Article
Article
- Zoology
- Osteichthyes
- Acipenseriformes
- Paleontology
- Fossil fishes
- Acipenseriformes
Acipenseriformes
Article By:
Boschung, Herbert T. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Bailey, Reeve M. Division of Fishes, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Last reviewed:October 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.004900
Show previous versions
- Acipenseriformes, published June 2014:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Family Acipenseridae (sturgeons)
- Family Polyodontidae (paddlefishes)
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
An order of actinopterygian (ray-finned) fishes represented by the sturgeons and paddlefishes. The order Acipenseriformes, the only extant order of about 10–12 orders of chondrosteans (subclass Chondrostei), probably originated from palaeonisciform ancestors during the Triassic or Jurassic periods. Acipenseriform fishes are characterized by a largely cartilaginous skeleton, a heterocercal tail, fins with more than one ray per pterygiophore, a spiral valve intestine, a reduced or absent myodome, a reduced or absent preopercle, and an absent gular plate. The cartilaginous skeleton of the members of the Acipenseriformes, long regarded as primitive, was taken as indicative of an alliance with the Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes); however, cartilage is secondary and the true relationship is with the Osteichthyes (bony fishes). See also: Actinopterygii; Osteichthyes; Palaeonisciformes
The content above is only an excerpt.
for your institution. Subscribe
To learn more about subscribing to AccessScience, or to request a no-risk trial of this award-winning scientific reference for your institution, fill in your information and a member of our Sales Team will contact you as soon as possible.
to your librarian. Recommend
Let your librarian know about the award-winning gateway to the most trustworthy and accurate scientific information.
![Access Science from Mc Graw-Hill. Authorative content. Immediate solutions.](/static/img/header-as-logo.png)
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information