Lab II: Survey of the Fishes Flashcards
Characteristics of fish skull
- Bony jaws (premaxilla, maxilla, dentary) with varied mobility
- Mouth mostly terminal with teeth
Characteristics of fish skeleton
- More or less bony; many vertebrae
- Two set of paired ventral fins (pectoral and pelvic). Fin rays support fins (reduced in Sarcopterygians)
- One or two dorsal fins; one medial anal fin
- Caudal fin homocercal (symmetrical) or heterocercal (not symmetrical)
- Form bone by replacing cartilage (endochondral formation) or direct formation (dermal formation)
Characteristics of integument of fish
- Mucous glands
- Most with bony dermal sacles: Placoid (extinct), ganoid (early fish groups - diamond shape), cycloid (overlap), ctenoid (overlap with spikes)
- Skin with pigmented cells (chromatophores)
Characteristics of circulation and respiration
- Respiration by gills supported by bony gill arches and covered by operculum
- Swim bladder with or without duct attached (absent in Chondrichthyes)
- Two-chambered heart (arterial and venus systems)
- Four pairs of aortic arches carry blood through gills
- Nucleated RBCs
Heat regulation
-Ecothermy: External means raise temperature (same temperature as external environment)
Characteristics of sexes
- Separate
- Paired gonads
Characteristics of nervous system
- Paired olfactory lobes and small cerebrum; large optic lobes and cerebellum; 3 pairs semicircular canals
- Vibration and pressure reception via a lateral line system (sensory hair cells with cilia detect vibration - gives info about water movement and pressure)
Three body forms of fish
- Terete = Highly active, fast-swimming, streamlined
- Compressed = laterally flattened, still-water, structured habitats
- Bottom-dwellers = Depressed (dorso-ventrally), may be flat like a skate or ray. Eyes on top, mouth on bottom
- Variation in bony fish body forms
Fish phylum and subphylum
- Phylum = chordata
- Subphylum = vertebrata
Superclass Agnatha
- Lack jaws
- Endoskeletal support
- Bone and paired appendages lacking in living species
- E.g., hagfish and lampreys
Superclass Gnathostomata
- Jaws derived from modern gill arches
- Paired appendages (usually)
Class Placodermi
- Superclass Gnathostomata
- Jaws with no teeth, very bony skull
Class Chondrichthyes
- Superclass Gnathostomata
- Cartilaginous fishes
Subclass Holocephali

- Superclass Gnathostomata
- Class Chondrichthyes
- Chimaeras, ratfish
- Small, cold water fish
Subclass Elasmobranchii
- Superclass gnathostomata
- Class chondrichthyes
- Sharks and rays
- Range in shape and size
- Often predaceous
Class Acanthodii (extinct)
- Superclass gnathostomata
- Many paired appendages
Grade Osteichthyes
- Bony fishes
Class Sarcopterygii
- “Lobe-finned fishes”
Subclass Coelacanthimorpha

- Grade Osteichthyes
- Class Sarcopterygii
- Large heavy marine fish
- Inhabit deep water populations (isolated)
- Fleshy appendage
- Pectoral and pelvic girdle
Subclass Porolepimorpha and Dipnoi

- Grade Osteichthyes
- Class Sarcopterygii
- Lungfishes
- Use surface air for respiration in gas bladder (evolutionary precursor to tetrapod lung)
Class Actinopterygii
- Ray-finned fishes
Subclass Chondrostei
- Primitive ray-finned fishes
Order Polypteriformes

- Class Actinopterygii
- Subclass Chondrostei
- Bichirs
- Long, scaley, eel-like, many dorsal fins
Order Acipenseriformes

- Class Actinopterygii
- Subclass Chondrostei
- Sturgeon and paddlefish
- Pointed snout, heterocercal tail in sturgeon
Subclass Neopterygii, Order Amiiformes

- Bowfish
- Large gular plate
Division Teleostei
- Higher bony fishes
- Lots of cranial ossification
- Cycloid or ctenoid scales
- Tail usually homocercal
- Swim bladder present at some point during development
Order Osteoglossiformes

- Division teleostei
- Bony tongue
- Goldeye
- Large shiny eyes
Order Anguilliformes

- Eels
- Snake-like
- Smaller scales than bichirs
- Single long dorsal fin
Order Clupeiformes

- Division teleostei
- Herrings
- Big lower lip that exceeds upper lip
Superorder Ostariophysi
- Mostly freshwater
- Small bones connect air bladder with inner ear (Weberian ossicles)
Order Cypriniformes

- Superorder Ostariophysi
- Minnows, carps, suckers
- One dorsal fin
- White sucker = fleshy lip, ventral mouth
Order Siluriformes

- Superorder Ostariophysi
- Catfishes
- Stonecat in Alberta
- Whiskers on face, pectoral spine
Superorder Protacanthopterygii
- Salmoniformes - ancestral stock of more advanced teleosts
- Maxillary included in gape (mouth opening)
Order Esociformes

- Mudminnow and northern pike
- Long body, pointed snout, many teeth
- Fins toward back
- One dorsal fin (at back of fish)
Order Salmoniformes

- Salmon, trout, char, and whitefish
- Many anadromous (spawn in fresh water, grow to adulthood in marine habitats)
- Adipose dorsal fin
- One dorsal fin
Salmo trutta

- Brown trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss

- Rainbow trout
Salvelinus confluentus

- Bull trout
Salvelinus fontinalis

- Brook trout
Prosopium williamsoni

- Mountain whitefish
Coregonus clupeaformis

- Lake whitefish
Superorder Paracanthopterygii
- 2 dorsal fins
- Grouped by convergence, not common ancestry
Order Percopsiformes

- Superorder Paracanthopterygii
- Trout, perch in Alberta
- Small dorsal fin (x2 - one very small in posterior)
Order Gadiformes

- Superorder paracanthopterygii
- Cods, burbot in Alberta
- 2 dorsal fins (second is very long in burbot)
Superorder Acanthopterygii
- Spiny ray-finned fishes
- Refined feeding and locomotion structures (specialized feeding mechanisms)
- Very diverse
- Dominant in marine shallow habitats
Order Gasterosteiformes

- Superorder Acanthopterygii
- Sea horses, pipefishes, stickleback (in Alberta)
Order Scorpaeniformes

- Superorder Acanthopterygii
- Scorpionfishes, rockfishes, sculpin (in Alberta)
- Large spines
- Large, wide, gaping mouth
Order Perciformes

- Superorder Acanthopterygii
- Largest vertebrate order
- Coral reef fishes, cichlids
- Perch, walleye in Alberta
- Walleye is more streamlined than perch; very spiny first dorsal fin
Order Pleuronectiformes

- Superorder Acanthopterygii
- Flounders, soles
- Eyes on one side