Overview of jawed-vertebrate phylogenetic relationships with focus on the ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii; Patterson 1982; Nelson 1994; Bartsch and Britz 1997; Bemis et al. 1997). The other two living sister groups to the ray-finnedfishes among gnathostomes are the cartilaginous (Chondrichthyes) andlobe-finned(Sarcopterygii) fishes, respectively. Note that only some euteleost clades are well represented to date, but remaining higher actinopterygian groups, Chondrostei (sturgeon and paddlefish), Neopterygii (gar, bowfin, and teleosts), andbasal teleost clades are virtually unresolved. This general outline of actinopterygian phylogeny is supportedin three of the most recent hypotheses basedon molecular data (Le et al. 1993; Venkatesh et al. 2001; Inoue et al. 2003). But, as with some conflicting morphologically basedhypotheses in the past, these also still indicate changing positions or lack of resolution among other basal actinopterygian fauna: sturgeon and paddlefish, gar, and bowfin.
