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| | Genome Biology | Full text | Tetraodongenome confirms Takifugufindings: most fish are ancient polyploids |
 | | Interestingly, all older, more basal groups of ray-finned fish, namely Polypteriformes (bichirs), Acipenseriformes (sturgeons and paddlefish), Semionotiformes (gars), and Amiformes (bowfin), have only a few extant species (Figure 1). |
 | | Most members of these basal actinopterygian lineages are considered to be 'living fossils', because their morphology has remained unchanged over very long evolutionary time periods. |
 | | This is in good agreement with the recent analyses of the Takifugu genome, as fossil data age the Semionotiformes at between 245 and 286 million years, whereas molecular estimates for the Amiiformes, which are of approximately the same age as the Semionotiformes, hint at a separation from the Teleostei stem lineage about 367-404 Mya. |
| genomebiology.com /2004/5/12/250 (2247 words) |
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