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[25] [26] The beluga sturgeon is the largest species of freshwater bony fish extant today, and Arapaima gigas is among the largest of the freshwater fish. The largest bony fish ever was Leedsichthys, which dwarfed the beluga sturgeon as well as the ocean sunfish, giant grouper and all the other giant bony fishes alive today. [27]
The bony fish lineage shows more derived anatomical traits, often with major evolutionary changes from the features of ancient fish. They have a bony skeleton, are generally laterally flattened, have five pairs of gills protected by an operculum, and a mouth at or near the tip of the snout. The dermis is covered with overlapping scales. Bony ...
Each gill is supported by a cartilaginous or bony gill arch, [1] which helps to maintain the gill's surface area. Bony fish (osteichthyans, mostly teleost ray-finned fish) have four pairs of arches, cartilaginous fish (chondrichthyans) have five to seven pairs, and the more basal jawless fish ("agnathans") have up to seven.
Sarcopterygii (/ ˌ s ɑːr k ɒ p t ə ˈ r ɪ dʒ i. aɪ /; from Ancient Greek σάρξ (sárx) 'flesh' and πτέρυξ (ptérux) 'wing, fin') — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii (from Ancient Greek κροσσός (krossós) 'fringe') — is a clade (traditionally a class or subclass) of vertebrate animals which includes a group of bony fish commonly referred to as lobe ...
Actinopterygii (/ ˌ æ k t ɪ n ɒ p t ə ˈ r ɪ dʒ i aɪ /; from actino- 'having rays' and Ancient Greek πτέρυξ (ptérux) 'wing, fins'), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish [2] that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. [3]
The gill arches of bony fish typically have no septum, so that the gills alone project from the arch, supported by individual gill rays. Some species retain gill rakers. Though all but the most primitive bony fish lack a spiracle, the pseudobranch associated with it often remains, being located at the base of the operculum. This is, however ...
Many bony fishes have an internal organ called a swim bladder, or gas bladder, that adjusts their buoyancy through manipulation of gases. In this way, fish can stay at the current water depth, or ascend or descend without having to waste energy in swimming. The bladder is only found in bony fishes.
Evolution of ray-finned fishes, Actinopterygii, from the Devonian to the present as a spindle diagram. The width of the spindles are proportional to the number of families as a rough estimate of diversity. The diagram is based on Benton, M. J. (2005) Vertebrate Palaeontology, Blackwell, 3rd edition, Fig 7.13 on page 185.