48%21%

6%

14% 11%

LivingVertebrates

What is a FISH?

BluefishPomatomidae: Pomatomus saltatrix

To 1.1 m. (45 inches) 12 kg. (27 lbs.).

DolphinCoryphaenidae: Coryphaena hippurus

To 1.6 m. ( 5.25 ft.) 40 kg. ( 88 lbs.)

LookdownCarangidae: Selene vomer

30 cm (1 ft.)

FISH

• Poikilotherms (cold blooded)• Covered in Scales• Have fins• 99% have external fertilization and external

development• Live in water

FINS-propulsion, turn, brake, steer

Teleost Senses

• Have inner ears for hearing.• Good vision.• Good sense of smell.• Lateral line lets them “feel”.

Lateral Line

Is there a difference in swim bladder size between a FW fish and a SW fish????

Is there a difference in kidney size between a FW fish and a SW fish????

Fish scales

Lungfish

• Primitive fish• Found in FW only• Live in Australia, South America and Africa• Breathe air• Can drown if held underwater.• Can survive droughts by hibernating in mud

balls for up to 3 years.

SEX

Gray SnapperLutjanidae: Lutjanus griseus

To 60 cm. ( 2 ft.) 4.5 kg. (10 lbs.)

Electrophorus electricusNarcine brasiliensis

Examples of Commercially Important Fishes

Practical Considerations: Commercial Fisheries• Global fisheries statistics maintained by the Food and Agricultural Organization

(FAO) of the United Nations• Importance of aquaculture• Overharvesting of commercially important fishes

– Anchovies• Fishery concentrated in upwelling zone off the coast of Peru• Effect of El Niño on fishery

– Tuna• Incidental catch: dolphins

– Salmon• Spawn in fresh water • Human impacts on spawning grounds

– Atlantic cod• Collapse of cod fisheries

Anchovy catch in Peru and Ecuador

From left: Eric Hunt, JLB Smith, the DC3's pilot, a local French governor, and several Comorans surround the "second"

coelacanth that established the Comoros as the first home of the famous "living fossil" in 1952.

At a stopover on the way back to South Africa, a nervous JLB Smith sleeps next to the "second" coelacanth in its travel box!

CoelacanthLatimeriachalumnae