Animals & Nature
paracanthopterygian
fish superorder
Also known as: Paracanthopterygii
oyster toadfish
Category:
Animals & Nature
- Related Topics:
- anglerfish
- toadfish
- Percopsiformes
- Gadiformes
- Polymixiiformes
paracanthopterygian, (superorder Paracanthopterygii), any member of a large group of predatory, primarily marine fishes that forms one of about six major branches of the Teleostei, or bony fishes. Approximately 1,340 living species of paracanthopterygian fishes have been described. They range in length from just a few centimetres to roughly 2 metres (about 7 feet). Well-known forms include the anglerfish (order Lophiiformes) and the cod (order Gadiformes). In general body form there is considerable diversity, but ichthyologists have classed the Paracanthopterygii as a discrete group largely on the basis of a distinctive musculature of the jaws, the structure of the caudal ...(100 of 2817 words)