Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox

Aulopiformes Template:IPAc-enTemplate:Efn is a diverse order of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families with about 45 genera and over 230 species. The common names grinners, lizardfishes and allies, or aulopiforms are sometimes used for this group. They are included in the superorder Cyclosquamata,Template:Efn though modern taxonomists consider this superorder to be unwarranted.

Many extant aulopiforms are deep-sea fishes, with some species recognized as being hermaphroditic, a number of which are able to self-fertilise. Some are benthic, but most are pelagic swimmers (nektonic).<ref name=Nelson-2006-214/><ref name="j+e-1998">Template:Harvtxt</ref> A clade of Aulopiformes, the suborder Enchodontoidei and its many constituent families, were dominant nektonic fish throughout much of the Late Cretaceous before the extinction of most of their members around the K–Pg event,<ref name="Davis-2010" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with the Dercetidae surviving for some time in the Cenozoic.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref>

TaxonomyEdit

Past authors have considered aulopiforms to be so distinct as to warrant separation in a monotypic superorder of the Teleostei, the Cyclosquamata. However, monotypic taxa are generally avoided by modern taxonomists if not necessary, and in this case a distinct superorder seems indeed unwarranted: together with the equally dubious superorder "Stenopterygii", the grinners appear to be closely related to some of the Protacanthopterygii, namely, the Salmoniformes (salmon, trout, and relatives), and should perhaps be part of that larger clade. As an alternative, the superorders are sometimes united as an unranked clade named Euteleostei, but in that case the Protacanthopterygii would need to be split further to account for the phylogenetic uncertainty. This would result in a highly cumbersome and taxonomically redundant group of two very small and no less than four monotypic superorders.<ref name=Nelson-2006-214>Template:Harvtxt</ref><ref>Template:Harvtxt</ref>

DescriptionEdit

In general, aulopiform fish have a mixture of advanced and primitive characteristics relative to other teleost fish. Aulopiformes are grouped together (claded) because of common features in the structure of their gill arches; their second pharyngobranchial bone (part of the gill arch) is greatly elongated posterolaterally away from third pharyngobranchial, which lacks a cartilaginous condyle to articulate with the preceding bone, but is contacted by the elongated uncinate process of the second epibranchial. Aulopiforms have a gas bladder which is either vestigial or entirely absent, a hypaxialis muscle that is unusually extended forward at its upper end, attaching to the neurocranium below the spine (perhaps to snap the upper part of the skull down when catching prey), and the position of the maxillary bone. Other features include the position of the pelvic fins far back on the body, the fused medial processes of pelvic girdle, and the presence of an adipose fin (which is also typical for the Protacanthopterygii).<ref name=fishbase/><ref name=Nelson-2006-214/><ref name="j+e-1998"/>

The larvae of some Aulopiformes are extremely bizarre-looking, with elongated fins, and do not resemble the adult animals. They were not only described as distinct species, but also even separated as genera and finally in a family "Macristiidae" which was allied with various Protacanthopterygii (sensu lato), but the initial assessment – which found "Macristium" to resemble the deepwater lizardfishes (Bathysauridae) in some details – was in fact not far off the mark: "Macristium" species are now known to be the larvae of Bathysaurus, while the supposed other "macristiids" "Macristiella spp." are larvae of the deepsea tripodfish Bathytyphlops.<ref>Template:Harvtxt</ref>

Several extant aulopiform families have Cretaceous representatives, and phylogenetic evidence indicates that the extant families of the order diversified around the Early Cretaceous, making it rather ancient. These diversification events included the earliest adaptations for deep-sea living, which is common among many extant aulopiform taxa.<ref name="Davis-2010"/> Below is a timeline indicating fossil evidence for the group: <timeline> ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px

Period = from:-105.0 till:15 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-105.0 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-105.0 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify

Colors =

#legends
 id:CAR	  value:claret
 id:ANK 	 value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196)
 id:HER	  value:teal
 id:HAD	  value:green
 id:OMN	  value:blue
 id:black        value:black
 id:white        value:white
 id:cretaceous   value:rgb(0.5,0.78,0.31)
 id:earlycretaceous   value:rgb(0.63,0.78,0.65)
 id:latecretaceous   value:rgb(0.74,0.82,0.37)
 id:cenozoic     value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)
 id:paleogene     value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32)
 id:paleocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37)
 id:eocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42)
 id:oligocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48)
 id:neogene     value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1)
 id:miocene     value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0)
 id:pliocene     value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68)
 id:quaternary   value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5)
 id:pleistocene   value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68)
 id:holocene   value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88)

BarData=

bar:eratop
bar:space
bar:periodtop
bar:space
bar:NAM1
bar:NAM2
bar:NAM3
bar:NAM4
bar:NAM5
bar:NAM6
bar:NAM7
bar:NAM8
bar:NAM9
bar:space
bar:period
bar:space
bar:era

PlotData=

align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
shift:(7,-4)
bar:periodtop
from: -105.0    till: -99.6    color:earlycretaceous    text:Early
from: -99.6    till: -65.5    color:latecretaceous    text:Late
from: -65.5   till:  -55.8    color:paleocene  text:Paleo.
from: -55.8   till:  -33.9    color:eocene  text:Eo.
from: -33.9   till:  -23.03    color:oligocene  text:Oligo.
from: -23.03    till: -5.332    color:miocene    text:Mio.
from: -5.332    till: -2.588    color:pliocene    text:Pl.
from: -2.588    till: -0.0117   color:pleistocene    text:Pl.
from: -0.0117    till: 0    color:holocene    text:H.
bar:eratop
from: -105.0    till: -65.5   color:cretaceous    text:Cretaceous
from: -65.5   till:  -23.03    color:paleogene  text:Paleogene
from: -23.03    till: -2.588    color:neogene    text:Neogene
from: -2.588    till: 0   color:quaternary    text:Q.

PlotData=

align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left
color:latecretaceous bar:NAM1  from:-99.6    till:-97.6 text:Nematonotus
color:latecretaceous bar:NAM2  from:-99.6    till:-83.5 text:Acrognathus
color:eocene bar:NAM3  from:-55.8    till:-48.6 text:Aulopopsis
color:eocene bar:NAM4 from:-55.8    till:-48.6 text:Labrophagus
color:eocene bar:NAM5 from:-55.8    till:0 text:Aulopus
color:eocene bar:NAM6 from:-37.2    till:0 text:Chlorophthalmus
color:eocene bar:NAM7 from:-37.2    till:0 text:Scopelosaurus
color:oligocene bar:NAM8  from:-28.4    till:0 text:Scopelarchus
color:pliocene bar:NAM9  from:-5.332    till:0 text:Notolepis

PlotData=

align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
bar:period
from: -105.0    till: -99.6    color:earlycretaceous    text:Early
from: -99.6    till: -65.5    color:latecretaceous    text:Late
from: -65.5   till:  -55.8    color:paleocene  text:Paleo.
from: -55.8   till:  -33.9    color:eocene  text:Eo.
from: -33.9   till:  -23.03    color:oligocene  text:Oligo.
from: -23.03    till: -5.332    color:miocene    text:Mio.
from: -5.332    till: -2.588    color:pliocene    text:Pl.
from: -2.588    till: -0.0117   color:pleistocene    text:Pl.
from: -0.0117    till: 0    color:holocene    text:H.
bar:era
from: -105.0    till: -65.5   color:cretaceous    text:Cretaceous
from: -65.5   till:  -23.03    color:paleogene  text:Paleogene
from: -23.03    till: -2.588    color:neogene    text:Neogene
from: -2.588    till: 0   color:quaternary    text:Q.

</timeline>

ClassificationEdit

Template:Extinct means extinct.

FootnotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Template:Actinopterygii Template:Taxonbar Template:Authority control