A group that is recognized herein as consisting of the classes Actinopterygii (rayfin fishes) and Sarcopterygii (lungfishes and lobefins, or coelacanths, but excluding tetrapods). (Euteleostomi is a monophyletic group consisting of Actinopterygii and Sarcopterygii, including tetrapods.) The Sarcopterygii and Actinopterygii are well-defined phyletic lines which had evolved by the Middle Devonian, and many members of the two taxa persist today.