Fish Flashcards
The skeleton, which forms the support structure inside the fish, is either made of cartilage, in cartilaginous fish, or bone in bony fish. The main skeletal element is the vertebral column, composed of articulating vertebrae which are lightweight yet strong
Vertebral Column
In the head, cranial neural crest cells give rise to the dentine-producing cells of teeth
Neural crest
Their principal function is to help the fish swim
Fin
Cartilaginous fishes (sharks and rays) are covered with placoid scales. Most bony fishes are covered with the cycloid scales of salmon and carp, or the ctenoid scales of perch, or the ganoid scales of sturgeons and gars.
Scale
a series of bones found in bony fish that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding.
Operculum
The blood from the body, which is low in oxygen enters the atrium via the sinus venosus, which contains the pacemaker cells that initiate the contractions. The blood is pumped into the ventricle by the atrium, which is a thin-walled muscular chamber.
Atrium
The ventricle is the largest and most muscular chamber of the heart. When filled with blood, it constricts, forcing the blood through the bulbus arteriosus.
Ventricle
Nephron, functional unit of the kidney, the structure that actually produces urine in the process of removing waste and excess substances from the blood
Nephron
a system of sense organs found in aquatic vertebrates, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water
Lateral line
This is an external method of reproduction where the female releases many unfertilised eggs into the water. At the same time, a male or many males release a lot of sperm into the water which fertilises some of these eggs
Spawning
an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their current water depth without having to waste energy in swimming.
Swim bladder
have a long, cylindrical body and a cartilaginous skeleton
Jawless fish
a fish of a class distinguished by having a skeleton of cartilage rather than bone
Cartilaginous fish
a fish of a large class distinguished by a skeleton of bone, and comprising the majority of modern fishes.
Bony fish
bimodal breathers which means they have the capacity to breathe both water and air
Bowfin/Dogfish
