Bowfins are an order (Amiiformes, pronounced /əˌmaɪ.ɨˈfÉ”rmiËz/) of primitive ray-finned fish. Only one species, the bowfin Amia calva, family Amiidae, survives today, although additional species in six families are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils. The bowfin, the gar, and the sturgeons are among the few extant freshwater fish that were contemporaries of the dinosaurs.
