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Bony fishes include both ray-finned fishes and lobe-finned fishes. The names describe the structure of their paired fins: ray-finned fishes have fins supported by rays, while lobe-finned fishes have fleshy, muscular lobes. Lobe-finned fishes are more closely related to land vertebrates, or tetrapods, but living coelacanths are not their direct ancestors.
What does “bony fish” mean?
Here, “bony fishes” is used broadly for two major living branches: ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) and lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii). Formal taxonomic ranks and naming conventions can vary among authorities, so the terms do not always map onto a single, universally used classification. The Natural History Museum’s species dictionary, for example, displays Osteichthyes and Actinopterygii in records with synonym relationships, and labels the Osteichthyes output group “Bony fish (Actinopterygii).”
That database example is a reason to state the scope clearly, not to assume every taxonomy uses the same labels. The useful biological comparison is between the fin-supported ray-finned and fleshy-finned lobe-finned lineages.
How do ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes differ?
| Feature | Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) | Lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii) |
|---|---|---|
| Paired-fin structure | Fins are supported by rays. | Fins have fleshy, more muscular lobes. |
| Examples in the sources | Leedsichthys, an extinct filter feeder, and Leolepis matogrossensis, an ancient armoured fish. | Coelacanths and Tiktaalik, an extinct fish. |
| Relationship to tetrapods | More distantly related to tetrapods than lobe-finned fishes are. | Closer relatives of tetrapods than ray-finned fishes are. |
The Natural History Museum describes Tiktaalik’s sturdy fins as potentially useful for moving in shallow water or onto mudflats. That example does not mean all lobe-finned fishes used their fins to walk, or that fin shape alone identifies a direct ancestor.
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Which group contains more living species?
Ray-finned fishes make up the great majority of living fish diversity. The Natural History Museum’s coelacanth article says Actinopterygii account for about 99% of known fish species; the percentage and denominator are that source’s estimate, not a timeless census. Separately, a 2026 Natural History Museum press release describes ray-finned fishes as 96% of all bony fishes alive today. The figures use different wording and denominators, so they should not be combined as if they were one measurement.
Examples also span very different forms and eras: the museum identifies the extinct Leedsichthys as a ray-finned filter feeder and Leolepis matogrossensis as an ancient ray-finned fish. Lobe-finned examples include living coelacanths and extinct Tiktaalik. These examples show the branches’ diversity; they are not a complete list of either group.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are coelacanths ancestors of land vertebrates?
No. Lobe-finned fishes are more closely related to tetrapods than ray-finned fishes are, but that evolutionary relationship does not make any living coelacanth a direct ancestor or “missing link” to humans or other land vertebrates. The Natural History Museum’s account of coelacanths discusses their fleshy, lobed fins and cautions that observed fin use does not establish them as direct ancestors of land vertebrates.
Evolutionary relationships describe shared ancestry between lineages. A living species can be a close relative of another lineage without being the ancestor from which that lineage arose.
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Sources
- Natural History Museum: Prehistoric fish: 11 of the largest, weirdest and most significant
- Natural History Museum: Coelacanths: The fish that ‘outdid’ the Loch Ness Monster
- Natural History Museum Species Dictionary: Osteichthyes
- Natural History Museum Species Dictionary: Actinopterygii
- Natural History Museum: Ancient armoured fish that narrowly avoided meteorite strike reveals life before history’s largest ever extinction
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