Acanthopterygii

Acanthopterygii (meaning "spiny-finned one") is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are sometimes called ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name is often given to the class Actinopterygii as a whole.

Acanthopterygii Temporal range: Cenomanian–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Labidesthes sicculus
Group of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in Italy
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Clade:	Acanthomorpha
Superorder:	Acanthopterygii Rosen & Patterson, 1969
Subdivisions
Trachichthyiformes Beryciformes Percomorpha (see text)

The suborder includes the berycids and their allies, but by far the largest member of the group is the Percomorpha, the most diverse vertebrate clade.

Taxonomy

The following taxonomy is based on ECoF (2025), with subseries based on earlier studies:^[1][2][3]

• Series Berycida
  • Order Trachichthyiformes, including pineconefishes, slimeheads & fangtooths
  • Order Beryciformes
    • Suborder Holocentroidei, squirrelfish & soldierfish
    • Suborder Berycoidei, alfonsinos & berycids
    • Suborder Stephanoberycoidei, pricklefishes, whalefishes & gibberfishes
• Series Percomorpha
  • Subseries Ophidiida
    • Order Ophidiiformes, including cusk-eels, brotulas & pearlfishes
  • Subseries Batrachoidida
    • Order Batrachoidiformes, toadfishes
  • Subseries Gobiida
    • Order Kurtiformes, nurseryfishes & cardinalfishes
    • Order Gobiiformes, gobies, sleepers & allies
  • Subseries Pelagiaria
    • Order Scombriformes, mackerels, tuna, bluefishes, ragfishes, pomfrets, cutlassfish, swallowers, medusafish, & allies
  • Subseries Syngnatharia
    • Order Syngnathiformes, seahorses, pipefishes, trumpetfishes, goatfishes, gurnards, seamoths & allies
  • Subseries Anabantaria
    • Order Anabantiformes, including labyrinth fishes, snakeheads & badids
    • Order Synbranchiformes, including the swamp eels
  • Subseries Carangaria
    • Order Carangiformes, including jacks, flatfish, barracudas, billfish, & allies
  • Subseries Ovalentaria
    • Order Atheriniformes, including silversides and rainbowfishes
    • Order Beloniformes, including the flyingfishes, ricefish, needlefishes & halfbeaks
    • Order Cyprinodontiformes, including livebearers, killifishes, rivulines & pupfishes
    • Order Cichliformes, cichlids, leaffishes & convict blenny
    • Order Mugiliformes, mullets & Asiatic glassfish
    • Order Blenniiformes, including blennies, clingfishes, dottybacks, jawfishes, damselfishes & anemonefishes
  • Subseries Eupercaria
    • Order Perciformes, including groupers, perches, darters, notothens, flatheads, searobins, scorpionfish, sculpins, sticklebacks, eelpouts & allies
    • Order Centrarchiformes, including temperate perch, knifejaws, sea chubs, freshwater sunfish, hawkfishes & allies
    • Order Labriformes, including wrasses, sandlances, stargazers & allies
    • Order Acropomatiformes, including lanternbellies, gnomefishes, wreckfishes, banjofish, oceanic basslets, armorheads & allies
    • Order Acanthuriformes, including surgeonfishes, butterflyfishes, rabbitfishes, marine angelfishes, drumfish, grunts, ponyfishes, mojarras, snappers, temperate basses, spadefishes, porgies, scats, bigeyes, boarfishes & allies
    • Order Lophiiformes, anglerfishes
    • Order Tetraodontiformes, including the filefishes, pufferfishes, porcupinefishes, triggerfishes, boxfishes, and ocean sunfish

Phylogeny

The cladogram is based on Near et al., 2012^[4] and Betancur-Rodriguez et al. 2016.^[5]

Acanthopterygii

Berycimorphaceae Beryciformes (alfonsinos; whalefishes) Trachichthyiformes (pinecone fishes & slimeheads) Holocentrimorphaceae Holocentriformes (Soldier fishes & squirrel fishes) Percomorpha Ophidiiformes (cusk-eels) Batrachoidiformes (toadfishes) Syngnathomorpharia Scombroidei (tunas, mackerel) Syngnathiformes (seahorses) Gobiomopharia Kurtiformes (cardinalfishes; nurseryfishes) Gobiiformes (gobies) Carangimopharia Synbranchiformes Anabantiformes Carangiformes (jacks) Istiophoriformes (billfish) Pleuronectiformes (flatfish) Ovalentariae Cichliformes Mugiliformes Atherinomorphae Beloniformes Cyprinodontiformes Atheriniformes Blenniimorphae Gobiesociformes Blenniiformes Percomorpharia Labridae (wrasses) Perciformes (perches, seabasses, sticklebacks, etc) Centrarchiformes (blackbasses, temperate perches) Pempheriformes (sweepers, banjofish)[6] Acanthuroidei (surgeonfishes), Leiognathidae (ponyfishes), Chaetodontidae (butterflyfishes) Siganidae (rabbitfishes), Scatophagidae (scats) Lophiiformes (anglerfishes) Tetraodontiformes (pufferfishes)