Phylogenetic classification of living and fossil ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Classification of the tremendous diversity of ray-finned fishes
(Actinopterygii) began with the designation of taxonomic groups based on
morphological similarity. Starting in the late 1960s morphological
phylogenetics became the basis for the classification of Actinopterygii
but failed to resolve many relationships, particularly among lineages
within the hyperdiverse Percomorpha. The introduction of molecular
phylogenetics led to a dramatic reconfiguration of actinopterygian
phylogeny. Refined phylogenetic resolution afforded by molecular studies
revealed an uneven diversity among actinopterygian lineages, resulting in
a proliferation of redundant group names in Linnean-ranked
classifications. Here we provide an unranked phylogenetic classification
for actinopterygian fishes based on a summary phylogeny of 830 lineages of
ray-finned fishes that includes all currently recognized actinopterygian
taxonomic families and 287 fossil taxa. We provide phylogenetic
definitions for 90 clade names and review seven previously defined names.
For each of the 97 clade names we review the etymology of the clade name,
clade species diversity and constituent lineages, clade diagnostic
morphological apomorphies, a review of synonyms, and discuss the
clade's nomenclatural and systematic history. The new classification
is free of redundant group names and includes only one new name among the
97 clade names we review and describe, yielding a comprehensive
classification that is based explicitly on the phylogeny of ray-finned
fishes that has emerged in the 21st century and rests on the foundation of
the previous 200 years of actinopterygian systematic research.