Osteoglossomorpha is a group of bony fish in the
TeleosteiTeleostei is one of three infraclasses in class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes. This diverse group, which arose in the Triassic period, includes 20,000 extant species in about 40 orders; most living fishes are members of this group...
. A notable member is the
ArapaimaThe arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche is a South American tropical freshwater fish. It is one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world.-Anatomy and morphology:...
(
Arapaima gigas), the largest
freshwaterFreshwater is naturally occurring water on the surface such as bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground in aquifers and underground rivers. Freshwater is characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts...
fish in
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
and one of the very largest bony fishes alive. Other notable members include the bizarre freshwater elephantfishes (Mormyridae).
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Osteoglossomorpha' Start a new discussion about 'Osteoglossomorpha' Answer questions from other users |
Osteoglossomorpha is a group of bony fish in the
TeleosteiTeleostei is one of three infraclasses in class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes. This diverse group, which arose in the Triassic period, includes 20,000 extant species in about 40 orders; most living fishes are members of this group...
. A notable member is the
ArapaimaThe arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche is a South American tropical freshwater fish. It is one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world.-Anatomy and morphology:...
(
Arapaima gigas), the largest
freshwaterFreshwater is naturally occurring water on the surface such as bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground in aquifers and underground rivers. Freshwater is characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts...
fish in
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
and one of the very largest bony fishes alive. Other notable members include the bizarre freshwater elephantfishes (Mormyridae).
Systematics
Most osteoglossomorph lineages are extinct today. Only the somewhat diverse "bone-tongues" (
OsteoglossiformesOsteoglossiformes is a relatively primitive order of ray-finned fish that contains two sub-orders, the Osteoglossoidei and the Notopteroidei. All of the living species inhabit freshwater...
) and two
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of
mooneyeThe mooneyes are a family, the Hiodontidae, of primitive ray-finned fish comprising two living and three extinct species in the genus Hiodon. They are large-eyed, fork-tailed fish that physically resemble shads...
s (Hiodontiformes) remain.