CONTENTS What Is a Fish How to Use This Book 6 Agnatha The Jawless Fish Pacific Hagfish Sea Lamprey 8 Round Stingray Smooth Butterfly Ray Spiny Butterfly Ray Yellow Stingray Barndoor Skate Big Skate Clearnose Skate Little Skate Longnose Skate Winter Skate.30.31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38.39 Chondrichthyes The Cartilaginous Fish Basking Shark Common Thresher Shark Goblin Shark Great Hammerhead Great White Shark Lemon Shark Megamouth Shark Nurse Shark Shortfin Mako Shark Tiger Shark Whale Shark Zebra Shark Atlantic Devil Ray Atlantic Stingray Bat Ray Bullnose Ray Common Eagle Ray Cownose Ray Giant Manta Ray Lesser Electric Ray 10 11 12 13 14 15.16 17 18 19..20 21 22 23 24.25 26 27 28 29 Osteichthyes The Bony Fish Alligator Gar American Paddlefish Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Atlantic Cod Atlantic Herring Banggai Cardinalfish Beluga Sturgeon Black Sea Bass Black Sea Devil Blobfish Blue Marlin Boeseman's Rainbowfish Bowfin Clown Anemonefish 40 41.42 43 44 45 46.47 48 49.50.51.52.53
Common Angelfish Common Carp Common Fangtooth Common Goldfish Common Guppy Common Ponyfish Cutlass Fish Dwarf Gourami Eastern Mudminnow European Flounder Electric Eel Green Moray Eel Giant Hatchetfish Giant Snakehead Great Barracuda Gulf killifish Haddock King Mackerel Leafy Sea Dragon Mekong Giant Catfish Mexican Blind Cave Fish Mirror Dory Monkey Goby Nile Perch Northern Anchovy Northern Lampfish Northern Pike Northern Puffer 54 55.56.57.58.59 60 61.62.63.64.65 66.67 68 69 70.71.72.73.74.75.76.77.78 79 80 81 Northern Stargazer 82 Oarfish 83 Ocean Sunfish.84 Opah.85 Ornate Ghost Pipefish 86 Pacific Seahorse.87 Peter's Elephantnose Fish 88 Pinecone Fish 89 Potato Grouper 90 Queen Parrotfish 91 Rainbow Trout 92 Red Bellied Piranha 93 Red Lipped Batfish 94 Red Porgy 95 Reedfish 96 Sailfin Flying Fish.97 Silver Salmon 98 Sockeye Salmon 99 California Scorpion Fish 100 Spotted Scorpion Fish 101 Swordfish 102 Yellow Goatfish 103 Indonesian Coelacanth 104 West Indian Ocean Coelacanth 105 Australian Lungfish 106 South American Lungfish 107 Glossary To Learn More Photo Credits 108 109 110
WHAT IS A FISH Fish is a general term used to identify more than 27,000 species of animals that inhabit fresh water and salt water Fish are diverse and they come in all shapes and sizes For instance the smallest fish are 0.3 inches 0.76 cm long while the largest fish span 39 feet 12 m CLASSIFYING FISH Classifying fish into species can be difficult because they are very diverse However most fish have some common characteristics All fish spend at least some time in water They have heads with obvious eyes sense organs and teeth Fish also have brains that are protected by braincases Fish are classified as vertebrates which means they have backbones A fish's skin often contains scales that help protect it from injuries and predators Many fish have fins that come in pairs These limbs help to propel fish through the water Most fish are cold blooded This means they cannot regulate their own body temperatures They depend on their environments and movements to generate heat Fish have gills that can be used to get oxygen from water Many fish species have a sense organ called a lateral line system This system helps fish find prey or sense predators Fish may also have swim bladders that help them remain buoyant 4
Some fish do not share all of these characteristics For example tuna are warm blooded fish Lampreys are classified as invertebrates because they lack backbones Lungfish can use their lungs to breathe CATEGORIES OF FISH Fish fall into three specific categories Agnatha fish are primitive fish which means they have existed for many millions of years In fact scientists believe these were the first type of fish to appear on Earth The first Agnatha appeared 450 million years ago Agnatha fish do not have jaws Chondrichthyes are fish that are made up of cartilage These include sharks rays and skates Osteichthyes have bones and are the largest group of fish They are divided into ray finned fish and lobe finned fish 5
