A phylogeny and revised classification of clupeomorph fishes (Teleostei, Otomorpha)

The study of the Clupeomorpha Greenwood, Rosen, Weitzman & Myers, 1966 (herrings and allies) has made remarkable progress in recent years. Since the publication of the monographic work by Lance Grande “Recent and fossil clupeomorph fishes with material for revision of the subgroups of clupeoids” in 1985, a number of phylogenetic studies and new paleontological discoveries have largely expanded our understanding of the evolutionary history of clupeomorphs. However, the majority of the fossil clupeomorphs have never been included in a comprehensive morphological phylogenetic framework. As a matter of fact, despite the longstanding recognition of clupeomorph monophyly, the internal relationships of the Clupeomorpha, particularly between the extinct †­Ellimmichthyiformes and extant Clupeiformes, their evolutionary history, and the biogeographic and ecological transitions that shaped their past and modern biogeography remain inadequately resolved and poorly understood. In this paper, 40 years after Grande’s work, we re-evaluate the clupeomorph intrarelationships, test the monophyly of key lineages (including the new taxa Engrauloidae n. epifam., †Clupeopsidae n. fam., and †Eollimmichthyinae n. subfam.), and discuss biogeographic patterns by analysing 368 morphological characters across 124 clupeomorph taxa, including both fossil and living species. The hypothesis of relationships was used to revise the classification of the Clupeomorpha, emphasizing the importance of integrating fossil data to understand the evolutionary history of the group.