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Osteoglossiformes
Osteoglossiformes (Greek: "bony tongues") is a relatively primitive order of ray-finned fish that contains two sub-orders, the Osteoglossoidei and the Notopteroidei. All of at least 245 living species inhabit freshwater. They are found in South America, Africa, Australia and southern Asia, having first evolved in Gondwana before that continent broke up. In 2008 several new species of marine osteoglossiforms was described from the Danish Eocene Fur Formation dramatically increases the diversity of this group. This implies that the Osteoglossomorpha is not a primary freshwater fish group with the osteoglossiforms having a typical Gondwana distribution. The Gymnarchidae (the only species being ''Gymnarchus niloticus'', the African knifefish) and the Mormyridae are weakly electric fish able to sense their prey using electric fields. The mooneyes (Hiodontidae) are often classified here, but may also be placed in a separate order, Hiodontiformes. Members of the order are notabl ...
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Osteoglossoidei
Osteoglossoidei are a suborder of the order Osteoglossiformes (Latin: "bony tongues") that contains the butterflyfish, the arowanas and bonytongue Arapaiminae is a subfamily of freshwater osteoglossiform (bony-tongued) fishes belonging to the family Osteoglossidae. It includes the South American arapaimas of the Amazon and Essequibo basins and the African arowana (''Heterotis niloticus' ...s, as well as extinct families. References Osteoglossiformes {{Osteoglossiformes-stub ...
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Pantodontidae
Pantodontidae is a family of ray-finned fish in the order Osteoglossiformes. It contains the living freshwater butterflyfish (''Pantodon buchholzi'') of Africa, as well as five extinct species from the Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian) of Lebanon. Taxonomy * '' Capassopiscis'' ** ''Capassopiscis pankowskii'' * '' Palaeopantodon'' ** ''Palaeopantodon vandersypeni'' * '' Pankowskipiscis'' ** ''Pankowskipiscis haqelensis'' * '' Pantodon'' ** ''Pantodon buchholzi The freshwater butterflyfish or African butterflyfish, ''Pantodon buchholzi'', is the only extant species in the family Pantodontidae within the order Osteoglossiformes. It is not closely related to saltwater butterflyfishes. Description and hab ...'' (freshwater butterflyfish) * '' Petersichthys'' ** ''Petersichthys libanicus'' * '' Prognathoglossum'' ** ''Prognathoglossum kalassyi'' References Osteoglossiformes Ray-finned fish families Extant Cenomanian first appearances Taxa named by Wilhelm Pe ...
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Notopteroidei
Notopteroidei is a suborder of the order Osteoglossiformes that contains the extant families Gymnarchidae (aba), Notopteridae (feather backs and knifefish) and Mormyridae The Mormyridae, sometimes called "elephantfish" (more properly freshwater elephantfish), are a family of weakly electric freshwater fish in the order Osteoglossiformes native to Africa. It is by far the largest family in the order with around 2 ... (elephantfishes), as well as several extinct taxa. The Mormyridae are weakly electric fishes, able to locate prey in turbid water. References Osteoglossiformes Ray-finned fish suborders {{Osteoglossiformes-stub ...
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Osteoglossidae
Osteoglossidae is a family of large freshwater fish, which includes the arowanas and arapaima. The family contains two subfamilies Arapaiminae and Osteoglossinae, with a total of five living genera. Osteoglossids are basal teleosts that originated some time during the Cretaceous, and are placed in the actinopterygiid order Osteoglossiformes Osteoglossiformes (Greek: "bony tongues") is a relatively primitive order of ray-finned fish that contains two sub-orders, the Osteoglossoidei and the Notopteroidei. All of at least 245 living species inhabit freshwater. They are found in South .... As traditionally defined, the family includes several extant species from South America, one from Africa, one from Asia, and two from Australia. References Osteoglossidae Ray-finned fish families {{Osteoglossiformes-stub ...
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Gymnarchidae
''Gymnarchus niloticus'' – commonly known as the ''aba'', ''aba aba'', frankfish, freshwater rat-tail, ''poisson-cheval'', or African knifefish – is an electric fish, and the only species in the genus ''Gymnarchus'' and the family Gymnarchidae within the order Osteoglossiformes. It is found in swamps, lakes and rivers in the Nile, Turkana, Chad, Niger, Volta, Senegal, and Gambia basins. Description and biology ''G. niloticus'' has a long and slender body, with no caudal, pelvic, or anal fins. The dorsal fin is elongated, running along the back of the fish towards the blunt, finless tail, and is the main source of propulsion. It grows up to in length and in weight. ''G. niloticus'' is nocturnal and has a poor vision. Instead, it navigates and hunts smaller fish using a weak electric field, as demonstrated by the zoologist Hans Lissmann in 1950, when he noticed that it could swim equally well forwards or backwards, clearly relying on a sense other than vision. This ...
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Gymnarchus Niloticus
''Gymnarchus niloticus'' – commonly known as the ''aba'', ''aba aba'', frankfish, freshwater rat-tail, ''poisson-cheval'', or African knifefish – is an electric fish, and the only species in the genus ''Gymnarchus'' and the family Gymnarchidae within the order Osteoglossiformes. It is found in swamps, lakes and rivers in the Nile, Turkana, Chad, Niger, Volta, Senegal, and Gambia basins. Description and biology ''G. niloticus'' has a long and slender body, with no caudal, pelvic, or anal fins. The dorsal fin is elongated, running along the back of the fish towards the blunt, finless tail, and is the main source of propulsion. It grows up to in length and in weight. ''G. niloticus'' is nocturnal and has a poor vision. Instead, it navigates and hunts smaller fish using a weak electric field, as demonstrated by the zoologist Hans Lissmann in 1950, when he noticed that it could swim equally well forwards or backwards, clearly relying on a sense other than vision. This ...
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Weakly Electric Fish
An electric fish is any fish that can generate electric fields. Most electric fish are also electroreceptive, meaning that they can sense electric fields. The only exception is the stargazer family. Electric fish, although a small minority, include both oceanic and freshwater species, and both cartilaginous and bony fishes. Electric fish produce their electrical fields from an electric organ. This is made up of electrocytes, modified muscle or nerve cells, specialized for producing strong electric fields, used to locate prey, for defence against predators, and for signalling, such as in courtship. Electric organ discharges are two types, pulse and wave, and vary both by species and by function. Electric fish have evolved many specialised behaviours. The predatory African sharptooth catfish eavesdrops on its weakly electric mormyrid prey to locate it when hunting, driving the prey fish to develop electric signals that are harder to detect. Bluntnose knifefishes produce an ...
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Mormyridae
The Mormyridae, sometimes called "elephantfish" (more properly freshwater elephantfish), are a family of weakly electric freshwater fish in the order Osteoglossiformes native to Africa. It is by far the largest family in the order with around 200 species. Members of the family can be popular, if challenging, aquarium species. These fish are also known for having large brain size and unusually high intelligence. They are not to be confused with the marine and brackish-water callorhinchid elephantfish (family Callorhinchidae) of Southern Hemisphere oceans. Description and biology The elephantfish are a diverse family, with a wide range of different sizes and shapes. The smallest are just in adult length, while the largest reach up to . They do, however, have a number of unique features in common. Firstly, their cerebellum is greatly enlarged, enabling them to interpret complex bio-electrical signals. and to the large size of the valve, Secondly, an auditory vesicle (a small bl ...
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Hiodontidae
Hiodontidae, commonly called mooneyes, is a family of ray-finned fish with a single included genus ''Hiodon''. The genus comprise two living species native to North America and three to five extinct species recorded from Paleocene to Eocene age fossils. They are large-eyed, fork-tailed fish that superficially resemble shads. The vernacular name comes from the metallic shine of their eyes. The higher classification of the mooneyes is not yet fully established. Some sources have place them in their own order, Hiodontiformes, while others retain them in the order Osteoglossiformes. Species *''Hiodon alosoides'' (Rafinesque, 1819) The goldeye, ''Hiodon alosoides'', is widespread across eastern North America, and is notable for a conspicuous golden iris in the eyes. It prefers turbid slower-moving waters of lakes and rivers, where it feeds on a wide variety of organisms including insects, crustaceans, small fish, and mollusks. The fish has been reported up to in length. *†''H ...
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Ray-finned Fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines (rays), as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish). These actinopterygian fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent the link or connection between these fins and the internal skeleton (e.g., pelvic and pectoral girdles). By species count, actinopterygians dominate the vertebrates, and they constitute nearly 99% of the over 30,000 species of fish. They are ubiquitous throughout freshwater and marine environments from the deep sea to the highest mountain streams. Extant species can range in size from ''Paedocypris'', at , to the massive ocean sunfish, at , and the long-bodied oarfish, at . The vast majority of Actino ...
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Hiodontiformes
Hiodontiformes is an order of ray-finned fish consisting of the two living species of the mooneye family, Hiodontidae, and three extinct genera. These are traditionally classified within the order Osteoglossiformes, a placement some authorities still follow. Fossil study of the extinct genus ''Yanbiania'' suggests that the hiodontids separated from other osteoglossomorphs early and thus may deserve a separate order. Taxonomy * Order Hiodontiformes McAllister 1968 sensu Taverne 1979 ** Genus †'' Chetungichthys'' Chang & Chou 1977 *** †''Chetungichthys brevicephalus'' Chang & Chou 1977 *** †''Chetungichthys dalinghensis'' Su 1991 ** Genus †'' Yanbiania'' Li 1987 *** †''Yanbiania wangqingica'' Li 1987 ** Genus †'' Plesiolycoptera'' Zhang & Zhou 1976 *** †''Plesiolycoptera daqingensis'' Zhang & Zhou 1976 *** †''Plesiolycoptera parvus'' ((Sytchevskaya, 1986) (syn ''Eohiodon (Gobihiodon) parvus'' Sytchevskaya, 1986) ** Family Hiodontidae (mooneyes) Valenciennes 1 ...
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Arapaimidae
Arapaiminae is a subfamily of freshwater osteoglossiform (bony-tongued) fishes belonging to the family Osteoglossidae. It includes the South American arapaimas of the Amazon Basin, Amazon and Essequibo River, Essequibo basins and the African arowana, African arowana (''Heterotis niloticus'') from the watersheds of the Sahel, Sahelo-Sudanese region, Senegal, The Gambia, Gambia, and parts of Eastern Africa. This subfamily is sometimes raised to the rank of family, as Arapaimidae. A commonly used synonym is Heterotidinae, but according to the ICZN, Arapaiminae has priority. Arapaimines, along with other osteoglossomorphs, are of Phylogenetics, phylogenetic and evolutionary interest due to their trans-oceanic distribution, excellent fossil record, and position as one of the oldest living teleost lineages. The type-species of the group, ''Arapaima gigas'', is an important South American food source and charismatic representative of the region. Both ''Arapaima'' and ''Heterotis'' are c ...
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