Teleosts of different orders, painted by Castelnau, 1856 (left to right, top to bottom): Fistularia tabacaria (Syngnathiformes), Mylossoma duriventre (Characiformes), Mesonauta acora (Cichliformes), Corydoras splendens and Pseudacanthicus spinosus (Siluriformes), Acanthurus coeruleus (Acanthuriformes), Stegastes pictus (Incertae sedis, Pomacentridae)
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Infraclass:
Teleosteomorpha
Division:
Teleostei J. P. Müller, 1845[3]
Subdivisions
See text
Teleostei (/ˌtɛliˈɒstiaɪ/; Greek teleios "complete" + osteon "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (/ˈtɛliɒsts,ˈtiːli-/),[4] is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes,[a] and contains 96% of all extant species of fish. Teleosts are arranged into about 40 orders and 448 families. Over 26,000 species have been described. Teleosts range from giant oarfish measuring 7.6 m (25 ft) or more, and ocean sunfish weighing over 2 t (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short tons), to the minute male anglerfish Photocorynus spiniceps, just 6.2 mm (0.24 in) long. Including not only torpedo-shaped fish built for speed, teleosts can be flattened vertically or horizontally, be elongated cylinders or take specialised shapes as in anglerfish and seahorses.
The difference between teleosts and other bony fish lies mainly in their jaw bones; teleosts have a movable premaxilla and corresponding modifications in the jaw musculature which make it possible for them to protrude their jaws outwards from the mouth. This is of great advantage, enabling them to grab prey and draw it into the mouth. In more derived teleosts, the enlarged premaxilla is the main tooth-bearing bone, and the maxilla, which is attached to the lower jaw, acts as a lever, pushing and pulling the premaxilla as the mouth is opened and closed. Other bones further back in the mouth serve to grind and swallow food. Another difference is that the upper and lower lobes of the tail (caudal) fin are about equal in size. The spine ends at the caudal peduncle, distinguishing this group from other fish in which the spine extends into the upper lobe of the tail fin.
Teleosts have adopted a range of reproductive strategies. Most use external fertilisation: the female lays a batch of eggs, the male fertilises them and the larvae develop without any further parental involvement. A fair proportion of teleosts are sequential hermaphrodites, starting life as females and transitioning to males at some stage, with a few species reversing this process. A small percentage of teleosts are viviparous and some provide parental care with typically the male fish guarding a nest and fanning the eggs to keep them well-oxygenated.
Teleosts are economically important to humans, as is shown by their depiction in art over the centuries. The fishing industry harvests them for food, and anglers attempt to capture them for sport. Some species are farmed commercially, and this method of production is likely to be increasingly important in the future. Others are kept in aquariums or used in research, especially in the fields of genetics and developmental biology.
^Palmer, Douglas (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Animals. Marshall Editions Developments. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.
^"The Paleobiology Database". The Paleobiology Database. 14 June 2013.
^Müller, Johannes (1845). "Über den Bau und die Grenzen der Ganoiden, und über das natürliche System der Fische". Archiv für Naturgeschichte. 11 (1): 129.
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Greek teleios "complete" + osteon "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (/ˈtɛliɒsts, ˈtiːli-/), is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class...
Teleost leptins are a family of peptide hormones found in fish (teleostei) that are orthologs of the mammalian hormone leptin. The teleost and mammalian...
pelvic and pectoral girdles). The vast majority of actinopterygians are teleosts. By species count, they dominate the subphylum Vertebrata, and constitute...
CCGS Teleost is a Canadian Coast Guard fisheries research vessel. The ship was originally constructed in Norway in 1988 as a commercial fishing trawler...
Teleost hatching enzyme may refer to: Choriolysin L, an enzyme Choriolysin H, an enzyme This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title...
cannibalism is particularly common in teleost fishes, appearing in at least seventeen different families of teleosts. Within this diverse group of fish,...
anglerfish, and pufferfish. Percomorpha are the most diverse group of teleost fish today. Teleosts, and percomorphs in particular, thrived during the Cenozoic era...
lobe-finned and ray-finned fish. About 96% of all living fish species today are teleosts, a crown group of ray-finned fish that can protrude their jaws. The tetrapods...
scales for Osteichthyes which are cosmoid scales, ganoid scales, teleost scales. The teleost scales are also then divided into two subgroups which are the...
The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes (/ˌlɒfiɪˈfɔːrmiːz/). They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in...
found in all tetrapods and also in teleosts, although its form and length vary enormously between species. In teleosts, it is relatively short, typically...
and order names. Salmonids have a relatively primitive appearance among teleost fish, with the pelvic fins being placed far back, and an adipose fin towards...
Interferons (IFNs, /ˌɪntərˈfɪərɒn/ IN-tər-FEER-on) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several...
characterize most teleosts, where the ovary lumen has continuity with the oviduct. Secondary gymnovaries are found in salmonids and a few other teleosts. Fish typically...
mitochondrion-rich cell within ionoregulatory organs of animals, such as teleost fish gill, insect Malpighian tubules, crustacean gills, antennal glands...
Teleost China Ancient system with common carp; from 1935, also other species inc. black carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp Rice-fish Teleost...
while other seed plants (gymnosperms and seed ferns) decline. More modern teleost fish begin to appear. Ammonoids, belemnites, rudist bivalves, sea urchins...
teleost fish also possess 5-HT cells in other sections of the brain, including the basal forebrain. Danio rerio (zebra fish) are a species of teleost...
efficient. About 96% of all modern fish species are teleosts, of which about 14,000 are marine species. Teleosts can be distinguished from other bony fish by...
necessary for hearing on dry land. An affinity between the amphibians and the teleost fish is the multi-folded structure of the teeth and the paired supra-occipital...
contractions of the sonic muscles and is associated with the swim bladder. Teleosts are thought to lack a sense of absolute hydrostatic pressure, which could...
Teleosteomorpha is a clade of ray-finned fishes containing all teleost fish and their closest extinct relatives. Also in this group are two diverse Mesozoic...
sharks can contract and dilate their pupils, like humans, something no teleost fish can do. Sharks have eyelids, but they do not blink because the surrounding...
paired vomer. Holosteans are closer to teleosts than are the chondrosteans, the other group intermediate between teleosts and cartilaginous fish, which are...
giant Pacific octopus. They are also known to feed on bottom-dwelling teleost fishes, as well as soles, flounders, Alaska pollock, rockfishes, shrimps...
small fins, suggest that it is sluggish in nature. This species hunts for teleost fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans both near the sea floor and in the...
from other cephalopods during the Jurassic and occupy a similar role to teleost fish as open water predators of similar size and behaviour. They play an...
mandibles, while bonecrackers have more sophisticated premolars. Many Teleosts, for example the Atlantic wolffish, exhibit durophagous behaviour and crush...
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