Lampriformes

Lampriformes is an order of ray-finned fish. They are collectively called "lamprids" (which is more properly used for the Lampridae) or lampriforms, and unite such open-ocean and partially deep-sea Teleostei as the crestfishes, oarfish, opahs and ribbonfishes. A synonym for this order is Allotriognathi, while an often-seen but apparently incorrect spelling variant is Lampridiformes. They contain 7 extant families which are generally small but highly distinct, and a mere 12 lampriforms genera with some 20 species altogether are recognized.

The scientific name literally means "Shaped (like the) bright (one)". But as "Lampr-", meaning bright, comes from Lampris, the generic name for the Opah, then "opah-shaped" would be a more meaningful translation. In fact, most living lampriforms are actually ribbon-like and not very similar to the disc-shaped opahs in habitus. They are, however, quite distinctly united by their anatomy, and the family's phylogeny as well as the most ancient fossils of this order suggest that the original lampriform was indeed rather "opah-shaped". The scientific name is a combination of Lampris (the type genus) + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek lamprós (λαμπρός, "bright") + Latin forma ("external form"), the former in reference to brilliant coloration of opahs.