Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) represent the most speciose vertebrate group, encompassing deep evolutionary splits between archaic lineages such as Holostei and the vast radiation of Teleostei.

To compare and classify a "living fossil," the coelacanth, in relation to a moray eel and a bull shark. Review with students the meaning of the phrase "living fossil" (an organism with a basic body ...