Lepisosteiformes

Lepisosteiformes
Temporal range: Early Jurassic–present[1]
Florida gar (Lepisosteus platyrhynchus) (Lepisosteidae)
Fossil of Scheenstia maximus (Lepidotidae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Clade: Ginglymodi
Order: Lepisosteiformes
Hay, 1929
Families

For other genera, see text

Lepisosteiformes is an order of ray-finned fish and the only living members of the clade Ginglymodi. Its only extant representatives are the gar (family Lepisosteidae), and it is defined as all members of Ginglymodi that are more closely related to gar than to the extinct Semionotiformes, the other major grouping of ginglymodians. They are one of two extant orders in the infraclass Holostei alongside the Amiiformes (now represented by only the bowfins).[2][1]

While represented only by the two extant genera of gar from North America, the Lepisosteiformes are an ancient group known as far back as the Early Jurassic, and formerly had a much larger range, being known from almost every continent. Considerable morphological diversity is known among extinct members compared to modern gar, from the superficially gar-like Obaichthyidae to the semionotiform-like Lepidotidae, which were previously classified in the Semionotiformes.[3][4]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference López2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Order Summary for Lepisosteiformes". fishbase.mnhn.fr. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  3. ^ López-Arbarello, Adriana (2012-07-11). "Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Ginglymodian Fishes (Actinopterygii: Neopterygii)". PLOS ONE. 7 (7): e39370. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...739370L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039370. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3394768. PMID 22808031.
  4. ^ Grande, Lance (2010). "An empirical synthetic pattern study of gars (Lepisosteiformes) and closely related species, based mostly on skeletal anatomy. The resurrection of Holostei". Copeia. 10 (2A): 1–871. Retrieved 2023-11-25.