Atheriniformes

Article By:

Boschung, Herbert T. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Last reviewed:October 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.058600

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• Atheriniformes, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

An order of actinopterygian (ray-finned) fishes, including the silversides, rainbowfishes, and blue eyes. The members of the Atheriniformes, together with those of the Beloniformes and Cyprinodontiformes, comprise the series Atherinomorpha. Atherinomorphs are more or less intermediate between typical soft-rayed and spiny-rayed fishes, but are not thought to be the ancestry of the latter. The order Atheriniformes consists of about 350 species in 6–10 families (depending on the exact classification). They are relatively small fishes, usually with an elongate body, and they also have the following features: opercular and preopercular margins lacking spines or serrations; an absent (or nearly so) lateral line; usually two dorsal fins, with the first, if present, having weak spines; an anal fin that is larger than the soft dorsal fin and usually preceded by one spine; and usually abdominal pelvic fins, which can be subthoracic or absent in some species (for example, those belonging to the family Phallostethidae). See also: Actinopterygii; Beloniformes; Cyprinodontiformes; Teleostei

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