Clades & Grades – Fauna Figures

FigureTales 288 – Clades – Holostei

Okay, thanks to the Random Number Generator, it looks like I'm working through the 2021 Fishmas tree again but I promise I'm not...plus, the Chondrostei was covered a very long time ago anyway! But it's going to be another daunting one for me--another fish group that I greatly appreciate but don't have much personal knowledge on, the Holostei, so the modern Gars and Bowfin (and a whole lot of fossil taxa...) One of those groups at least has some pretty…

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March 3, 2022

Clades & Grades / FigureTales

FigureTales 287 – Clades – Cladistia

We're looking at a clade again today, and as far as clades go...I have been excited and dreading it all at the same time. As the title says, it is the crown group Cladistia, which includes the modern bichirs and reedfish and their fossil relatives. I'm excited because as I'm sure I've mentioned before, bichirs are easily my favorite fish of all time. Dreading because, well...not a whole lot to say. I may be a fan, but I'm no expert.…

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February 28, 2022

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

FISHMAS DAY!

So today is Christmas day--which means that the whole family is here! The extended family is here now! Day twelve can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On Fishmas day itself cladistics gave to me... Twelve Eupercaria!Eleven fish near the topTen Syngnatharia+PelagiariaNine PercomorphaEight basal NeoteleostsSeven basal euteleostomorphsSix crown OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiA bichir at the base of ActinopterygiiAnd some Saarcopterygii relatives sharing a common ancestor in Osteicthyes! Way, way down there--a…

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December 25, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day TWELVE!

Day twelve of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day eleven can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the twelfth day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Twelve figures from the Eupercaria!Eleven fish near the topTen Syngnatharia+PelagiariaNine PercomorphaEight basal NeoteleostsSeven basal euteleostomorphsSix crown OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii And crowning the top of the tree! A star of a very large, diverse clade of fish.…

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December 24, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Eleven!

Day eleven of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day ten can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the eleventh day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Eleven fish from 3 clades towards the top of the tree!Ten Syngnatharia+PelagiariaNine PercomorphaEight basal NeoteleostsSeven basal euteleostomorphsSix crown OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii Another dichotomy plus another, starting to get pretty speciose! From right near the top of…

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December 23, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Ten!

Day ten of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day nine can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the tenth day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Ten Syngnatharia and Pelagiaria speciesNine PercomorphaEight basal NeoteleostsSeven basal euteleostomorphsSix crown OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii Crowded pair of clades this time! For day ten we have a dichotomous pair of clades further into the Percomorphocaea. This clade…

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December 22, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Nine!

Day nine of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day eight can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the ninth day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Nine representatives of basal PercomorphaceaeEight basal NeoteleostsSeven basal euteleostomorphsSix crown OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii Bunch of mostly odd, low-bodied fish. Day nine brings us the basal members of the euteleost clade Percomorphocaea. As a large group, it…

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December 21, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Eight!

Day eight of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day seven can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the eighth day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Eight representative basal NeoteleosteiSeven basal euteleostomorphsSix crown OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii Lots of diversity. So many missing groups missing figures... Day 8 is...so many crown groups of Neoteleosts. Just so many. Cladistically, it includes all of the…

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December 20, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Seven!

Day seven of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day six can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the seventh day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Seven basal euteleostsSix crown OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii A small start to a big group Day 7 is a trio of clades from the basal level of the Euteleostomorphs. I honestly don't fully get everything about how…

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December 19, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Six!

Day six of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day five can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the sixth day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Six crown groups of the OtomorphaFIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES!Four elopomorphs Three HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii And we start getting complicated! For day 6 we visit one of the two crown clades of the 'Clupeocephala', in this case the 'Otomorpha' side. At the basal…

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December 18, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Five!

Day five of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day four can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the fifth day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... FIVE! BOH-NY TONGUES! Four elopomorphs Three Holosteans Two Chondrostei And a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii Five is so allowed! Day five is the Osteoglossomorpha, the bonytongues. As a group they are generally pretty familiar, with a broad range of morphologies, habitats and sizes (including one…

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December 17, 2021

Clades & Grades / FigureTales / Fishmas2021

12 Days of FISHMAS! Day Four!

Day four of the Twelve Days of Fishmas! Day three can be found here. The tag for the whole set will be here. On the fourth day of Fishmas cladistics gave to me... Four elopomorphs born from leptocephaliThree HolosteansTwo ChondrosteiAnd a bichir at the base of Actinopterygii Four is by no means too many... On day four, we reach the Elopomorpha, as a group of fish related by having a leptocephalus stage. It's a fairly diverse group of fish, including…

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December 16, 2021