The onefin electric ray or Cape numbfish (Narke capensis) is a common but little-known species of electric ray in the familyNarkidae, native to South Africa and Namibia. It is a benthic fish found in shallow coastal bays over sandy or muddy bottoms. This small species reaches 38 cm (15 in) in length, and has a nearly circular pectoral fin disc and a short, muscular tail that supports a large caudal fin. It can be identified by its single dorsal fin, which is located over the large pelvic fins. Its dorsal coloration is yellowish to dusky brown.
The peppered maskray (Neotrygon picta) or speckled maskray, is a species of stingray in the familyDasyatidae, found in shallow waters off northeastern Australia. This small, thin-bodied ray attains a maximum width of 32 cm (13 in). It has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc with a row of tiny thorns along the midline, and a relatively short, whip-like tail with both upper and lower fin folds. Its upper surface has a speckled color pattern consisting of black spots and brownish reticulations on a light yellow to brown background.
The whiskery shark (Furgaleus macki) is a species of houndshark in the family Triakidae, and the only member of its genus. This common shark inhabits the Australiancontinental shelf from Western Australia to the Bass Strait, to a depth of 220 m (720 ft). It is demersal in habits and prefers rocky and vegetated habitats. Stout-bodied and almost "humpbacked" in form, the whiskery shark can be distinguished from all other members of its family by the presence of long nasal barbels. Its two moderately large dorsal fins are roughly equal in size. It is brownish gray above and lighter below, with a pattern of darker saddles and blotches in younger sharks. This species reaches 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in length.
The diet of the whiskery shark consists almost entirely of octopuses. It is viviparous; females bear litters of four to 28 pups every other year from August to October, after a gestation period of 7–9 months. This harmless shark is used for its meat, being one of the species marketed as "flake" in Australia. It is mainly caught by a Western Australian commercialgillnetfishery. Its numbers declined significantly from overfishing in the 1970s and early 1980s, leading to the introduction of new management measures in the mid-1980s. Since then, strict fishery management has kept the whiskery shark population stable or increasing, resulting in its listing as of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (Full article...)
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The blotchy swellshark or Japanese swellshark (Cephaloscyllium umbratile) is a common species of catshark, belonging to the familyScyliorhinidae. The Blotchy swellshark is found at depths of 90–200 m (300–660 ft) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Taiwan. It is benthic in nature and favors rocky reefs. Reaching 1.4 m (4.6 ft) in length, this thick-bodied shark has a broad head, large mouth, and two unequally-sized dorsal fins positioned far back past the pelvic fins. It can be identified by its dorsal coloration, consisting of seven brown "saddles" and extensive darker mottling on a light tan background. This species has often been confounded with the draughtsboard shark (C. isabellum) and the Sarawak pygmy swellshark (C. sarawakensis) in scientific literature.
Voracious and opportunistic in feeding habits, the blotchy swellshark is known to consume numerous types of fishes and invertebrates, including an unusually high diversity of cartilaginous fishes. Like other Cephaloscyllium species, it is capable of rapidly inflating its body as a defense against predators. This species is oviparous, with females laying encapsulated eggs two at a time. There is no well-defined breeding season and reproduction occurs year-round. The eggs hatch after approximately one year. The blotchy swellshark is harmless and fares well in captivity. It is caught as bycatch in commercialbottom trawls, though its population does not seem to have suffered from fishing activity. (Full article...)
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Skeletal reconstruction of Ornithoprion, with known material represented in white and implied/suggested material represented in gray
Ornithoprion is a genus of extinct cartilaginous fish in the family Caseodontidae. The only species, O. hertwigi, lived during the Moscovian stage of the Pennsylvanian, between 315.2 to 307 million years ago, and is known from black shale deposits in what is now the MidwesternUnited States. The discovery and description of Ornithoprion, performed primarily via radiography, helped clarify the skull anatomy of eugeneodonts; a group which includes O. hertwigi and which were previously known primarily from isolated teeth. The genus name, which is derived from the ancient Greekórnith- meaning 'bird' and príōn meaning 'saw', was inspired by the animal's vaguely bird-like skull and the saw-like appearance of the lower teeth. The species name honors Oscar Hertwig.
Ornithoprion is unique among known eugeneodonts in possessing an extremely elongated structure connecting to the lower jaw, known as the mandibular rostrum, which was protected by a beak of fused bony scales and which the precise function of is not known. It inhabited shallow marine environments and coexisted with a variety of other cartilaginous fishes. The structure of Ornithoprion's teeth suggests that it was a durophage which hunted marine invertebrates, and bite marks and damage to its fossils indicate it was fed on by other carnivores. The total length is uncertain due to the rear portion of the body being missing in all known specimens, but the largest skulls are approximately 10 cm (3.9 in) in length. (Full article...)
The quagga catshark (Halaelurus quagga) is a species of shark belonging to the familyPentanchidae, the deepwater catsharks. A small, slim-bodied shark reaching 37 cm (15 in) in length, it has a distinctive color pattern of narrow, dark brown vertical bars, which resemble those of the quagga. Its head is short and flattened, with a pointed snout tip that is not upturned.
Little is known of the quagga catshark's natural history, as it is known only from nine specimens caught off southwestern India and eastern Somalia. Inhabiting the offshore waters of continental shelf at depths of 59–220 m (194–722 ft) or more, it is a bottom-dwellingpredator of shrimps. It exhibits an oviparous mode of reproduction, with a record of a female containing eight eggs that were enclosed in brown capsules bearing long tendrils at the corners. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) presently lacks sufficient data to assess the conservation status of this species. It is not economically valued but is taken as bycatch. (Full article...)
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The cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis), also called the cigar shark, is a species of small squaliform shark in the familyDalatiidae. This shark lives in warm, oceanic waters worldwide, particularly near islands, and has been recorded as deep as 3.7 km (2.3 mi). It migrates vertically up to 3 km (1.9 mi) every day, approaching the surface at dusk and descending with the dawn. Reaching only 42–56 cm (16.5–22 in) in length, the cookiecutter shark has a long, cylindrical body with a short, blunt snout, large eyes, two tiny spineless dorsal fins, and a large caudal fin. It is dark brown, with light-emitting photophores covering its underside except for a dark "collar" around its throat and gill slits.
The name "cookiecutter shark" refers to its feeding method of gouging round plugs, as if cut out with a cookie cutter, out of larger animals. Marks made by cookiecutter sharks have been found on a wide variety of marine mammals and fishes, and on submarines, undersea cables, and human bodies. It also consumes whole smaller prey, such as squid. Cookiecutter sharks have adaptations for hovering in the water column, and likely rely on stealth and subterfuge to capture more active prey. Its dark collar seems to mimic the silhouette of a small fish, while the rest of its body blends into the downwelling light via its ventral photophores. When a would-be predator approaches the lure, the shark attaches itself using its suctorial lips and specialized pharynx and neatly excises a chunk of the flesh using its bandsaw-like set of lower teeth. This species has been known to travel in schools. (Full article...)
The leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) is a species of houndshark, in the familyTriakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically measuring 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft) long, this slender-bodied shark is immediately identifiable by the striking pattern of black saddle-like markings and large spots over its back, from which it derives its common name. Large schools of leopard sharks are a common sight in bays and estuaries, swimming over sandy or muddy flats or rock-strewn areas near kelp beds and reefs. They are most common near the coast, in water less than 4 m (13 ft) deep.
Active-swimming predators, groups of leopard sharks often follow the tide onto intertidal mudflats to forage for food, mainly clams, spoon worms, crabs, shrimp, bony fish, and fish eggs. Most leopard sharks tend to remain within a particular area rather than undertaking long movements elsewhere, which has led to genetic divergence between populations of sharks living in different regions. This species is aplacental viviparous, meaning that the young hatch inside the uterus and are nourished by yolk. From March to June, the female gives birth to as many as 37 young after a gestation period of 10–12 months. It is relatively slow-growing and takes many years to mature. (Full article...)
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The black dogfish (Centroscyllium fabricii) is a species of dogfish shark in the familyEtmopteridae. It is common over the outer continental shelf and continental slope at depths of 180–2,250 m (590–7,380 ft). Females generally inhabit deeper water than males, and depending on the region, smaller sharks may occur at different depths than larger ones. This species is distributed widely in the Atlantic Ocean, from Greenland and Iceland to Virginia and West Africa in the north, and off southwestern Africa and Argentina in the south. The largest member of its family, the black dogfish, typically measures 60–75 cm (24–30 in) long. It has a stocky, dark brown body that is darker below than above, and bears scattered, minute bioluminescent organs. Its two dorsal fins are preceded by stout spines, and the anal fin is absent.
The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is a rare species of deep-sea shark. Sometimes called a "living fossil", it is the only extant representative of the familyMitsukurinidae, a lineage some 125 million years old. This pink-skinned animal has a distinctive profile with an elongated, flat snout, and highly protrusible jaws containing prominent nail-like teeth. It is usually between 3 and 4 m (10 and 13 ft) long when mature, though it can grow considerably larger such as one captured in 2000 that is thought to have measured 6 m (20 ft). Goblin sharks are benthopelagic creatures that inhabit upper continental slopes, submarine canyons, and seamounts throughout the world at depths greater than 100 m (330 ft), with adults found deeper than juveniles. Some researchers believe that these sharks could also dive to depths of up to 1,300 m (4,270 ft), for short periods of time.
The Christmas darter (Etheostoma hopkinsi) is a species of ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamilyEtheostomatinae, part of the familyPercidae which includes the perches, ruffes and pike-perches. It is found in the Savannah, Ogeechee and Altamaha catchment areas in South Carolina and Georgia. It is a small but colorful fish, typically less than 5 cm (2 in) in total length, with blackish, red and green streaks on its flanks. Green and red are associated with Christmas, hence the common nameChristmas darter. Like other darters, it lives on or close to the stream-bed, in riffles and vegetation-laden stretches of small rivers, creeks and spring-fed streams. It feeds on aquatic insects and probably breeds in the spring, but its biology and behavior are poorly known.
The Christmas darter is closely related to the Savannah darter and the Christmas Eve or Hannukah darter, the latter of which is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Christmas darter rather than a species in its own right. The Christmas darter may hybridize with other darter species, though hybridization is hampered by behavioral and biological barriers. The Christmas darter is a common species in suitable habitat and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern for conservation purposes. In South Carolina, it is considered a conservation priority species, as it may be threatened in future by impoundment of rivers, siltation and deforestation. (Full article...)
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The ocellated electric ray or bullseye electric ray (Diplobatis ommata) is a species of electric ray in the familyNarcinidae, native to the shallow inshore waters of the eastern central Pacific from the Gulf of California to Ecuador. Reaching 25 cm (9.8 in) in length, this species has a rounded pectoral fin disc and pelvic fins with convex margins. Its short and thick tail bears two dorsal fins and terminates in a triangular caudal fin. The ocellated electric ray is named for the distinctive large eyespot on the middle of its disc, consisting of a black or yellow center surrounded by concentric rings. Its dorsal coloration is otherwise highly variable, ranging from plain to ornately patterned on a light to dark brown background. The front part of its disc is darker brown.
The Fishmonger's Shop, Bartolomeo Passerotti, 1580s People interact with fish in multiple ways, whether practically, in folklore and religion, or in art. They have economic importance in the fishing industry and fish farming; these industries provide some people with an income, and the general population with fish as food. Other practical uses of fish include recreational fishing and their use in biological research. Fish play symbolic roles in religion, mythology, folklore, and fairy tale, where stories about fish have been told in cultures around the world for thousands of years. Fish have similarly been depicted in art, literature, film, and music in many cultures. Academic study of fish in culture is called ethnoichthyology. Both academically and in practice, all these aspects of fish in people's lives are interrelated. (Full article...)
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The Pacific angelshark (Squatina californica) is a species of angelshark, family Squatinidae, found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to the Gulf of California, and from Ecuador to Chile, although those in the Gulf of California and southeastern Pacific may in fact be separate species. The Pacific angelshark inhabits shallow, coastal waters on sandy flats, usually near rocky reefs, kelp forests, or other underwater features. This species resembles other angel sharks in appearance, with a flattened body and greatly enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins. Characteristic features of this shark include a pair of cone-shaped barbels on its snout, angular pectoral fins, and a brown or gray dorsal coloration with many small dark markings. It attains a maximum length of 1.5 m (4.9 ft).
An ambush predator, the Pacific angelshark conceals itself on the sea floor and waits for approaching prey, primarily bony fishes and squid. Prey are targeted visually and, with a quick upward thrust of the head, snatched in protrusible jaws. Individual sharks actively choose ideal ambush sites, where they stay for several days before moving on to a new one. This species is more active at night than during the day, when it stays buried in sediment and seldom moves. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with the embryos hatching inside the mother's uterus and being sustained by a yolk sac until birth. Females give birth to an average of six young every spring. (Full article...)
Paddlefish (family Polyodontidae) are a family of ray-finned fish belonging to order Acipenseriformes, and one of two living groups of the order alongside sturgeons (Acipenseridae). They are distinguished from other fish by their elongated rostra, which are thought to enhance electroreception to detect prey. Paddlefish have been referred to as "primitive fish" because the Acipenseriformes are among the earliest diverging lineages of ray-finned fish, having diverged from all other living groups over 300 million years ago. Both living and fossil paddlefish are found almost exclusively in North America and China.
Eight species are known: Six of those species are extinct, and known only from fossils (five from North America, one from China), one of the extant species, the American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), is native to the Mississippi River basin in the U.S. The other is the Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), which was declared extinct in 2022 following a 2019 recommendation; the species has not been sighted in the Yangtze River Basin in China since 2003. Chinese paddlefish are also commonly referred to as "Chinese swordfish", or "elephant fish". The earliest known paddlefish is Protopsephurus, from the early Cretaceous (Aptian) of China, dating to around 120 million years ago. (Full article...)
The following are images from various fish-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1An annotated diagram of the basic external features of an abyssal grenadier and standard length measurements. (from Deep-sea fish)
Image 2Red snapper, are generalized reef feeders with standard jaw and mouth structures that allow them to eat almost anything, though they prefer small fish and crustaceans. (from Coral reef fish)
Image 3
The global continental shelf, highlighted in light blue
Image 4Shortfin mako shark make long seasonal migrations. They appear to follow temperature gradients, and have been recorded travelling more than 4,500 km in one year. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 8Scale diagram of the layers of the pelagic zone (from Pelagic fish)
Image 9Young, red flabby whalefish make nightly vertical migrations into the lower mesopelagic zone to feed on copepods. When males mature into adults, they develop a massive liver and then their jaws fuse shut. They no longer eat, but continue to metabolise the energy stored in their liver. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 11Most mesopelagic fishes are small filter feeders that ascend at night to feed in the nutrient rich waters of the epipelagic zone. During the day, they return to the dark, cold, oxygen-deficient waters of the mesopelagic where they are relatively safe from predators. Lanternfish account for as much as 65% of all deep sea fish biomass and are largely responsible for the deep scattering layer of the world's oceans. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 16Demersal fish output in 2005 (from Demersal fish)
Image 17Profile illustrating the shelf, slope and rise (from Demersal fish)
Image 18Areas of upwelling in red (from Pelagic fish)
Image 19Most of the rest of the mesopelagic fishes are ambush predators, such as this sabertooth fish. The sabertooth uses its telescopic, upward-pointing eyes to pick out prey silhouetted against the gloom above. Their recurved teeth prevent a captured fish from backing out. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 20Long-snouted lancetfish. Lancetfish are ambush predators which spend all their time in the mesopelagic zone. They are among the largest mesopelagic fishes (up to 2 m). (from Deep-sea fish)
Image 22Humans seldom encounter frilled sharks alive, so they pose little danger (though scientists have accidentally cut themselves examining their teeth). (from Deep-sea fish)
Image 29The giant whale shark, another resident of the ocean epipelagic zone, filter feeds on plankton, and periodically dives deep into the mesopelagic zone. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 42The stargazer is an ambush predator which can deliver both venom and electric shocks. It has been called "the meanest thing in creation". (from Coastal fish)
Image 43Many bristlemouth species, such as the "spark anglemouth" above, are also bathypelagic ambush predators that can swallow prey larger than themselves. They are among the most abundant of all vertebrate families. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 50Bigeye tuna cruise the epipelagic zone at night and the mesopelagic zone during the day (from Deep-sea fish)
Image 51In the foreground is an orange-lined triggerfish displaying spines. Triggerfish have mouths that crush shells. Orange-lined triggerfish are particularly aggressive. The black and white fish are three-stripe damselfish and the unstriped fish are blue-green chromis damselfish. If the triggerfish attacks, the damselfish will hide in the nearby cauliflower coral. If the triggerfish wants to hide, it will squeeze into a coral crevice and lock itself in place with its spines. (from Coral reef fish)
Image 52Herring reflectors are nearly vertical for camouflage from the side. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 60Cod-like fishes, like this morid cod have a barbel (fleshy filament) on their lower jaw which they use to detect prey buried in the sand or mud. (from Coastal fish)
Image 62The humpback anglerfish is a bathypelagic ambush predator, which attracts prey with a bioluminescent lure. It can ingest prey larger than itself, which it swallows with an inrush of water when it opens its mouth. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 68Lanternfish are partial residents of the ocean epipelagic zone During the day they hide in deep waters, but at night they migrate up to surface waters to feed. (from Pelagic fish)
Image 73The stoplight loosejaw is also one of the few fishes that produce red bioluminescence. As most of their prey cannot perceive red light, this allows it to hunt with an essentially invisible beam of light. (from Deep-sea fish)
Image 74The great hammerhead detects the electrical signatures of stingrays buried in the sand and pins them with its "hammer". (from Demersal fish)
Image 75Surgeonfish are among the most common of coral reef herbivores, often feeding in shoals. This may be a mechanism for overwhelming the highly aggressive defence responses of small territorial damselfishes that vigorously guard small patches of algae on coral reefs. (from Coral reef fish)
Image 76The stoplight loosejaw has a lower jaw one-quarter as long as its body. The jaw has no floor and is attached only by a hinge and a modified tongue bone. Large fang-like teeth in the front are followed by many small barbed teeth. (from Deep-sea fish)
Image 77Some flatfish can camouflage themselves on the ocean floor (from Demersal fish)
Image 78Coral reefs support flourishing ecosystems, paradoxically in clear, low nutrient waters, along tropical continental coasts and around volcanic islands. Coral reef fish are numerous and diverse. (from Coastal fish)
Image 79The daggertooth paralyses other mesopelagic fish when it bites them with its dagger-like teeth (from Deep-sea fish)
Bryaninops yongei is a benthic species of goby widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean; it is commonly found living in and around coral. Although this species was discovered in 1906, its ability to propel itself quickly to escape predators makes it difficult to study.
Brachysomophis cirrocheilos, the stargazer snake eel, is a marine fish belonging to the family Ophichthidae. It is native to shallow tropical and subtropical waters in the western Indo-Pacific region. It hunts at night for crustaceans and small fish, after which it submerges itself into the sediment tail first and remains there all day, with just its eyes and the top of its head projecting, as seen here in Batangas Bay in the Philippines.
The spotted trunkfish (Lactophrys bicaudalis) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Ostraciidae, native to the Caribbean Sea and parts of the western Atlantic Ocean. Members of this family are known as boxfishes because they have a hard outer covering consisting of hexagonal, plate-like scales fused together into a solid, triangular or box-like carapace. Because of this casing, the body of the spotted trunkfish is not flexible, and locomotion is normally limited to slow movements performed by rippling its dorsal and anal fins and gently beating its pectoral fins. If faster motion is required, it can additionally use its caudal fin for propulsion. This spotted trunkfish was photographed at a depth of about 40 ft (12 m) at Bari Reef, Bonaire.
The Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) is a species of fish from the cichlidfamily. In South America, where the species occurs, they are often found for sale as a food fish in the local markets. The species is also a popular aquarium fish. They have been reported to grow to a length of 45 cm (ca. 18 in) and a mass of 1.6 kg (3.5 lb).
The mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus, not to be confused with the similarly named mandarin fish) is a small (~6 cm or 2.4 in), brightly-colored member of the dragonet family, popular in the saltwater aquarium trade. The mandarinfish is native to the Western Pacific, ranging approximately from the Ryukyu Islands south to Australia.
Mudskippers, such as this Periophthalmodon septemradiatus, are uniquely adapted to a completely amphibious lifestyle. They are active when out of water, feeding and interacting with one another, as well as defending their territories.
Icefish are a type of Antarctic fish belonging to various families, including the Channichthyidae family. They have no haemoglobin and their blood is transparent. They feed on krill, copepods, and other fish. Icefish rely on well-oxygenated water and absorb oxygen directly through the skin as they lack red blood cells.
An Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) egg hatching. The Alevin (larva) has grown around the remains of the yolk sac - visible are the arteries spinning around the yolk and little oildrops, also the gut, the spine, the main caudalblood vessel, the bladder and the arcs of the gills. In about 24 hours it will be a fry without yolk sac.
The round ribbontail ray (Taeniura meyeni) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found throughout the nearshore waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Reaching 1.8 m (6 ft) across, this large ray is characterized by a thick, rounded pectoral fin disc covered by small tubercles on top, and a relatively short tail bearing a single venomous spine. The ray is well-camouflaged when lying on the seabed; it is largely nocturnal, and preys on molluscs, crustaceans and bony fish. Mature females bear litters of up to seven pups, which are fed during gestation on "uterine milk", a product secreted by the walls of the oviduct. This round ribbontail ray was photographed in Lakshadweep, India.
The orbicular batfish (Platax orbicularis) is a batfish endemic to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It has a thin, disc-shaped body, and male can grow up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in length. In the wild, the orbicular batfish lives in brackish or marine waters, usually around reefs, at depths from 5 to 30 metres (20 to 100 ft). It is also a popular aquarium fish, although captive specimens generally do not grow as long as wild ones.
A plate with fossils of Pseudostacus sp. (lobster, left) and Diplomystus birdii (fish, right), from the Hakel paleontological formation in Lebanon. The paleontological sites of Lebanon contain deposits of some of the best-preserved fossils in the world, and include some species found nowhere else. The most famous of these is the Lebanese lagerstätten of the Late Cretaceous age.
In American English, the name gar (or garpike) is strictly applied to members of the Lepisosteidae, a family including seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.
The Mini Edition of the Fish Portal is available for you to use on your wikipedia user page or talk page. It uses minimum space but retains many crucial features of the portal. To use it, place {{Portal:Fish/Mini portal}} on the designated page. See here for an example of the mini portal on a user page.
The Fish Quiz is a friendly quiz competition designed to test your general knowledge of fish. The current game is Fish Quiz Tournament X. You can read more and join the game here.
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