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Actinopterygians comprise the largest group of vertebrates (ca. 29,000 species) in all aquatic ecosystems. This diversity largely exceeds that of any other vertebrate group. One group, the teleosts, is the most diverse, with about 24,000 living species. Lower actinopterygians are represented for four living groups, The sturgeons have great economical importance and many species are close to extinction. Number of living species in these four groups is very small in comparison to the big diversity of fossil actinopterygians. They are known from the Late Silurian, about 420 million year ago.

 

The relationships of many lower actinopterygian subgroups is still unknown and this lack of information hinders our understanding of the phylogenetic relationship among and within actinopterygians and interferes with our ability to produce a stable classification of Actinopterygii. The interrelationships among lower actinopterygians and the position of the living taxa within the fossil groups are open questions.