The beardfishes consist of a single extant genus, Polymixia, of deep-sea marine ray-finned fish named for their pair of long hyoid barbels. They are classified in their own order Polymixiiformes. But as Nelson says, "few groups have been shifted back and forth as frequently as this one, and they were recently added to Paracanthoptergii". For instance, they have previously been classified as belonging to the Beryciformes, and are presently considered either paracanthopterygians or the sister group to acanthopterygians. They are of little economic importance.
Berycopsis is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish from the Late Cretaceous period. Fossils are known from England, Germany, and Lebanon. A potential specimen is known from the Czech Republic.
Coriops is an extinct genus of freshwater osteoglossomorph fish, possibly a hiodontiform, with a single species known from the Late Cretaceous of western North America.
Acanthomorpha is an extraordinarily diverse taxon of teleost fishes with spiny fin rays. The clade contains about one-third of the world's modern species of vertebrates: over 14,000 species.
Caproberyx is an extinct genus of marine acanthomorph ray-finned fish, possibly a holocentrid, from the Late Cretaceous.
Aulolepis is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived from the middle Cenomanian to the late Turonian. It contains a single species, A. typus from the Chalk Group of the United Kingdom and the Hesseltal Formation of Germany.
Araripichthys is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived from the Aptian to Coniacian stages of the Cretaceous period. The genus is named after the Araripe Basin, where it was found in the Crato and Santana Formations. Other fossils of the genus have been found at Goulmima in Morocco, the Tlayua Formation of Mexico and the Apón Formation of Venezuela.
Ctenocephalichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, generally considered a holocentriform, that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is known from Cenomanian to the Santonian of Lebanon.
Dinopteryx is an extinct genus of prehistoric beardfish from the Late Cretaceous period. It contains a single species, D. spinosus, known from the Santonian of Lebanon. It is the only member of the extinct family Dinopterygidae, which is considered a distinct family of the Polymixiiformes. It was previously placed in the genus Hoplopteryx.
Alloberyx is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, possibly a holocentrid, that lived during the Santonian of Lebanon, from the Sahel Alma site. It contains two species, A. syriacus, initially described as a species of Pseudoberyx, and A. robustus, initially classified in the genus Serratocentrus.
Cryptoberyx is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the late Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Two species are known from southern Europe and the Middle East, both part of the former Tethys Sea.
Adriacentrus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine bony fish that lived in the Turonian in what is now Croatia. It contains a single species, A. crnolataci. Formerly considered a beryciform fish, it is now known to be more closely related to the squirrelfish (Holocentridae).
Berycopsia is an extinct genus of beardfish that lived during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It contains a single species, B. inopinnata, that inhabited marine habitats of the Tethys Sea around what is now Croatia.
Aphnelepis is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater ray-finned fish that lived during the Late Jurassic epoch. It contains a single species, A. australis, from the Talbragar River beds of New South Wales, Australia.
Callipteryx is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine trachiniform fish that lived during the early Eocene. It is the only known member of the extinct family Callipterygidae. It is thought to have been a relative of weeverfishes.
Properca is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine perciform fish that lived in Europe throughout much of the Cenozoic, from the Paleocene to the Miocene epochs.
Caeus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, closely related to the modern milkfish. It contains a single species, C. leopoldi from the Early Cretaceous of the Pietraroja Plattenkalk, Italy. It is one of the largest teleosts known from the Pietraroja formation, and is known by only a single specimen.
Diaphyodus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, generally considered a drumfish, from the Late Paleocene and Eocene, and potentially to the mid-Oligocene of Europe and North America.
Cylindracanthus is an extinct, enigmatic genus of marine ray-finned fish with fossils known throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Africa from the Late Cretaceous to the late Eocene, with potential Oligocene records and a possible Miocene record also known. It is exclusively known from its distinctive partial remains, which are long cylindrical bony spines that are usually considered rostrum fragments, as well as some associated teeth. These spines are abundant & widespread throughout this timespan, and are useful indicators of a nearshore marine environment, but the taxonomic identity of the fish is still highly uncertain and debated.
Pleuropholis is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish.
