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Osmeriformes

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Osmeriformes
Temporal range: Late Paleocene–present
Delta smelt, Hypomesus transpacificus
(Osmeroidei: Osmeridae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Superorder: Osmeromorpha
Order: Osmeriformes
Regan, 1913[1]
Type species
Salmo eperlanus
Suborders

The Osmeriformes /ɒsˈmɛrɪfɔːrmiːz/ are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the true or freshwater smelts and allies, such as the noodlefishes; they are also collectively called osmeriforms. They belong to the teleost superorder Protacanthopterygii, which also includes pike and salmon, among others.[2] The order's name means "smelt-shaped", from Osmerus (the type genus) + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek osmé (ὀσμή, "pungent smell") + Latin forma ("external form"), the former in reference to the characteristic aroma of the flesh of Osmerus.[3][4][5]

In the classification used here, the order Osmeriformes contains two suborders, four families, some 17 genera, and about 52species.[6] The "marine" smelts and allies (e.g. the odd-looking barreleyes) were formerly included here as suborder Argentinoidei; they are now usually considered more distantly related than it was believed and treated as order Argentiniformes. When the marine smelts were included here, the subdivisions of the Osmeriformes were down-ranked by one.[7] The galaxiids were also previously placed in this order, being treated as allied with the retropinnids, but are now known to represent their own, distinct order.[8]

Description and ecology

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Noodlefish (Salangidae) are unusual osmeriforms that are commonly harvested

Osmeriformes are small to mid-sized slender fish. Their maxilla is usually included in the mouth's gape, and most of them have an adipose fin as is often found in the Protacanthopterygii. Their [pterosphenoid] usually has a ventral flange, and the vomer has a short posterior shaft. They have reduced or even missing articular and mesopterygoid teeth, and the basisphenoid and orbitosphenoid bones are entirely absent. Their scales lack radii.[7]

Despite the term "freshwater smelts", the members of the Osmeriformes are generally marine, amphidromous or anadromous migrants. Even the sedentary freshwater species in this family are usually tolerant of considerable changes in salinity. Almost all osmeriforms spawn in fresh water, thus the marine species are generally anadromous. They are found in temperate oceans worldwide and in temperate freshwater of the Holarctic and around the South Pacific region; only a handful of species occur in tropical waters. The eggs are surrounded by an adhesive membrane.[7]

Systematics

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New Zealand smelt (Retropinna retropinna), one of the few species in the Retropinnidae

With the Argentiniformes, Alepocephaliformes, Galaxiiformes, and Lepidogalaxiiformes separated as distinct orders, the remaining Osmeriformes appear to be a monophyletic group. As protacanthopterygians, they are known to be related to the Salmoniformes (pikes and salmon). However, more recent studies incorporating anatomical and DNA sequence data suggest that their closest relatives are the deep-sea Stomiiformes.[9][10][11]

The classification of the Osmeriformes as approached here is:[6][10][12]

The Late Cretaceous-aged Spaniodon potentially represents an early osmeriform[9]

A possible fossil osmeriform is Spaniodon, a piscivore from Late Cretaceous seas.[9] The group originated probably somewhat earlier, but a Cretaceous age maybe about 110 million years ago or so is likely.[5][7] The oldest definite osmeriform is Speirsaenigma from the Paleocene of Alberta, Canada, which was a relative of the modern ayu fish and appears to have been a freshwater species.[14][15] In 2025, a new, extinct family of freshwater Southern Hemisphere smelt, the Ferruaspidae, was identified from the Miocene-aged McGraths Flat fossil site of Australia.[13]

The families Galaxiidae and Lepidogalaxiidae were at one time placed together with Retropinnidae in the sub order Galaxoidei, however with new molecular studies they have been elevated to the ordinal level.[12]

Timeline of genera

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QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneCretaceousHolocenePleistocenePlioceneMioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneLate CretaceousEarly CretaceousAllosmerusMallotusMaulisiaSpirinchusNanseniaBathylagusHypomesusCarpathichthysEnoplophthalmusOphisthoproctusProargentinaArgentinaOsmerusNybelinoidesQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneCretaceousHolocenePleistocenePlioceneMioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneLate CretaceousEarly Cretaceous

References

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  1. ^ Dyldin, Yu. V.; Orlov, A. M. (2021-07-01). "Annotated List of Ichthyofauna of Inland and Coastal Waters of Sakhalin Island. 2. Families Osmeridae—Scombropidae". Journal of Ichthyology. 61 (4): 519–553. doi:10.1134/S0032945221040032. ISSN 1555-6425.
  2. ^ Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
  3. ^ Woodhouse, S.C. (1910): English-Greek Dictionary - A Vocabulary of the Attic Language. George Routledge & Sons Ltd., Broadway House, Ludgate Hill, E.C. Searchable JPEG fulltext
  4. ^ Glare, P.G.W. (ed.) (1968–1982): Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-864224-5
  5. ^ a b FishBase (2006): Order Osmeriformes. Version of 2006-OCT-09. Retrieved 2009-SEP-28.
  6. ^ a b "CAS - Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes - Genera/Species by Family/Subfamily". researcharchive.calacademy.org. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  7. ^ a b c d Nelson, Joseph S. (2006): Fishes of the World (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7 pp.194-199
  8. ^ Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
  9. ^ a b c Near, Thomas J.; Thacker, Christine E. (2024-04-18). "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. ISSN 0079-032X.
  10. ^ a b Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
  11. ^ Li, Jun; Xia, Rong; McDowall, R. M.; López, J. Andrés; Lei, Guangchun; Fu, Cuizhang (2010-11-01). "Phylogenetic position of the enigmatic Lepidogalaxias salamandroides with comment on the orders of lower euteleostean fishes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (2): 932–936. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.016. ISSN 1055-7903.
  12. ^ a b Betancur-Rodriguez, Ricardo; Edward O. Wiley; Gloria Arratia; Arturo Acero; Nicolas Bailly; Masaki Miya; Guillaume Lecointre; Guillermo Ortí (2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162) (4 ed.): 162. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3. PMC 5501477. PMID 28683774.
  13. ^ a b McCurry, Matthew R.; Gill, Anthony C.; Baranov, Viktor; Hart, Lachlan J.; Slatyer, Cameron; Frese, Michael (2025). "The paleobiology of a new osmeriform fish species from Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 0 (0): e2445684. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2445684. ISSN 0272-4634.
  14. ^ Wilson, Mark V. H.; Williams, Robert R. G. (1991). "New Paleocene Genus and Species of Smelt (Teleostei: Osmeridae) from Freshwater Deposits of the Paskapoo Formation, Alberta, Canada, and Comments on Osmerid Phylogeny". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 11 (4): 434–451. ISSN 0272-4634.
  15. ^ Chang, Jonathan (2023-12-25). "Speirsaenigma lindoei". The Fish Tree of Life. Retrieved 2023-12-28.

Further reading

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Wikispecies has information related to Osmeriformes.
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