|
The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. They are the dominant group of vertebrates, with over 27,000 species ubiquitous throughout fresh water and marine environments.
Classification Traditionally three grades of Actinopterygii have been recognized: the Chondrostei, Holostei, and Teleostei. The second is paraphyletic and tends to be abandoned, however, while the first is now restricted to those forms closer to extant Chondrostei than to the other groups. Nearly all fish alive today are teleosts. A listing of the different groups is given below, down to the level of orders, arranged in what is believed to represent the evolutionary sequence down to the level of superorder. The listing follows FishBase• with notes when this differs from Nelson• and ITIS.• Notes | ||||||||
|
| |||||||||
 |
|
| |