Elopiformes

Elopiformes
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–recent[1]
Tarpon, Megalops sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Superorder: Elopomorpha
Order: Elopiformes
P. H. Greenwood, D. E. Rosen, S. H. Weitzman, and G. S. Meyers, 1966[2]
Type species
Elops saurus
Linnaeus, 1766
Families
Synonyms
  • Elopoidei sensu de Figueiredo et al. 2012
  • Megalopiformes

The Elopiformes /ˈɛləpɪfɔːrmiːz/ are the order of ray-finned fish including the tarpons, tenpounders, and ladyfish, as well as a number of extinct types. They have a long fossil record, easily distinguished from other fishes by the presence of an additional set of bones in the throat.[3]

They are related to the order of eels, although the adults superficially resemble very large or giant herrings in appearance. The larvae, however, are leptocephalic, looking very similar to those of eels.[3]

  1. ^ Werner Schwarzhans (2018). "A review of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous otoliths and the development of early morphological diversity in otoliths". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 287 (1): 75–121. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2018/0707.
  2. ^ Thomas J. Near; Christine E. Thacker. "Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii)". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 65 (1): 3–302. doi:10.3374/014.065.0101.
  3. ^ a b McCosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.