Order Summary for Beloniformes
Main Ref
:
Order
:
Beloniformes needle fishes
Class
:
Teleostei
Sister Order
:
Cyprinodontiformes 45 M years
Ref.
:
First Fossil Record
:
early Tertiary
Occurs in
:
Marine
Fresh
Brackish
Remark
:
Interarcual cartilage (connects the epibranchial bone of the first gill arch with the infrapharyngobranchial of the second gill arch) small or absent; small second and third epibranchials; interhyal absent; lower caudal fin lobe with more principal rays than the upper lobe. Presence of a fixed or nonprotrusible upper jaw.
Class etymology
:
Greek aktis = ray, thunderbolt, beam + Greek pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin. Ref. 45335.
Order etymology
:
Greek, belone = needle + Latin, forma = shape (Ref. 45335).
Families
:


Ref.
[ e.g. 9948 ]      
Glossary
      [ e.g. oophagy ]