What's the most ancient knifefish?

[Fanatic_Fish_Lunatic]

Is it black ghost, afer, clown knife, aba aba or electric eel? Or all of them are considered as ancient fish?

 

[tlindsey]

Is it black ghost, afer, clown knife, aba aba or electric eel? Or all of them are considered as ancient fish?

All are considered ancient species except for new species discovered recently.

 

[SourAngelfish]

Is it black ghost, afer, clown knife, aba aba or electric eel? Or all of them are considered as ancient fish?

From an evolutionary perspective, notopterids have been around the longest, making them the most ancient of the knifefish.

Although personally I don’t really consider any of them to be ancient fish, they are all highly derived and changed from their forms since they first arose. Some of the earliest “knifefish” look nothing like the knifefish we have today. Same could be said with gar, bichirs, etc. but even less so.

To answer your question though, the single handedly most “ancient” knifefish would be notopterus notopterus or the bronze knifefish

 

[Fanatic_Fish_Lunatic]

From an evolutionary perspective, notopterids have been around the longest, making them the most ancient of the knifefish.

Although personally I don’t really consider any of them to be ancient fish, they are all highly derived and changed from their forms since they first arose. Some of the earliest “knifefish” look nothing like the knifefish we have today. Same could be said with gar, bichirs, etc. but even less so.

To answer your question though, the single handedly most “ancient” knifefish would be notopterus notopterus or the bronze knifefish

Thanks!