Ophidiiformes

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Ophidiiformes
Temporal range: Maastrichtian–present
Fawn cusk-eel, Lepophidium profundorum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Clade: Percomorpha
Order: Ophidiiformes
L. S. Berg, 1937
Type species
Ophidion barbatum
Linnaeus 1758
Suborders

See text

Ophidiiformes

Bythitidae), and others. Members of this order have small heads and long slender bodies. They have either smooth scales or no scales, a long dorsal fin and an anal fin that typically runs into the caudal fin. They mostly come from the tropics and subtropics, and live in both freshwater and marine habitats, including abyssal depths. They have adopted a range of feeding methods and lifestyles, including parasitism. The majority are egg-laying, but some are viviparous
.

The earliest fossil members are known from the Maastrichtian, and include the basal ophidiiform Pastorius from Italy and several species of the basal cusk-eel Ampheristus from the United States and Germany.[1][2][3]

Distribution

This order includes a variety of deep-sea species, including the deepest known, Abyssobrotula galatheae, found at 8,370 metres (27,460 ft) in the Puerto Rico Trench. Many other species, however, live in shallow water, especially near coral reefs, while a few inhabit freshwater. Most species live in tropical or subtropical habitats, but some species are known from as far north as the coast of Greenland, and as far south as the Weddell Sea.[4]

Characteristics

Ophidiiform fish typically have slender bodies with small heads, and either smooth scales, or none at all. They have long

viviparous, giving birth to live young, rather than laying eggs. They range in size from Grammanoides opisthodon which measures just 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length, to Lamprogrammus shcherbachevi at 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length.[4]

The families

Euclichthyidae (eucla cods) were formerly classified in this order, but are now preferred in Gadiformes; Ranicipitidae has been absorbed within the family Gadidae
.

Timeline of genera

QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneChilaraBassozetusDermatopsisLepophidiumEchiodonSiremboDiplacanthopomaGenypterusPropteridiumProtobrotulaDipulusSaccogasterBenthocomectesCarapusDannevigiaHoplobrotulaMonomitopusNeobythitesNolfophidionBrotula (genus)GlyptophidiumOgilbiaOligopusOnuxodonOphidionAmpheristusEolamprogrammusQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleocene

Classification

The order Ophidiiformes is subdivided into suborders and families as follows:[5]

The suborder Ophidioidei may be a

oviparous.[7]

References

  1. ISSN 0045-8511
    .
  2. ISSN 1374-8505
    .
  3. ^
    doi:10.3374/014.065.0101
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-12-547665-5
    .
  5. ^ Nelson, JS; Grande, TC & Wilson, MVH (2016). "Classification of fishes from Fishes of the World 5th Edition" (PDF). Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  6. ISBN 9251043752
    .
  7. ^ Daniel M. Cohen & Jørgen G. Nielsen (1978). NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular 417 Guide to the Identification of Genera of the Fish Order Ophidiiformes With a Tentative Classification of the Order (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Marine Fisheries Service. p. 6. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
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