Online PHP editor | output for NgrU0

<?php $string = ' The Sarcopterygii or lobe-finned fish (from Greek σαρξ sarx, flesh, and πτερυξ pteryx, fin) – sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii ("fringe-f(i)nned fish", from Greek κροσσός krossos, fringe) – constitute a <a href="/wiki/Clade" title="Clade">clade</a> (traditionally a <a href="/wiki/Class_(biology)" title="Class (biology)">class</a> or subclass) of the <a href="/wiki/Osteichthyes" title="Osteichthyes">bony fish</a>, though a strict <a href="/wiki/Cladistic" class="mw-redirect" title="Cladistic">cladistic</a> view includes the terrestrial <a href="/wiki/Vertebrate" title="Vertebrate">vertebrates</a>. '; $occurrences = 0; $replacements = []; $replacedString = preg_replace_callback("/<a .*?>.*?<\/a>/i", function($el) use (&$occurrences, &$replacements) { $replacements["|||".$occurrences] = $el[0]; // the ||| are just to avoid unwanted matches return "|||".$occurrences++; }, $string); function removeParentheses( $content ) { $pattern = '@$([^()]|(?R))*$@'; $content = preg_replace( $pattern, '', $content ); $content = str_replace( ' .', '.', $content ); $content = str_replace( ' ', ' ', $content ); return $content; } $replacedString = removeParentheses($replacedString); $replacedString = str_replace(array_keys($replacements), array_values($replacements), $replacedString); echo $replacedString;