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Osteithyes

Scientific Name:

Osteichthyes

 

Common Name:

Bony Fish

 

3 Characteristics:

- Largest class of vertebrates in existence.

- Comprise over 95 percent of all fish species.

-Labyrinth in the inner ear contains large otoliths.

Evolutionary Origins:

 The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion. Early fish from the fossil record are represented by a group of small, jawless, armoured fish known as ostracoderms. The only jawless fish that can be seen today are the lamprey and hagfish

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