Otocephala is a clade of ray-finned fishes within the infraclass Teleostei that evolved some 230 million years ago. It is named for the presence of a hearing (otophysic) link from the swimbladder to the inner ear. Other names proposed for the group include Ostarioclupeomorpha and Otomorpha.

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Subcohorts ...
Otocephala
Temporal range: Late Jurassic–present
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Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Clade: Clupeocephala
Cohort: Otocephala
Johnson & Patterson, 1996
Subcohorts
Synonyms
  • Ostarioclupeomorpha
  • Otomorpha
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The clade contains Clupeiformes (herrings) and Ostariophysi, a group of other orders including Cypriniformes (minnows and allies), Gymnotiformes (knifefish), and Siluriformes (catfish). Otocephala may also contain Alepocephaliformes (slickheads), but as yet (2016) without morphological evidence.

The clade is sister to Euteleostei which contains the majority of bony fish alive today.[1][2][3][4]

In 2015, Benton and colleagues set a "plausible minimum" date for the origin of crown Otocephala as about 228.4 million years ago. They argued that since the oldest locality for any diversity of stem teleosts is the Carnian of Polberg bei Lunz, Austria, whose base is 235 million years old, a rough estimate for Otocephala can be made.[5][6] The earliest known fossil member of the group is Tischlingerichthys from the Late Jurassic of Germany.[7]

Taxonomy

Taxonomy based on:[4][8][9]

  • Cohort Otocephala Johnson & Patterson 1996 [Otomorpha Wiley & Johnson 2010; Ostarioclupeomorpha Arratia 1997]
    • Genus †Kermichthys Taverne 1993
    • Family †Lycoclupeidae Gowda 1968
    • Family †Clupavidae Bertin & Arambourg 1958
    • Subcohort Clupei Wiley & Johnson 2010 [Clupeomorpha Greenwood et al. 1966]
    • Subcohort Alepocephali
    • Subcohort Ostariophysi Sagemehl 1885
      • Genus †Tischlingerichthys Arratia 1997
      • Family †Ancylostylidae Jordan 1923
      • Family †Erythrinolepididae Cockerell 1919 corrig.
      • Section Anotophysa (Rosen & Greenwood 1970) Sagemehl 1885 [Anotophysi Rosen & Greenwood 1970]
      • Section Otophysa (Rosen & Greenwood 1970) Sagemehl 1885 [Otophysi Rosen & Greenwood 1970]
        • Genus †Nardonoides Mayrinck, Brito & Otero 2014
        • Family †Chanoididae Taverne 2005
        • Family †Salminopsidae Gayet 1985
        • Superorder Cypriniphysae [Cypriniphysi Woodward 1901]
        • Superorder Characiphysae (Fink & Fink 1981)
        • Superorder Siluriphysae [Siluriphysi]

Phylogeny

Phylogeny of living groups based on:[10]

Otocephala
Clupei

Clupeiformes (herrings and relatives) Thumb

Alepocephali

Alepocephaliformes (slickheads and tubeshoulders) Thumb

Ostariophysi
Anotophysa

Gonorynchiformes (milkfish and relatives) Thumb

Otophysa
Cypriniphysae

Cypriniformes (minnow, carp, loach) Thumb

Characiphysae

Characiformes (tetras and piranhas) Thumb

Siluriphysae

Gymnotiformes (knifefish) Thumb

Siluriformes (catfish) Thumb

References

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