page_title: List of largest fish
section_title: Ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii)
hierarchical_section_title: List of largest fish / Bony fish (Osteichthyes) / Ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii)
caption_attribution_description: English: This photograph was alleged to show U.S. servicemen in Laos during the Vietnam War with a captured Mekong Dragon, Phaya Naga, Mekong Naga, or enormously overgrown eel. It was widely circulated in Laos ([1]). The photograph was actually taken in 1996 and shows a giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne) found on the shore of the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California. This extremely rare specimen was 23&#160;ft (7.0&#160;m) long and weighed 300&#160;lb (140&#160;kg). The original photograph can be seen on page 20 of the April 1997 issue of All Hands. Français&#160;: Cette photographie montre prétendument des militaires américains se trouvant au Laos pendant la guerre du Vietnam avec un Dragon du Mékong qu'ils auraient capturé, ou un Naga du Mékong, ou une anguille de taille gigantesque. Cette image a largement circulé au Laos ([2]). En fait, c'est une photographie prise en 1996 qui montre un exemplaire de grande taille de Régalec (Regalecus glesne) trouvé sur le rivage de l'océan Pacifique, près de San Diego, en Californie. Ce spécimen extrêmement rare était de 23 pi (7,0 m) de long et pesait 300 lb (140 kg). La photographie originale se trouve à la p. 20 du numéro d'avril 1997 d'All Hands, une revue de la Marine américaine. ([3]) Norsk bokmål: Dette fotografiet viser angivelig tjenestemenn fra USA i Laos under Vietnamkrigen, med en fanget «Mekong-drage» (Phaya Naga) eller enormt forvokst ål. Bildet er viden spredt i Laos ([4]). I virkeligheten er bildet tatt i 1996 og viser en sildekonge (Regalecus glesne) som ble funnet på kysten av Stillehavet i nærheten av San Diego, California. Denne ekstremt sjeldne eksemplaret var 23 fot (7,0 m) lang og veide 300 lb (140 kg). Det originale fotografiet kan sees på side 20 i All Hands, aprilutgaven fra 1997.
context_page_description: Fish vary greatly in size. The whale shark and basking shark exceed all other fish by a considerable margin in weight and length. Fish are a paraphyletic group that describes aquatic vertebrates while excluding tetrapods, and the bony fish that often represent the group are more closely related to cetaceans such as whales, than to the cartilaginous fish such as sharks and rays. As such, cross group comparisons on this page only serve a colloquial purpose.
context_section_description: The largest living bony fish (superclass Osteichthyes, which includes both ray-finned and lobe-finned fish) is the widely distributed ocean sunfish (Mola mola) and southern sunfish (Mola alexandrini), both being members of the order Tetraodontiformes. The record size ocean sunfish crashed into a boat off Bird Island, Australia in 1910 and measured 4.3 m (14 ft) from fin-to-fin, 3.1 m (10 ft) in length and weighed about 2,300 kg (5,100 lb), while the biggest Mola alexandrini was also coincidentally 2,300 kg in mass and 3.0 m in length, caught off in 1996 and misidentified as a Mola mola.
  As to length, the longest extant bony fish on earth is the oarfish (Regalecus glesne). Slender and compressed, it averages over 6 m (20 ft) long at maturity. A specimen caught in 1885 of 7.6 m (25 ft) in length weighed 275 kg (606 lb). The longest known example, which was hit by a steamship, was measured as 13.7 m (45 ft) long, but unverified specimens have been reported up to 16.7 m (55 ft).
  Much larger bony fish existed prehistorically, the largest ever known having been Leedsichthys, of the Jurassic period in what is now England. This species is certainly the largest bony fish ever and perhaps the largest non-cetacean marine animal to have ever existed. Estimates of the size of this fish range from 21 to 27 m (69 to 89 ft) and mass from 20 to 50 tons. A maximum size of 22 m (72 ft) and 25–30 tons has been deemed to be most realistic.
  Sturgeons (Acipenseriformes)
  The largest species is the beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) of the Caspian and Black seas, the only extant bony fish to rival the massiveness of the ocean sunfish. The largest specimen considered reliable (based on remains) was caught in the Volga estuary in 1827 and measured 7.3 m (24 ft) and weighed 1,474 kg (3,250 lb). The slightly smaller kaluga (Huso dauricus) or great Siberian sturgeon has been weighed reliably up to 1,140 kg (2,510 lb) (Berg, 1932) and a length of 5.6 m (18 ft). The North American white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), unverified to 907 kg (2,000 lb) and 6.1 m (20 ft), Chinese, European Oceanic, and the Russian sturgeon (A. gueldenstaedtii), at as much as 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) and 5.5 m (18 ft) for a 75-year-old female, also can attain great sizes. Atlantics and Baikal sturgeons are following as well. These fish are sometimes called the largest freshwater fish but sturgeons spend a great deal of time in brackish water and switch back and forth between saltwater and freshwater environments in their life cycle. Also included in this order are the paddlefish and the Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), which may now be extinct and is at least critically endangered, is also a very large fish. Reportedly, fisherman as recently as the 1950s have caught paddlefish measuring up to 6.7 m (22 ft) in total length, although no specimen greater than 3.1 m (10 ft) has been scientifically measured. The weight of the Chinese paddlefish is reportedly 300 to 500 kg (660 to 1,100 lb).
  Bonefish (Albuliformes)
  The largest Albuliformes is the bonefish (Albula vulpes), which weighs up to 19 lb (8.6 kg) and measures up to 90 cm (35 in) long. It is silvery in color with dusky fins. The bases of the pectoral fins are yellow.
  Bowfins (Amiiformes)
  The bowfin (Amia calva) is the sole member of its order. The most distinctive characteristic of the bowfin is its very long dorsal fin consisting of 145 to 250 rays, and running from mid-back to the base of the tail. The caudal fin is a single lobe, though heterocercal. They can grow up to 109 centimetres (43 in) in length, and weigh 9.75 kilograms (21.5 lb).
  Eels (Anguilliformes)
  The largest species of "true eel," if measured in weight and overall bulk, is the European conger (Conger conger). The maximum size of this species has been reported to 3 m (9.8 ft) and a mass of 110 kg (240 lb). Several moray eels can equal or exceed the previous eel in length but do not weigh as much. The longest fish in the order, at up to 4 m (13 ft), is the slender giant moray (Strophidon sathete) of the Indo-Pacific oceans.
  Silversides (Atheriniformes)
  An o
caption: The extremely rare oarfish, the longest of all bony fish
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