Field Guides for Kids: Fish

Field Guides for Kids: Fish — page 5 — HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Tab shows the fish category The fish's common name appears here The fish's scientific name appears here Images show the fish Sidebars provide additional information about the topic 54 6

Field Guides for Kids: Fish — page 6 — This paragraph provides information about the fish FUN FACT Some scientists estimate that a female carp can lay around 300,000 eggs each breeding season How to Spot features give information about the fish's size range habitat and diet Fun Facts give interesting information related to fish 7

Field Guides for Kids: Fish — page 7 — AGNATHA THE JAWLESS FISH PACIFIC HAGFISH EPTATRETUS STOUTII Pacific hagfish are primitive soft eel like fish that feed on other fish Most have tentacles on the ends of their snouts They also have five to 15 pairs of gills They have no eyes These fish live on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean They are known for attaching to and feeding on dead or injured fish They burrow into the fish Then they eat the fish from the inside out HOW TO SPOT Size Up to 25 inches 64 cm long 1.8 to 3.1 pounds 0.8 to 1.4 kg Range Pacific Ocean Habitat Cold ocean waters at depths of 4,280 feet 1,300 m live in burrows Diet Ocean invertebrates and dead or dying fish FUN FACT A hagfish produces so much slime that it is sometimes called the slime eel The slime is used for defense When threatened the hagfish will release the slime from its nostrils It will fill the gills of a nearby predator 8

Field Guides for Kids: Fish — page 8 — SEA LAMPREY PETROMYZON MARINUS Sea lampreys are ancient jawless boneless fish They reproduce in fresh water but many eventually move to salt water Sea lampreys tend to have one or two dorsal fins and seven gill openings on the sides of their bodies Their mouths have horn like teeth and sucking devices that allow them to attach to host fish like suction cups Then they eat the tissue fluid and blood of the host fish HOW TO SPOT Size Freshwater sea lampreys can get up to 25 inches 64 cm long Ocean sea lampreys can get up to 47 inches 120 cm long The largest lampreys can reach 2.25 pounds 1 kg Range Western and eastern Atlantic coasts and Great Lakes region Habitat Fresh water or salt water Diet Host fish such as trout WHAT IS AN AGNATHA Scientists disagree if Agnatha fish should be classified as true fish That's because they lack some features of modern fish species For instance they have circular mouths and are generally missing pairs of fins However they do have fins and gills which are the standard features of fish Unlike many fish Agnatha do not have internal skeletons made of bone In fact some species don't have skeletons at all But for those species that do their skeletons are made of mostly cartilage 9

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