Britannica
Sources used in this answer
When did the ancestors of protacanthopterygian fishes develop key evolutionary trends?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
protacanthopterygian
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
The ancestors of protacanthopterygian fishes developed key evolutionary trends during the Late Mesozoic Era, approximately 100 million years ago.1
These developments provided the essential evolutionary raw material that initiated several successful lineages, which ultimately gave rise to the majority of modern bony fishes. As a basal stock in the mainstream of modern fish evolution, the superorder Protacanthopterygii represents a significant position in the history of teleosts.1