Osteoglossidae Temporal range: Albian record
Possible | |
---|---|
Scleropages leichardti, an osteoglossine from Queensland, Australia | |
Arapaima gigas, an arapaimine from South America | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Osteoglossiformes |
Suborder: | Osteoglossoidei |
Family: | Osteoglossidae Bonaparte, 1831 |
Genera | |
See text for extinct taxa |
Osteoglossidae is a family of large-sized freshwater fish, which includes the arowanas and arapaima. They are commonly known as bonytongues. The family contains two extant subfamilies Arapaiminae and Osteoglossinae, with a total of five living genera.[1] The extinct Phareodontinae are known from worldwide during the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene; they are generally considered to be crown group osteoglossids that are more closely related to one of the extant osteoglossid subfamilies than the other, though their exact position varies.[2][3]