Perciformes (/ˈpɜːrsɪˌfɔːrmiːz/), is an order of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. Perciformes means "perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters (Percidae), and also sea basses (Serranidae).[1] This order contains many familiar freshwater temperate and tropical marine fish groups, but also extremophiles that have successfully colonized both the North and South Poles, as well as the deepest depths of the ocean.[2]
Taxonomy
Formerly, this group was thought to be even more diverse than it is thought to be now, containing about 41% of all bony fish (about 10,000 species) and about 160 families, which is the most of any order within the vertebrates.[3] However, many of these other families have since been reclassified within their own orders within the clade Percomorpha, significantly reducing the size of the group. In contrast to this splitting, other groups formerly considered distinct, such as the Scorpaeniformes, are now classified in the Perciformes.[4]
Classification of this group has long been controversial, with various families being placed in and out of Perciformes depending on the study. Only in recent decades, with the advent of molecular phylogenetics, has the classification of the family been largely resolved. Based on these studies, many suborders formerly placed within the Perciformes are better placed elsewhere in the Percomorpha, but former members of the Scorpaeniformes, Gasterosteiformes, and some members of the Trachiniformes (including the type genus) are now considered true perciforms.[8][9]
The dorsal and anal fins are divided into anteriorspiny and posteriorsoft-rayed portions, which may be partially or completely separated. The pelvic fins usually have one spine and up to five soft rays, positioned unusually far forward under the chin or under the belly. Scales are usually ctenoid (rough to the touch), although sometimes they are cycloid (smooth to the touch) or otherwise modified.
↑Near, T. J.; Thacker, C. E. (2024). "Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii)". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 65 (1). doi:10.3374/014.065.0101.
