Lamprimorpha is a
superorder of marine
ray-finned fishes, representing a
basal group of the highly diverse clade
Acanthomorpha. Represented today only by the order
Lampriformes (containing
oarfish,
crestfish, and
opahs, among others), recent studies have recovered other basal fossil species of the group (most of which were previously classified in other clades) dating as far back as the
Cenomanian stage of the
Late Cretaceous. Some of these fossil taxa, such as the paraphyletic genus Aipichthys, are among the oldest known fossil acanthomorphs, and overall they appear to have been a major component of the marine fish fauna at that time. Lamprimorpha is thought to be the
sister group to the superorder
Paracanthopterygii, which contains
cod,
dories, and
trout-perches; however, Lamprimorpha may instead be sister to
Acanthopterygii.[1][2][3][4][5]
It was initially described as Lampridomorpha, although this is considered a misspelling by Fishes of the World, which refers to it as Lamprimorpha. Also synonymous with the group is the division Lampripterygii.[6][7]