Zeiformes
| Zeiformes Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Recent [1] |
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| Mirror dory, family Zeidae | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Zeiformes |
| Families | |
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See text |
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The Zeiformes are a small order of marine ray-finned fishes most notable for the dories, a group of common food fish. The order consists of about 40 species in seven families, mostly deep-sea types.
Zeiform bodies are usually thin and deep. Mouths are large, with distensible jaws, and there is no orbitosphenoid]. Pelvic fins have 5-10 soft rays and possibly a spine, 5-10 dorsal fin spines and up to 4 anal fin spines. They range in size from the Dwarf Dory (Macrurocyttus acanthopodus), at 43 millimetres (1.7 in) in length, to the Cape dory (Zeus capensis), which measures up to 90 centimetres (35 in).[1]
The classification of the boarfishes (Caproidae) in this order is uncertain, since they have many perciform characters, for instance in the caudal skeleton.
[edit] Families
- Suborder Zeioidei
- Family Cyttidae (lookdown dories)
- Family Grammicolepididae (tinselfishes)
- Family Oreosomatidae (oreos)
- Family Parazenidae (Parazen)
- Family Zeidae (dories)
- Family Zenionidae (zeniontids) (formerly known as Macrurocyttidae)
- Suborder Caproidei
- Family Caproidae (boarfishes)
[edit] Timeline of genera
[edit] References
- ^ a b Karrer, C. & John, H-C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 165–167. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Zeiformes" in FishBase. March 2005 version.
- J.S. Nelson, Fishes of the World
- Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560. http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
