Actinopterygii Fish Fossils

The oldest fossils of class Actinopterygii, or ray-finned fishes, date to the Devonian period. By the late Paleozoic Era they had become the dominant vertebrates living in marine environments. The group to which nearly all extant Actinopterygians belong, the Teleosts (Subclass Neopterygii, Infraclass Teleostei), appeared in the late Triassic period. By the start of the Cenozoic Era, following the great extinction event concluding the Cretaceous, the teleosts dominated marine and aquatic environments worldwide.

Encrinesomus dixoni Order Polypteriformes Family Bobastraniidae Triassic Ambilobe, Madagascar	Leptolepis talbragarensis Order Leptolepiformes Family Leptolepididae Jurassic New South Wales, Australia	Eurypholis boissieri (viper fish) with two eaten fish Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatt, Haqel, Lebanon	Enchelion montium Eel Fossil Order Anguilliformes Family Congridae Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatt, Haqel, Lebanon

Aipichthys velifer Order Beryciformes Family Dinopterigidae Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatt, Haqel, Lebanon	Belonostomus Order Aspidorynchiformes Family Aspidorynchidae Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatt, Haqel, Lebanon	Ctenothrissa sp. Order Ctenothrissiformes Family Ctenothrissidae Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatt, Hajoula, Lebanon	Exocoetoides minor Order Aulopiformes Family Chirothricidae Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatt, Hajoula, Lebanon

Nematonotus longispinus Cretaceous Order Aulopiformes Lebanese Lagerstatt, Hajoula, Lebanon	Ichthyodectes ctenodon Order Polypteriformes Family Ichthyodectidae Cretaceous Niobrara Formation, Kansas	Diplomystus dentatus Order Ellimmichthyiformes Family Ellimmichthyidae Eocene Green River Formation, Wyoming	Priscacara liops Order Perciformes Family Priscacaridae Eocene Green River Formation, Wyoming

	Syngnathus acus Order Syngnathiformes Family Syngnathidae Pliocene Marecchia River Formation, Italy

Class Actinopterygii Fish Fossils (Ray Finned Fish)

Class Actinopterygii
Fish Fossils
(Ray Finned Fish)