Halecostomi is the name of a group of

neopterygian Neopterygii (from Greek νέος ''neos'' 'new' and πτέρυξ ''pteryx'' 'fin') is a subclass of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii). Neopterygii includes the Holostei and the Teleostei, of which the latter comprise the vast majority of extant f ...

fish uniting the

halecomorph Halecomorphi is a taxon of ray-finned bony fish in the clade Neopterygii. The only extant Halecomorph species are the bowfin (''Amia calva'') and eyespot bowfin (''Amia ocellicauda''), but the group contains many extinct species in several famili ...

s (represented by the living

bowfin The ruddy bowfin (''Amia calva'') is a ray-finned fish native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique. It is regarded as a relict, being one of only two surviving species ...

and many extinct groups) and the

teleosts Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (), is, by far, the largest group of ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii), with 96% of all extant species of fish. The Teleostei, which i ...

, the largest group of extant

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

Cladogram of basal actinopterygians and neopterygians

The Halecostomi hypothesis and the

Holostei Holostei is a group of ray-finned bony fish. It is divided into two major clades, the Halecomorphi, represented by the single living genus, '' Amia'' with two species, the bowfins (''Amia calva'' and '' Amia ocellicauda''), as well as the Gin ...

hypothesis are two competing

hypotheses A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific method, scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educ ...

explaining the

evolutionary relationships Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...

of living

. The Holostei hypothesis is better supported, rendering the Halecostomi a

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

group (i.e., rejecting the Halecostomi hypothesis). The Holostei hypothesis posits that

Ginglymodi Ginglymodi is a clade of ray-finned fish containing modern-day gars (Lepisosteidae) and their extinct relatives (including the family (biology), family Lepidotidae) in the Order (biology), order Lepisosteiformes, the extinct orders Semionotiforme ...

(

gar Gars are an ancient group of ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. They comprise seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine waters of eastern North America, Central America and Cuba ...

s and their fossil relatives) and

Halecomorphi Halecomorphi is a taxon of Actinopterygii, ray-finned bony fish in the clade Neopterygii. The only extant Halecomorph species are the bowfin (''Amia calva'') and eyespot bowfin (''Amia ocellicauda''), but the group contains many extinct species i ...

form a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

, called Holostei, and that the Holostei are the sister group to the Teleostei.

References

Neopterygii Paraphyletic groups {{Rayfinned-fish-stub