living fish families Flashcards
how many fish families are there
556
how many families represent 30% of all species and what are they
7
cyprinidae
gobiidae
characidae
cichlidae
labridae
loricariidae
serranidae
**these are all teleosts
main subclass in Chondrichthyans and its subdivisions
Subclasses Elasmobranchii (1268 spp.; sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish)
- Holocephali (55 spp.; chimaeras)
- Can be broadly divided into sharks and rays:
-Subdivision Batoidea (rays, skates and sawfish)
-Subdivision Selachii (sharks)
what stereotypical bodyform do all batoids share
enlarged pectoral fins fused to a flattened body
gill slits on ventral surface
pair of spiracles on dorsal surface
how many orders of batoids are there and what are they
4
- rajiformes (skates) - most abundant
- myliobatiformes (sting rays, eagle rays)
- rhinopristiformes (guitarfishes, sawfishes)
- torpediniformes (electric rays)
what waters are skates and rays most abundant in
skates = deep / temperate waters
rays = shallow / tropic waters
how many orders of selachii are there and what are they
8
- Carcharhiniformes (requiem sharks)
- squaliformes (sleeper sharks, dogfish)
- orectolobiformes (carpet sharks)
- squatiniformes (angel sharks)
- lamniformes (mackerel sharks)
- heterodontiformes (bullhead sharks)
- pristiophoriformes (sawsharks)
- hexanchiformes (cow and frill sharks)
how many species are in requiem sharks (Family Carcharhinidae)
61 spp.
e.g. reef, silky, Galapagos, whalers,
bull, oceanic whitetip, tiger, lemon, blue..
how many species are in mackerel sharks (Lamniformes)
- 16 species in 7 families, including goblin shark and megamouth sharks (both monotypic families)
- Alopiidae Thresher sharks, 3 spp.
- Cetorhinidae 1 species: the basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus
- Lamnidae 5 spp. Great white, salmon shark, longfin mako, porbeagle
4 uk shark species
Blue shark
Dogfish
Nurse shark
Tope shark
Basking shark
Thresher
Porbeagle
Mako
what percent of all living species are teleosts
96%
TELEOSTEI subdivision
Subdivision Elopomorpha (~804 spp.) Eels, tarpon - All share the leptocephalus larval form
what’s common about all species in Subdivision Elopomorpha
All share the leptocephalus larval form
4 families within the Order Anguilliformes
Anguillidae - Freshwater eels
Congridae - Congers and garden eels
Muraenidae - Moray eels
Ophichthidae - Snake eel
what uk species can we see in Order Anguilliformes
Congers
Freshwater eels
3 families within Order Osteoglossiformes
Arapaimidae
Mormyridae - Elephantfishes
Osteoglossidae - Arowanas
2 families within Order Clupeiformes
Clupeidae - Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens (198 spp.)
Engraulidae - Anchovies (146 spp.)
what superorder are Freshwaters dominated by and how many orders are in there
uperorder Ostariophysi (ostariophysans)
5, but only interested in 3:
Cypriniformes
Characiformes
Siluriformes
within what family is Order Cypriniformes
- Family Cyprinidae: The first of the big seven!
- Largest family of fishes (over 3,000 spp.)
- All freshwater (minnows, carps, barbels, gudgeons, chubs, dace, tench, rudd…)
Family Cyprinidae characteristics
- Stomachless and toothless jaws but first family to show real development of pharyngeal dentition
- Most feed mainly on invertebrates + vegetation
- Some are specialised herbivores, eat algae and biofilms, or are filter feeders
- Extremely important food fish, especially in China and India
- 9 of the top 15 inland aquacultured species/ groups in 2020 were cyprinids
- Popular aquarium species: redtail black shark, goldfish, koi…
- Zebrafish (or zebra danios) are important laboratory animals (especially for developmental genetics, toxicology and medical research)
Order Characiformes characteristics
- Characterised by well-armed mouths
- Very diverse (anatomically and ecologically) order, including predators, zooplanktivores, scale eaters, detritivores and herbivores
- There are 23 families of characin, including Characidae (the second of the big seven)
- Largely replace cyprinids in South America and most species (>1200) are South American, with ca. 200 African species
family Characidae characteristics
Most well-known characids = piranhas, but also tiger fish, pacus and many popular aquarium species, especially tetras
order Siluriformes characteristics
- Astonishing diversity (over 35 families and 2,900 spp.)
- All continents, mostly freshwater but two marine families
- Includes some of my favourite fish (catfish belonging to the genus Corydora; family Callichthyidae) as well as some giants
family Locariidae characteristics
- Number 3 of the big 7
- Armoured catfishes (over 900 spp.)
- Freshwater, Latin and South America
- Body covered with bony plates and mouth adapted as suckers
- Popular aquarium species (Plecs; an aquarist name for the original plec, Hypostomus plecostomus)
explain order Salmoniformes
- Single family: Salmonidae (salmon, trout, chars…)
- Northern Hemisphere, but widely introduced in cold waters for sports and aquaculture
- Many are anadromous - spending part of their life at sea, but returning to freshwater where all species spawn in a gravel bed in rivers or streams
- Most fish die after spawning
- Highly valuable in sport and commercial fisheries
example of one of the most popular fish in order Salmoniformes
Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar
- By far the most valuable UK aquaculture species
- In 2020 the UK produced 193 000 tonnes worth $1.3 billion (USD)
- Globally, we are a small player however (7% of global production)…
- In 2020 total Atlantic salmon aquaculture production was worth over $15 billion!
- 51% of these fish were grown in Norway, 29% in Chile
explain order Gadiformes
Cods, haddocks, hakes, lings, grenadiers
- Includes some of the most commercially important species in the world
- 3 of the top 14 fished species/genera in 2020 were gadoids
what is the largest order of vertebrates and its characteristics
Order Perciformes
- Over 10,000 spp. (~1/3 of all fish), inhabiting all aquatic habitats
- Spines in anterior portions of dorsal and anal fins
- Most are marine shore fishes, while about 2,000 species (e.g. cichlids) normally ocur only in freshwater, and about 2,200 species occur in freshwater for at least part of their life history
- 167 families - Including the final 4 of the big 7: Gobiidae
Cichlidae
Labridae
Serranidae
what families of the big seven are included in Order Perciformes
Gobiidae
Cichlidae
Labridae
Serranidae
family Cichlidae characteristics
- Gondwanan distribution (during pangea) - Central and South America, Texas (1 sp,), West Indies, Africa, Madagascar, Syria, Israel, Iran, Sri Lanka, and coastal southern India
- Although there are many New World species of cichlid, the majority of cichlid species are African.
- Species flocks: a group of species sharing a common ancestral species - evolve when a newly created habitat is colonised by the ancestral species
- There are extremely diverse species flocks of cichlids in three of the African Great Lakes: Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria
what are species flocks
a group of species sharing a common ancestral species - evolve when a newly created habitat is colonised by the ancestral species
what 3 African lakes can we see extremely diverse species flocks of cichlids
Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria
- It is highly likely that in each lake, most or all of the endemic cichlids share a common ancestor
- The morphological and ecological divergence from such an ancestor is astounding considering Tanganyika and Malawi are only 2-10 million years old!
- Members of the species flocks occupy all trophic levels, with morphologies to match!
family Gobiidae characteristics
> 1700 spp.
- Chiefly marine and brackish, some species are catadromous
- Very common in tropical and subtropical waters, but can be seen around the UK.
- Pelvic fins fused into an adhesive disc, when well developed
- Common british gobies: common, sand, balck, rock, two-spotted
family Labridae characteristics
Wrasses, 512 spp.
- Marine, often brightly coloured
- Common in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters
- Many common UK species
- Sexually dimorphic; many species capable of changing sex
- Juveniles are a mix of males and females (initial phase); largest adults become males (terminal phase) with territories
family Serranidae characteristics
- Groupers, sea basses, 537 spp.
- NB European sea bass is in family Moronidae!
- Carnivorous
- Tropical, subtropical waters - common on coral reefs, especially
- Can be important food fish
Order Pleuronectiformes characteristics
flatfish
- Adults not bilaterally symmetrical
- In most species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through and around the head during development
- Some species face their left sides upward, some face their right sides upward, others face either side upwards
- Mostly marine, occasionally enter freshwater
- includes Family Pleuronectidae
Family Pleuronectidae characteristics
103 spp.
- Right-eyed
- Strong physiological colour change
- Plaices, flounders, soles, halibuts, turbots, dabs…
- Important commercial fisheries
how can we play the odds on identifying fish in the UK
- if it looks like a chondricthyan, probably s scyliorhinidae (dogfish)
- in freshwater - does it have teeth: no = cyprinidae, yes = some sort of perciform
- marine:
-gobidae (small, benthic)
-gadidae (3 dorsal fins)
-labridae (labriform swimming)
-pleuronectidae (flatfish, Right-eyed)
