Editing Esocoidei (section)

== Taxonomy ==
In the past, they were often placed in the order Salmoniformes as the suborder Esocoidei.<ref name=":2" /> During the early 21st century, due to their morphological divergence from Salmoniformes, they were instead treated as their own order, '''Esociformes'''.<ref name="Nelson5">{{cite book |author1=J. S. Nelson |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |title=Fishes of the World |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |publisher=Wiley |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |edition=5th |pages=348 |access-date=2019-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408194051/https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |archive-date=2019-04-08 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, as phylogenetic studies have increasingly affirmed the relationship of Salmoniformes and Esociformes, more recent taxonomic authorities have revived the old classification of placing esocoids as a suborder of the Salmoniformes.<ref name=":1322" /><ref name=":1" />

The following families are placed in this group:<ref name=":1322" />

* Suborder '''Esocoidei'''
** Family [[Esocidae]] <small>[[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1815</small> - pikes
*** Subfamily [[Dallia|Dalliinae]] <small>[[David Starr Jordan|Jordan]]</small><small>, 1885</small> - blackfishes
*** Subfamily [[Esocidae|Esocinae]] <small>Rafinesque</small><small>, 1815</small> - pikes
** Family [[Umbridae]] <small>[[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]]</small><small>, 1845</small> - mudminnows

Several esocid genera are known from the [[Late Cretaceous]] of North America, including †''[[Estesesox]]'' <small>Wilson, Brinkman & Neuman, 1992</small>, †''[[Oldmanesox]]'' <small>Wilson, Brinkman & Neuman, 1992</small>, †''[[Archaeosiilik]]'' <small>Brinkman ''et al.'', 2025</small> & †''[[Nunikuluk]]'' <small>Brinkman ''et al.'', 2025</small>. Their presence makes esocids one of the few North American freshwater teleost groups to have diversified prior to the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event|Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

The three extant esocid genera (''[[Esox]]'', ''[[Novumbra]]'', and ''[[Dallia]]'') together comprise a [[Holarctic realm|holarctic]] distribution. Two additional genera have been described from fossils dating to the Cretaceous of North America.<ref name="Oldmansox">{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=M. |last2=Brinkman |first2=D. |last3=Neuman |first3=A. |year=1992 |title=Cretaceous Esocoidei (Teleostei): early radiation of the pikes in North American fresh waters |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=66 |issue=5 |pages=839–846|doi=10.1017/S0022336000020849 |bibcode=1992JPal...66..839W |s2cid=132270276 }}</ref> ''[[Umbra (fish)|Umbra]]'' remains the only extant genus in the family [[Umbridae]], and can be found in eastern North America and Europe. Three additional genera have been described from fossils dating from the [[Paleocene]] of Europe; however, genetic studies on the extant species of ''Umbra'' have recovered a split between the North American and European species dating to the [[Late Cretaceous]] and earliest half of the [[Paleogene]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Marić|first1=Saša|last2=Stanković|first2=David|last3=Wanzenböck|first3=Josef|last4=Šanda|first4=Radek|last5=Erős|first5=Tibor|last6=Takács|first6=Péter|last7=Specziár|first7=András|last8=Sekulić|first8=Nenad|last9=Bănăduc|first9=Doru|last10=Ćaleta|first10=Marko|last11=Trombitsky|first11=Ilya|date=May 2017|title=Phylogeography and population genetics of the European mudminnow (Umbra krameri) with a time-calibrated phylogeny for the family Umbridae|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10750-016-3051-9|journal=Hydrobiologia|language=en|volume=792|issue=1|pages=151–168|doi=10.1007/s10750-016-3051-9|s2cid=254550945 |issn=0018-8158}}</ref>

=== Relationships ===
While the family Esocidae traditionally only contained the genus Esox, recent genetic and paleontological research have recovered  ''Novumbra'' and ''Dallia'' as members of the family Esocidae, being closer related to ''Esox'' than ''Umbra''. ''Umbra'' is the only remaining extant species in Umbridae.<ref name=":0" /> Various fossils have been described as members of Esociformes and are placed on the following tree accordingly.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Near |first=Thomas J. |last2=Thacker |first2=Christine E. |date=2024-04-18 |title=Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii) |url=https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-peabody-museum-of-natural-history/volume-65/issue-1/014.065.0101/Phylogenetic-Classification-of-Living-and-Fossil-Ray-Finned-Fishes-Actinopterygii/10.3374/014.065.0101.full |journal=Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History |volume=65 |issue=1 |doi=10.3374/014.065.0101 |issn=0079-032X}}</ref>{{clade |style=font-size:90%;line-height:90%;
|label1='''Esocoidei'''
|1={{clade
               |1=†''[[Oldmanesox]]''
|2=†''[[Estesesox]]''
         |label3=[[Esocidae]]
         |3={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1={{clade
|1={{clade
                  |1=''[[Esox]]'' [[Image:Esox lucius1.jpg|60px]]
                  }}
               |2=''[[Novumbra]]'' [[Image:Novumbra oregonensis.png|60px]]
               }}
               |3=''[[Dallia]]'' [[Image:Dallia pectoralis (line art).jpg|60px]]
}}
}}
         |label4=[[Umbridae]]
         |4={{clade
|label3=''Incertae sedis''
           |1=†''[[Boltyshia]]''
|5={{clade
           |1=†''[[Palaeoesox]]''[[image:Palaeoesox fritzschei.jpg|60px|]]
|5={{clade
           |1=†''[[Proumbra]]''
           |6={{clade
              |1=''[[Umbra (fish)|Umbra]]'' [[Image:Umbra_krameri_Lápi_póc.jpg|60px]]
               }} }} }} }} }} }}