teleost

A teleost is, in effect, a “complete-boned” fish—but do not picture a fish made entirely of armor. The name joins Ancient Greek τέλεος, “complete,” with ὀστέον, “bone,” referring to the more fully ossified skeleton characteristic of this great fish lineage. The bone half has an impressive family tree in modern medicine: osteology is the study of bones, while osteoporosis literally suggests porous or weakened bone. The “tele-” here is not the familiar Greek tele- meaning “far,” as in telescope and telephone; it comes from a different Greek word, so a teleost is not a fish that communicates over long distances. Taxonomists place these fishes in Teleostei, a group containing roughly 96 percent of living fish species—from enormous oarfish to a male anglerfish scarcely 6.2 millimeters long. Remember it as the fish whose name says “complete bones,” even though its members include some of nature’s strangest shapes.