Editing Gadiformes (section)

{{Short description|Order of fishes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Maastrichtian|present}}
| image = Atlantic-cod-1.jpg
| image_upright = 1.15
| image_caption = ''[[Gadus morhua]]''
| taxon = Gadiformes
| authority = [[Edwin Stephen Goodrich|Goodrich]], 1909
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision = See text
| type_species = ''[[Gadus morhua]]''
| type_species_authority = Linnaeus 1758
}}

'''Gadiformes''' {{IPAc-en|'|g|æ|d|ᵻ|f|ɔːr|m|iː|z}}, also called the '''Anacanthini''', are an [[order (biology)|order]] of [[ray-finned fish]] that include the [[cod]], [[hake]]s, [[pollock]], [[haddock]], [[burbot]], [[Lotidae|rockling]]s and [[Moridae|mora]]s, many of which are [[food fish]] of major commercial value. They are mostly [[marine fish]] found throughout the world and the vast majority are found in [[temperate]] or colder regions (tropical species are typically deep-water) while a few species may enter [[brackish]] [[estuaries]]. [[Microgadus proximus|Pacific tomcod]]s, one of the two species that makes up the genus ''[[Microgadus]]'', are able to enter freshwater, but there is no evidence that they breed there. Some populations of landlocked [[Microgadus tomcod|Atlantic tomcod]] on the other hand, complete their entire life cycle in freshwater. Yet only one species, the [[burbot]] (''Lota lota''), is a true [[freshwater fish]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UO6nAgAAQBAJ&dq=Gadidae+tomcod+landlocked+life+cycle+burbot&pg=PA417 The Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia]</ref>

Common characteristics include the positioning of the [[pelvic fin]]s (if present), below or in front of the [[pectoral fin]]s. Gadiformes are [[physoclist]]s, which means their [[swim bladder]]s do not have a [[pneumatic duct]]. The fins are spineless. Gadiform fish range in size from the [[codlet]]s, which may be as small as {{convert|7|cm|in|abbr=on}} in adult length, to the [[Atlantic cod]], ''Gadus morhua'', which reaches up to {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author= Cohen, D.M.|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 130–132|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}</ref>

The earliest gadiforms are ''[[Palaeogadus|Palaeogadus weltoni]]'' from the [[Maastrichtian]] of the United States and the undescribed, informally named "''Protocodus''" from the [[Danian|Early Paleocene]] of [[Greenland]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stringer |first1=Gary |last2=Schwarzhans |first2=Werner |date=2021-09-01 |title=Upper Cretaceous teleostean otoliths from the Severn Formation (Maastrichtian) of Maryland, USA, with an unusual occurrence of Siluriformes and Beryciformes and the oldest Atlantic coast Gadiformes |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=125 |pages=104867 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104867 |issn=0195-6671|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021CrRes.12504867S }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=Matt |last2=V. Andrews |first2=James |last3=Saad |first3=Hadeel |last4=El-Sayed |first4=Sanaa |date=2023-06-16 |title=The Cretaceous–Paleogene transition in spiny-rayed fishes: surveying "Patterson's Gap" in the acanthomorph skeletal record André Dumont medalist lecture 2018 |url=https://popups.uliege.be/1374-8505/index.php?id=7048 |journal=Geologica Belgica |language=en |doi=10.20341/gb.2023.002 |issn=1374-8505|doi-access=free }}</ref>