Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 25, 2026

Salmoniformes

Salmoniformes is an order of ray-finned fishes native to the temperate and subarctic Northern Hemisphere. It contains two suborders: Salmonoidei and Esocoidei. In addition, potential fossil members of the group, dating back to the Late Cretaceous, are also known from Europe and Africa. Both large-sized members of this order are important food and sport fish of the Northern Hemisphere.

Last revised
Jun 25, 2026
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Salmoniformes
Temporal range:
Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)
Muskellunge (Esox masquinony)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Superorder: Protacanthopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Bleeker, 1859
Families

Salmoniformes (/sælˈmɒnɪfɔːrmiːz/, lit. "salmon-shaped") is an order of ray-finned fishes native to the temperate and subarctic Northern Hemisphere.1 It contains two suborders: Salmonoidei (containing only the Salmonidae) and Esocoidei (containing pikes and mudminnows).1 In addition, potential fossil members of the group, dating back to the Late Cretaceous, are also known from Europe and Africa.2 Both large-sized members of this order (Salmonidae and Esocidae) are important food and sport fish of the Northern Hemisphere.

Taxonomy

The relationship between salmons, pikes, and mudminnows has long been well-attested based on phylogenetic and morphological studies, and all three groups were long placed in the Salmoniformes.3 In the early 21st century, pikes and mudminnows were split from the Salmoniformes and placed into their own order, Esociformes.4 However, as recent studies have reaffirmed their close relationship, more recent taxonomic authorities again place the Esociformes as a group within the Salmoniformes (Esocoidei).12

The following classification is based on Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes:1

The following fossil taxa are also considered much more basal members of this order:2

Indeterminate potential salmoniform remains are known from Santonian-aged freshwater deposits of Hungary.8

In the past, other euteleost fish such as the smelts or tubeshoulders were also placed within this order,910 but such a placement is now known to be inaccurate.1 Phylogenetic studies generally recover either the Argentiniformes or the Galaxiiformes as the closest relatives of the Salmoniformes.124

References

References

  1. Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
  2. Near, Thomas J.; Thacker, Christine E. (2024-04-18). "Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii)". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 65 (1): 101. Bibcode:2024BPMNH..65..101N. doi:10.3374/014.065.0101. ISSN 0079-032X.
  3. Wilson, Mark V. H.; Brinkman, Donald B.; Neuman, Andrew G. (1992). "Cretaceous Esocoidei (Teleostei): early radiation of the pikes in North American fresh waters". Journal of Paleontology. 66 (5): 839–846. Bibcode:1992JPal...66..839W. doi:10.1017/S0022336000020849. ISSN 0022-3360.
  4. Betancur-R, Ricardo; Wiley, Edward O.; Arratia, Gloria; Acero, Arturo; Bailly, Nicolas; Miya, Masaki; Lecointre, Guillaume; Ortí, Guillermo (2017-07-06). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (1): 162. Bibcode:2017BMCEE..17..162B. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 5501477. PMID 28683774.
  5. Fielitz, Christopher (2002). "A new Late Cretaceous (Turonian) basal euteleostean fish from Lac des Bois of the Northwest Territories of Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 39 (11): 1579–1590. Bibcode:2002CaJES..39.1579F. doi:10.1139/e02-061. ISSN 0008-4077.
  6. GAYET, M; LEPICARD, B. (1985). "Salmoniforme nouveau du Maastrichtien supérieur des Petites Pyrénées (Haute-Garonne, France): Pyrenichthys jauzaci nov. gen. nov. sp" [New Salmoniforme from the Upper Maestrichtian of the "Petites Pyrénées" (Haute Garonne, France): Pyrenichthys jauzaci nov. gen. nov. sp]. Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. Section C, Sciences de la terre, paléontologie, géologie, minéralogie. 7 (2): 131–141. ISSN 0181-0642.
  7. Anderson, M. Eric. "A late Cretaceous (Maasteichtian) Galaxiid fish from South Africa". Special Publication (60): 1–8. ISSN 0075-2088.
  8. Szabó, Márton; Ősi, Attila (2017-09-01). "The continental fish fauna of the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Iharkút locality (Bakony Mountains, Hungary)". Central European Geology. 60 (2): 230–287. Bibcode:2017CEJGl..60..230S. doi:10.1556/24.60.2017.009. hdl:10831/67493. ISSN 1789-3348.
  9. McDowall, R. M. (1976). "Fishes of the family Prototroctidae (Salmoniformes)". Marine and Freshwater Research. 27 (4): 641–659. Bibcode:1976MFRes..27..641M. doi:10.1071/mf9760641. ISSN 1448-6059.
  10. Matsui, Tetsuo; Rosenblatt, Richard H. (1987). "Review of the Deep-Sea Fish Family Platytroctidae (Pisces: Salmoniformes)". Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (26).