). The WGD is estimated to have happened about 320 million years ago in the teleosts, which on average has retained about 17% of the gene duplicates, and around 180 (124–225) million years ago in the chondrosteans. It has since happened again in some teleost lineages, like Salmonidae (80–100 million years ago) and several times independently within the Cyprinidae (in goldfish and common carp as recently as 14 million years ago).{{Cite journal|title=Fossilized cell structures identify an ancient origin for the teleost whole-genome duplication|first1=Donald|last1=Davesne|first2=Matt|last2=Friedman|first3=Armin D.|last3=Schmitt|first4=Vincent|last4=Fernandez|first5=Giorgio|last5=Carnevale|first6=Per E.|last6=Ahlberg|first7=Sophie|last7=Sanchez|first8=Roger B. J.|last8=Benson|date=27 July 2021|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=118|issue=30|doi=10.1073/pnas.2101780118|pmid=34301898|pmc=8325350 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11801780D |doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal|url=https://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2022/08/12/gr.276953.122|title=An atlas of fish genome evolution reveals delayed rediploidization following the teleost whole-genome duplication|first1=Elise|last1=Parey|first2=Alexandra|last2=Louis|first3=Jerome|last3=Montfort|first4=Yann|last4=Guiguen|first5=Hugues Roest|last5=Crollius|first6=Camille|last6=Berthelot|date=12 August 2022|journal=Genome Research|volume=32 |issue=9 |pages=1685–1697|via=genome.cshlp.org|doi=10.1101/gr.276953.122|pmid=35961774|pmc=9528989 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Du |first1=Kang |last2=Stöck |first2=Matthias |last3=Kneitz |first3=Susanne |last4=Klopp |first4=Christophe |last5=Woltering |first5=Joost M. |last6=Adolfi |first6=Mateus Contar |last7=Feron |first7=Romain |last8=Prokopov |first8=Dmitry |last9=Makunin |first9=Alexey |last10=Kichigin |first10=Ilya |last11=Schmidt |first11=Cornelia |last12=Fischer |first12=Petra |last13=Kuhl |first13=Heiner |last14=Wuertz |first14=Sven |last15=Gessner |first15=Jörn |date=2020 |title=The sterlet sturgeon genome sequence and the mechanisms of segmental rediploidization |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=4 |issue=6 |pages=841–852 |doi=10.1038/s41559-020-1166-x |pmid=32231327 |bibcode=2020NatEE...4..841D |issn=2397-334X|pmc=7269910 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Kuraku |first1=Shigehiro |last2=Sato |first2=Mana |last3=Yoshida |first3=Kohta |last4=Uno |first4=Yoshinobu |date=2024 |title=Genomic reconsideration of fish non-monophyly: why cannot we simply call them all 'fish'? |journal=Ichthyological Research |language=en |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1007/s10228-023-00939-9 |bibcode=2024IchtR..71....1K |issn=1616-3915|doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Peng |last2=Xu |first2=Jian |last3=Liu |first3=Guangjian |last4=Chen |first4=Lin |last5=Zhou |first5=Zhixiong |last6=Peng |first6=Wenzhu |last7=Jiang |first7=Yanliang |last8=Zhao |first8=Zixia |last9=Jia |first9=Zhiying |last10=Sun |first10=Yonghua |last11=Wu |first11=Yidi |last12=Chen |first12=Baohua |last13=Pu |first13=Fei |last14=Feng |first14=Jianxin |last15=Luo |first15=Jing |date=2019 |title=The allotetraploid origin and asymmetrical genome evolution of the common carp Cyprinus carpio |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=4625 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-12644-1 |pmid=31604932 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.4625X |issn=2041-1723|pmc=6789147 }}

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Body shapes and fin arrangements

{{Further|Fish fin|Diversity of fish}}

Ray-finned fish vary in size and shape, in their feeding specializations, and in the number and arrangement of their ray-fins.

{{gallery

| height=100px

| mode=nolines

| noborder=true

|File:Bluefin-big.jpg|Tuna are streamlined for straight line speed with a deeply forked tail

|File:Swordfish (Duane Raver).png|The swordfish is even faster and more streamlined than the tuna

|File:Salmo salar.jpg|Salmon generate enough thrust with their tail fin to jump obstacles during river migrations

|File:Atlantic cod.jpg|Cod have three dorsal and two anal fins, which give them great maneuverability

|File:Ancylopsetta dilecta 2.jpg|Flatfish have developed partially symmetric dorsal and pelvic fins

|File:Anableps anableps2.jpg|The four-eyed fish Anableps anableps can see both below and above the water surface

|File:Diaphus metopoclampus.jpg|Lanternfish

|File:Gonostoma elongatum.jpg|Elongated bristlemouth

|File:Anoplogaster cornuta 2.jpg|Fangtooth are indifferent swimmers who try to ambush their prey

|File:Melanocetus johnsonii.jpg|The first spine of the dorsal fin of anglerfish is modified like a fishing rod with a lure

|File:Beryx decadactylus.jpg|Alfonsino

|File:Polypterus bichir (cropped).jpg|Bichirs and their relatives in the order Polypteriformes are sister to all other extant ray-fins; they possess lungs

|File:King of herrings.png|Giant oarfish

|File:Conger conger Gervais.jpg|European conger are ray-finned fish

|File:FMIB 42560 Pterois sphex Jordan & Evermann; from the type 2.jpeg|Hawaiian turkeyfish

|File:Ogcocephalus notatus Castelnau.jpg|The benthic batfish Ogcocephalus notatus

|File:Saccopharynx.JPG|The deep sea eel Saccopharynx ampullaceus

|File:Campylomormyrus curvirostris (Boulenger, 1898).jpg|The freshwater elephant fish Campylomormyrus curvirostris

|File:Acipenser oxyrhynchus (edit).png|The sturgeon Acipenser oxyrhynchus has a cartilaginous endoskeleton

|File:Belone belone1.jpg|The ambush predator needlefish Belone belone

|File:Seahorse-col.svg|Seahorses are in the extended pipefish family

|File:Mirror dory.png|Mirror dory

|File:Coryphaena hippurus.png|Mahi-mahi

|File:Exocoetus obtusirostris.jpg|The "flying fish" Exocoetus obtusirostris has specialized pectoral fins for gliding

|File:Momol u0.gif|The hoodwinker sunfish Mola tecta has no caudal fin

|File:Leedsichthys problematicus.jpg|The Jurassic {{extinct}}Leedsichthys was a filter-feeder and the largest ray-finned fish to have ever lived

|File:Lactoria fornasini1.jpg|Lactoria fornasini is a poisonous species of boxfish

|File:Lepisosteus platostomus drawing.jpg|Gars (along with the bowfin) are the only surviving members of the Holostei

}}

Reproduction

File:Gasterosteus aculeatus 1879.jpg (Gasterosteus aculeatus) males (red belly) build nests and compete to attract females to lay eggs in them. Males then defend and fan the eggs. Painting by Alexander Francis Lydon, 1879]]

In nearly all ray-finned fish, the sexes are separate, and in most species the females spawn eggs that are fertilized externally, typically with the male inseminating the eggs after they are laid. Development then proceeds with a free-swimming larval stage.{{cite book |title=Zoology |url=https://archive.org/details/zoology0000dori |url-access=registration |last1=Dorit |first1=R.L. |last2=Walker |first2=W.F. |last3=Barnes |first3=R.D. |year=1991 |publisher=Saunders College Publishing |isbn=978-0-03-030504-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/zoology0000dori/page/819 819] }} However other patterns of ontogeny exist, with one of the commonest being sequential hermaphroditism. In most cases this involves protogyny, fish starting life as females and converting to males at some stage, triggered by some internal or external factor. Protandry, where a fish converts from male to female, is much less common than protogyny.{{cite journal |title=Evolutionary perspectives on hermaphroditism in fishes |journal=Sexual Development |year=2009 |first=J.C. |last=Avise |author-link=John Avise |author2=Mank, J.E. |volume=3 |issue=2–3 |pages=152–163|doi=10.1159/000223079|pmid=19684459 |s2cid=22712745 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1px4b8qn }}

Most families use external rather than internal fertilization.{{cite book|last=Pitcher|first=T|title=The Behavior of Teleost Fishes|year=1993|publisher=Chapman & Hall|location=London}} Of the oviparous teleosts, most (79%) do not provide parental care.{{cite journal |last=Reynolds |first=John|author2=Nicholas B. Goodwin |author3=Robert P. Freckleton |title=Evolutionary Transitions in Parental Care and Live Bearing in Vertebrates |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=19 March 2002 |volume=357 |issue=1419 |pmc=1692951 |pmid=11958696 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2001.0930 |pages=269–281}} Viviparity, ovoviviparity, or some form of parental care for eggs, whether by the male, the female, or both parents is seen in a significant fraction (21%) of the 422 teleost families; no care is likely the ancestral condition. The oldest case of viviparity in ray-finned fish is found in Middle Triassic species of {{extinct}}Saurichthys.{{cite journal | author = Maxwell | display-authors = etal | year = 2018 | title = Re-evaluation of the ontogeny and reproductive biology of the Triassic fish Saurichthys (Actinopterygii, Saurichthyidae) | journal = Palaeontology | volume = 61 | pages = 559–574 | doi = 10.5061/dryad.vc8h5 }} Viviparity is relatively rare and is found in about 6% of living teleost species; male care is far more common than female care.{{cite book|last=Clutton-Brock|first=T. H.|author-link=Tim Clutton-Brock|title=The Evolution of Parental Care|year=1991|publisher=Princeton UP|location=Princeton, NJ}} Male territoriality "preadapts" a species for evolving male parental care.{{cite journal |last=Werren |first=John|author2=Mart R. Gross |author3=Richard Shine |author3-link=Richard Shine |title=Paternity and the evolution of male parentage |journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology |year=1980 |volume=82|issue=4 |doi=10.1016/0022-5193(80)90182-4 |pmid=7382520|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222458526 |access-date=15 September 2013 |pages=619–631}}{{cite journal |last=Baylis |first=Jeffrey |title=The Evolution of Parental Care in Fishes, with reference to Darwin's rule of male sexual selection |journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes |year=1981 |volume=6 |issue=2 |doi=10.1007/BF00002788 |pages=223–251|bibcode=1981EnvBF...6..223B |s2cid=19242013 }}

There are a few examples of fish that self-fertilise. The mangrove rivulus is an amphibious, simultaneous hermaphrodite, producing both eggs and spawn and having internal fertilisation. This mode of reproduction may be related to the fish's habit of spending long periods out of water in the mangrove forests it inhabits. Males are occasionally produced at temperatures below {{convert|19|°C}} and can fertilise eggs that are then spawned by the female. This maintains genetic variability in a species that is otherwise highly inbred.{{cite book|author1=Wootton, Robert J.|author2=Smith, Carl|title=Reproductive Biology of Teleost Fishes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_YnjBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-118-89139-1}}

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Classification and fossil record

File:Evolution of ray-finned fish.png

{{See also|Evolution of fish}}

Actinopterygii is divided into the subclasses Cladistia, Chondrostei and Neopterygii. The Neopterygii, in turn, is divided into the infraclasses Holostei and Teleostei. During the Mesozoic (Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous) and Cenozoic the teleosts in particular diversified widely. As a result, 96% of living fish species are teleosts (40% of all fish species belong to the teleost subgroup Acanthomorpha), while all other groups of actinopterygians represent depauperate lineages.{{cite journal |last1=Sallan |first1=Lauren C. |author1-link=Lauren Sallan |title=Major issues in the origins of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) biodiversity |journal=Biological Reviews |date=February 2014 |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=950–971 |doi=10.1111/brv.12086|pmid=24612207 |hdl=2027.42/109271 |s2cid=24876484 |hdl-access=free }}

The classification of ray-finned fishes can be summarized as follows:

  • Cladistia, which include bichirs and reedfish
  • Actinopteri, which include:
  • Chondrostei, which include Acipenseriformes (paddlefishes and sturgeons)
  • Neopterygii, which include:
  • Teleostei (most living fishes)
  • Holostei, which include:
  • Lepisosteiformes (gars)
  • Amiiformes (bowfin)

The cladogram below shows the main clades of living actinopterygians and their evolutionary relationships to other extant groups of fishes and the four-limbed vertebrates (tetrapods).{{cite journal |title=Resolution of ray-finned fish phylogeny and timing of diversification |author=Thomas J. Near |author-link=Thomas J. Near |journal=PNAS |doi=10.1073/pnas.1206625109 |pmid=22869754 |date=2012 |volume=109 |issue=34 |pages=13698–13703 |display-authors=etal |pmc=3427055 |bibcode=2012PNAS..10913698N|doi-access=free }}{{cite journal|author=Betancur-R, Ricardo |display-authors=etal |year=2013 |title=The Tree of Life and a New Classification of Bony Fishes |journal=PLOS Currents Tree of Life |volume=5 |issue=Edition 1 |doi=10.1371/currents.tol.53ba26640df0ccaee75bb165c8c26288 |pmid=23653398 |pmc=3644299 |hdl=2027.42/150563 |doi-access=free }} The latter include mostly terrestrial species but also groups that became secondarily aquatic (e.g. whales and dolphins). Tetrapods evolved from a group of bony fish during the Devonian period.{{cite journal|author1=Laurin, M. |author2=Reisz, R.R. |year=1995 |title=A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=165–223 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00932.x}} Approximate divergence dates for the different actinopterygian clades (in millions of years, mya) are from Near et al., 2012.

{{clade

|label1=Vertebrates

|1={{clade

|1=Jaw-less fishes (hagfish, lampreys) 80px

|label2=Jawed vertebrates

|2={{clade

|1=Cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, ratfish) 80px

|label2=Euteleostomi

|sublabel2=('bony fish')

|2={{clade

|label1=Sarcopterygii

|sublabel1=(lobe-fins)

|1={{clade

|label1=Actinistia

|1=Coelacanths 70px

|label2=Rhipidistia

|2={{clade

|1=Lungfish 70 px

|label2=Tetrapods

|2={{clade

|1=Amphibians 70px

|label2=Amniota

|2={{clade

|1=Mammals 60px

|2=Sauropsids (reptiles, birds) 70px

}}

}}

}}

}}

|label2=Actinopterygii

|sublabel2={{small|400 mya}}

|2={{clade

|label1=Cladistia

|1=Polypteriformes (bichirs, reedfishes) 80px

|label2=Actinopteri

|2={{clade

|label1=Chondrostei

|1=Acipenseriformes (sturgeons, paddlefishes) 80px

|label2=Neopterygii |sublabel2={{small|360 mya}}

|2={{clade

|sublabel1={{small|310 mya}}

|1=Teleostei 70px

|label2=Holostei

|sublabel2={{small|275 mya}}

|2={{clade

|1=Amiiformes (bowfins) 70px

|2=Lepisosteiformes (gars) 80px

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

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}}

}}

The polypterids (bichirs and reedfish) are the sister lineage of all other actinopterygians, the Acipenseriformes (sturgeons and paddlefishes) are the sister lineage of Neopterygii, and Holostei (bowfin and gars) are the sister lineage of teleosts. The Elopomorpha (eels and tarpons) appear to be the most basal teleosts.

The earliest known fossil actinopterygian is Andreolepis hedei, dating back 420 million years (Late Silurian), remains of which have been found in Russia, Sweden, and Estonia.{{cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=34968|title=Fossilworks: Andreolepis|access-date=14 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212023014/http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_no=34968&is_real_user=1|archive-date=12 February 2010|url-status=live}} Crown group actinopterygians most likely originated near the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary.{{cite journal |last1=Henderson |first1=Struan |last2=Dunne |first2=Emma M. |last3=Fasey |first3=Sophie A. |last4=Giles |first4=Sam |author4-link=Sam Giles |date=3 October 2022 |title=The early diversification of ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii): hypotheses, challenges and future prospects |journal=Biological Reviews |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=284–315 |doi=10.1111/brv.12907 |pmid=36192821 |pmc=10091770 |s2cid=241850484 }} The earliest fossil relatives of modern teleosts are from the Triassic period (Prohalecites, Pholidophorus),{{Cite journal|author1=Arratia, G. |name-list-style=amp |year=2015 |title=Complexities of early teleostei and the evolution of particular morphological structures through time. |journal=Copeia |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=999–1025 |doi=10.1643/CG-14-184|s2cid=85808890 }}{{cite journal |last1=Romano |first1=Carlo |last2=Koot |first2=Martha B. |last3=Kogan |first3=Ilja |last4=Brayard |first4=Arnaud |last5=Minikh |first5=Alla V. |last6=Brinkmann |first6=Winand |last7=Bucher |first7=Hugo |last8=Kriwet |first8=Jürgen |title=Permian-Triassic Osteichthyes (bony fishes): diversity dynamics and body size evolution |journal=Biological Reviews |date=February 2016 |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=106–147 |doi=10.1111/brv.12161 |pmid=25431138 |s2cid=5332637 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01253154 }} although it is suspected that teleosts originated already during the Paleozoic Era.

class="wikitable"
Chondrostei

|140px{{center|Atlantic sturgeon}}

|valign=top |Chondrostei (cartilage bone) is a subclass of primarily cartilaginous fish showing some ossification. Earlier definitions of Chondrostei are now known to be paraphyletic, meaning that this subclass does not contain all the descendants of their common ancestor. There used to be 52 species divided among two orders, the Acipenseriformes (sturgeons and paddlefishes) and the Polypteriformes (reedfishes and bichirs). Reedfish and birchirs are now separated from the Chondrostei into their own sister lineage, the Cladistia. It is thought that the chondrosteans evolved from bony fish but lost the bony hardening of their cartilaginous skeletons, resulting in a lightening of the frame. Elderly chondrosteans show beginnings of ossification of the skeleton, suggesting that this process is delayed rather than lost in these fish.{{cite web|url=http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/090Teleostomi/090.300.html |title=Chondrosteans: Sturgeon Relatives |publisher=paleos.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225152809/http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/090Teleostomi/090.300.html |archive-date=25 December 2010}} This group had once been classified with the sharks: the similarities are obvious, as not only do the chondrosteans mostly lack bone, but the structure of the jaw is more akin to that of sharks than other bony fish, and both lack scales (excluding the Polypteriforms). Additional shared features include spiracles and, in sturgeons, a heterocercal tail (the vertebrae extend into the larger lobe of the caudal fin). However the fossil record suggests that these fish have more in common with the Teleostei than their external appearance might suggest.

Neopterygii

|140px{{center|Atlantic salmon}}

|Neopterygii (new fins) is a subclass of ray-finned fish that appeared somewhere in the Late Permian. There were only few changes during its evolution from the earlier actinopterygians. Neopterygians are a very successful group of fishes because they can move more rapidly than their ancestors. Their scales and skeletons began to lighten during their evolution, and their jaws became more powerful and efficient. While electroreception and the ampullae of Lorenzini is present in all other groups of fish, with the exception of hagfish, neopterygians have lost this sense, though it later re-evolved within Gymnotiformes and catfishes, who possess nonhomologous teleost ampullae.{{cite book|author=Theodore Holmes Bullock|author-link=Theodore Holmes Bullock|author2=Carl D. Hopkins|author3=Arthur N. Popper|title=Electroreception|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1-rak1asv0C&pg=PA229|year=2005|publisher=Springer Science+Business Media, Incorporated|isbn=978-0-387-28275-6|page=229 }}

File:Cheirolepis canadensis.jpg {{extinct}}cheirolepidiform {{extinct}}Cheirolepis canadensis]]

File:Elonichthys peltigerus.jpg {{extinct}}elonichthyiform {{extinct}}Elonichthys peltigerus]]

File:Aeduella sp.JPG {{extinct}}aeduelliform {{extinct}}Aeduella blainvillei]]

File:PalaeoniscusFreieslebenensis-NaturalHistoryMuseum-August23-08.jpg {{extinct}}palaeonisciform {{extinct}}Palaeoniscum freieslebeni]]

File:Bobasatrania canadensis 1.jpg {{extinct}}bobasatraniiform {{extinct}}Bobasatrania canadensis]]

File:Italopterus magnificus 01.jpg {{extinct}}perleidiform {{extinct}}Thoracopterus magnificus]]

File:Prohalecites sp Rasa 1.JPG {{extinct}}prohaleciteiform {{extinct}}Prohalecites sp., the earliest teleosteomorph]]

File:Aspidorhynchus sp.jpg {{extinct}}aspidorhynchiform {{extinct}}Aspidorhynchus sp.]]

File:Pachycormus curtus SMNS 55300.jpg {{extinct}}pachycormiform {{extinct}}Pachycormus curtus]]

File:Yanosteus longidorsalis MHNT.jpg acipenseriform {{extinct}}Yanosteus longidorsalis]]

File:Nematonotus longispinus.jpg aulopiform {{extinct}}Nematonotus longispinus]]

File:Thrissops formosus 3.JPG {{extinct}}ichthyodectiform {{extinct}}Thrissops formosus]]

File:Mene oblonga 23.JPG carangiform {{extinct}}Mene oblonga]]

File:Amphistium.JPG pleuronectiform {{extinct}}Amphistium paradoxum]]

File:Priscacara serrata FMNH PF13014 img1.jpg) from the Lower Eocene about 50 million years ago]]

File:Nerophis (7992564775).jpg syngnathiform {{extinct}}Nerophis zapfei]]

File:Lophius piscatorius MHNT.jpg. The first spine of the dorsal fin of the anglerfish is modified so it functions like a fishing rod with a lure]]

File:Lingcodskeleton1600ppx.JPG]]

File:Blue catfish skeleton.jpg skeleton}}]]

=Taxonomy=

The listing below is a summary of all extinct (indicated by a dagger, †) and living groups of Actinopterygii with their respective taxonomic rank. The taxonomy follows Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes{{Cite web |last=Fricke |first=R. |last2=Eschmeyer |first2=W. N. |last3=Van der Laan |first3=R. |date=2025 |title=ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION |url=https://www.calacademy.org/eschmeyers-catalog-of-fishes-classification |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=California Academy of Sciences |language=en}} and Phylogenetic Classification of Bony Fishes with notes when this differs from Nelson, ITIS{{ITIS |id=161061 |taxon=Actinopterygii |access-date=3 April 2006}} and FishBase{{cite web |editor=R. Froese and D. Pauly|title=FishBase |url=http://www.fishbase.org |date=February 2006 |access-date=8 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705004623/http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=11 |archive-date=5 July 2018 |url-status=live }} and extinct groups from Van der Laan 2016{{cite book|last=Van der Laan|first=Richard|title=Family-group names of fossil fishes|year=2016|doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.2130.1361|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317888989}} and Xu 2021.{{Cite journal|last=Xu|first=Guang-Hui|date=2021-01-09|title=A new stem-neopterygian fish from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Yunnan, China, with a reassessment of the relationships of early neopterygian clades|url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/191/2/375/5859858|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|language=en|volume=191|issue=2|pages=375–394|doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa053|issn=0024-4082|doi-access=free}}

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References

{{Reflist|20em}}