AbstractSince the turn of this century it has been suggested between whiles that brachiopterygians (i.e. the species ofPolypterusandCalamoichthys) are actinopterygians. One of the arguments used recently by advocates of this widespread contention is the dermohyal, an exoskeletal branchial‐arch element which they assert occurs in both groups. However, this argument has to be rejected: the dermohyal does not exist in brachiopterygian fishes. The writer proposes to maintain the view that brachiopterygians are not actinopterygians until better arguments to the contrary are forthcomin