No such thing as "OSTEICHTHYES"

[Tom DiBenedetto]

John Bruner wrote:

>As a "fish" cladist, I must remind you that the term "OSTEICHTHYES" is no
>longer recognized.

As another fish cladist, this is news to me!

> Currently, 8 classes of fishes are recognized, 3 in
>the Superclass Agnatha and 5 in the Superclass Gnathostomata.  Your
>"OSTEICHTHYES" = roughly the Grade [between Superclass and Class]
>Teleostomi are divided into Classes Acanthodi, Sarcopterygii, and
>Actinopterygii.

But Osteichthys = Sarcopterygii + Actionopterygii, and is a
monophyletic group.
Teleostomi = Osteichthys + Acanthodii
You are right about Pisces though!

> For a 5 year-old, widely used fish classification scheme,
>I suggest the following reference.
>Nelson, Joseph Schiesser.  1994.  Fishes of the World.  3rd edition.  John
>Wiley and Sons, Inc.  New York, New York, USA.  600 pp.

Very useful book, but definitly not a cladistic classification.