Diversity of fish
{{short description|Fish species categorized by various characteristics}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
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| caption1 = Fish come in many shapes and sizes. This is a sea dragon, a close relative of the seahorse. They are camouflaged to look like floating seaweed.{{FishBase |genus=Phycodurus |species=eques |year=2009 |month=July}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20070703225556/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/sea-dragon.html Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon] National Geographic Profile. Retrieved 20 July 2009.{{cite iucn |author=Pollom, R. |date=2017 |title=Phycodurus eques |volume=2017 |page=e.T17096A67622420 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T17096A67622420.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}
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| caption2 = The deep sea Lasiognathus amphirhamphus is a rare ambush predator known only from a single female specimen (pictured).{{cite journal | last1 = Pietsch | first1 = T.W. | year = 2005 | title = New species of the ceratioid anglerfish genus Lasiognathus Regan (Lophiiformes: Thaumatichthyidae) from the Eastern North Atlantic off Madeira | url = http://jypichthyology.info/attachments/File/Pietsch_2005b.pdf | journal = Copeia | volume = 2005 | issue = 1| pages = 77–81 | doi=10.1643/ci-04-184r1| s2cid = 84572467 }} It is an angler fish that "angles" for its prey with a lure attached to a line from its head.
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Fish are very diverse animals and can be categorised in many ways. Although most fish species have probably been discovered and described, about 250 new ones are still discovered every year. According to FishBase about 34,800 species of fish had been described as of February 2022,[http://www.fishbase.org/search.php FishBase] which is more than the combined total of all other vertebrate species: mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds.
Fish species diversity is roughly divided equally between marine (oceanic) and freshwater ecosystems. Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific constitute the centre of diversity for marine fishes, whereas continental freshwater fishes are most diverse in large river basins of tropical rainforests, especially the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong basins. More than 5,600 fish species inhabit Neotropical freshwaters alone, such that Neotropical fishes represent about 10% of all vertebrate species on the Earth. Exceptionally rich sites in the Amazon basin, such as Cantão State Park, can contain more freshwater fish species than occur in all of Europe.[http://central2.to.gov.br/arquivo/24/199 Estudo das Espécies Ícticas do Parque Estadual do Cantão], fish species survey of Cantão (in Portuguese)
By taxonomy
{{further|Evolution of fish}}
Fish systematics is the formal description and organisation of fish taxa into systems. It is complex and still evolving. Controversies over "arcane, but important, details of classification are still quietly raging".{{harvnb|Moyle|Cech|2003|p=Chapter 1}}
The term "fish" describes any non-tetrapod chordate, (i.e., an animal with a backbone), that has gills throughout life and has limbs, if any, in the shape of fins.{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |last=Nelson |first=Joseph S. |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-471-25031-9 |page=2 |title-link=Fishes of the World}} Unlike groupings such as birds or mammals, fish are paraphyletic, since the tetrapod clade is within the clade of lobe-finned fishes.{{harvnb|Helfman|Collette|Facey|Bowen|2009|p=3}}
Tree of life web project - [http://tolweb.org/Chordata/2499 Chordates].
=Jawless fish=
Jawless fish were the earliest fish to evolve. There is current debate over whether these are really fish at all. They have no jaw, no scales, no paired fins, and no bony skeleton. Their skin is smooth and soft to the touch, and they are very flexible. Instead of a jaw, they possess an oral sucker. They use this to fasten onto other fish, and then use their rasp-like teeth to grind through their host's skin into the viscera. Jawless fish inhabit both fresh and salt water environments. Some are anadromous, moving between both fresh and salt water habitats.
Extant jawless fish are either lamprey or hagfish. Juvenile lamprey feed by sucking up mud containing micro-organisms and organic debris. The lamprey has well-developed eyes, while the hagfish has only primitive eyespots. The hagfish coats itself and carcasses it finds with noxious slime to deter predators, and periodically ties itself into a knot to scrape the slime off. It is the only invertebrate fish and the only animal which has a skull but no vertebral column.N. A. Campbell and J. B. Reece (2005). Biology Seventh Edition. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco CA.
Image:Sea Lamprey fish.jpg|Lampreys attached to a lake trout
Image:Boca de lamprea.1 - Aquarium Finisterrae.JPG|Mouth of a sea lamprey
File:Pacific_hagfish_Myxine.jpg|Pacific hagfish resting on bottom at 280 m
=Cartilaginous fish=
Cartilaginous fish have a cartilaginous skeleton. However, their ancestors were bony animals, and were the first fish to develop paired fins. Cartilaginous fish don't have swim bladders. Their skin is covered in placoid scales (dermal denticles) that are as rough as sandpaper. Because cartilaginous fish do not have bone marrow, the spleen and special tissue around the gonads produces red blood cells. Their tails can be asymmetric, with the upper lobe longer than the lower lobe. Some cartilaginous fishes possess an organ called a Leydig's organ which also produces red blood cells.
There are over 980 species of cartilaginous fish. They include sharks, rays and chimaera.
File:Tiger shark.png|Tiger shark
File:Whale shark tofo mozambique 2007.jpg|Whale shark
File:Pastinachus_sephen_Day.jpg|Stingray
File:Callorhinchus callorhynchus.JPG|This elephant fish is a chimaera
=Bony fish=
Bony fish include the lobe-finned fish and the ray finned fish. The lobe-finned fish is the class of fleshy finned fishes, consisting of lungfish and coelacanths. They are bony fish with fleshy, lobed paired fins, which are joined to the body by a single bone.Clack, J. A. (2002) Gaining Ground. Indiana University These fins evolved into the legs of the first tetrapod land vertebrates, amphibians. Ray finned fishes are so-called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines ("rays").
There are three types of ray finned fishes: the chondrosteans, holosteans, and teleosts. The chondrosteans and holosteans are among the earlier fish to evolve, and share characteristics with both teleosts and sharks. In comparison with the other chondrosteans, the holosteans are closer to the teleosts and further from sharks.
File:Barramunda.jpg|Lungfish can breathe in air as well as water
File:Coelacanth1.JPG|Model of a coelacanth, thought until 1938 to be extinct. They are deep blue.
File:Sturgeon2.jpg|This Atlantic sturgeon is a chondrostean
==Teleosts==
Teleosts are the most advanced or "modern" fishes. They are overwhelmingly the dominant class of fishes (or for that matter, vertebrates) with nearly 30,000 species, covering about 96 per cent of all extant fish species. They are ubiquitous throughout fresh water and marine environments from the deep sea to the highest mountain streams. Included are nearly all the important commercial and recreational fishes.[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/585965/teleost Teleost] Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 15 July 2009
Teleosts have a movable maxilla and premaxilla and corresponding modifications in the jaw musculature. These modifications make it possible for teleosts to protrude their jaws outwards from the mouth.{{cite book
|last=Benton |first=Michael J. |title = Vertebrate Paleontology |publisher = Chapman & Hall |year = 1990 |location = London |isbn = 978-0-412-54010-3|title-link=Vertebrate Paleontology (Benton) }}{{cite web | title = Telostei | url = http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/actinopterygii/teleostei.html | publisher = Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley | author = Ben Waggoner | date = 1995-07-17 | access-date = 2006-06-08 }} The caudal fin is homocercal, meaning the upper and lower lobes are about equal in size. The spine ends at the caudal peduncle, distinguishing this group from those in which the spine extends into the upper lobe of the caudal fin.
File:Swordfish (PSF).png|Swordfish are teleosts
File:Rose fish.jpg|Rose fish are also teleosts
File:Anguilla japonica 1856.jpg|Eels are teleosts too
Image:Hippocampus.jpg|So are seahorses
By habitat
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| colspan="4" style="background:#fbfbfb; padding:10px;"| {{see also|Marine habitats}}
There is 10,000 times as much saltwater in the oceans as there is freshwater in the lakes and rivers. However, only 58 per cent of extant fish species live in saltwater. A disproportionate 41 per cent are freshwater fish (the remaining one per cent are anadromous).{{cite journal | last1 = Cohen | first1 = DM | year = 1970 | title = How many recent fishes are there?. | journal = Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences | volume = 38 | issue = 17| pages = 341–346 }} This diversity in freshwater species is perhaps not surprising, since the thousands of separate lake habitats promote speciation.{{harvnb|Bone|Moore|2008|p=3}} ::{| class="wikitable" |
| Habitat
! Area ! Volume ! Depth ! colspan=2 |Species ! Fish biomass |
|---|
| ! million km2
! million cu km ! (mean) ! count ! per cent ! million tonnes |
| Saltwater
| align="center"|361CIA Factbook: [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/ World.] | align="center"|1370.8Elert, Glenn [http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/SyedQadri.shtml Volume of Earth's Oceans.] The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 19 April 2008. | align="center"|3.8 km | align="center"|18,000 |
| Freshwater
| align="center"|1.5Shiklomanov, I A, (1993) World fresh water resources in Glick, P H, ed., Water in Crisis: Oxford University Press, p 13-24. | align="center"|87 m | align="center"|13,000 | |
Fish can also be demersal or pelagic. Demersal fish live on or near the bottom of oceans and lakes, while pelagic fish inhabit the water column away from the bottom. Habitats can also be vertically stratified. Epipelagic fish occupy sunlit waters down to {{convert|200|m|fathom}}, mesopelagic fish occupying deeper twilight waters down to {{convert|1000|m|ft|sp=us}}, and bathypelagic fish inhabiting the cold and pitch black depths below.
Most oceanic species (78 per cent, or 44 per cent of all fish species), live near the shoreline. These coastal fish live on or above the relatively shallow continental shelf. Only 13 per cent of all fish species live in the open ocean, off the shelf. Of these, 1 per cent are epipelagic, 5 per cent are pelagic, and 7 per cent are deep water.
Fish are found in nearly all natural aquatic environments.{{harvnb|Bone|Moore|2008|p=35}} Most fish, whether by species count or abundance, live in warmer environments with relatively stable temperatures. However, some species survive temperatures up to {{convert|44.6|C|F}}, while others cope with colder waters; there are over 200 finfish species south of the Antarctic Convergence.C.Michael Hogan. 2011. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ross_Sea?topic=49523 Ross Sea. Eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC] Some fish species tolerate salinities over 10 per cent.
|}
By life span
Some of the shortest-lived species are gobies, which are small coral reef–dwelling fish. Some of the longest-lived are rockfish.
By size
By breeding behavior
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| colspan="4" style="background:#fbfbfb; padding:10px;"| {{see also|Spawning|Ichthyoplankton}}
In very deep waters, it is not easy for a fish to find a mate. There is no light, so some species depend on bioluminescence. Others are hermaphrodites, which doubles their chances of producing both eggs and sperm when an encounter does occur.Ryan P [http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/SeaLife/DeepSeaCreatures/3/en "Deep-sea creatures: The bathypelagic zone"] Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 21 September 2007. |
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| rowspan=8 width=50px style="background:{{period color|paleogene}}" | Breeding
! Grouper | align=center | 140px | Female groupers change their sex to male if no male is available. Grouper are protogynous hermaphrodites, who school in harems of three to fifteen females. When no male is available, the most aggressive and largest females change their sex to male. |
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| Toadfish
| align=center | 140px | Male toadfish "sing" at up to 100 decibels with their swim bladders to attract mates.{{FishBase family|family=Batrachoididae|year=2009 |month=September}}{{FishBase |genus=Opsanus |species=beta |year=2009 |month=September}}{{harvnb|Moyle|Cech|2003|p=4}} |
| Anglerfish
| align=center | 140px | Female Haplophryne mollis anglerfish trailing atrophied males she encountered (pictured).[http://educatedearth.net/video.php?id=2639 Anglerfish Video] The female anglerfish releases pheromones to attract tiny males. When a male finds her, he bites on to her and holds on. When a male of the anglerfish species Haplophryne mollis bites into the skin of a female, he releases an enzyme that digests the skin of his mouth and her body, fusing the pair to the point where the two circulatory systems join up. The male then atrophies into nothing more than a pair of gonads. This extreme sexual dimorphism ensures that, when the female is ready to spawn, she has a mate immediately available.{{cite journal | author = Theodore W. Pietsch | title = Precocious sexual parasitism in the deep sea ceratioid anglerfish, Cryptopsaras couesi Gill | volume=256 | issue = 5512 | doi=10.1038/256038a0 | journal=Nature | pages=38–40| bibcode=1975Natur.256...38P | year = 1975 | s2cid = 4226567 }} |
| Hammerheads
| align=center | 140px | Some sharks such as hammerheads{{FishBase genus|genus=Sphyrna|2006}} are able to breed parthenogenetically, a type of asexual reproduction where the growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. |
By brooding behavior
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| colspan="4" style="background:#fbfbfb; padding:10px;"| {{see also|Spawning}}
Fish adopt a variety of strategies for nurturing their brood. Sharks, for example, variously follow three protocols with their brood. Most sharks, including lamniformes,{{FishBase order|order=Lamniformes}} are ovoviviparous, bearing their young after the brood nourish themselves, both after hatching and before birth, by consuming the remnants of the yolk and other available nutrients. Some, such as hammerheads, are viviparous, bearing their young after nourishing hatchlings internally, analogously to mammalian gestation. Catsharks{{FishBase family|family=Scyliorhinidae|2006}} and others are oviparous, laying their eggs to hatch in the water. Some animals, predominantly fish such as cardinalfish,{{FishBase family|family=Apogonidae|2006}} practice mouthbrooding, caring for their offspring by holding them in the mouth of a parent for extended periods of time. Mouthbrooding has evolved independently in several different families of fish. |
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| rowspan=8 width=50px style="background:{{period color|norian}}" | Brooding
| align=center | 140px | The chain catshark is oviparous, laying its eggs to hatch in the water. |
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| Great white shark
| align=center | 140px | The great white shark is ovoviviparous, gestating eggs in the uterus for 11 months before giving birth. |
| Scalloped hammerhead
| align=center | 140px | The scalloped hammerhead is viviparous, bearing its young after nourishing hatchlings internally. |
| Cyphotilapia frontosa
| align=center | 80px | The female Cyphotilapia frontosa mouthbroods its fry. The fry can be seen looking out of her mouth. |
| Seahorses
| align=center | 140px | Seahorse males practice pouch-brooding similar to kangaroos. When seahorses mate, the female deposits her eggs into a special pouch on the male's belly. The pouch seals shut while he nurtures the developing eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the pouch opens and the male goes into labour.{{FishBase genus|genus=Hippocampus|2006}} |
By feeding behaviour
{{clear}}
By vision
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| style="background:#fbfbfb; padding:10px;"| {{main|Vision in fishes}}
Many species of fish can see the ultraviolet end of the spectrum, beyond the violet wavelength of visible light.{{cite journal | last1 = Jacobs | first1 = GH | year = 1992 | title = Ultraviolet Vision in Vertebrates | journal = Am. Zool. | volume = 32 | issue = 4| pages = 544–554 | doi = 10.1093/icb/32.4.544 | doi-access = free }} Mesopelagic fishes live in the deeper waters of the twilight zone, down to depths of 1000 metres, where the amount of sunlight available is not sufficient to support photosynthesis. These fish are adapted for an active life under low light conditions. |
By shape
Boxfishes have heavily armoured plate-like scales fused into a solid, triangular, boxlike carapace, from which the fins, tail, eyes and mouth protrude. Because of this heavy armour, boxfish move slowly, but few other fish are able to eat the adults.{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Matsura, Keiichi |author2=Tyler, James C.|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 229–230|isbn= 978-0-12-547665-2}}
File:Humpback Turretfish - Tetrosomus gibbosus 2.jpg|The humpback turretfish is a boxfish with an armoured triangular shaped body
File:Leafy Sea Dragon SA.jpg|The leafy sea dragon is camouflaged to look like floating seaweed
By locomotion
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| style="background:#fbfbfb; padding:10px;"| {{See also|Fish locomotion}}
A number of species jump while swimming near the surface, skimming the water. Other species walk along the bottom on their fins. |
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| rowspan=14 width=50px style="background:{{period color|famennian}}" | Loco- motion | 140px | The slowest-moving fishes are the sea horses. The slowest of these, the tiny dwarf seahorse, has a sprint speed of one inch per minute.Guinness Book of World Records (2009) |
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| Atlantic bluefin tuna
| 140px | The Atlantic bluefin tuna is capable of sustained high speed cruising, and maintains high muscle temperatures so it can cruise in relatively cold waters. |
| Indo-Pacific sailfish
| 140px Among the fastesr sprinters are the Indo-Pacific sailfish (left) and the black marlin (right). Both have been recorded in a burst at over {{convert|110|km/h}}. For the sailfish, that is equivalent to 12 to 15 times their own length per second. |
| Shortfin mako
| height=70px | 140px | {{ external media | float = right | width = 200px | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5fo19s4aAc What makes mako sharks fast?] National Geographic }} The shortfin mako shark is fast and agile enough to chase down and kill an adult swordfish. However, sometimes in the struggle the swordfish kills the shark by ramming it in the gills or belly. The shortfin mako's speed has been recorded at {{convert|50|km/h}}, and there are reports that it can achieve bursts of up to {{convert|74|km/h}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/shark_profiles/i_oxyrinchus.htm|title=Biology of the Shortfin Mako|publisher=ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research|access-date=2006-08-12|author=R. Aidan Martin}} It can jump up to {{convert|9|m|ft|sp=us}} in the air. Due to its speed and agility, this high-leaping fish is sought as game worldwide. This shark is highly migratory. Its exothermic constitution partly accounts for its relatively great speed.{{cite news | first=Nancy | last=Passarelli |author2=Craig Knickle |author3= Kristy DiVittorio | title=SHORTFIN MAKO | publisher=Florida Museum of Natural History | url =http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/ShortfinMako/Shortfinmako.html | access-date = 2008-10-06 }} |
| Wahoo
| height=70px | 140px | The wahoo is perhaps the fastest fish for its size, attaining a speed of 19 lengths per second, reaching {{convert|78|km/h}}. |
| Flying fish
| 140px Flying fish have unusually large pectoral fins, which enable the fish to take short gliding flights above the surface of the water in order to escape from predators. Their glides are typically around {{convert|50|m|sp=us}}, but they can use updrafts at the leading edge of waves to cover distances of at least {{convert|400|m|sp=us}}.Piper, Ross (2007), Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press. In May 2008, a flying fish was filmed off the coast of Japan ([http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7410421.stm see video]). The fish spent 45 seconds aloft, and was able to stay aloft by occasionally beating the surface of the water with its caudal (tail) fin.{{Cite web|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7410421.stm|title = BBC article and video of flying fish|access-date=2008-05-20|publisher=bbc.co.uk | date=20 May 2008}} The previous record was 42 seconds. |
| Climbing perches
| 140px | Climbing perches are a family of fishes which have the ability to climb out of water and "walk" short distances. As labyrinth fishes, they possess a labyrinth organ, a structure in the fish's head which allows it to breathe atmospheric oxygen. Their method of terrestrial locomotion uses the gill plates as supports, and the fish pushes itself using its fins and tail. |
| Mudskipper
| 140px | {{ external media | float = right | width = 200px | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAQuoH_fOWM Mudskippers: The Fish That Walk on Land] BBC Earth }} The mudskipper is another type of walking fish. Walking fish are often amphibious and can travel over land for extended periods of time. These fish may use a number of means of locomotion, including springing, snake-like lateral undulation, and tripod-like walking. The mudskipper is able to spend days moving about out of water and can even climb mangroves, although to only modest heights.{{cite web|url=http://www.cairnsmuseum.org.au/tourism.htm |title=Cairns Museum Tour - Cairns-Kuranda Railway |access-date=2015-02-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108041240/http://www.cairnsmuseum.org.au/tourism.htm |archive-date=2015-01-08 }} There are some species of fish that can "walk" along the sea floor but not on land. One such animal is the flying gurnard. |
| Handfish
| 140px | {{ external media | float = right | width = 200px | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN9Rc5DrOzw Fish that walk] CSIRO }} The handfish walks along the seafloor using its pectoral fins, which look like hands. |
| Tripod fish
| 140px | {{ external media | float = right | width = 200px | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR81yxWQYuM Fish that perch] Okeanos Explorer ROV }} Deepsea tripod fishes use their very elongate pelvic fins and caudal fin, which act like "stilts", to perch and walk on the seafloor. |
By toxicity
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style="background:#fbfbfb; padding:10px;"| Toxic fish produce strong poisons in their bodies. Both poisonous fish and venomous fish contain toxins, but deliver them differently.
A 2006 study found that there are at least 1200 species of venomous fish.{{cite journal | last1 = Smith | first1 = WL | last2 = Wheeler | first2 = WC | year = 2006 | title = Venom Evolution Widespread in Fishes: A Phylogenetic Road Map for the Bioprospecting of Piscine Venoms | journal = Journal of Heredity | volume = 97 | issue = 3| pages = 206–217 | doi=10.1093/jhered/esj034 | pmid=16740627| doi-access = free }} There are more venomous fish than venomous snakes. In fact, there are more venomous fish than the combined total of all other venomous vertebrates. Venomous fish are found in almost all habitats around the world, but mostly in tropical waters. They wound over 50,000 people every year.[http://www.livescience.com/animals/060822_venomous_fish.html Venomous Fish Outnumber Snakes], LiveScience, 22 August 2006. Venomous fish carry their venom in venom glands and use various delivery systems, such as spines, sharp fins, barbs, spikes or fangs. Venomous fish tend to be either very visible, using flamboyant colors to warn enemies, or skilfully camouflaged and may be buried in the sand. Apart from the defense or hunting value, venom helps bottom-dwelling fish by killing the bacteria that tries to invade their skin. Few of these venoms have been studied. They are a yet-to-be-tapped resource for bioprospecting to find drugs with medical uses.Grady, Denise [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/science/22fish.html?ei=5094&en=3d2f666379306107&hp=&ex=1156219200&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print Venom Runs Thick in Fish Families, Researchers Learn] The New York Times 22 August 2006. Treatment for venom stings usually includes the application of heat, using water at temperatures of about {{convert|45|C|F}}, since heat breaks down most complex venom proteins. |
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| rowspan=14 width=50px style="background:{{period color|middle Permian}}" | Toxicity
| 140px | The puffer fish is the most poisonous fish in the world. It is the second most poisonous vertebrate after the golden dart frog. It paralyzes the diaphragm muscles of human victims, who can die from suffocation. In Japan, skilled chefs use parts of a closely related species, the blowfish, to create a delicacy called "fugu", including just enough toxin for that "special flavour".{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} |
|---|
| Spotted trunkfish
| align=center | 100px | The spotted trunkfish, a reef fish, secretes a colourless ciguatera toxin from glands on its skin when touched. The toxin is only dangerous when ingested, so the fish poses no immediate risk to human divers. However, predators as large as nurse sharks can die from eating a trunkfish.{{FishBase|genus=Lactophrys|species=bicaudalis|year=2009|month=July}} |
| Giant moray
| align=center | 100px | The giant moray is a reef fish at the top of the food chain. Like many other apex reef fish, it is likely to cause ciguatera poisoning if eaten.Lieske, E. and Myers, R.F. (2004) Coral reef guide; Red Sea London, HarperCollins {{ISBN|0-00-715986-2}}{{FishBase|genus=Gymnothorax|species=javanicus|year=2009|month=July}} Outbreaks of ciguatera poisoning in the 11th to 15th centuries from large, carnivorous reef fish, caused by harmful algal blooms, could be a reason why Polynesians migrated to Easter Island, New Zealand, and possibly Hawaii.{{cite journal | last1 = Rongo | first1 = T | last2 = Bush | first2 = M | last3 = van Woesik | first3 = R | year = 2009 | title = Did ciguatera prompt the late Holocene Polynesian voyages of discovery? | journal = Journal of Biogeography | volume = 36 | issue = 8| pages = 1423–1432 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02139.x| doi-access = free }}[http://www.physorg.com/news161863010.html Voyages of discovery or necessity? Fish poisoning may be why Polynesians left paradise] PhysOrg.com, 18 May 2009. |
| Reef stonefish
| align=center | 80px | The most venomous known fish is the reef stonefish.{{FishBase |genus=Synanceja |species=verrucosa |year=2009 |month=July}}[http://www.petplace.com/fish/the-stonefish-the-deadliest-fish-in-the-world/page1.aspx "The Stonefish – The Deadliest Fish in The World"], Virginia Wells, Petplace.com. It has a remarkable ability to camouflage itself amongst rocks. It is an ambush predator that sits on the bottom waiting for prey to approach. Instead of swimming away if disturbed, it erects the 13 venomous spines along its back. For defense, it can shoot venom from each or all of these spines. Each spine is like a hypodermic needle, delivering the venom from two sacs attached to the spine. The stonefish has control over whether to shoot its venom, and does so when provoked or frightened. The venom results in severe pain, paralysis and tissue death, and can be fatal if not treated. Despite its formidable defenses, stonefish have predators. Some bottom feeding rays and sharks with crushing teeth feed on them, as does the Stokes's sea snake.[http://australianmuseum.net.au/Reef-Stonefish-Synanceia-verrucosa-Bloch-Schneider-1801 Reef Stonefish, Synanceia verrucosa (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)] Australian Museum. Retrieved 21 July 2009. |
| Lionfish
| 140px | Head on view of the lionfish, a venomous coral reef fish (pictured).{{FishBase |genus=Pterois |species=volitans |year=2009 |month=July}} Unlike stonefish, a lionfish can release venom only if something strikes its spines. Although not native to the U.S. coast, lionfish have appeared around Florida and have spread up the coast to New York. They are attractive aquarium fish, sometimes used to stock ponds, and may have been washed into the sea during a hurricane. Lionfish can aggressively dart at scuba divers and attempt to puncture their facemask with their venomous spines. |
| Stargazer
| 140px | The stargazer, Uranoscopus sulphureus.{{FishBase |genus=Uranoscopus |species=sulphureus |year=2009 |month=July}} The stargazer buries itself and can deliver electric shocks as well as venom. It is a delicacy in some cultures (cooking destroys the venom), and can be found for sale in some fish markets with the electric organ removed. They have been called "the meanest things in creation". |
| Stingray
| 140px | Stingrays can sting with their stinger (pictured). Such envenomations can occur to people who wade in shallow water and tread on them. This can be avoided by shuffling through the sand or stamping on the bottom, as the rays detect this and swim away. The stinger usually breaks off in the wound. It is barbed, so it can easily penetrate but cannot be easily removed. The stinger causes local trauma from the cut itself, pain and swelling from the venom, and possible later infection from bacteria. Occasionally, severed arteries or death can result.{{cite journal|last1=Taylor|first1=Geoff|title=Toxic fish spine injury: Lessons from 11 years experience|journal=Journal of the South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society|date=March 2000|volume=30|issue=1|pages=7–8|url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/5828/SPUMS_V30N1_3.pdf?sequence=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610174447/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/5828/SPUMS_V30N1_3.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=usurped|archive-date=10 June 2015|access-date=10 June 2015|issn=0813-1988|oclc=16986801|format=pdf}} |
By human use
| class="wikitable" |
| style="background:#5ecca9;"| |
| style="background:#fbfbfb; padding:10px;"| File:Moofushi Kandu fish.jpg size up schooling forage fish]]
Fish are sought after by humans for their value as commercial food fish, recreational sport fish, decorative aquarium fish and for tourism, as they attract snorkelers and scuba divers. Throughout human history, important fisheries have been based on forage fish.{{harvnb|Bone|Moore|2008|p=442}} Forage fish are small fish which are eaten by larger predators. They usually school together for protection. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the bottom of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding. They include the family Clupeidae (herrings, sardines, menhaden, hilsa, shad and sprats), as well as anchovies, capelin and halfbeaks. Important herring fisheries have existed for centuries in the North Atlantic and the North Sea. Likewise, important traditional for anchovy and sardine fisheries have operated in the Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the southeast Atlantic.{{harvnb|Bone|Moore|2008|p=443}} The world annual catch of forage fish in recent years has been around 25 million tonnes, or one quarter of the world's total catch. Higher in the food chain, Gadidae (cod, pollock, haddock, saithe, hake and whiting) also support important fisheries. Concentrated initially in the North Sea, Atlantic cod was one of Europe's oldest fisheries, later extending to the Grand Banks.{{cite journal | last1 = Armstrong | first1 = MJ | last2 = Gerritsenb | first2 = HD | last3 = Allenc | first3 = M | last4 = McCurdya | first4 = WJ | last5 = Peel | first5 = JAD | year = 2004 | title = Variability in maturity and growth in a heavily exploited stock: cod (Gadus morhua L.) in the Irish Sea | journal = Journal of Marine Science | volume = 61 | issue = 1| pages = 98–112 | doi=10.1016/j.icesjms.2003.10.005| doi-access = free | hdl = 10379/8836 | hdl-access = free }} Declining numbers led to international "cod wars" and eventually the virtual abandonment of these fisheries. In modern times, the Alaska pollock supports an important fishery in the Bering Sea and the north Pacific, yielding about 6 million tonnes, while cod amounts to about 9 million tonnes.
Recreational and sport fishing is big business[http://www.asafishing.org/asa/newsroom/newspr_092607.html Angling Retains its Mainstream Appeal and Broad Economic Impact-American Sportfishing Association] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513203715/http://www.asafishing.org/asa/newsroom/newspr_092607.html |date=2008-05-13 }} U.S. saltwater fishers spend about $30 billion annually and support 350,000 jobs.NOAA Fisheries: [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/PartnershipsCommunications/recfish/index.htm Recreational Fishing Services.] Some of the more popular recreational and sport fish include bass, marlin, porgie, shad, mahi-mahi, smelt whiting, swordfish, and walleye. Fishkeeping is another popular pastime, and there is a large international trade for aquarium fish. Snorkeling and scuba diving attracts millions of people to beaches, coral reefs, lakes, and other bodies of water to view fish and other marine life. |
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan=14 width=50px style="background:#5ecca9;" | Human use | 140px | Yellowfin tuna are now being fished as a replacement for the depleted southern bluefin tuna. |
|---|
| Anchovy
| align=center | 140px | These schooling anchovy are forage fish. |
| Atlantic cod
| align=center | 140px | Atlantic cod fisheries have collapsed. |
| Alaska pollock
| align=center | 140px | The Alaska pollock has been described as "the largest remaining source of palatable fish in the world".{{cite book|last=Clover|first=Charles|title=The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat|title-link=The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat|date=2004|publisher=Ebury Press|isbn=978-0-09-189780-2}} |
| Koi
| align=center | 140px | Koi (and goldfish) have been kept in decorative ponds for centuries in China and Japan. |
By vulnerability
Other
{{clear}}
See also
Notes
{{Reflist|2}}
References
- {{cite book
|last1=Bone |first1=Q |last2=Moore |first2=R H
|year=2008
|publisher=Taylor & Francis Group
|title=Biology of Fishes
|isbn=978-0-415-37562-7
}} {{Google books|sLoqT_xWaqoC|}}
- {{cite book
|last1=Moyle |first1=PB |last2=Cech |first2=J. J.
|year=2003
|title=Fishes, An Introduction to Ichthyology
|edition=5th
|publisher=Benjamin Cummings
|isbn=978-0-13-100847-2
}}
- {{cite book
|last1=Helfman |first1=G. |last2=Collette |first3=D. |last3=Facey |last4=Bowen |first4=BW
|title=The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology
|page=3
|year=2009
|url=http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/helfman/
|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell
|isbn=978-1-4051-2494-2 }}
- Weis, Judith S (2011) [https://books.google.com/books?id=IZTPK7HsVjUC&q=%22Do+Fish+Sleep%3F%3A+Fascinating+Answers+to+Questions+about+Fishes%22 Do Fish Sleep?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Fishes] Rutgers University Press. {{ISBN|9780813549415}}.
External links
- [http://www.oceansforyouth.org/whats-that/articles.html Articles About Marine Life] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727140722/http://www.oceansforyouth.org/whats-that/articles.html |date=27 July 2011 }} Oceans for Youth Foundation.
- [http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM-Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/The-20-weirdest-fish-in-the-ocean The 20 weirdest fish in the ocean] Christian Science Monitor. 22 February 22, 2010.
{{diversity of fish}}
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