Order Summary for Syngnathiformes

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Order Summary for Syngnathiformes
Main Ref	:	Nelson, J.S., 1994
Order	:	Syngnathiformes pipefishes and seahorses
Class	:	Teleostei
Sister Order	:	Synbranchiformes 15 M years
Ref.	:	Carroll, R., 1988 \| Helfman, G., B. Collette and D. Facey, 1997
First Fossil Record	:	late Tertiary
Occurs in	:		Marine	Fresh	Brackish
Remark	:	Body elongate and encased in a series of bony rings; mouth small, at end of tube-shaped snout (except in the "finless" pipefish Bulbonaricus, whose adults lack even a short tubiform snout); pelvic fins, when present, abdominal; upper jaw not protractile; lachrymal usually present, other circumorbital bones usually absent; ribs absent; anterior 3-6 vertebrae elongate; aglomerular kidney in at least some.
Class etymology	:	Greek aktis = ray, thunderbolt, beam + Greek pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin. Ref. 45335.
Order etymology	:	Greek, syn = with, together + Greek, gnathos = jaw + Latin, forma = shape (Ref. 45335).
Families	:	( n = 5 ) Aulostomidae Centriscidae Fistulariidae Solenostomidae Syngnathidae