Atherinomorpha

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Atherinomorpha
Atherina presbyter.jpg
Sand smelt Atherina presbyter family Atherinidae
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Superorder: Acanthopterygii
Clade: Percomorpha
(unranked): Ovalentaria
(unranked): Atherinomorpha
Exocoetus volitans a member of the Beloniformes Schwalbenfisch.jpg
Exocoetus volitans a member of the Beloniformes

The Atherinomorpha is a clade of fishes in the superorder Acanthopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, consisting of three orders. The clade is ranked as an infraseries within the subseries Ovalentaria, which in turn is ranked within the wider Percomorpha clade.

Contents

Characteristics

The species within the infraseries Atherinomorpha are generally small fishes which normally grow no longer than 2–10 centimetres (0.79–3.94 in), although some needlefishes from the order Beloniformes can grow as long as 2 metres (6.6 ft). The testes of the males are of the restricted spermatogonial type, in which the testes change to reflect a seasonal pattern of reproduction. [1] The females lay demersal eggs with filaments on the chorion. They may or may not have spines in their fins but where these are present they are generally weak. The number of vertebrae is normally less than 24. The pelvic fins are positioned abdominally, subabdominally, or thoracically and may be connected to the pleural rib by a ligament. Ctenoid scales may be present but this is rare within this grouping. [2]

The majority of the species within the Atherinomorpha are surface feeding fishes, and about three quarters of the species are restricted to fresh or brackish waters. Within this infraseries adaptation to internal fertilisation has been independently evolved, especially in freshwater groupings, and this taxon contains a greater diversity of internal fertilization than any other group of fishes. Species may be oviparous or viviparous. The filaments on the chorion are used to stick to the substrate and in most taxa, other than the exocoetoids there is an obvious droplet of oil that forms at the vegetal pole. [3]

a pair of guppies Poecilia reticulata members of the Cyprinodontiformes Guppy - male and female.jpg
a pair of guppies Poecilia reticulata members of the Cyprinodontiformes

Taxonomy

There is very strong evidence that the Atherinomorpha forms a monophyletic grouping, supported by the emphasis of diverse and unusual reproductive adaptations and this has subsequently been supported by molecular studies. Within the group the Atheriniformes are a sister group to the Beloniformes and the Cyprinodontiformes, with the atherinids which have spines in their fins being regarded as the most basal members of the clade. [3]

The fossil range of the Atherinomorpha is the Eocene to the present. [2]

The Atherinomorpha is classified as follows: [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprinodontiformes</span> Order of fishes

Cyprinodontiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising mostly small, freshwater 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perciformes</span> Order of ray-finned fishes

Perciformes, also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means "perch-like". Perciformes is an order within the Clade Percomorpha consisting of "perch-like" Percomorphans. This group comprises over 10,000 species found in almost all aquatic ecosystems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catfish</span> Order of fishes

Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia, and the piraíba of South America, to detritivores, and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. Neither the armour-plated types nor the naked types have scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels or "whiskers". Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder. Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus Corydoras, are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, but others are crepuscular or diurnal.

Lampriformes is an order of ray-finned fish. Members are collectively called lamprids 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 seven extant families which are generally small but highly distinct, and a mere 12 lampriform genera with some 20 species altogether are recognized.

Ophidiiformes is an order of ray-finned fish that includes the cusk-eels, pearlfishes, viviparous brotulas, and others. Members of this order have small heads and long slender bodies. They have either smooth scales or no scales, a long dorsal fin and an anal fin that typically runs into the caudal fin. They mostly come from the tropics and subtropics, and live in both freshwater and marine habitats, including abyssal depths. They have adopted a range of feeding methods and lifestyles, including parasitism. The majority are egg-laying, but some are viviparous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricefish</span> Family of fishes

The ricefishes are a family (Adrianichthyidae) of small ray-finned fish that are found in fresh and brackish waters from India to Japan and out into the Malay Archipelago, most notably Sulawesi. The common name ricefish derives from the fact that some species are found in rice paddies. This family consists of about 37 species in two genera. Several species are rare and threatened, and some 2–4 may already be extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synbranchiformes</span> Order of fishes

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neopterygii</span> Subclass of fishes

Neopterygii 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheilodactylidae</span> Family of fishes

Cheilodactylidae, commonly called morwongs but also known as butterfish, fingerfins, jackassfish, sea carp, snappers, and moki, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The common name "morwong" is also used as a name for several unrelated fish found in Australian waters, such as the painted sweetlips. The classification of the species within the Cheilodactylidae and the related Latridae is unclear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atheriniformes</span> Order of fishes

The Atheriniformes, also known as the silversides, are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the Old World silversides and several less-familiar families, including the unusual Phallostethidae. The order includes at least 354 species. They are found worldwide in tropical and temperate marine and freshwater environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beloniformes</span> Order of fishes

Beloniformes is an order composed of six families of freshwater and marine ray-finned fish:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blenniiformes</span> Order of fishes

Blenny is a common name for many types of fish, including several families of percomorph marine, brackish, and some freshwater fish sharing similar morphology and behaviour. Six families are considered "true blennies", grouped under the order Blenniiformes; its members are referred to as blenniiformids. About 151 genera and nearly 900 species have been described within the order. The order was formerly classified as a suborder of the Perciformes but the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World divided the Perciformes into a number of new orders and the Blenniiformes were placed in the percomorph clade Ovalentaria alongside the such taxa as Cichliformes, Mugiliformes and Gobiesociformes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velvetfish</span> Family of fishes

Little velvetfishes or simply velvetfishes are a family, the Aploactinidae, of marine ray-finned fishes classified within the order Scorpaeniformes. They are small fish that have skin with a velvet texture. They live on the sea bottom close to the shore, at depths of up to 100 metres (330 ft). They are found in the Indo-Pacific region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acanthopterygii</span> Superorder of bony fishes

Acanthopterygii is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are sometimes called ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name is often given to the class Actinopterygii as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentiniformes</span> Order of fishes

The Argentiniformes are an order of ray-finned fish whose distinctness was recognized only fairly recently. In former times, they were included in the Osmeriformes as suborder Argentinoidei. That term refers only to the suborder of marine smelts and barreleyes in the classification used here, with the slickheads and allies being the Alepocephaloidei. These suborders were treated as superfamilies Argentinoidea and Alepocephaloidea, respectively, when the present group was still included in the Osmeriformes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danionin</span> Subfamily of fishes

The danionins are a group of small, minnow-type fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. Members of this group are mostly in the genera Danio, Devario, and Rasbora. They are primarily native to the fresh waters of South and Southeast Asia, with fewer species in Africa. Many species are brightly coloured and are available as aquarium fish worldwide. Danio species tend to have horizontal stripes, rows of spots, or vertical bars, and often have long barbels. Devario species tend to have vertical or horizontal bars, and short, rudimentary barbels, if present at all. All danionins are egg scatterers, and breed in the rainy season in the wild. They are carnivores, living on insects and small crustaceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platycephaloidei</span> Suborder of fish

Platycephaloidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the order Scorpaeniformes, and includes the flatheads, ghost flatheads and sea robins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ovalentaria</span> Clade of fishes

Ovalentaria is a clade of ray-finned fishes within the Percomorpha, referred to as a subseries. It is made up of a group of fish families which are referred to in Fishes of the World's fifth edition as incertae sedis, as well as the orders Mugiliformes, Cichliformes, and Blenniiformes. It was named by W. L. Smith and T. J. Near in Wainwright et al. (2012) based on a molecular phylogeny, but the authors suggested that the group was united by the presence of demersal eggs that are attached to a substrate. Some authors have used the ordinal name Stiassnyiformes for a clade including Mugiloidei, Plesiopidae, Blenniiformes, Atherinomorpha, and Cichlidae, and this grouping does appear to be monophyletic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cirrhitoidea</span>

Cirrhitoidea is a superfamily within the suborder Percoidei of the large order of ray-finned fishes, the Perciformes.

Gymnelinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean but one genus is cosmopolitan, and another is endemic to the Southern Ocean.

References

  1. Carmen Uribe; Harry J. Grier & Víctor Mejía-Roa (2014). "Comparative testicular structure and spermatogenesis in bony fishes". Spermatogenesis. e983400 (3): e983400. doi:10.4161/21565562.2014.983400. PMC   4581063 . PMID   26413405.
  2. 1 2 "Fish Annotated Classification". Britannica.com. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. p. 351. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6.