Otocephala is a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

of ray-finned fishes within the infraclass Teleostei that evolved some 230 million years ago. It is named for the presence of a hearing (otophysic) link from the swimbladder to the

inner ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...

. Other names proposed for the group include Ostarioclupeomorpha and Otomorpha. The clade contains Clupeiformes (herrings) and Ostariophysi, a group of other orders including Cypriniformes (minnows and allies),

Gymnotiformes The Gymnotiformes are an order of teleost bony fishes commonly known as Neotropical knifefish or South American knifefish. They have long bodies and swim using undulations of their elongated anal fin. Found almost exclusively in fresh water (the ...

(knifefish), and Siluriformes (catfish). Otocephala may also contain

Alepocephaliformes Alepocephaliformes is an order of ray-finned fish. It was previously classified as the suborder Alepocephaloidei of the order Argentiniformes The Argentiniformes are an order of ray-finned fish whose distinctness was recognized only fairly ...

(slickheads), but as yet (2016) without morphological evidence. The clade is sister to Euteleostei which contains the majority of bony fish alive today. In 2015, Benton and colleagues set a "plausible minimum" date for the origin of crown Otocephala as about 228.4 million years ago. They argued that since the oldest locality for any diversity of stem teleosts is the Carnian of Polberg bei Lunz, Austria, whose base is 235 million years old, a rough estimate for Otocephala can be made.

Taxonomy

Taxonomy based on: * Cohort Otocephala Johnson & Patterson 1996 tomorpha Wiley & Johnson 2010; Ostarioclupeomorpha Arratia 1997** Genus †'' Kermichthys'' Taverne 1993 ** Family † Lycoclupeidae Gowda 1968 ** Family † Clupavidae Bertin & Arambourg 1958 ** Subcohort Clupei Wiley & Johnson 2010 lupeomorpha Greenwood et al. 1966*** Order † Ellimmichthyiformes Grande 1982 *** Order Clupeiformes Bleeker 1859 ** Subcohort Alepocephali *** Order

Marshall 1962 ** Subcohort Ostariophysi Sagemehl 1885 *** Genus †'' Tischlingerichthys'' Arratia 1997 *** Family † Ancylostylidae Jordan 1923 *** Family † Erythrinolepididae Cockerell 1919 corrig. *** Section Anotophysa (Rosen & Greenwood 1970) Sagemehl 1885 notophysi Rosen & Greenwood 1970**** Order † Sorbininardiformes Taverne 1999 **** Order Gonorynchiformes Regan 1909 *** Section Otophysa (Rosen & Greenwood 1970) Sagemehl 1885 tophysi Rosen & Greenwood 1970**** Genus †'' Nardonoides'' Mayrinck, Brito & Otero 2014 **** Family † Chanoididae Taverne 2005 **** Family † Salminopsidae Gayet 1985 **** Superorder Cypriniphysae ypriniphysi Woodward 1901***** Order Cypriniformes Bleeker 1859 sensu Goodrich 1909 **** Superorder Characiphysae (Fink & Fink 1981) ***** Order Characiformes Goodrich 1909 **** Superorder Siluriphysae iluriphysi***** Order

Berg 1940 (Neotropical knifefishes) ***** Order Siluriformes Cuvier 1817 sensu Hay 1929 (catfishes)

Phylogeny

Phylogeny of living groups based on:

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q22107399 Cohorts