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Gymnotiformes
Description | The Gymnotiformes are a group of teleost bony fishes commonly known as the Neotropical or South American knifefish. They have long bodies and swim using undulations of their elongated anal fin. Found almost exclusively in fresh water (the only exceptions are species that occasionally may visit brackish water to feed), these mostly nocturnal fish are capable of producing electric fields for navigation, communication, and, in the case of the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus), attack and defense. A few species are familiar to the aquarium trade, such as the black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons), the glass knifefish (Eigenmannia virescens), and the banded knifefish (Gymnotus carapo). From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotiformes, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source Data |
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Rank | order | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopterygii : Gymnotiformes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopteri : Gymnotiformes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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Scientific Name | Gymnotiformes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opinions (PBDB) |
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Status (PBDB) | extant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taxon Size (PBDB) | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Extant Size (PBDB) | 7 (100%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Environment | freshwater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Motility | actively mobile (based on Actinopterygii) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. S. Nelson. 2006. Fishes of the world, 4th edition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common Name(s) | Mesaalachtigen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotiformes |
External Images
Subtaxa
Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
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Gymnotoidei suborder | listed (PBDB) | 0 Ma Extant | |||
Sternopygoidei suborder | listed (PBDB) | 0 Ma Extant | |||
Apteronotidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Gymnotidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Hypopomidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Rhamphichthyidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Sternopygidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB |
Synonymy List
Year | Name and Author |
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2006 | Gymnotiformes Nelson |
2011 | Gymnotiformes Long p. 243 |
2013 | Gymnotiformes Betancur-R. et al. |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!