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Questions and Answers
What is the primary function of the air bladder in ray-finned fishes?
What is the primary function of the air bladder in ray-finned fishes?
What is the unique feature of the lateral line system in fish?
What is the unique feature of the lateral line system in fish?
Why do sharks sink if they stop swimming?
Why do sharks sink if they stop swimming?
What is the function of the nares in fish?
What is the function of the nares in fish?
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What is unique about the taste buds of fish?
What is unique about the taste buds of fish?
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Why are fish near-sighted?
Why are fish near-sighted?
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What is the purpose of the barbels in catfish?
What is the purpose of the barbels in catfish?
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What is the function of the air bladder in some fish, such as gars and bowfin?
What is the function of the air bladder in some fish, such as gars and bowfin?
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What is the role of the scales in the lateral line system?
What is the role of the scales in the lateral line system?
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Why do some fish have taste buds distributed over their entire head?
Why do some fish have taste buds distributed over their entire head?
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Study Notes
Body Shape and Locomotion
- Fish body shape is a compromise among factors like locomotion, feeding, and staying alive.
- The caudal (tail) fin is responsible for propulsion in most bony fish.
- Fish with continuous caudal fins can swim in and around cracks and crevices, and maintain a rapid speed for long durations.
- Fish with lunate caudal fins tend to be the fastest swimmers.
- Fish with truncate caudal fins are usually strong, but slow swimmers.
Scales and Skin
- Most bony fish have skin covered with bony scales that look like shingles on a roof.
- Scales come in different types, including thick and hard ones, and small overlapping ones.
- Some fish, like catfish and paddlefish, lack scales on their body.
- Glands in the skin secrete a layer of mucus that covers the entire body, protecting fish from infection.
- Mucus also helps maintain a higher salt content than in the surrounding water.
Jaws and Teeth
- Teeth can be present on the roof of the mouth, tongue, and jaws.
- Some fish, like minnows and suckers, lack teeth in the jaw but have "throat" teeth behind the gills to tear or crush food.
- Pharyngeal teeth are found in some fish, like goldfish.
- Filter feeders, like paddlefish, shad, and bigmouth buffalo, have weak jaws and teeth, but their gills have hair-like structures that strain food from water.
Mouth and Feeding
- The shape of the mouth is an important clue to a fish's food source.
- Fish with large mouths eat whole fish or chunks of fish.
- Fish with small mouths nibble on plants and small animals.
- Fish with ventral mouths eat on the bottom.
- Fish with dorsal mouths eat near the surface.
Internal Organs
- Most fish have recognizable organs like heart, stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, kidneys, and gonads.
- The sex of most fish can only be determined by looking at the gonads.
- Carnivorous fish usually have a short gut with a white or silvery lining in the body cavity.
- Herbivorous fish have a long, coiled intestine and a black lining in the body cavity.
- The air bladder or swim bladder is an outgrowth of the intestinal tract, found only in ray-finned fishes.
Air Bladder
- The air bladder helps fish control their density.
- Fish must be the same density as the water to stay afloat.
- Sharks are denser than water and sink if they stop swimming, but gain additional buoyancy by storing large amounts of oil in their huge livers.
Fish Senses
- Fish possess the five major senses: hearing, smell, taste, sight, and touch.
- Hearing is accomplished through the inner ear, sometimes aided by the air bladder.
- Smell is highly developed in many fish, and they detect odors through the nares located between the eyes and in front of the snout.
- Taste is an important sense for fish, and they can have taste buds outside the mouth.
- Sight: Fish are near-sighted due to the optical qualities of water.
- Touch and the Lateral Line System: Fish possess a sense of "distant touch" through the lateral line system, which detects vibrations and pressures on the surface of the fish.
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Description
Learn about the anatomy of a fish, including the shape of its body and fins, and how it relates to its habitat and behavior.