Elopiformes is the order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 of ray-finned fish that includes the tarpon

Tarpon

Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...

s, tenpounders, and ladyfish, as well as a number of extinct types. They have a long fossil record, easily distinguished from other fishes by the presence of an additional set of bones in the throat.

They are related to the order of eel

Eel

Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...

s, although the adults resemble herring

Herring

Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

s in appearance. The larvae, however, are leptocephali

Leptocephalus

A leptocephalus is the flat and transparent larva of the eel, marine eels, and other members of the Superorder Elopomorpha. Fishes with a leptocephalus larva stage include the most familiar eels such as the conger, moray eel, and garden eel, and the freshwater eels of the family Anguillidae, plus...

, looking very similar to those of eels.

Classification

Although many fossil forms are known, the order is relatively small today, containing just two genera and eight species:

Order Elopiformes

• Family Elopidae (Ladyfish)
  • Genus Elops (7 species, one of which was described in 2010)
• Family Megalopidae (Tarpon
  Tarpon
  Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...
  
  s)
  • Genus Megalops (2 species)

External links

• The inshore grand slam Article about bonefish, ladyfish and tarpon.