Teleost Fish Biology Quiz

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Questions and Answers

Which of the following is NOT a primary factor contributing to the diversity of teleost fish?

Jaws

Body Shape

Fins

Scales (correct)

The protrusible jaw of teleosts is primarily advantageous for which feeding behavior?

Filter feeding

Scavenging

Suction feeding (correct)

Ram feeding

What is the primary function of teleost pharyngeal jaws?

To filter food

To sense prey

To assist in swallowing prey (correct)

To grasp prey

A rover predator fish with a streamlined and fusiform body shape would most likely have:

A deeply forked tail and narrow caudal peduncle Signup and view all the answers

The premaxilla's unattached state to the cranium in teleosts allows for what?

Protrusion of the jaw Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary function of pectoral fins in Chondrichthyes?

To create lift in the water. Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of pectoral fins in bottom-dwelling fish like suckers and sculpin?

Broad, rounded, ventral, and spread out laterally. Signup and view all the answers

Which fin is often modified into organs that hold onto the substrate in bottom dwelling fish?

Pectoral fin Signup and view all the answers

What is a typical characteristic of dorsal and anal fins in fast-swimming pelagic fish?

Very long for stability. Signup and view all the answers

What is a common characteristic of pectoral fins in rover-predator fish, such as tuna?

Long and pointed for speed. Signup and view all the answers

Which fin type is typically reduced or absent in eel-like fish?

Pectoral and pelvic fins Signup and view all the answers

A fish with a flattened head, large pectoral fins, and pelvic fins modified for clinging likely belongs to which category?

Bottom clingers Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary characteristic of the body shape of a deep-bodied fish?

Laterally compressed body with a deep profile Signup and view all the answers

What is a typical adaptation of surface-oriented fish?

Mouths that point upwards and posterior dorsal fin Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following characteristics is NOT typical of ambush predator fish?

Deep laterally compressed body Signup and view all the answers

What is a common characteristic of fast-swimming fish?

Forked caudal fins Signup and view all the answers

What is a typical feature of bottom-rover fish?

Barbels, flattened heads, and protrusible mouths Signup and view all the answers

How do the caudal fins of slower-swimming fish like salmon differ from those of fast-swimming fish like tuna?

Slower fish tend to have less deeply forked tails Signup and view all the answers

Which feature is characteristic of Osteichthyes?

Bony skeleton with dermal scales Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of myomeres in fish swimming?

To produce powerful and precise movements through contractions Signup and view all the answers

What is a distinctive characteristic of the scales found in Osteichthyes?

The presence of true enamel Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the dorsal slot in some fast-swimming fishes?

To reduce resistance during fast swimming Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the operculum in Osteichthyes?

Assisting in respiration and water flow Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is MOST associated with fast swimming in fish?

A stiff, quarter-moon-shaped caudal fin and a narrow caudal peduncle Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a major group within Osteichthyes?

Actinopterygii Signup and view all the answers

What is the more recently hypothesized function of the adipose fin?

To act as a precaudal flow sensor improving maneuverability in turbulent water Signup and view all the answers

What is a notable feature of basal Actinopterygians, such as Paleonisciformes?

Thick bony scales Signup and view all the answers

How does the movement of a fish's body create forward thrust?

By pushing laterally against the water, with a reactive force that has a forward component Signup and view all the answers

What is a unique characteristic of Cladistia, which includes bichirs and reedfish?

Paired ventral lungs Signup and view all the answers

Which group of Osteichthyes is characterized by having dermal head bones made of cartilage?

Chondrostei Signup and view all the answers

In fast-swimming fish, where is the force predominantly transferred to for propulsion?

The caudal peduncle Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between anguilliform and carangiform swimming?

Anguilliform involves full body undulations, while carangiform movement is mostly in the caudal region. Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the 'scute' found in some fish?

A protective bony plate against environmental abrasions Signup and view all the answers

Which type of fish movement is characterized by using sine waves along the dorsal fin?

Amiiform Signup and view all the answers

Which of these is NOT considered a non-teleost ray-finned fish?

Euteleostei Signup and view all the answers

What does a high aspect ratio in a caudal fin indicate about a fish?

It likely requires less energy to maintain speed Signup and view all the answers

What is a key evolutionary development seen in Teleostei?

Duplication of the entire genome Signup and view all the answers

Which of these is NOT a factor that contributes to the variety of reproductive modes in teleost fishes?

The presence of a homocercal tail Signup and view all the answers

What is unique about the jaw structure of most teleosts?

Premaxillae and maxillae that are not attached to skull allowing protrusion Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the feeding strategy of Arawana?

Surface feeding with upturned mouth Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of the larvae of eels and other Elopomorpha?

Elongated, transparent leptocephalus larvae Signup and view all the answers

Which group of teleosts is characterized by having a Weberian apparatus?

Otocephala Signup and view all the answers

What is a key feature which distinguishes the Ostariophysi?

A unique alarm pheromone Signup and view all the answers

In marine habitats, what is a common reproductive strategy among fish?

Release of large numbers of small, buoyant, transparent eggs that develop and hatch in the open sea. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a characteristic of viviparous reproduction in fish?

Fertilized eggs are carried by males during gestation. Signup and view all the answers

What is the phenomenon where an organism begins life as a male and later transitions into a female?

Protandry Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary reproductive advantage of protandry in clown anemone fish?

Maximizing the fitness of the largest individual to become female. Signup and view all the answers

In the bluehead wrasse, what is the role of a terminal phase male?

They defend territories and mate frequently with females. Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a fish that possesses both functional ovaries and testes?

Simultaneous Hermaphrodite Signup and view all the answers

What is the unique characteristic of gynogenesis as a form of parthenogenesis?

The diploid egg is activated by sperm but not fertilized. Signup and view all the answers

In what reproductive strategy does male DNA enter an egg but is eliminated during meiosis?

Hybridogenesis Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the environmental challenge faced by deep-sea fish?

Lack of light and limited food resources. Signup and view all the answers

Mesopelagic fish have large, upward-directed eyes to:

Detect prey silhouetted by light above. Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary adaptation of bathypelagic fish for survival in the deep sea?

Increased sensitivity in vision due to 'naked retinas'. Signup and view all the answers

What is regional heterothermy in the context of coral reef fishes?

The ability of a fish to keep the temperature of some parts of their body different from others. Signup and view all the answers

What is a unique characteristic of lungfish?

They possess fused teeth on their palate that form tooth ridges. Signup and view all the answers

What is the advantage of estivation for some lungfish?

It helps them survive for extended periods, in burrows in the mud, during dry seasons. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a significant human impact on marine fish populations?

Overharvesting and subsequent decline in sport fish numbers. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Osteichthyes

Osteichthyes (bony vertebrates) are 96% of all extant fishes.
New species are described at a rate of ~100/year, representing the largest radiation of extant vertebrates.
Two subclasses: Actinopterygii (ray-finned) and Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned).
42 orders comprise the group.
Fossil record spans from the Devonian (400-360 MYA) to the present.
Extensive morphological and physiological adaptations, and variations in body sizes and life histories.

Simplified Phylogeny of Osteichthyans

Diagram shows evolutionary relationships among fish groups, including cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes) and terrestrial vertebrates (Tetrapoda).
Key derived characteristics are highlighted in the diagram, including skeletal composition, fin types and features, and anatomical details of various parts.
Evolution of features like lungs and lobed fins are significant markers
Lobefins (Sarcopterygii) and Rayfins (Actinopterygii) are major lineages.
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) encompasses a large number of aquatic fish.
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) is ancestral to terrestrial vertebrates.

Osteichthyan Characteristics

Skeleton usually ossified (endochondral bone).
Tail is usually homocercal.
3 types of dermal scales (ctenoid, cycloid, or ganoid).
Have true enamel on the outside of their scales.
Dermal bones extend onto the palate & often have teeth.
Brain with enlarged optic lobes (olfaction reduced relative to sharks).
Operculum always present - lateral adduction pulls H2O through mouth & into pharyngeal chamber.
Lungs or swim bladder branches from esophagus.
Fins supported by many rays (bone or cartilage) made of lepidotrichia.
Complex muscles with teeth embedded in dermal marginal mouth bones.

Basal Actinopterygians

Paleonisciformes: Mostly from Devonian and Carboniferous; had thick bony scales.
Cladistia: Includes extant Polypteriformes (bichirs and reedfish); heavy scales with ganoine layer; have paired ventral lungs.
Chondrostei: Includes Acipenseriformes (sturgeons and paddlefishes); dermal head bones of cartilage; no vertebral centra; non-respiratory gas bladder.

Neopterygii

Holostei: Lepisosteiformes (gars) and Amiiformes (bowfin).
Teleostei: Most extant fishes; contains more species than any other lineage of vertebrates.

Major Groups of Osteichthyes

Actinopterygii: Ray-finned fish; largest number of aquatic fish.
Sarcopterygii: Lobe-finned fish; all terrestrial vertebrates evolved from this group.

Non-Teleosts

Subclass Cladistia, Order Polypteriformes – Bichirs and Reedfish: Sister group to Actinopterii; ganoid scales; possess gills and lungs; live in stagnant freshwater habitats in Africa; ambush predators; feed on snails and invertebrates.
Morphological significance regarding limited jaw mobility and small-to-moderate gape.
Important in understanding evolutionary significance.
Importance of their adaptations and how those relate to their adaptations to environment and behavior

Ganoid Scales

Diamond or rhomboid shape.
Comprised of bone.
Outer layer of ganoine (inorganic bone salt).
Interlock with peg-and-socket joints, making them inflexible and protective.

Acipenseriformes

Sturgeon (26 species); large and active; benthic; northern hemisphere; freshwater or marine breeding in freshwater; scutes; eat crustaceans and insect larvae; ventral mouth, no teeth, anterior barbels;
Paddlefishes (2 species): 1 in China, 1 in North America; filter feeders; elongated and flattened rostrum with organs detecting electric fields.

Scute

External bony plate on the surface of fish.
Protective function against environmental abrasions and predation.

Holostei

Cylindrical body and rounded fin Lepisosteiformes (Gars); scales; 2 genera, 7 species; 1–4 meters; Use of vascularized swim bladder as lung; Stagnant freshwater in North and Central America and Cuba.
Amiiformes (The Bowfin) Single genus with 1 species; Live in lakes with lots of vegetation and slow-moving rivers in North America; Eat other fish; Alligators are their only predators.

Teleost

95% of extant ray-finned fishes.
Entire genome was duplicated in the common ancestor to all teleosts.
Doubled the number of chromosomes and DNA content.
Most have 48-50 chromosomes.
Number of Hox genes would have also been doubled.
Four extant clades: Osteoglossomorpha, Elopomorpha, Otocephala, and Euteleostei.
Jaws—premaxillae and maxillae are not attached to the skull—protrude when the mouth is open.
Homocercal tails.

Osteoglossomorpha

Most primitive of extant teleosts.
Example: Arawana, upward curved mouth.
Elephantnose electric fish use weak electrical fields to detect objects at night.

Elopomorpha

Eels, bonefishes, and tarpons.
Leptocephalus larvae dispersed by ocean currents.
Many eels are catadromous (migrate from freshwater to saltwater to breed).

Otocephala

Clupeomorpha (herrings, shads, sardines, and anchovies); silvery; mostly marine; feed on plankton; some are anadromous—migrate from seawater to freshwater to spawn.
Ostariophysi (catfish, milkfish, carps, suckers, minnows, tetras, and pirhanas); 80% of freshwater fish and 25 to 30% of all fish species; most have protrusible jaws and pharyngeal teeth; have a Weberian apparatus.
Synapomorphy is an alarm substance (pheromone) released from the skin when damaged.

Euteleostei

More than 17,500 extant species.
Ancestral body plan might be like a salmonid.
Salmon, trout, pikes, perciformes (perch-like fish) have over 10,000 species.
Wide range of body types depending on habitat and feeding strategy.

Fish Body Shapes

Rover predator: Streamlined and fusiform; pointed head, forked tail; fins distributed evenly around the body; constantly moving and searching out prey; capture prey after a short pursuit; faster species tend to have more deeply forked tails and narrow caudal peduncles (e.g., tuna and swordfish); slower species have less deeply forked tails (e.g., salmon), and their prey are typically smaller and slower; maneuverability instead of high speed may be more important.
Ambush predator: Fusiform, but have very long bodies (torpedolike or arrowlike); barracuda and needlefish (saltwater) and gars and pikes (freshwater); lie relatively still, waiting for prey to swim by; ambush the prey with a fast strike; caudal fin usually large and often rounded; dorsal and anal fins placed far back on the body; head may be somewhat flattened with a large mouth in a long-pointed snout filled with teeth; viewed from the front, these fish have a small cross section and are not readily obvious as "big fish"; tend to have cryptic coloration.
Surface-oriented: Usually smaller; have mouths that point up, flattened heads, large eyes, and a dorsal fin placed posteriorly; adaptations to feeding on small insects, plankton, or smaller fish at the water's surface; Examples: Killifish, four-eyed fish, flying fish, and halfbeaks.
Bottom fish: Bottom rovers have rover-predator-like shapes, also have barbels, flattened heads, and protrusible mouths (goatfish and catfish); Bottom clingers are fish that usually have flattened heads, large pectoral fins, pelvic fins modified to cling (or suction-cup) to the substrate (gobies and sculpins); Flatfish are laterally flattened and lie on one side with mouths and eyes that have changed positions (flounders and halibut).
Deep-bodied fish: Laterally compressed (flattened from side to side) and have deep bodies (dorso-ventrally elongated); dorsal and anal fins are often relatively long, pectoral fins are placed high up on the body, and the pelvic fins have moved forward; designed for rapid turning and maneuvering in tight quarters; not extremely fast; often have stiff spines in their fins for additional protection against predators; Example: Perch.
Eel-like fish: Long snakelike form; blunt or rounded heads; small or absent pectoral and pelvic fins; reduced (or rounded and small) caudal fins; good at hiding or foraging for prey in tunnels, crevices, tight spaces between rocks or coral, or burrowing in soft bottoms.

Teleost Fins

Pelvic fins: Ventral and toward the posterior in more ancestral bony fish; most of these fish have rover-predator body shapes; assist with braking and steering; more anterior in more derived teleosts; below the pectoral fins, or sometimes in front of them; in bottom-dwelling fish, they are often modified into organs that hold onto the substrate.
Pectoral fins: Chondrichthyes need them to create lift, but bony fish don't; generally flexible and mobile; have a diversity of shapes, sizes, and positions; can be specialized for food gathering, courtship, sound production, walking, and gliding as well as turning and braking; high up on the sides of deep-bodied fish; toward or below the midline in rover-predator fish; slower-moving have rounded fins; long and pointed in very fast rover-predator fish; broad, rounded, ventral, and spread out laterally in fish that sit on the bottom.
Dorsal and anal fins: Very long on rover-predators and deep-bodied fish to provide stability; in fast-swimming pelagic fish, the rearmost portions of the fin are frequently broken into finlets; forward portion of the dorsal fin may fold into a dorsal slot when swimming fast to reduce resistance. Bony fish without that specialization will collapse dorsal and anal fins and fold in pectoral and pelvic fins during bursts of speed.
Caudal fin: Shape is related to swimming speed; most bony fish have a homocercal tail; fastest-swimming fish (tuna and marlin) have a stiff, quarter-moon-shaped fin attached to a narrow caudal peduncle; deep-bodied fish and most surface and bottom fish have tails that are square, rounded, or slightly forked; sturgeon have a heterocercal tail like sharks.
Adipose fin: Fleshy, dorsal appendage found in trouts, smelts, lanternfish, and catfish; located between the dorsal and caudal fins; long considered to be non-functional; more recently, research suggests that the adipose fin may serve as a "precaudal flow sensor" to improve maneuverability in turbulent water.

Swimming

Study of movement easiest in slow-swimming, flexible fish like an eel; serpentine; waves of contraction; alternate contractions of myomeres; each wave amplified as it moves back; posterior bends more widely; bending of body pushes laterally against water; reactive force directed forward but at an angle; thrust - overcomes drag; lateral force—makes head “yaw” off course.
Fast swimmers less flexible; bend mostly in caudal region; caudal region smaller than trunk region; tendons transfer force; specialized swimming form developed in tunas, swordfishes, sailfishes, and mako sharks.
Homeothermic regulatory capacity.

Types of Movement

Anguilliform: Very flexible fish (eels); full wavelength.
Carangiform: Movement mostly in caudal region; less than half of a wavelength.
Ostraciiform: Inflexible body; movement only in caudal fin.
Labriform: Use pectoral fins for movement.
Rajiform: Sine waves along elongated pectoral fins.
Amiiform: Sine waves along dorsal fin.
Gymnotiform: Sine waves along anal fin.
Balistiform: Sine waves along dorsal and anal fins.

Reproduction

Teleost fishes have a greater variety of reproductive modes and life-history strategies, such as size/age at maturity, fertilization (internal vs external), parity (oviparous, ovoviviparous, viviparous), clutch size, egg size, placement of clutch, and developmental rates.
Ovaparity: freshwater habitats; care for yolk-rich demersal eggs; males often guard nests; marine habitats; release large numbers of small, buoyant, transparent eggs; develop and hatch in the open sea; terrestrial habitats; grunions, mudskippers, and rockhopper blennies lay eggs on land.
Viviparity: Rare in fish (<3%); occurs in Poeciliidae (guppies, mollies, platys, swordtails, etc.); also occurs in sea horses; males generally carry fertilized eggs during gestation.

Sex Determination in Teleosts

Gonochorism, Protandry, Protogyny, Simultaneous hermaphroditism, Sequential hermaphroditism.

Deep Sea Fishes

Major issues encountered: No light, light doesn't penetrate deeper than 1,000m; very little food, without light no photosynthesis so dependent on falling detritus.
Mesopelagic fishes move closer to the surface at night to feed, then go deeper into the water during the day; possess large, upward-directed eyes.
Bathypelagic fish stay in the deep ocean; have light organs to attract prey; "naked retinas" increase sensitivity; large mouths and stomachs.

Coral Reef Fishes

Midday vs Midnight species behavior.

Heterothermal Fishes

Similar to sharks, these fish are able to keep parts of their bodies warm. Example: Includes mackerels, tunas, and billfishes.
No heat-producing tissues, use retia to warm brain, muscles, and viscera; red muscles; Opah (only fish), warm its entire body; heat production by pectoral muscles; body insulated by fat layer; countercurrent retia in gill arches.

Sarcopterygii

Actinistia: Coelacanths; 2 derived characteristics: first dorsal fin supported by a plate lacking internal lobe.
symmetrical 3-lobed tail; only 1 extant family, Latimeridae ; 2 species of the genus Latimeria ; vestigial lung (fat).
Dipnoi (lungfish): Paired lungs; lost premaxilla, maxilla, dentary; fused teeth on palate; Tooth ridges for crushing prey; dominant freshwater radiation during the Devonian; 3 extant families, each with a single genus;restricted to slow-flowing tropical or subtropical rivers or swamps characterized by very low DO.

Lungfishes Continued

Obligate air-breathers (Lepidosiren & Protopterus); capable of prolonged estivation; burrow into mud as water levels drop; secrete a thin mucous cocoon; decrease metabolic activity; survive 4-6 months until rains replenish water; physiological hibernation.

Human Impacts on Fishes

Freshwater fish threatened by pollution, draining, damming, canalization, and diversions.
Marine fish threatened by over-harvesting.
Large sport fish such as tuna have few offspring, take a long time to reach maturity, fish farming allows feces and food to accumulate and allow parasites to proliferate and spread to wild fish, causing environmental harm.

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Description

Test your knowledge on the diversity and anatomy of teleost fish with this quiz. Explore their feeding behaviors, fin functions, and anatomical adaptations. Perfect for students of ichthyology and marine biology.