Euteleostei is the crown group of ray-finned fishes, comprising some 346 families, 2,935 genera, and 17,419 species at present count (Nelson, 2005). Over one third of all vertebrate species are euteleosts, including virtually all of the economically important fishes and important genomic, developmental, and physiological model systems. Remarkably, phylogenetic relationships among many euteleost taxa remain unresolved at the level of order, suborder, and family. Indeed, we do not even know if most of these groups are natural groups. Exemplifying this problem is the order Perciformes with 18 unresolved suborders and 70 families of unknown affinity within the suborder Percoidei.

The EToL project is directed at understanding the unparalleled morphological, genomic, developmental, physiological, and behavioral diversity of euteleost fishes by reconstructing a well-resolved and well-supported “backbone” phylogeny of the group.

One of the major objectives of this initiative is to encourage work on the euteleost tree of life. If you would like to contribute to these efforts, see our “How to Join” page for further information.

Top