Perciformes
Perciformes Temporal range:
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Dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Clade: | Percomorpha |
Order: | Perciformes Bleeker, 1863 |
Type species | |
Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758
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Suborders | |
See text |
Perciformes (/ˈpɜːrsɪˌfɔːrmiːz/), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. Perciformes means "perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters (Percidae), and also sea basses and groupers (Serranidae).[1] This order contains many familiar freshwater temperate and tropical marine fish groups, but also extremophiles that have successfully colonized both the North and South Poles, as well as the deepest depths of the ocean.[2]
Taxonomy
[edit]Formerly, this group was thought to be even more diverse than it is thought to be now, containing about 41% of all bony fish (about 10,000 species) and about 160 families, which is the most of any order within the vertebrates.[3] However, many of these other families have since been reclassified within their own orders within the clade Percomorpha, significantly reducing the size of the group. In contrast to this splitting, other groups formerly considered distinct, such as the Scorpaeniformes, are now classified in the Perciformes.[4]
Evolution
[edit]The earliest fossil perciform is the extinct serranid Paleoserranus from the Early Paleocene of Mexico, but potential records of "percoids" are known from the Maastrichtian, including Eoserranus, Indiaichthys, and Prolates, although their exact taxonomic identity remains uncertain.[5][6]
Classification
[edit]Classification of this group has long been controversial, with various families being placed in and out of Perciformes depending on the study. Only in recent decades, with the advent of molecular phylogenetics, has the classification of the family been largely resolved. Based on these studies, many suborders formerly placed within the Perciformes are better placed elsewhere in the Percomorpha, but former members of the Scorpaeniformes, Gasterosteiformes, and some members of the Trachiniformes (including the type genus) are now considered true perciforms.[7][8]
Present classification
[edit]The following classification is based on Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes:[8]
- Order Perciformes
- Suborder Percoidei
- Family Serranidae Swainson 1839 (sea basses)
- Family Anthiadidae Poey 1861 (fairy basslets or streamer basses)
- Family Epinephelidae Bleeker 1874 (groupers)
- Family Liopropomatidae Poey 1867 (painted basslets)
- Family Grammistidae Bleeker 1857 (soapfishes)
- Family Percidae Rafinesque 1815 (perches and darters)
- Family Niphonidae Jordan 1923 (Ara groupers)
- Family Trachinidae Rafinesque 1815 (weeverfishes)
- Family Bembropidae Regan 1913 (flatheads or duckbill flatheads)
- Suborder Notothenioidei
- Family Percophidae Swainson 1839 (Brazilian flatheads)
- Family Bovichtidae Gill 1862 (thornfishes)
- Family Pseudaphritidae McCulloch 1929 (congollis)
- Family Eleginopidae Gill 1893 (Patagonian blennies)
- Family Nototheniidae Günther 1861 (cod icefishes)
- Family Harpagiferidae Gill 1861 (plunderfishes)
- Family Bathydraconidae Regan 1913 (Antarctic dragonfishes)
- Family Channichthyidae Gill 1861 (crocodile icefishes)
- Suborder Scorpaenoidei
- Family Platycephalidae Swainson 1839 (flatheads)
- Family Hoplichthyidae Kaup 1873 (spiny flatheads)
- Family Triglidae Rafinesque 1815 (searobins)
- Family Bembridae Kaup 1873 (deepwater flatheads)
- Family Synanceiidae Swainson 1839 (stonefishes)
- Family Neosebastidae Matsubara 1943 (gurnard scorpionfishes)
- Family Plectrogeniidae Fowler 1938 (stinger flatheads)
- Family Scorpaenidae Risso 1827 (scorpionfishes)
- Family Congiopodidae Gill 1889 (racehorses or pigfishes)
- Family Zanclorhynchidae Andriashev 1993 (horsefishes)
- Family Normanichthyidae Clark 1937 (barehead scorpionfishes )
- Suborder Cottoidei
- Family Anoplopomatidae Jordan & Gilbert 1883 (sablefishes)
- Family Zaniolepididae Jordan & Gilbert 1883 (combfishes)
- Family Hexagrammidae Jordan 1888 (greenlings)
- Family Rhamphocottidae Jordan & Gilbert 1883 (horsehead sculpins)
- Family Jordaniidae Jordan & Evermann 1898 (longfin sculpins)
- Family Cottidae Bonaparte 1831 (sculpins)
- Family Psychrolutidae Günther 1861 (marine sculpins)
- Family Agonidae Swainson 1839 (poachers)
- Family Trichodontidae Bleeker 1859 (sandfishes)
- Family Cyclopteridae Bonaparte 1831 (lumpfishes)
- Family Liparidae Gill 1861 (snailfishes)
- Suborder Gasterosteoidei
- Family Hypoptychidae Steindachner 1880 (sand-eels)
- Family Gasterosteidae Bonaparte 1831 (sticklebacks)
- Family Aulorhynchidae Gill 1861 (tubesnouts)
- Suborder Zoarcoidei
- Family Zoarcidae Swainson 1839 (eelpouts)
- Family Anarhichadidae Bonaparte 1835 (wolffishes)
- Family Neozoarcidae Jordan & Snyder 1902 (largemouth kissing eelpouts)
- Family Eulophiidae Smith 1902 (spinous eelpouts)
- Family Stichaeidae Gill 1864 (pricklebacks)
- Family Lumpenidae Jordan & Evermann 1898 (eel pricklebacks)
- Family Opisthocentridae Jordan & Evermann 1898 (rearspined fin pricklebacks)
- Family Pholidae Gill 1893 (gunnels)
- Family Ptilichthyidae Jordan & Gilbert 1883 (quillfishes)
- Family Zaproridae Jordan 1896 (prowfishes)
- Family Cryptacanthodidae Gill 1861 (wrymouths)
- Family Cebidichthyidae Gill 1862 (monkeyface pricklebacks)
- Family Scytalinidae Jordan & Starks 1895 (graveldivers)
- Family Bathymasteridae Jordan & Gilbert 1883 (ronquils)
- Suborder Percoidei
Past classifications
[edit]As traditionally defined before the introduction of cladistics, the Perciformes are almost certainly paraphyletic. Other orders that should possibly be included as suborders are the Scorpaeniformes, Tetraodontiformes, and Pleuronectiformes. Of the presently recognized suborders, several may be paraphyletic, as well. These are grouped by suborder/superfamily, generally following the text Fishes of the World.[3][9][10][11]


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Characteristics
[edit]The dorsal and anal fins are divided into anterior spiny and posterior soft-rayed portions, which may be partially or completely separated. The pelvic fins usually have one spine and up to five soft rays, positioned unusually far forward under the chin or under the belly. Scales are usually ctenoid (rough to the touch), although sometimes they are cycloid (smooth to the touch) or otherwise modified.
References
[edit]- ^ "Perciform - Form and function". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ Thacker, Christine E.; Near, Thomas J. (13 March 2025). "Phylogeny, biology, and evolution of acanthopterygian fish clades". Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. doi:10.1007/s11160-025-09935-w. ISSN 1573-5184.
- ^ a b Nelson, J. S. (2006). Fishes of the World (4 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-25031-9.
- ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- ^ Cantalice, Kleyton M.; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Alaniz-Galvan, Abril (1 April 2018). "Paleoserranus lakamhae gen. et sp. nov., a Paleocene seabass (Perciformes: Serranidae) from Palenque, Chiapas, southeastern Mexico". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 83: 137–146. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2018.01.010. ISSN 0895-9811.
- ^ Kriwet, Jürgen; Arratia, Gloria; López-Arbarello, Adriana; Parmar, Varun; Prasad, Guntupalli (1 January 2004). "Late Cretaceous-Paleocene percomorphs (Teleostei) from India - early radiation of perciformes". Recent advances in ….
- ^ a b Betancur-R, Ricardo; Wiley, Edward O.; Arratia, Gloria; Acero, Arturo; Bailly, Nicolas; Miya, Masaki; Lecointre, Guillaume; Ortí, Guillermo (6 July 2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (1): 162. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 5501477. PMID 28683774.
- ^ a b Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Order Perciformes". FishBase. August 2015 version.
- ^ "ADW: Perciformes". animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu. Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ a b J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 430–467. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2020.