Nelson, J.S., 1994

Lepisosteiformes gars

Holostei

Amiiformes 260 M years

Helfman, G., B. Collette and D. Facey, 1997  |  Carroll, R., 1988

late Permian

Marine

Fresh

Brackish

Body and jaws elongate; mouth with needlelike teeth; abbreviated heterocercal tail; heavy ganoid scales, about 50-65 along lateral line; dorsal fin far back, with few rays; three branchiostegal rays; interoperculum absent; two or more supratemporal bones on each side; maxilla small and immobile; supramaxilla absent; myodome absent; vomer paired; swim bladder vascularized (thus permitting aerial respiration); vertebrae opisthocoelous (anterior end convex, posterior end concave, as in some reptiles and unlike all other fish except the blenny Andamia. Maximum length about 3.0 m.

Greek aktis = ray, thunderbolt, beam + Greek pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin. Ref. 45335.

Greek, lepis, -idos = scale + Greek, osteon, bone + Latin, forma = shape (Ref. 45335).

( n = 1 )
Lepisosteidae

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948 ]      

Glossary
      [ e.g. oophagy ]