The Gasterosteiformes reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Gasterosteiformes

Gasterosteiforms
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Gasterosteiformes
Families
Suborder Gasterosteoidei Hypoptychidae (sand eel) Aulorhynchidae (tube-snouts) Gasterosteidae (sticklebacks) Suborder Syngnathoidei Infraorder Syngnatha Superfamily Pegasoidea Pegasidae (seamoths) Superfamily Syngnathoidea Solenostomidae (ghost pipefishes) Syngnathidae (pipefishes and seahorses) Infraorder Indostomoida Indostomidae Infraorder Aulostomoida Superfamily Aulostomoidea Aulostomidae (trumpetfishes) Fistulariidae (cornetfishes) Superfamily Centriscoidea Macroramphosidae (snipefishes) Centriscidae (shrimpfishes)

Gasterosteiformes is an order of ray-finned fishes that includes a number of familiar types, including the sticklebacks, pipefishes, and seahorses. There are about 260 species in 11 families.

In the gasterosteiforms, the pelvic girdle is never attached to the cleithra directly, and the supramaxillary, orbitosphenoid, and basisphenoid bones are absent. The body is often partly or completely covered with dermal plates.

The two suborders Gasterosteoidei and Syngnathoidei have also been ranked as two closely-related orders.

Reference

• J.S. Nelson, Fishes of the World

This is the "Gasterosteiformes" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.