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Nelson, J.S., 1994

Cetomimiformes whalefishes

Actinopterygii

Beryciformes 70 M years

Carroll, R., 1988  |  Helfman, G., B. Collette and D. Facey, 1997

late Cretaceous

Marine

Fresh

Brackish

Complete loss of fin spines. The whalefishes have a whale-shaped body; mouth very large and stomach highly distensible; eyes well developed to degenerate; latera line made up of enormous hollow tubes; luminous tissue on body; dorsal and anal fins far back on body and opposite one another; no swim bladder; orbitosphenoid absent; supramaxilla absent or reduced; color usually orange and red on a black body.

Greek aktis = ray, thunderbolt, beam + Greek pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin. Ref. 45335.

Greek, ketos = whale, marine monster + Greek, mimos = imitative, imitator + Latin, forma = shape (Ref. 45335).

( n = 5 ) -
Barbourisiidae Cetomimidae Rondeletiidae

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948]                       

Glossary
                    [ e.g. cephalopods]