Superclass Osteichthyes

Bony fishes: Osteichthyes

 The term osteichthyes does not describe a

monophyletic group, but is a term of
convenience to describe the fishes whose
skeletons are made of bone that replaces
cartilage during embryonic development.

 There are two classes the Actinopterygii (the

ray-finned fishes) and the Sarcopterygii (the
lobe-finned fishes)
General characteristics of
bony fish
 Skeleton made of bone of endochondral
origin (derived from cartilage).
 Paired and median fins supported by dermal
rays.
 Respiration mainly by gills. Gills covered with
operculum.
 Swim bladder often present.
 Complex nervous, circulatory and excretory
systems present
 A. Origin, Evolution, and Diversity
 Lineage developed in Silurian and now accounts for
96% of all fishes and all tetrapods
 Bone replaces cartilage as fish develops
 Lung or swim bladder evolved from an extension of
the gut; gas filled, it aids in buoyancy
 Bony operculum, a flap covering the gills that rotates
outward, draws water more efficiently over them
 Specialization of jaw musculature improves feeding;
also unique dental characters
 Class Actinopterygii
 23,600 species comprise the ray-finned fishes
 Most familiar fish type
Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 bony dermal scales: ganoid, cycloid and
ctenoid
 Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 paired fins and gills
 well developed
skull with 60 bones
 Notochord; persists
in some absent in
others
 Homocercal tail
 bony skeleton
 Operculum
covering gills- more
effective
respiration
 Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 heart is 2
chambered, 4 pairs
of aortic arches
 have a
mesonephritic
kidney
Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 sexes separate;
fertilization is
usually external;
 oviparous (lay
eggs); most
 some are
ovoviviparous
(eggs develop in
female and she
gives birth to live
young
 Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 Osmoregulation
 in freshwater fishes
 the fish is hyperosmotic
and
 therefore the kidney is
used to get rid of excess
water
 Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 Osmoregulation
 in marine fishes
 the fish is hypoosmotic
 have lower salt content in
blood than in sea water
 so they tend to gain salt and
lose water.
 Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 have a swim bladder;
some have lost it;
 swim bladder allows for
fishes to maintain
themselves in water
column without
expending much energy
 a floatation devise
 Swim bladders probably
evolved from lungs of
primitive bony fishes.
Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 Two types of swim bladders:
 The swim bladders first were attached to the digestive
system
 i.e., at the esophagus by a pneumatic duct that allowed the
bladder to be filled and emptied of air.
 In advanced bony fishes this connection is lost and the
swim bladder is separate from esophagus.
 They have a very specialized gland called the rete mirabilis
 which is able to keep the pressure in the swimbladder stabiliz
Class Actinopterygii
characteristics
 Two types of migration seen in fishes

 Anadromous-
 migrating from salt water to freshwater to reproduce;
 spend adult life in sea
 ex. salmon (born in freshwater then migrate to sea when reach
adulthood migrate back to spawning grounds)
 Catadromous -
 migrating from freshwater to salt water to reproduce;
 spend adult life in freshwater
 ex. eels (born in Sargassum Sea migrate to rivers in
Anadromous migration
e.g. salmon
Catadromous migration
e.g. freshwater eel
Class Actinopterygii (ray-
finned fishes)
 This is by far the larger of the two living
classes of fishes with more than 27,000
species.

 Includes probably every fish you can think of.

E.g. salmon, cod, herring, tuna, marlin, pike,
sardine, clownfish, goldfish.
Divisions of Actinopterygii

 The Actinopterygii are divided into two

subclasses
 Chondrostei, which includes several relic species.
 Neopterygii, which includes the most derived and
most recent group of ray-finned fishes the
infraclass Teleostei, which includes more than
20,000 species and a small number of primitive
species including the gars and bowfins in the
infraclass Holostei.
Class Subclass Order Acipenseriformes
Actinopterygii Chondrostei (paddlefish and sturgeons)
[37 species] Order Polypteriformes
(bichirs)
Subclass Infraclass Order
Neopterygii Holostei Lepisosteiformes
[8 species] (gars)
Order
Amiiformes
(bowfin)
Infraclass 12 superorders
Teleostei
Ancestral ray-finned fishes

 Ancestral ray finned fishes in the Devonian

were small and heavily armored with
 ganoid scales
 Thick, bony, non-overlapping, relatively inflexible
scales.
 and heterocercal tails (shaped like that of modern
sharks).
Subclass Chondrostei

 A few relic species still possess such

characteristics. These are grouped in the
sublass Chondrostei.

 The Chondrostei include sturgeon and

paddlefish which are included order
Acipenseriformes and the bichirs
(Polypteriformes).
Subclass Chondrostei

 The relatively few surviving Chondrostei are

the remnant of what was once a much more
diverse group.

 The chondrosteans were the first bony fishes

and were most diverse in the Carboniferous
and Permian.
Subclass Chondrostei

 Early chondrosteans were mostly small <

0.5m with a fusiform shape which suggests
they were active foragers.
 They were covered with small diamond-
shaped scales.
 The base of each scale was made of bone, the
middle of dentin and the surface with an
enamel-like substance called ganoine. Hence
the name ganoid scales.
Order Acipenseriformes:
Sturgeons and Paddlefish
 Modern Acipenseriform fish are almost scaleless except
for in sturgeons, which have a few isolated rows of large
plate-like, boney ganoid scales scales that run along the
sides of the body.

 The skeleton is almost entirely cartilaginous, which has

resulted from the loss of mineralization.

 Vertebrae are poorly developed and the notochord is

large.

 Both groups have distinctive forked heterocercal tails

and both have enlarged rostrums.
Paddlefish

 The two species of paddlefish are found in fresh water in

North America and China. The Chinese species known
only from the Yangtze may be extinct.

 About 2m long, paddlefish possess a distinctive

elongated flattened rostrum, which is believed to be
used to detect tiny, electric fields.

 The North American paddlefish occurs in the Mississippi

River watershed and is one of North America’s largest
freshwater fish (commonly 5 feet and 60lbs, record
official weight is 144lbs).
Paddlefish

 Paddlefish are filter feeders that sieve

zooplankton from the water using filaments
on their gill rakers.

 The rostrum’s ability to detect electric fields

is thought to help in finding prey, but fish
with damaged or missing rostrums do not
appear to be handicapped.
Paddlefish

 Previously paddlefish were abundant in most

central U.S. river systems.

 However, numbers have declined because

dams have prevented the fish from reaching
their spawning areas and as a result of
poaching for their eggs.
Sturgeons

 Sturgeons have been around and little changed for about

200 million years and are some of the most ancient ray-
finned fishes.

 There are 24 species of sturgeons, which are native to

subtropical, temperate and sub-Arctic rivers, lakes and
coasts of Eurasia and North America

 Sturgeons are very distinctive being very large (up to 6m

in length and 2000kg in weight) with heavy bony scutes
rather than scales and a distinctive flattened rostrum and
barbels.
Sturgeons

 Sturgeons are anadromous, spawning upstream but

feeding in river deltas and estuaries.

 Sturgeon are bottom feeders and have a protrusible jaw

(evolved independently of the teleosts) which they use
for suction feeding.

 They use their snout to stir up sediment and use their

barbels to detect small invertebrates and fish. They
possess no teeth and so cannot seize prey, but can
swallow quite large fish whole.
Sturgeons

 They are commercially important for their

meat, but especially their eggs (caviar).
Sturgeons

 Sturgeon are long-lived (some living well over

100 years) and slow reproducing (they don’t
become sexually mature until 20 or more
years of age, which makes them very
vulnerable to fishing pressure.

 Most species are considered to be at risk of

extinction.
Order Polypteriformes:
Bichirs
 There are 10-15 species [depends on the authority] of
bichir and they are considered the most primitive
surviving group of the ray-finned fishes.

 They are heavily armored with dermal bone and a thick

layer of ganoid scales.

 Dorsal fin is distinctive and has independent rays and is

segmented into small “flags” called pinnules.

 Generally elongated, eel-like in shape up to 1.2m in

length.
Order Polypteriformes:
Bichirs
 Bichirs are warm water fish and are found in
swamps and streams in Africa.

 They hunt at twilight and lie in wait on the

bottom for prey to pass by. They will take any
suitably sized aquatic animal.
Order Polypteriformes:
Bichirs
 Bichirs have a swim bladder that acts like a paired ventral
lung. They will drown if unable to gulp air at the surface.

 Larvae have external gills very similar to those of

amphibians.

 The lungs allow bichirs to survive in low oxygen

environments.

 They can also survive buried in silt or outside water

during the dry season.
Order Polypteriformes:
Bichirs
 Because bichirs have paired fleshy pectoral
fins and lungs they were formerly classified
with the lungfishes, but are now considered
to have evolved these traits independently.

 Bichirs are a popular aquarium fish

Neopterygii: infraclass
Holostei
 There are two orders of primitive Neopterygians
grouped together in the infraclass Holostei

 Both have more flexible jaws than

chondrosteans, but these are less flexible than
those of more advanced Neopterygians.

 These are the seven species of gars

(Lepisosteiformes) and the single species of
bowfin (Amiiformes).
Order Lepisosteiformes: Gars

 Gars are medium to large (1-3m) predatory fish with a

distinctive elongated body and long jaws filled with sharp
teeth.

 Found now only Central and North America and the

Caribbean gars are last survivors of a once more widely
distributed group that was widespread in the Mesozoic.

 They have hard, interlocking, multilayered ganoid scales

which provide excellent protection and are similar to the
scales of many extinct Paleozoic and Mesozic
actinopterygians.
Order Lepisosteiformes: Gars

 Occur in slow moving water bodies preferring

shallow and weedy areas. They are voracious
predators and feed on a wide range of vertebrate
and invertebrate prey.

 Gar are tough hardy freshwater fish that can

survive in stagnant or warm water where oxygen
levels are low.

 Vascularized swimbladder functions as lungs (as

in related bowfin).
Order Amiiformes: Bowfin

 There is only one species of bowfin still extant,

the only survivor of a group that was previously
more diverse in the Jurassic and Cretaceous.

 Bowfins occur throughout eastern North

America, typically in slow moving fresh water.
When oxygen levels are low bowfin will gulp air
from the surface into the heavily vascularized
swimbladder, which can serve as a lung.
Order Amiiformes: Bowfin

 Scales are of a single layer of bone as in teleosts,

but the caudal fin is asymmetric and similar to
that of more primitive fishes.

 The skull is much more solid and heavily built

than that of teleosts

 Bowfin are aggressive predators that feed on a

wide variety of invertebrate and vertebrate prey.
 Subclass Neopterygians
 One lineage gave rise to
modern bony fishes, the
teleosts
 Living species are bowfin and
gars which gulp air and use
vascularized swim bladder to
supplement the gills
Infraclass Teleosts

 96 % of all living fishes; half of all vertebrates

 10 mm to 17 m; up to 900 kg in weight
 Found at 5,200 m to 8,000 m below sea level
 Some can live in hot springs at 44 oC while
others can survive in Antarctic –2 oC.
 Some live in salt concentrations three times
seawater; others in swamps devoid of oxygen
Infraclass Teleostei:
“Teleosts”
 The vast majority of modern fishes are
“teleosts.”

 They have replaced the heavy, armored

scales of their ancestors with much lighter
more flexible scales that overlap each other
and also have evolved homocercal
symmetrical tails.
Figure 24.18
Teleosts

 The teleosts are extremely abundant and have

diversified into an enormous number of species
(depending on authority about 24,000 species).

 They represent about half of all vertebrate

species and have colonized all marine and
freshwater habitats from -11,000 m to +4,500m
and occupy water that ranges in temperature
from polar (-1.8ºC) to hot springs (43ºC).
Teleost characters

 Homocercal tail
 Circular scales without ganoine
 Ossified vertebrae
 Swim bladder – structure and function
discussed previously.
 Skull with complex jaw mobility
Teleost classification

 How the Neopterygii should be subdivided

differs greatly from authority to authority.

 We will use a recent classification that divides

the teleosts into a dozen superorders (some
very large)
Infraclass Teleostei Superorder Elopomorpha
[eels, tarpon, bonefish]
Superorder Clupeomorpha
[herrings, anchovies]
Superorder Ostariophysi
[carp, piranha, catfishes, electri
Superorder Protacanthopterygii
[salmon, pike]
Superorder Paracanthopterygia
[cod, anglerfish, toadfish]
Superorder Acanthopterygi
[perch, tuna mackeral]
Superorder Osteoglossomorpha
[elephant fishes,
Five other superorders of
Arapaima]
relatively small numbers of
fishes
 The other five superorders

Infraclass Teleostei Superorder Stenopterygii

[jellynose fish, hatchet fishes]
Superorder Cyclosquamata
[Bombay duck, lancetfishes]
Superorder Scopelomorpha
[lanternfishes]
Superorder Lampridiomorpha
[oarfish, ribbonfishes]
Superorder Polymixiomorpha
[beardfishes]
Superorder Elopomorpha

 Elopomorpha: includes tarpons, bonefishes, and eels.

 Specialized laterally compressed and transparent

leptocephalous [Greek slim headed] larvae are a unique
feature of the group.

 Unlike most fish larvae they grow large (6-30cm) and are
good swimmers.

 They have a long larval life of 3 months to a year adrift on

the ocean being moved by ocean currents.
Tarpons
 There are two species of tarpon, one found in the Atlantic
and Caribbean (“the” tarpon or Atlantic tarpon) and the
Indo-Pacific tarpon.

 One of the most popular of game fishes they grow 5-8’ in

length and weigh 80-280lbs. They put up a tremendous
fight when hooked and will leap high from the water.
Generally caught and released as they don’t taste great.

 An ocean fish, but tolerant of brackish and even

freshwater. The swim-bladder serves as an accessory
breathing organ and this enables tarpon to tolerate low-
oxygen conditions.
Eels

 Most elopomorphs are eel-like and marine,

but some tolerate freshwater.

 The American eel has a very unusual life-

cycle. The eels grow to sexual maturity in
rivers and streams (taking 10 years or more)
and then migrate downriver into the ocean to
breed. (They are catadramous.)
Eels

 They swim to the Sargasso Sea (an area of the

North Atlantic between the Azores and West
Indies) where they apparently spawn and die,
presumably at depth.

 Eggs and larvae float to the surface and drift on

the currents until they reach the near the coast.
Then they transform into miniature eels and
travel up rivers to mature.
Eels

 European eels also spawn in the Sargasso Sea.

Their larvae travel on clockwise currents mainly
of the Gulf Stream and are distributed to North
Africa, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and
as far as the Black Sea.
 Because they drift in cooler waters, European
eels grow more slowly than American eels.
Development is slowed less than growth
however, and as a result European eels have
more vertebrae than American eels.
Superorder Clupeomorpha

 Are a commercially very important group of about 360

species of mostly marine schooling, silvery fishes.

 They include herring, shad, pilchards, anchovies and

sardines and schools can be enormous and provide an
important food source for many larger marine predators
including sharks and dolphins.

 They feed on plankton which they gather using a

specialized mouth and gill-straining apparatus. Teeth are
small or absent.
Superorder Clupeomorpha

 Clupeomorphs lack a lateral line and are

physostomous, which means there is a direct
connection between the swim bladder and
the gut.

 Most are quite small -- size range is from 2 to

75cm.
Superorder Ostariophysi
 Ostariophysi (from Greek for bone and bladder).

 The second-largest superorder of fish and includes about

28% of all living fishes and almost 70% of freshwater
species. Total number of species is estimated at about
7900 species. Worldwide distribution except for
Antarctica and New Zealand.

 Catfish, Cyprinids [minnows and carp], electric eels,

piranhas.

 Display very diverse traits, but many have protrusible

jaws and pharyngeal teeth act as second jaws.
Superorder Ostariophysi

 Members of the group possess two unique

derived features:
 alarm substances in the skin and
 the Weberian apparatus.

 When the skin is damaged, pheromones are

released into the water and these stimulate a
fright reaction in other members of the species
and other ostariophysians. In response, they
may quickly seek cover or school together.
Weberian Apparatus

 Weberian apparatus: The name ostariophysian

(Greek: bone and bladder) refers to a series of
small bones that connect the swim bladder with
the inner ear.

 The Weberian apparatus greatly enhances

hearing in these fish and as a result they are
more sensitive to sounds and can hear a wider
range of sounds than other fishes.
Weberian apparatus

 When sound waves strike the swimbladder it

vibrates.

 A bone (the tripus) in contact with the swim

bladder then conducts this vibration via
ligaments to two other bones, the second of
which moves and compresses a section of the
inner ear against a fourth bone.

 This fourth bone (the claustrum) then stimulates

the auditory region of the inner ear.
Weberian apparatus:
http://www.aqua.org.il/pic/Articles/CatFish/12.JPG
Cyprinids

 The cyprinids are one of the largest families of the

Ostariophysi (about 2,400 species) and the group
includes the carp, goldfish and minnows.

 The cyprinids lack a stomach and their jaws are

toothless. Instead they depend on their pharyngeal
teeth to chew food against a chewing plate formed from
an extension of the skull.

 The pharyngeal teeth are sufficiently strong that fish

such as carp are able to consume hard shelled prey such
as snails and mussels.
Carp

 Colloquially carp refers to the largest species

of cyprinids and these have a close historical
association with humans having been farmed
for food especially in Eastern Europe and Asia
and as an ornamental fish for centuries.
 Catfish

 About 1,800 species. Named catfish for the

prominent barbels (as many as 4 pairs) that
many species have, which resemble a cat’s
whiskers and are used for food finding.

http://fishingforbeginners.net/
how-to-catch-catfish/
Catfish

 Freshwater fish found worldwide. Most are

bottom-feeders and are negatively buoyant
having a small swim-bladder and a heavy
flattened head.

 Catfish (like carp) have been widely caught and

farmed for centuries. They can easily be raised in
large ponds in warm climates and there is a large
catfish aquaculture industry in the southern U.S.
Catfish

 Many species are quite small reaching only 4”

in length, but others can be enormous. The
largest is the giant Mekong catfish that has
been known to reach over 10’ long and a
weight of 650lbs. This is the record for the
world’s largest freshwater fish.
Catfish

 Most catfish possess a strong hollow spine-like

ray on their dorsal and pectoral fins. These can
be locked in place as a defensive mechanism and
can inflict severe wounds. Some species produce
a toxic protein that can be delivered by these
spines. In a few species the toxin is dangerous
and in rare cases lethal to humans.
Piranha

 Piranha belong to the family Characidae in

the Ostariophysi. They are south American
fish and occur in the large river basins of the
Amazon, Orinoco and similar rivers.
Estimates of the number of species range
from 30-60 species

 They are known for their sharp teeth and

have a fearsome reputation as carnivores.
Piranha

 They are relatively small deep-bodied schooling

fish 5-10” long and easily recognized by their
dentition. They possess a single row of sharp
triangular teeth in both the upper and lower
jaws.

 The piranhas (specifically one species the red-

bellied piranha) reputation for ferocity appears
to have been greatly exaggerated, but attacks on
humans do occur especially in situations where in
shallow water where fishing and gutting is taking
place.
Superorder
Protacanthopterygii
 The superorder includes about 500 species of
which the esocid [pike] and salmonid fishes are
the most familiar.

 The group originated about 150 mya and

numerous fossils are known from the
Cretaceous.

 They are a temperate water group and most

species are found in the northern hemisphere.
Superorder
Protacanthopterygii
 Many Protacanthopterygii (e.g. salmonids)
possess an adipose fin, which is a soft fleshy fin
found on the back behind the dorsal fin and just
forward of the caudal fin.

 Function of this fin is unclear, but trout that have

had it removed have an 8% higher tailbeat
frequency and it has been suggested that it may
have a sensory function in detecting sound,
touch and changes in pressure.
Superorder
Protacanthopterygii
 The salmonids include salmon, trout, char and
grayling and the group includes many
commercially important species.

 The smallest salmonids are only about 5” long,

but some salmon can reach 6’ in length.

 Many species of salmon are anadromous and

spend their adult lives at sea, but all salmonids
spawn in freshwater.
Superorder
Protacanthopterygii
 Trout are close relatives of salmon, but
usually live their entire lives in freshwater.

 Salmon and trout are important commercial

and recreational species.

 Salmon have been a major focus of the

aquaculture industry.
Superorder
Protacanthopterygii
 The esocids are a small order (only 10 species )
which is closely related to the salmonids and
among the most primitive of euteleosteans.

 They include pike, muskellunge, pickerels and

relatives.

 These fish (which superficially resemble gars) are

voracious, stealth-hunting predators and
important freshwater game fish in North
America and northern Eurasia.
Pike

 Pike have a long, powerful muscular body and an

elongated snout filled with long pointed teeth on
which it impales its prey.

 They have deeply forked tails, and paired dorsal

and anal fins set well back on the body. These
appear to be adaptations for rapid straight line
acceleration.

 Pike typically lie in wait and suddenly rush from

cover to capture their prey.
Superorder
Paracanthopterygii
 Includes about 1,340 species of cod, toadfish
and anglerfish.

 An almost exclusively marine group that

ranges in length from a few cm to about 2
meters.
Gadiformes
 Cod and their relatives (including pollock, ling, hake, and
haddock) totaling about 475 species are cold water
marine fishes and the basis of some of the most
historically important marine fisheries.

 Cod are the largest of the gadoids and may weigh up to

90 kg. They are mostly bottom dwellers and occur on the
continental shelves from shallow water to 200 fathoms.

 Cod migrate over long distances and assemble in large

numbers to spawn. A single female may produce millions
of eggs, which drift in the plankton.
Anglerfishes

 Anglerfishes are named for their method of foraging

which involves using a lure to attract fish close to them.

 The lure is a modified spine of the anterior dorsal fin and

can be wiggled like a prey item.

 In deep sea anglerfish the lure contains bioluminescent

bacteria that help attract prey from a distance.

 Some bottom-dwelling anglerfish depend on camouflage

and these fish have arm-like pectoral fins that they use to
move long the bottom.
 Superorder Acanthopterygii
 Includes two major groups:
 Atherinomorpha and
 Perciformes.

 Atherinomorpha: More than 1,600 species of silversides,

killifishes, grunions, flying fish and relatives.

 These are mostly small silvery fish that are surface feeders.

 There are about 50 species of flying fish (mostly tropical) that

are members of the Atherinomorpha and they use their
enlarged pectoral fins to glide 50 to 400m (depending on
updrafts from waves) to escape predators.
Acanthopterygii

 The second major group is the Perciformes: more than

7,000 species of perch and their relatives.

 Range in size from 7mm to 5m long. A paraphyletic

group there is no set of derived traits that groups them
all together, but they usually have dorsal and anal fins
with anterior spiny portions, whereas the posterior
spines are usually soft rayed. The two portions may be
partially or completely separated.

 Snook, sea bass, sunfish, perch, darter, snapper, cichlids,

barracuda, tuna, most coral reef fish.
Infraclass Osteoglossomorpha

 Osteoglossomorpha: [greek bony tongue].

About 220 species of tropical freshwater fish.
Includes from the Amazon Osteoglossum or
Arawana, and Arapaima among the largest
purely freshwater fish (regularly 3m long, but up
to 4.5 m).

 Also includes the African elephant nose fish,

which are bottom feeders and that use weak
electric signals to communicate with each other
Arawana
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/28/117528-004-6B4
C. Class Sarcopterygii
1. Diversity
 Only 7 species alive today; 6
lungfishes and 1 coelacanth
 Early ones had lungs as well as
gills, heterocercal tail; later tail
became symmetrical
 Skin covered in heavy scales
overlaid by an enamel
 Fleshy, paired lobes are used to
scuttle along bottom
 South American and African
lungfishes can survive out of
water or long periods of time
2. Coelacanth
 Thought to have been
extinct for 70 million years
until one was dredged up
off of coast of Africa in
1938
 More were caught off the
coast of the Comoro
Islands in 1998
 Order Coelacanthiformes

• Fossils worldwide, freshwater and marine

• Extinct (no more fossils) after Cretaceous

 Order Coelacanthiformes

• Fossils worldwide, freshwater and marine

• Extinct (no more fossils) after Cretaceous

• Extant species Latimeria chalumnae

discovered in 1937!
 Order Coelacanthiformes
• Second population discovered at Sulawesi,
Indonesia 1997
 Order Coelacanthiformes
• Second population discovered at Sulawesi,
Indonesia 1997

• DNA analyses indicate divergence from L.

chalumnae at 5.0-11.0 Ma
 Order Coelacanthiformes
• Second populaiton discovered at Sulawesi,
Indonesia 1997

• DNA analyses indicate divergence from L.

chalumnae at 5.0-11.0 Ma

• Described as a new species L. menadoensis

 Order Coelacanthiformes

• Unossified notochord, vertebrae are not fully

developed

• Ovoviviparous, live young, documented in

fossils
 Order Coelacanthiformes
• Fleshy, lobed pectoral, pelvic, anal and
second dorsal fin
 Order Coelacanthiformes
• Symmetric three-lobed tail

• Distal end has an epicaudal lobe

 Dipnoi - Lungfishes

Oldest Fossils from the Lower Devonian

 Dipnoi

• Oldest Fossils from the Lower Devonian

• Fossils on all seven continents, including

Antarctica

• Extant species found only in S. America,

Africa, and Australia
 Dipnoi

• Two extant orders, six species

• Order Ceratodontiformes - 1 sp.

• Order Lepidosireniformes - 5 spp.

 Order Ceratodontiformes

• Neoceratodus forsteri

• Southeast Queensland, Australia

• Facultative air-breather, rely on gills

 Order Ceratodontiformes

• Pectoral and pelvic fins flipper-like

• Scales large

• Air bladder unpaired

 Order Ceratodontiformes

• Pectoral and pelvic fins flipper-like

• Scales large

• Air bladder unpaired

• Larvae without external gills

• Adults do not aestivate

 Dipnoi

• Second extant order:

• Order Lepidosireniformes

• Family Lepidosirenidae
• Family Protopteridae
 Order Lepidosireniformes

• Pectoral and pelvic fins filamentous, without

rays

• Scales small

• Air bladder paired

• Larvae with external gills

• Adults aestivate in dry season

 Order Lepidosireniformes

• Aestivation, 7 to 8 months, in lab four years!

• Air-breathe

• Lower heart rate

• Retain urea and other metabolites

• Metabolize body proteins, lose weight

 Order Lepidosireniformes

• Family Lepidosirenidae

• South America

• Feed on fish

Lepidosiren paradoxa
 Order Lepidosireniformes

• Family Protopteridae

• One genus, 4 species, central and southern

Africa

• Feed mainly on
mollusks

Protopterus