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Teleost are an extremely successful group of actinopterygians, characterised by a fully symmetrical and ray-supported tail fin, with the upper lobe strengthened by specialised elements - the uroneurals - originating alongside the the last caudal vertebrae. Additionally, teleosts possess mobile premaxilla and their jaw musculature was modified from the basal neopterygian condition.
There are well over 20 000 extant species of teleosts classified into 40 orders, which can be divided into four main groups: the Osteoglossomorpha, the Elopomorpha, the Clupeomorpha and the Euteleostei.