This list of prehistoric bony fish is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera from the fossil record that have ever been considered to be bony fish (class Osteichthyes), excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (nomina dubia), or were not formally published (nomina nuda), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered members of osteichthyes.
Junior synonym: A name which describes the same taxon as a previously published name. If two or more genera are formally designated and the type specimens are later assigned to the same genus, the first to be published (in chronological order) is the senior synonym, and all other instances are junior synonyms. Senior synonyms are generally used, except by special decision of the ICZN, but junior synonyms cannot be used again, even if deprecated. Junior synonymy is often subjective, unless the genera described were both based on the same type specimen.
Nomen nudum (Latin for "naked name"): A name that has appeared in print but has not yet been formally published by the standards of the ICZN. Nomina nuda (the plural form) are invalid, and are therefore not italicized as a proper generic name would be. If the name is later formally published, that name is no longer a nomen nudum and will be italicized on this list. Often, the formally published name will differ from any nomina nuda that describe the same specimen.
Nomen oblitum (Latin for "forgotten name"): A name that has not been used in the scientific community for more than fifty years after its original proposal.
Preoccupied name: A name that is formally published, but which has already been used for another taxon. This second use is invalid (as are all subsequent uses) and the name must be replaced. As preoccupied names are not valid generic names, they will also go unitalicized on this list.
Nomen dubium (Latin for "dubious name"): A name describing a fossil with no unique diagnostic features. As this can be an extremely subjective and controversial designation, this term is not used on this list.
[Sepkoski 2002] Sepkoski, J. John, Jr. "Jack" (September 16, 2002). Jablonski, David; Foote, Michael (eds.). "A Compendium of Fossil Marine Animal Genera". Cl. OSTEICHTHYES. Bulletins of American Paleontology (363): 305-318. ISBN0-87710-450-6. ISSN0007-5779. ark:/13960/t7mp59x79. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)"GF+OSTEICHTEYVES" Alt URL As transcribed by: Peters, Shanan (ed.). "1393 genera are assigned to the class OSTEICHTHYES". Sepkoski's Online Genus Database. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. [This source also includes the names of the orders that the genera are part of, as well as the first and last time period and stage that the genus occurred in. The print version additionally cites sources for taxonomic and stratigraphic information about many of the genera.]