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Osteoglossidae
| Description | Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the family Osteoglossidae, also known as bonytongues (the latter name is now often reserved for Arapaimidae). In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and anal fins have soft rays and are long based, while the pectoral and ventral fins are small. The name "bonytongues" is derived from a toothed bone on the floor of the mouth, the "tongue", equipped with teeth that bite against teeth on the roof of the mouth. The arowana is a facultative air breather and can obtain oxygen from air by sucking it into its swim bladder, which is lined with capillaries like lung tissue. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoglossidae, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rank | family | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopterygii : Osteoglossiformes : Osteoglossidae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopteri : Osteoglossiformes : Osteoglossidae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Common Name | arowana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific Name | Osteoglossidae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 4 (17%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 140 - 133 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | freshwater (based on Osteoglossiformes) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile (based on Osteoglossiformes) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | carnivore (based on Osteoglossiformes) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | C. K. Khajuria and G. V. R. Prasad. 1998. Taphonomy of a Late Cretaceous mammal-bearing microvertebrate assemblage from the Deccan inter-trappean beds of Naskal, peninsular India. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 137:153-172 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | Arowana, Arowanas, Bandfishes, Bonytongues, Bony Tongues | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoglossidae |
External Images
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
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| Heterotidinae subfamily | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Osteoglossinae subfamily | listed (PBDB) | 20 | 72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Cretophareodus genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Dapedoglossus ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Genartina ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 7 | 61.6 Ma Paleocene | 48.6 Ma Eocene | |
| Heterotis genus | listed (PBDB) | African Arowana | 7 | 28.4 Ma Oligocene | 0 Ma Extant |
| Osteoglossidarum genus | listed (PBDB) | 2 | 72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Osteoglossum genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Phareodus genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Scleropages genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Taverneichthys genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Phareodon sericeus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1832 | Osteoglossidae Bonaparte |
| 1901 | Osteoglossidae Woodward p. 73 |
| 1902 | Osteoglossidae Hay p. 393 |
| 1963 | Osteoglossidae Jordan p. 623 |
| 1965 | Osteoglossidae Frizzell and Dante p. 695 |
| 1966 | Osteoglossidae Casier p. 139 |
| 1996 | Osteoglossidae Lim p. 287 |
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1997 | Osteoglossidae Guo-Qing and Grande |
| 1998 | Osteoglossidae Khajuria and Prasad |
| 1999 | Osteoglossidae Weems p. 56 |
| 2000 | Osteoglossidae Newbrey and Bozek p. 13 |
| 2013 | Osteoglossidae Betancur-R. et al. |
| 2019 | Osteoglossidae Ebersole et al. p. 164 |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
