Guildayichthyidae

Guildayichthyidae
Temporal range: Late Mississippian
Fossil of Discoserra pectinodon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Guildayichthyiformes
Lund, 2000
Family: Guildayichthyidae
Lund, 2000
Genera

See text

Guildayichthyidae is a extinct family of marine fish from the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana.[1][2] It is the only family in the order Guildayichthyiformes. Guildayichthyids possess an uncommon mixture of primitive and modern characteristics in their skull bones.[3]

Their taxonomy has long been debated, with studies placing them within the Neopterygii, while others placed them within the Cladistia. A 2025 study found them to most likely be the sister group to the extinct Bobasatraniiformes, with the two forming an early-diverging clade within the crown group Actinopterygii.[4]

Taxonomy

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This family consists of the following genera and species:[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lund, Richard (2000). "The new Actinopterygian order Guildayichthyiformes from the Lower Carboniferous of Montana (USA)" (PDF). Geodiversitas. 22 (2): 171–206.
  2. ^ Albert, James S.; Johnson, Derek M. (23 November 2011). "Diversity and Evolution of Body Size in Fishes". Evolutionary Biology. 39 (3): 324–340. doi:10.1007/s11692-011-9149-0. S2CID 255346377.
  3. ^ "Exquisitely-Preserved Guildayichthys Mississippian Bear Gulch Fish". FossilMall.
  4. ^ Stack, Jack. "An ontological morphological phylogenetic framework for living and extinct ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)". The Anatomical Record. n/a (n/a). doi:10.1002/ar.70090. ISSN 1932-8494.