Editing Teleost (section)

== Distribution ==

Teleosts are found worldwide and in most aquatic environments, including warm and cold seas, flowing and still [[fresh water|freshwater]], and even, in the case of the [[desert pupfish]], isolated and sometimes hot and [[salt lake|saline bodies of water]] in deserts.<ref>Dudek and ICF International (2012). Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) Baseline Biology Report. California Energy Commission.</ref><ref name=UCLrayfinned>{{cite web |title=Actinopterygii - ray-finned fishes |url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/obl4he/vertebratediversity/rayfinned_fishes.html |publisher=[[University College, London]]}}</ref> Teleost diversity becomes low at extremely high latitudes; at [[Franz Josef Land]], up to [[82nd parallel north|82°N]], ice cover and water temperatures below {{convert|0|C}} for a large part of the year limit the number of species; 75 percent of the species found there are endemic to the Arctic.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chernova |first1=N. V. |last2=Friedlander |first2=A. M. |last3=Turchik |first3=A. |last4=Sala |first4=E. |title=Franz Josef Land: extreme northern outpost for Arctic fishes |journal=[[PeerJ]] |date=2014|volume=2 |pages=e692 |doi=10.7717/peerj.692| pmid=25538869| pmc=4266852 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:Macularius spawn initiation.jpg|thumb|left|Fish in a hot desert: the [[desert pupfish]]]]

Of the major groups of teleosts, the Elopomorpha, Clupeomorpha and Percomorpha (perches, tunas and many others) all have a worldwide distribution and are [[Pelagic fish#Oceanic fish|mainly marine]]; the Ostariophysi and Osteoglossomorpha are worldwide but [[freshwater fish|mainly freshwater]], the latter mainly in the tropics; the Atherinomorpha (guppies, etc.) have a worldwide distribution, both fresh and salt, but are surface-dwellers. In contrast, the Esociformes (pikes) are limited to freshwater in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Salmoniformes ([[salmon]], trout) are found in both Northern and Southern temperate zones in freshwater, some species [[fish migration|migrating]] to and from the sea. The Paracanthopterygii (cods, etc.) are Northern Hemisphere fish, with both salt and freshwater species.<ref name=UCLrayfinned/>

Some teleosts are migratory; certain freshwater species move within river systems on an annual basis; other species are anadromous, spending their lives at sea and moving inland to [[Spawn (biology)|spawn]], salmon and [[striped bass]] being examples. Others, exemplified by the [[eel]], are [[Fish migration#Classification|catadromous]], doing the reverse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/faq/fishfaq1a.html |title=What is an anadromous fish? A catadromous fish? |work=Fish FAQ |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] |access-date=12 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120213035/http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/faq/fishfaq1a.html|archive-date=20 January 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The fresh water [[European eel]] migrates across the Atlantic Ocean as an adult to breed in floating seaweed in the [[Sargasso Sea]]. The adults spawn here and then die, but the developing young are swept by the [[Gulf Stream]] towards Europe. By the time they arrive, they are small fish and enter estuaries and ascend rivers, overcoming obstacles in their path to reach the streams and ponds where they spend their adult lives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Anguilla_anguilla/en#tcN90078 |title=''Anguilla anguilla'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]: Fisheries and Aquaculture Department |work=Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme |date=1 January 2004 |access-date=2 January 2016}}</ref>

Teleosts including the [[brown trout]] and the [[scaly osman]] are found in mountain lakes in [[Kashmir]] at altitudes as high as {{convert|3819|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raina |first1=H. S. |last2=Petr |first2=T. |title=Coldwater Fish and Fisheries in the Indian Himalayas: Lakes and Reservoirs |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x2614e/x2614e05.htm |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization|access-date=6 January 2016}}</ref> Teleosts are found at extreme depths in the oceans; the [[Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis|hadal snailfish]] has been seen at a depth of {{convert|7700|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and a related (unnamed) species has been seen at {{convert|8145|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morelle |first=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7655358.stm |title='Deepest ever' living fish filmed |work=BBC News |date=7 October 2008|access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Morelle, Rebecca |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30541065 |title=New record for deepest fish |work=BBC News |date=19 December 2014|access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref>