Portal:Fish

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A fish is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with a tough cranium to protect the brain, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed fish, the latter including all living cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as the extinct placoderms and acanthodians. In a break from the long tradition of grouping all fish into a single class (Pisces), modern phylogenetics views fish as a paraphyletic group that includes all vertebrates except tetrapods. In English, the plural of "fish" is fish when referring to individuals and fishes when referring to species.

The earliest fish appeared during the Cambrian as small filter feeders; they continued to evolve through the Paleozoic, diversifying into many forms. The earliest fish with dedicated respiratory gills and paired fins, the ostracoderms, had heavy bony plates that served as protective exoskeletons against invertebrate predators. The first fish with jaws, the placoderms, appeared in the Silurian and greatly diversified during the Devonian, the "Age of Fishes".

Bony fish, distinguished by the presence of swim bladders and later ossified endoskeletons, emerged as the dominant group of fish after the end-Devonian extinction wiped out the apex predators, the placoderms. Bony fish are further divided into lobe-finned and ray-finned fishes. About 96% of all living fish species today are teleosts- a crown group of ray-finned fish that can protrude their jaws. The tetrapods, a mostly terrestrial clade of vertebrates that have dominated the top trophic levels in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems since the Late Paleozoic, evolved from lobe-finned fish during the Carboniferous, developing air-breathing lungs homologous to swim bladders. (Full article...)

Selected article –


  • Dead specimen.

    The prickly shark (Echinorhinus cookei) is one of the two species of sharks in the family Echinorhinidae (the other one is the bramble shark), found in the Pacific Ocean over continental and insular shelves and slopes, and in submarine canyons. Bottom-dwelling in nature, it generally inhabits cool waters 100–650 m (330–2,130 ft) deep, but it also frequently enters shallower water in areas such as Monterey Bay off California. This stocky, dark-colored shark grows up to 4.0 m (13.1 ft) long, with two small dorsal fins positioned far back on its body and no anal fin. It is characterized by a dense covering of thornlike dermal denticles, hence its common name.

    Nocturnally active, the prickly shark rests during the day in deeper offshore waters and performs a diel migration to shallower inshore waters at dusk. Individual sharks have a small home range and tend to remain within a given local area. This species consumes a variety of bony and cartilaginous fishes, and cephalopods. Since it moves slowly, it may use suction to capture prey. It is aplacental viviparous, with females producing sizable litters. The prickly shark is not known to be dangerous to humans and has minimal economic value. It is caught incidentally by commercial deepwater fisheries, which are expanding and may potentially threaten its population. Thus, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Data Deficient. (Full article...)

  • The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the capture of a "man-eating" shark off the Jersey Shore after the attacks.

    The Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 were a series of shark attacks along the coast of New Jersey, in the United States, between July 1 and 12, 1916, in which four people were killed and one critically injured. The incidents occurred during a deadly summer heat wave and polio epidemic in the United States that drove thousands of people to the seaside resorts of the Jersey Shore. Since 1916, scholars have debated which shark species was responsible and the number of animals involved, with the great white shark and the bull shark most frequently cited.

    Personal and national reaction to the fatalities involved a wave of panic that led to shark hunts aimed at eradicating the population of "man-eating" sharks and protecting the economies of New Jersey's seaside communities. Resort towns enclosed their public beaches with steel nets to protect swimmers. Scientific knowledge about sharks before 1916 was based on conjecture and speculation. The attacks forced ichthyologists to reassess common beliefs about the abilities of sharks and the nature of shark attacks. (Full article...)

  • Portrait between 1657 and 1660

    Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, Latin: Franciscus Willughbeius) FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithologist, ichthyologist and mathematician, and an early student of linguistics and games.

    He was born and raised at Middleton Hall, Warwickshire, the only son of an affluent country family. He was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was tutored by the mathematician and naturalist John Ray, who became a lifetime friend and colleague, and lived with Willughby after 1662 when Ray lost his livelihood through his refusal to sign the Act of Uniformity. Willughby was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1661, then aged 27. (Full article...)

  • The Sacred Cod in its "natural habitat".
    "Humble the subject and homely the design; yet this painted image bears on its finny front a majesty greater than the dignity that art can lend to graven gold or chiselled marble", said an 1895 paean by Massachusetts legislators.[C]

    The Sacred Cod is a four-foot-eleven-inch (150 cm) carved-wood effigy of an Atlantic codfish, painted to the life, hanging in the House of Representatives chamber of Boston's Massachusetts State House‍—‌"a memorial of the importance of the Cod-Fishery to the welfare of this Commonwealth"
    (i.e. Massachusetts, of which cod is officially the "historic and continuing symbol").
    The Sacred Cod has gone through as many as three incarnations over three centuries: the first
    (if it really existed‍—‌the authoritative source calling it a "prehistoric creature of tradition")
    was lost in a 1747 fire; the second disappeared during the American Revolution; and the third, installed in 1784, is the one seen in the House chamber today.

    "Sacred Cod" is not a formal name but a nickname which appeared in 1895, soon after the carving was termed "the sacred emblem" by a House committee appointed "to investigate the significance of the emblem [which] has kept its place under all administrations, and has looked upon outgoing and incoming legislative assemblies, for more than one hundred years".[C] Soon sacred cod was being used in reference to actual codfish as well, in recognition of the creature's role in building Massachusetts's prosperity and influence since early colonial times. (Full article...)

  • Cast of the holotype of Dracopristis displayed at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery

    Dracopristis (meaning 'dragon shark') is an extinct genus of ctenacanth (a group of shark-like cartilaginous fish) that lived during the Carboniferous period in North America, around 307 million years ago. The species was discovered in the Kinney Brick Quarry in New Mexico, USA. Like many fossils from the site, the fossils of Dracopristis are very well-preserved. A single species is known, Dracopristis hoffmanorum, which is named in honor of Ralph and Jeanette Hoffman, the owners of the quarry. Prior to being scientific named, D. hoffmanorum was informally referred to as the "Godzilla shark".

    Dracopristis possessed large dermal denticles along its head, along with rows of short, multi-cusped teeth in its jaws and very large spines on its dorsal fins, the latter of which inspired the name of the genus. The dorsal spines of the type specimen are about 0.57 m (1 ft 10 in) in length, while the entire body was approximately 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length. Its large spines were likely used for defense against larger fish, while Dracopristis itself was likely a benthic predator that inhabited shallow, brackish-water environments. (Full article...)

  • Tujiaaspis is an extinct genus of eugaleaspidiform, a group of armored jawless fish, from the Huixingshao Formation of China. It contains one species, Tujiaaspis vividus, which lived 436 million years ago, during the Telychian age of the Silurian period.

    Around 7 cm (2.8 in) in length, Tujiaaspis was protected by a bony headshield covered in a pattern of sensory canals. It also possessed a pair of ventrolateral fins, elongate fins running across the body wall from the gills to the base of the tail, which would have helped it passively generate lift. The first galeaspid known from articulated specimens, Tujiaaspis provided evidence that they possessed ventrolateral fins, which may have been the precursors to paired pectoral and pelvic appendages in gnathostomes. In life, Tujiaaspis was likely an active swimmer, living in a coastal, nutrient-rich environment. (Full article...)

  • The coral catshark (Atelomycterus marmoratus) is a species of coloured catshark belonging to the family Atelomycteridae. It is common on shallow coral reefs across the Indo-West Pacific, from Pakistan to New Guinea. Reaching up to 70 cm (28 in) in length, the coral catshark has an extremely slender body, a short head and tail, and two dorsal fins that are angled backwards. It can be identified by the numerous black and white spots on its back, sides, and fins, which often merge to form horizontal bars. Furthermore, adult males have distinctively long and thin claspers.

    Reclusive and inactive during the day, at dusk and at night, the coral catshark actively forages for small, bottom-living invertebrates and bony fishes. Its slender form allows it to access tight spaces on the reef. It is oviparous; females lay purse-shaped egg capsules two at a time on the bottom, and the young hatch after 4–6 months. This small, harmless shark adapts well to captivity and has reproduced in the aquarium; it is regarded as one of the most suitable shark species for private aquarists. The coral catshark is a minor bycatch of reef fisheries, with minimal commercial value. Increasing fishing activity and extensive habitat degradation occur within its range, leading to concern over its population and its assessment as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (Full article...)

  • The Australian weasel shark (Hemigaleus australiensis) is an uncommon species of ground shark in the family Hemigaleidae. It inhabits shallow waters off northern Australia to a depth of 170 m (560 ft); smaller sharks frequent sand and seagrass habitat and shift to coral reefs as they grow older. A slim, drab species reaching a length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft), it has sickle-shaped fins with dark tips on the second dorsal fin and caudal fin upper lobe. Its upper teeth are broad with strong serrations only on the trailing edge. The lateral line along each side is prominent and exhibits a downward curve below the second dorsal fin.

    Feeding almost exclusively on octopuses and other cephalopods, the Australian weasel shark mostly hunts near the sea floor. It is viviparous, with the developing embryos nourished through a placental connection and born after a six-month gestation period. This species is productive for a shark, with females bearing litters of 1–19 pups usually twice per year. The Australian weasel shark is caught by trawl and to a lesser extent gillnet and longline fisheries, though not in such numbers that its population is threatened. Thus, it has been listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (Full article...)

  • The cloudy catshark (Scyliorhinus torazame) is a common species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae. It is a bottom-dweller that inhabits rocky reefs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, from the shore to a depth of 320 m (1,050 ft). Growing up to 50 cm (20 in) long, this small, slim shark has a narrow head with a short blunt snout, no grooves between the nostrils and mouth, and furrows on the lower but not the upper jaw. It is also characterized by extremely rough skin and coloration consisting of a series of dark brown saddles along its back and tail, along with various darker and lighter spots in larger individuals.

    The diet of the cloudy catshark consists of molluscs, crustaceans, and bony fishes. It is oviparous, with females laying encapsulated eggs two at a time in nursery areas. The claspers of the male bear numerous hooks that likely serve to facilitate copulation. This harmless shark can be readily maintained in captivity and is used as a model organism for biological research. It is caught incidentally, and generally discarded, by commercial fisheries. These activities do not appear to have negatively affected its population, leading it to be listed under Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (Full article...)

  • The banded archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix) is a brackish water perciform fish of the archerfish genus Toxotes. It is silvery in colour and has a dorsal fin towards the posterior end. It has distinctive, semi-triangular markings along its sides. It is best known for its ability to spit a jet of water to "shoot down" prey. Larger specimens may be able to hit prey 2 to 3 metres (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) away. The banded archerfish may reach the displaced prey within 50 milliseconds of its hitting the water.

    The name (binomial as well as common) refers to Sagittarius the archer, because of the unusual method banded archerfish use to capture prey. Banded archerfish are found in Indo-Pacific and Oceanian waters, generally in river mouths and mangrove estuaries. They move between fresh, salt, and brackish water over the course of their lifetime, though not to breed. Because of their markings and silvery colour, banded archerfish are sometimes kept as aquarium fish, though they are difficult to care for and not recommended for most home aquaria. (Full article...)

  • Tooth from Beaufort, South Carolina

    Alopias palatasi, commonly referred to as the serrated giant thresher, is an extinct species of giant thresher shark that lived approximately 20.44 to 13.7 million years ago during the Miocene epoch, and is known for its uniquely serrated teeth. It is only known from such isolated teeth, which are large and can measure up to an excess of 4 centimetres (2 in), equating to a size rivaling the great white shark, but are rare and found in deposits in the East Coast of the United States and Malta. Teeth of A. palatasi are strikingly similar to those of the giant thresher Alopias grandis, and the former has been considered as a variant of the latter in the past. Scientists hypothesized that A. palatasi may have had attained lengths comparable with the great white shark and a body outline similar to it. (Full article...)

  • The smalleye hammerhead (Sphyrna tudes), also called the golden hammerhead or curry shark, is a small species of hammerhead shark in the family Sphyrnidae. This species was historically common in the shallow coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, from Venezuela to Uruguay. It favors muddy habitats with poor visibility, reflected by its relatively small eyes. Adult males and juveniles are schooling and generally found apart from the solitary adult females. Typically reaching 1.2–1.3 m (3.9–4.3 ft) in length, this shark has a unique, bright golden color on its head, sides, and fins, which was only scientifically documented in the 1980s. As in all hammerheads, its head is flattened and laterally expanded into a hammer-shaped structure called the cephalofoil, which in this species is wide and long with an arched front margin bearing central and lateral indentations.

    The yellow-orange pigments of the smalleye hammerhead seem to have been acquired from the penaeid shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri, the main food of juvenile sharks, and from sea catfish and their eggs, the main food of adults. The golden color may serve to conceal it from predators such as larger sharks. This species is viviparous, with the developing embryos sustained by a placental connection formed from the depleted yolk sac. Females bear litters of five to 19 pups every year following a gestation period of 10 months. Reproductive seasonality, litter size, and size at maturity vary between geographical regions. Because of its abundance, the smalleye hammerhead is an economically important bycatch of artisanal gillnet fisheries throughout its range, and is used as food. In recent years, overfishing has caused marked declines in its numbers off Trinidad, northern Brazil, and probably elsewhere. Coupled with the smalleye hammerhead's low reproductive rate, this led the International Union for Conservation of Nature to list the smalleye hammerhead as critically endangered in 2020. (Full article...)

  • The tasselled wobbegong (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon) is a species of carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae and the only extant member of the genus Eucrossorhinus. It inhabits shallow coral reefs off northern Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands. Reaching 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in length, this species has a broad and flattened body and head. Its most distinctive trait is a fringe of branching dermal flaps around its head, which extends onto its chin. The fringe, along with its complex color pattern of small blotches and reticulations, enable it to camouflage itself against the reef environment.

    During the day, the solitary tasselled wobbegong can generally be found lying inside caves or under ledges with its tail curled. Individual sharks tend to remain within a local area and have favored resting spots. While resting, it opportunistically ambushes nearby fish and invertebrates, and also lures in prey by waving its tail to mimic the appearance of a small fish. At night, it emerges and actively forages for food. This species is aplacental viviparous, though little is known of its life history. The tasselled wobbegong has been reported to bite and kill humans unprovoked, although such has only been reported once in 1940. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed this species as Near Threatened in 2003, as outside of Australia it is threatened by fisheries and habitat degradation. As of 2015, its IUCN status is Least Concern. (Full article...)

  • In biology, the electric organ is an organ that an electric fish uses to create an electric field. Electric organs are derived from modified muscle or in some cases nerve tissue, called electrocytes, and have evolved at least six times among the elasmobranchs and teleosts. These fish use their electric discharges for navigation, communication, mating, defence, and in strongly electric fish also for the incapacitation of prey.

    The electric organs of two strongly electric fish, the torpedo ray and the electric eel, were first studied in the 1770s by John Walsh, Hugh Williamson, and John Hunter. Charles Darwin used them as an instance of convergent evolution in his 1859 On the Origin of Species. Modern study began with Hans Lissmann's 1951 study of electroreception and electrogenesis in Gymnarchus niloticus. (Full article...)

  • Moorea, French Polynesia

    The blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, which can be easily identified by the prominent black tips on its fins (especially on the first dorsal fin and its caudal fin). Among the most abundant sharks inhabiting the tropical coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, this species prefers shallow, inshore waters. Its exposed first dorsal fin is a common sight in the region. The blacktip reef shark is usually found over reef ledges and sandy flats, though it has also been known to enter brackish and freshwater environments. It typically attains a length of 1.6 m (5.2 ft). Like other sharks, the females are larger than the males.

    The blacktip reef shark has extremely small home ranges and exhibits strong site fidelity, remaining within the same local area for up to several years at a time. It is an active predator of small bony fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans, and has also been known to feed on sea snakes and seabirds. Accounts of the blacktip reef shark's life history have been variable and sometimes contradictory, in part reflecting geographical differences within the species. Like other members of its family, this shark is viviparous, with females giving birth to two to five young on a biennial, annual, or possibly biannual cycle. Reports of the gestation period range from 7–9, through 10–11, to possibly 16 months. Mating is preceded by the male following closely behind the female, likely attracted by her chemical signals. Newborn sharks are found further inshore and in shallower water than adults, frequently roaming in large groups over areas flooded by high tide. (Full article...)

Selected fish –

The bar jack (Caranx ruber), also known as the carbonero, cojinúa, red jack, blue-striped cavalla or passing jack, is a common species of inshore marine fish classified in the jack family, Carangidae. The bar jack is distributed through the western Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey and Bermuda in the north to Venezuela and possibly Brazil in the south, with the largest population in the Gulf of Mexico and West Indies. The bar jack is most simply distinguished from similar jacks by its dark horizontal bar which runs along the back and down the caudal fin, often accompanied by an electric blue stripe immediately below it. Other more detailed differences include dentition and soft ray counts. The bar jack is a moderately large species, growing to a recorded maximum of 65 cm (26 in) and a weight of 6.8 kg (15 lb). The species inhabits clear shallow waters, often over coral reefs where it lives either solitarily or in large schools, taking various fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods as prey. Studies in Cuba indicate spawning occurs between March and August, with sexual maturity reached at 26 cm. It is a relatively popular sport fish and can be caught on light tackle with a variety of lures and baits. It is considered to be a good food fish, however many recorded ciguatera cases are attributed to the species, with most cases reported on the island of St. Thomas traced to this single species. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

  • ... that in 1989, Rockstar North opened its first offices above a former fish and chip shop in Dundee?
  • ... that Queen Isabella I lost her first husband to politics, her second to assassins, her third to a window, and her fourth to fish?
  • ... that a high-school fish-hatchery program was disrupted when more than 100,000 US gallons (380,000 L; 83,000 imp gal) of chlorinated water leaked into Chimacum Creek?
  • ... that inland fisheries in Papua New Guinea are used by more than half of people living in the mountainous Highlands Region?
  • ... that the "Dragon Cartel", a cooperation of Chinese triads and Mexican cartels, poach fish maw in the Gulf of California and smuggle it to China?
  • ... that Beth Sholom Synagogue has been compared to a concrete ship, a teepee with fins, and a giant fish?

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Topics

Ichthyology : Fish anatomy, Fish development, Fish diseases, Fish locomotion, Fish migration, Ichthyology terms, Limnology, Marine biology, Meristics, Oceanography, Spawning
Taxa : Chondrichthyes, Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii, Sarcopterygii, Chondrostei, Neopterygii, Holostei, Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha, Elopomorpha, Clupeomorpha, Ostariophysi, Cyclosquamata, Scopelomorpha, Lampridiomorpha, Polymyxiomorpha, Paracanthopterygii, Acanthopterygii
Fishery : Angling, Aquaculture, Fishing, Fish as food, Fish farming, Fish market, Fisheries management, Fishing industry, Overfishing
Food fish : Anchovy, Barb, Basa fish, Bass, Carp, Catfish, Cod, Eel, Flatfish, Goby, Gourami, Haddock, Herring, Mackerel, Oily fish, Perch, Pollock, Salmon, Snapper, Snakehead, Sturgeon, Tilapia, Trout, Tuna, Whitefish
Fishkeeping : Aeration, Aquarium, Fish food, Marine aquarium, Reef aquarium, Brackish water aquarium
Ornamental fish : Angelfish(freshwater), Angelfish(marine), Barb, Blenny, Boxfish, Butterflyfish, Cichlid, Chromis, Clownfish, Corydoras, Damsel, Danio, Discus, Goby, Goldfish, Gourami, Koi, Lionfish, Live-bearer, Loach, Mbuna, Rainbowfish, Pufferfish, Rasbora, Seahorse, Siamese fighting fish, Suckermouth catfish, Tang, Tetra, Triggerfish, Wrasse
Others : Amphibious fish, Electric fish, Deep sea fish, Ichthys, Mermaid, Prehistoric fish, Ray, Shark, Walking fish

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