Otocephala

The Otocephala is a clade of bony fishes within the Teleostei that evolved some 230 million years ago. It is named for the presence of a hearing (otophysic) link from the swimbladder to the inner ear. Other names proposed for the group include Ostarioclupeomorpha and Otomorpha. The clade contains the Clupeiformes (herrings) and the Ostariophysi, a group of other orders including the Cypriniformes (minnows and allies), Gymnotiformes (knifefish), and Siluriformes (catfish). The Otocephala may also contain the Alepocephaliformes (slickheads), but as yet (2016) without morphological evidence. The clade is sister to the Euteleostei which contains the majority of bony fish alive today. In 2015, Benton and colleagues set a "plausible minimum" date for the origin of the crown Otocephala as about 228.4 million years ago. They argued that since the oldest locality for any diversity of stem teleosts is the Carnian of Polberg bei Lunz, Austria, whose base is 235 million years old, a rough estimate for the Otocephala can be made.

Contents

• Taxonomy
• Phylogeny
• References