Herpetichthyes, amphibioidei, choanichthyes or sarcopterygii?

ABSTRACT DURING recent decades, our ideas on the classification of fishes have changed greatly. In the early years of the century, it was believed that among the higher bony fishes

(Osteichthyes), the ray-finned forms and crossopterygians were closely allied, and that the lungfishes were remote from the two, representing a presumably primitive if aberrant group. As an

expression of such beliefs may be cited Goodrich's work on fishes in the Lankester “Treatise on Zoology”1, in which the Osteichthyes are divided into two subclasses, one for the Dipnoi

alone, the other, the Teleostomi, including both Crossopterygii and the Actinopterygii. In succeeding decades, however, a radical change of opinion occurred. Principally due to the work of

Goodrich himself and of Gregory and Watson, it became clear that the primary dichotomy of the Osteichthyes was of another sort, one major subdivision including the Actinopterygii alone, the

other both Crossopterygii and Dipnoi. Huxley, in 18802, coined the name Herpetichthyes to describe the sub-tetrapod evolutionary stage represented by _Ceratodus_, and Smith Woodward, in

19313, suggested the expansion of the term to include (_contra_ Huxley) the crossopterygians. Hubbs, in 19194, proposed Amphibioidei for Dipnoi plus Crossopterygii, and other writers have

suggested an expansion of Crossopterygii to include the Dipnoi as well. Säve-Söderbergh, in 19345, in an unorthodox essay in classification, proposed a major subdivision of the vertebrates,

including all the tetrapod classes plus the two fish groups concerned, to be named the Choanata, in reference to the presence of internal nostrils. I have (like others) rejected this

classification, but in 19376 suggested that Choanichthyes would be appropriate as a designation for the included fish groups. None of the three terms previously suggested has met with any

marked degree of acceptance; Choanichthyes has been adopted by a number of recent writers. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access

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Article Open access 20 May 2024 _SACCORHYTUS_ IS AN EARLY ECDYSOZOAN AND NOT THE EARLIEST DEUTEROSTOME Article 17 August 2022 PROLONGED MORPHOLOGICAL EXPANSION OF SPINY-RAYED FISHES

FOLLOWING THE END-CRETACEOUS Article 14 July 2022 REFERENCES * Goodrich, E. S., “Vertebrata Craniata”, fasc. 1, in “_A Treatise on Zoology_”, Part IX (edit. Sir Bay Lankester, London, 1909).

Google Scholar  * Huxley, T. H., _Proc. Zool. Soc. London_, 1880, 600 (1881). * Woodward, A. S., _Imp. Coll. Sci. Tech._, Huxley Memorial Lecture, 8 (1931). * Hubbs, C. L., _Science_, 49,

569 (1919). Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar  * Säve-Söderbergh, G., _Arkiv. för Zoologi_, 26A, No. 17, 8 (1934). Google Scholar  * Romer, A. S., _Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool._, 82, 56 (1937).

Google Scholar  * Jarvik, E., _Zool. Bidrag Uppsala_, 21, 280 (1942). Google Scholar  Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard

University, ALFRED SHERWOOD ROMER Authors * ALFRED SHERWOOD ROMER View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and

permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE ROMER, A. Herpetichthyes, Amphibioidei, Choanichthyes or Sarcopterygii?. _Nature_ 176, 126 (1955). https://doi.org/10.1038/176126a0 Download

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