Belongs within: Paracanthomorphacea.
Contains: Oreosomatidae.
The Zeiformes, dories, are narrow-bodied marine fishes with protrusible mouths.
Synapomorphies (from Tyler et al. 2003): Palatine usually oriented obliquely to axis of body, with a single, pivotal articulation with lateral ethmoid, resulting in considerable mobility; three and one-half gills, seven hemibranchs; dorsal-, anal-, and pectoral-fin rays unbranched; no uncinate process on first epibranchial; continuous median cartilage present below frontals, extending between ethmoid cartilage and pterosphenoids; no open gill-slit between fourth and fifth branchial arches; metapterygoid reduced in size and not articulating with quadrate; parhypural slightly removed from and not embracing urostylar centrum; hypurals 1+2 + 3 + 4 fused and fused to centrum; long neural spine on PU2; stegural absent; distal radials of spinous dorsal fin absent or present only as tiny cartilaginous or partially ossified structures under the last few spines; palatine teeth absent; neural spine closely applied to skull; anterior end of epihyal distinctly less deep than adjacent part of ceratohyal; first pterygiophore of spinous dorsal fin inserted in first interneural space, between first and second neural spines; three and one-half series of gill-rakers; prominent notches on lower border of ceratohyal; uroneural absent; fourth upper pharyngeal toothplate absent; articulation of first few vertebrae with skull flexible, vertebrae linked laterally and ventrally by ligamentous bands; two dentary cartilages of moderate length, first shorter than second; several posterior abdominal and/or anterior caudal neural spines oriented anterodorsally or at least vertically; one supraneural; two epurals.
<==Zeiformes [Cyttina, Zeariae, Zeinae, Zenoidae] | i. s.: Cretazeus rinaldi Tyler et al. 2001TOW03 | Palaeocyttus princeps Gaudant 1978P93 |--Protozeus kuehnei Bonde & Tyler in Tyler et al. 2001NE12, TOW03 |--Archaeozeus skamolensis Bonde & Tyler in Tyler et al. 2001NE12, TOW03 `--+--Cyttus [Cyttidae, Cyttoidei]TOW03 | |--C. novaezelandiaeTOW03 | `--+--C. australisTOW03 | `--C. traversiTOW03 `--+--OreosomatidaeTOW03 `--+--ParazenidaeTOW03 | |--Parazen [Parazeninae]TOW03 | | `--P. pacificusTOW03 | `--CyttopsinaeTOW03 | |--Stethopristes eosTOW03 | `--CyttopsisTOW03 | |--C. cyphoTOW03 | `--C. roseusTOW03 `--+--ZeniontidaeTOW03 | |--ZenionTOW03 | | |--Z. hololepis Goode & Bean 1896P93 | | `--Z. leptolepis [incl. Z. japonicus, Z. longipinnis]TOW03 | `--+--Capromimus abbreviatusTOW03 | `--Cyttomimus stelgisTOW03 `--+--GrammicolepididaeTOW03 | |--Macrurocyttus [Macrurocyttidae, Macrurocyttinae]TOW03 | | `--M. acanthopodusTOW03 | `--GrammicolepidinaeTOW03 | |--Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi Gilchrist 1922TOW03, MD02b | `--Grammicolepis [incl. Daramattus]TOW03 | `--G. brachiusculus Poey 1873 (see below for synonymy)MD02b `--Zeidae [Zenidae]TOW03 |--Zeus Linnaeus 1758L58 | |--Z. aper Linnaeus 1758L58 | |--Z. capensisTOW03 | |--Z. faber Linnaeus 1758L58 | |--Z. gallus Linnaeus 1758L58 | |--Z. roseus Lowe 1843L43 | `--Z. vomer Linnaeus 1758L58 `--ZenopsisTOW03 |--Z. clarus Danilchenko 1960TOW03 |--Z. conchifera (Lowe 1852)MD02a |--Z. hoernesiNE12 |--Z. nebulosusTOW03 |--Z. oblongusTOW03 `--Z. tyleriNE12
Grammicolepis brachiusculus Poey 1873 [incl. Xenoleepidichthys americanus, Daramattus americanus]MD02b
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.
[L43] Lowe, R. T. 1843. On the fishes of Madeira. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 11: 81–95.
[MD02a] Moore, J. A., & H. H. DeWitt. 2002a. Dories. Family Zeidae. In: Collette, B. B., & G. Klein-MacPhee (eds) Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes of the Gulf of Maine 3rd ed. pp. 306–307. Smithsonian Institute Press: Washington.
[MD02b] Moore, J. A., & H. H. DeWitt. 2002b. Diamond dories and tinselfishes. Family Grammicolepididae. In: Collette, B. B., & G. Klein-MacPhee (eds) Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes of the Gulf of Maine 3rd ed. pp. 307-309. Smithsonian Institute Press: Washington.
[NE12] Near, T. J., R. I. Eytan, A. Dornburg, K. L. Kuhn, J. A. Moore, M. P. Davis, P. C. Wainwright, M. Friedman & W. L. Smith. 2012. Resolution of ray-finned fish phylogeny and timing of diversification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 109 (34): 13698–13703.
[P93] Patterson, C. 1993. Osteichthyes: Teleostei. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 621–656. Chapman & Hall: London.
[TOW03] Tyler, J. C., B. O’Toole & R. Winterbottom. 2003. Phylogeny of the genera and families of zeiform fishes, with comments on their relationships with tetraodontiforms and caproids. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 618: 1–110.