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Halecomorphi
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Halecomorphi
Temporal range: 251–0 Ma
CretaceousCipactlichthys scutatus
Amia calva (bowfin)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Subclass: Neopterygii
Infraclass: Holostei
Clade: Halecomorphi
Cope, 1872
Orders and families[1]

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 families (including Amiidae, Caturidae, Liodesmidae, Sinamiidae) in the order Amiiformes, as well as the extinct orders Ionoscopiformes, Ophiopsiformes[2], Panxianichthyiformes, and Parasemionotiformes. The fossil record of halecomorphs goes back at least to the Early Triassic epoch.

The parasemionotiform †Watsonulus
The ionoscopiform †Ionoscopus
The amiiform †Caturus
The amiiform †Calamopleurus
The amiiform †Sinamia
Skull of Amia calva (bowfin)

The Halecomorphi exhibit a combination of ancestral features, such as most heavily mineralized scales, but also by more derived or "modern" features, particularly in the structure of the skull (e.g. position and shape of preopercles). Unique derived traits (synapomorphies) of the Halecomorphi include:[3]

Systematics and phylogeny

[edit]

On the systematic position of the Halecomorphi, there are two competing hypotheses:

The latter hypothesis is more widely accepted.[8][9][10][11]

Neopterygii

Teleostei

Holostei

Ginglymodi (gars and their fossil relatives)

Halecomorphi (bowfin and its fossil relatives)

The following cladogram[12] summarizes the evolutionary relationships of extinct (indicated with a dagger, †) and living orders of Halecomorphi.

Halecomorphi

References

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