Lampriformes

Lampriformes Temporal range: Campanian–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Crested oarfish, Lophotus lacepede (Lophotidae)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Superorder:	Lamprimorpha
Order:	Lampriformes Regan, 1909
Type species
Lampris guttatus Brünnich, 1788
Diversity
7 living families
Synonyms
Allotriognathi Bathysomi Lampridiformes (lapsus?)

Lampriformes /ˈlæmprɪfɔːrmiːz/ is an order of ray-finned fish. Members are collectively called lamprids (which is more properly used for the Lampridae) or lampriforms, and unite such open-ocean and partially deep-sea Teleostei as the crestfishes, oarfish, opahs, and ribbonfishes. A synonym for this order is Allotriognathi, while an often-seen, but apparently incorrect, spelling variant is Lampridiformes. They contain seven extant families which are generally small but highly distinct, and a mere 12 lampriform genera with some 20 species altogether are recognized.^[1] They are the only extant members of the superorder Lamprimorpha, which was formerly diverse throughout much of the Late Cretaceous.^[2][3]

The scientific name literally means "shaped (like the) bright (one)", as "lampr-", meaning bright, comes from lampris, the generic name for the opah. In contrast, most other living lampriforms are actually ribbon-like and not very similar to the disc-shaped opahs in habitus. They are, however, quite distinctly united by their anatomy, and the family's phylogeny, as well as the most ancient fossils of this order suggest the original lampriform was rather "opah-shaped". The scientific name is a combination of Lampris (the type genus) + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek lamprós (λαμπρός, "bright") + Latin forma ("external form"), the former in reference to brilliant coloration of opahs.^[4]