And here fantastic fishes duskly float,
Using the calm for waters, while their fires
Throb out quick rhythms along the shallow air.—Elizabeth Barrett Browning, A Drama of Exile **
The first (and only) warrant
I ever had to get was to enter premises in order to remove fish that had been
left abandoned inside a grow-op with neither food (other than each other … how
quickly they turn) nor hydro.
Less than a week on the job and I was sitting across from a Justice of the Peace, nervously answering the series of anticipated questions, my mouth dry, my voice not my own; and then came one I wasn't expecting.
Thoughtfully, her eyes moved
between the Act and the Warrant, and then pausing, she looked at
me over the frames of her glasses. Her expression was as though she had been about
to ask me something but had changed her mind. With pen raised to paper
she hesitated for one more torturous second, and then signing her name through a sigh she said, “Well, I guess
fish are animals too … right?”
HECK YEAH, FISH ARE ANIMALS & REALLY COOL ANIMALS AT THAT! (was not my reply)
THE BARE BONES
- Le mot 'poisson', ou 'fish', describes any non-tetrapod craniate (non-four limbed animal with a skull and in most cases a backbone) that has gills throughout life and whose limbs, if any, are in the shape of fins. [29]
- With around 32,000 species, fish exhibit greater species diversity than any other group of vertebrates. [28]
- Around 400 million years ago, fish evolved into two different groups: [8]
- The cartilaginous Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays and chimeras).
- The Osteichthyes, which gave rise to the modern day bony fish.
 |
| Image 1: The anatomy of a lanternfish (1) – operculum (gill cover), (2) – lateral line, (3) – dorsal fin, (4) – fat fin, (5) – caudal peduncle, (6) – caudal fin, (7) – anal fin, (8) – photophores, (9) – pelvic fins (paired), (10) – pectoral fins (paired) |
DETERMINING THE AGE OF A FISH
 |
| Image 2: An otolith being removed from a red snapper to determine its age. [24] |
Scales, bones, fin rays
and otoliths (ear bones) have all been used to determine the age of fish,
since these and other bony parts of fish often form yearly rings like
those of a tree. [23]
SOME FISHY FACTS
- Whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and walruses are not fish.
- Neither are starfish, jellyfish, cuttlefish or crayfish. [30]
 |
| Image 3: Electric Eel |
Electric eels can emit a discharge of
at least 600 volts when threatened or when hunting for prey.
Multiple shocks from electric eels can cause respiratory or heart failure in humans, and death by drowning. [16][17]
Stimpson’s goby (video below) uses its mouth like a suction cup to inch up the slippery rock face behind water falls in order to find a safe place to breed. They have been known to climb as high as 100 meters. [3][39]
Multiple shocks from electric eels can cause respiratory or heart failure in humans, and death by drowning. [16][17]
Stimpson’s goby (video below) uses its mouth like a suction cup to inch up the slippery rock face behind water falls in order to find a safe place to breed. They have been known to climb as high as 100 meters. [3][39]
 |
| Image 4: Ocellated Icefish |
The blood of ocellated icefish lacks hemoglobin, the oxygen transport protein found in the red blood
cells of all other known vertebrates.
At cold temperatures, oxygenated blood is pumped through their circulatory system at a rate five times faster than the average fish. [3]
At cold temperatures, oxygenated blood is pumped through their circulatory system at a rate five times faster than the average fish. [3]
- Hagfish (video below) have a skull but no spine. Their skeleton is made up entirely of cartilage. [35]
- Hagfish can produce a sticky, fibrous slime from glands running along the sides of their bodies. This slime helps them repel or escape from predators. [35]
 |
| Image 5: School of Goldband fusilier |
Their movements are synchronized and each fish maintains an exact spacing from its neighbor. [36]
 |
| Image 6: Fangtooth fish |
The teeth of the fangtooth
are the largest of any known fish in the ocean when taken in proportion to their approx. 6 inch body
size. [18]
 |
| Image 7: Candiru fish |
Candiru are parasitic
catfish that normally feed on the gills of larger fish in the Amazon.
However, over the past few centuries there have been reports of these creatures lodging in the urethras of men and women. [37]
However, over the past few centuries there have been reports of these creatures lodging in the urethras of men and women. [37]
 |
| Image 8: Spiny seahorse |
A seahorse can move each of its eyes separately. [1][3]
The spiny (or thorny) seahorse can change color to match their surroundings. [5][6][7]
The spiny (or thorny) seahorse can change color to match their surroundings. [5][6][7]
Female seahorses lay their eggs inside a pouch on the male
seahorse’s belly, and the male fertilizes them internally.
He then carries the eggs inside his pouch. When the babies are ready to hatch, the male holds onto a piece of seaweed with his tail and rocks back and forth until the babies emerge from his pouch as fully formed, albeit miniature, seahorses. [1][5][6]
He then carries the eggs inside his pouch. When the babies are ready to hatch, the male holds onto a piece of seaweed with his tail and rocks back and forth until the babies emerge from his pouch as fully formed, albeit miniature, seahorses. [1][5][6]
Seahorses have neither teeth nor stomach. Food passes through their digestive systems so quickly that they must graze continually and can consume 3,000 or more brine shrimp per day. [1]
 |
| Image 9: Sheepshead fish |
The sheepshead fish diet
consists of oysters, clams and other bivalves, barnacles, fiddler
crabs, and other crustaceans. [25]
It has several rows of stubby teeth which help crush the shells of prey. [26]
 |
| Image 10: Pluie de poissons (1555 engraving) |
Sometimes tornadoes
pick up fish while traveling over water and carry them over land, where the
fish rain down.
Roman writer Pliny the Younger describes this phenomenon in the 1st century A.D. [5][6]
Roman writer Pliny the Younger describes this phenomenon in the 1st century A.D. [5][6]
 |
| Image 11: The Opah fish |
Meet the opah, the first ever warm blooded fish … that we know of. [9]
From the new study, published in the journal Science (May 15, 2015): [10]
"Endothermy (the metabolic production and retention of heat to warm body temperature above ambient) enhances physiological function, and whole-body endothermy generally sets mammals and birds apart from other animals. Here, we describe a whole-body form of endothermy in a fish, the opah (Lampris guttatus), that produces heat through the constant “flapping” of wing-like pectoral fins and minimizes heat loss through a series of counter-current heat exchangers within its gills.
Unlike other fish, opah distribute warmed blood throughout the body, including to the heart, enhancing physiological performance and buffering internal organ function while foraging in the cold, nutrient-rich waters below the ocean thermocline."
 |
| Image 12: Whale shark |
Reaching lengths of 40
feet or more, plankton loving whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea.
[19]
Although they are currently
listed as a vulnerable species, they continue to be hunted in parts of
Asia. [19]
IT DOES NOT ALWAYS TAKE TWO TO TANGO. [11][12]
From the study, Facultative
parthenogenesis in a critically endangered wild vertebrate [Fields et al
(2015)]: [12]
With respect to vertebrates, the ability of sexually reproducing species to have the option to produce offspring asexually (parthenogenesis) is known to occur in captivity (birds, reptiles and sharks); however, it has rarely been observed in the wild.
In this paper, researchers document, “the first examples of viable parthenogens living in a normally sexually reproducing wild vertebrate, the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata)." (video below)
NOTE: Having survived the mass extinction of the Cretaceous period (~65 million years ago), Sawfish are now critically endangered. [2]
Newsy Science via YouTube
 |
| Image 13: Pink-wing Flying fish |
Flying fish have been
recorded stretching out their flights, with consecutive glides spanning
distances up to 400 meters. [20]
 |
| Image 14: Jaw of the Piranha |
Experts interviewed by Popular
Science estimated that stripping the flesh from a 180-pound human in
5 minutes would require approximately 300 to 500 piranhas. [27]
- Female Angler fish (video below) have a piece of dorsal spine that protrudes above their mouths like a fishing pole, the tip of which acts as an effective lure as it is made to glow by millions of bio-luminescent bacteria. [22]
- Their flexible body structure enables them to swallow prey almost twice their size. [2]
- Male Angler fish ... well, perhaps it is best if you just watch the video.
zefrank1 via YouTube
 |
| Image 15: Inflated juvenile spiny Puffer fish |
Puffer fish are believed
to be the most poisonous fish and second most poisonous vertebrate.
The neurotoxin, Tetrodotoxin is present in its liver, ovaries, intestines and skin. [21]
The neurotoxin, Tetrodotoxin is present in its liver, ovaries, intestines and skin. [21]
 |
| Image 16: Stone fish |
Stone fish are believed to be the
most venomous fish. They deliver their venom through the spines on their back.
Their sting can cause rapid swelling, tissue death, muscle weakness, and pain, excruciating pain; though death is rare. [21]
Their sting can cause rapid swelling, tissue death, muscle weakness, and pain, excruciating pain; though death is rare. [21]
- The Lungfish (video below) can live out of water for as long as 4 years. They are one of a few bony fish that are able to control their fins as land animals control their limbs. [2]
- As they sleep*, parrotfishes (video below) secrete a mucous cocoon around themselves, presumably to protect against predators and parasites. [33]
- *NOTE: While fish do not sleep in the same way that land mammals sleep, most fish do rest.
- "Research shows that fish may reduce their activity and metabolism while remaining alert to danger. Some fish float in place, some wedge themselves into a secure spot in the mud or coral, and some even locate a suitable nest. These periods of "suspended animation" may perform the same restorative functions as sleep does in people." [34]
FISH AND PAIN PERCEPTION
If fish cannot experience emotion, and pain is (at least in part) an emotion, can fish feel pain?
“To prove pain perception, it must be demonstrated that an animal’s behaviour is adversely affected by a potentially painful event and this must not be a reflex response.” [14]
In 2003, physiologist Lynne Sneddon and her team assessed the changes in behaviour and physiology of rainbow trout after administering noxious substances to the lips, with the aim of determining if they were capable of pain perception. [13][14][15]
- Following the application of the noxious substances, the trout rocked from side to side on their fins and rubbed their lips into the gravel and against the sides of the tank. Their ventilation rate almost doubled.
- Administering morphine significantly reduced the pain-related behaviours and ventilation rate, suggesting morphine was acting as a pain reliever, and that the pain-related behaviours were not simple reflexes.
- The researchers also identified nociceptors (pain receptors) on the head of the trout, "with physiological properties similar to those described in higher vertebrates."
- These receptors responded to mechanical pressures, high temperatures and acetic acid.
Dr. James D. Rose
of the University of Wyoming's Department of Zoology and Physiology has argued that in the absence
of a neocortex, reactions similar to how a human would react to pain must
instead have other causes. [31]
"Conscious awareness of sensations, emotions and pain in humans depend on our massively-developed neocortex and other specialized brain regions in the cerebral hemispheres.
Fish, in contrast, have very small cerebral hemispheres that lack neocortex. If the cerebral hemispheres of a fish are destroyed, the fish’s behavior is quite normal, because the simple behaviors of which a fish is capable (including all of its reactions to nociceptive stimuli) depend mainly on the brainstem and spinal cord. Thus, a human’s existence is dominated by the cerebral hemispheres, but a fish is a brainstem-dominated organism."
Animal
behaviorist Temple Grandin argues that fish could still have
consciousness without a neocortex because "different species can use
different brain structures and systems to handle the same functions." [32]
To which Dr. Rose counters,
"It might be argued that fish have the capacity to generate the psychological experience of pain by a different process than that occurring in the frontal lobes of the human brain, but such an argument is insupportable. The capacity to experience pain, as we know it, has required the massive expansion of our cerebral hemispheres, thus allocating large numbers of brain cells to the task of conscious experience, including the emotional reaction of pain. The small, relatively simple fish brain is fully devoted to regulating just the functions of which a fish is capable. A fish brain is simple and efficient, and capable of only a limited number of operations, much like a 1949 Volkswagen automobile." [31]
"There are a couple of problems with this. One is that it's super hard to punch anything underwater, making a good thump on the nose pretty unrealistic. Another issue: While shark noses are sensitive, their gills and eyes are much more vulnerable. Punching one in the nose probably won't do enough damage to stun it, and you've got the added problem of being a little too close for comfort to its enormous, gaping jaws."
Why Seahorses Have Square Tails / sciencenews.org / June 3, 2015
Freshwater fish threatened by acidification / http://news.sciencemag.org/ / June 29, 2015
Devastating Starfish Disease May Be Caused By Waterborne Virus / LiveScience / November 17, 2014
(I know it's not a fish)
***
FIN
REFERENCES
** Poem at the top of the page: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "A Drama of Exile", as quoted in Richard Hinckley Allen, Star-names and their meanings (1899: G. E. Stechert), oclc 1285139, p. 336
[1] http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/sea-horse/
[4] Britannica Illustrated Science Library.
2008. Fish and Amphibians. Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
[6] 2005. Fish (Eyewitness Books). New
York, NY: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
[8] http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/biology/differences-between-sharks-and-bony-fish-more-than-just-a-skeleton/
[9] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-warm-blooded-fish-discovered/
[10] Nicholas C. Wegner, Owyn E. Snodgrass, Heidi Dewar, and John R. HydeWhole-body endothermy in a mesopelagic
fish, the opah, Lampris guttatus
Science 15 May 2015: 348 (6236), 786-789. [DOI:10.1126/science.aaa8902]
[12]
[13] Conger, Cristen. "Do fish feel
pain?" 19 November 2008. HowStuffWorks.com.
<http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/fishing/fish-conservation/responsible-fishing/fish-pain.htm>
06 June 2015.
[14]
[15] Sneddon LU1, Braithwaite VA, Gentle MJ Do fishes have nociceptors? Evidence for the evolution of a vertebrate sensory system.Proc Biol Sci. 2003
Jun 7;270(1520):1115-21.
www.whozoo.org/fish/teleosts/eels.htm
[18]
http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/fangtooth.html
[20] http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/flying-fish/
[25] Sheepshead
(Archosargus probatocephalus)". Tpwd.state.tx.us.
Retrieved 2013-01-04.
[26] "No
Braces Necessary for the Sheepshead Fish With Human-like Teeth".
thefeaturedcreature.com.
[27] http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-piranhas-180951948/?no-ist
[29]
[31] James D. Rose (2002). "Do Fish Feel
Pain?".
[32] Grandin,
Temple; Johnson, Catherine (2005). Animals in Translation. New York,
New York: Scribner. pp. 183–184. ISBN 0-7432-4769-8.
[34]http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/fish-sleep.html
[35] http://www.wired.com/2014/11/creature-feature-10-fun-facts-hagfish/
[36] http://www.ncaquariums.com/ask-the-aquarium/why-do-fish-swim-in-schools
[38] Kershner, Kate. "Should I
really punch animals in the nose when attacked?" 18 February
2015. HowStuffWorks.com.
<http://animals.howstuffworks.com/wild-animals/should-i-really-punch-animals-in-the-nose-when-attacked.htm>
07 June 2015.
[39] Zoologger: Fitness freak fish that climbs waterfalls / New Scientist / January 2014 / Abigail Beall
[39] Zoologger: Fitness freak fish that climbs waterfalls / New Scientist / January 2014 / Abigail Beall
Giant
Sawfish Have Virgin Births, Rewrite Biology Textbooks / LiveScience /
June 1, 2015.
Most
Commonly Asked Fish Questions / Florida Museum of Natural
History
IMAGE CREDITS
FISH ANIMATED GIF
FISH ANIMATED GIF
SOURCE: liburgerty.tumblr.com
Figure 1: "Lampanyctodes hectoris
(Hector's lanternfish)2". Licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0 via Wikimedia
Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lampanyctodes_hectoris_(Hector%27s_lanternfish)2.png#/media/File:Lampanyctodes_hectoris_(Hector%27s_lanternfish)2.png
Figure 2: "Removing a red snapper
otolith" by Unknown - NOAA FishWatch (see Gallery). Licensed under Public
Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Removing_a_red_snapper_otolith.jpg#/media/File:Removing_a_red_snapper_otolith.jpg
Figure 3: "Electric-eel2". Licensed
under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electric-eel2.jpg#/media/File:Electric-eel2.jpg
Figure 4: "Chionodraco
rastrospinosus" by Valerie Loeb -
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/fish8708.htm. Licensed under Public Domain
via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chionodraco_rastrospinosus.jpg#/media/File:Chionodraco_rastrospinosus.jpg
Figure 5: "School of Pterocaesio
chrysozona in Papua New Guinea 1" by Brocken Inaglory - Own work. Licensed
under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:School_of_Pterocaesio_chrysozona_in_Papua_New_Guinea_1.jpg#/media/File:School_of_Pterocaesio_chrysozona_in_Papua_New_Guinea_1.jpg
Figure 6: "Anoplogaster cornuta 2012"
by © Citron /. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anoplogaster_cornuta_2012.jpg#/media/File:Anoplogaster_cornuta_2012.jpg
Figure 7: Photograph by MAX
GIBBS, GETTY IMAGES
Figure 8: "Hippocampus hystrix (Spiny
seahorse) yellow" by Nhobgood Nick Hobgood - Own work. Licensed under CC
BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_hystrix_(Spiny_seahorse)_yellow.jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_hystrix_(Spiny_seahorse)_yellow.jpg
Figure 9: Image from http://www.crystalbeachlocalnews.com/to-catch-the-archosargus-probatocephalus/
Figure 10: "Gravure de pluie de
poissons" by en:Olaus Magnus (1490-1557) - 16th century engraving from
en:A Description of the Northern PeoplesPreviously uploaded to fr.wikipedia;
description page is/was here.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia
Commons -
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gravure_de_pluie_de_poissons.jpg#/media/File:Gravure_de_pluie_de_poissons.jpg
Figure 11: The Opah fish / NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries
Science Center
Figure 12: "Whale shark Georgia
aquarium" by User:Zac Wolf (original), en:User:Stefan (cropping) -
en:Image:Whale shark Georgia aquarium.jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via
Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whale_shark_Georgia_aquarium.jpg#/media/File:Whale_shark_Georgia_aquarium.jpg
Figure 13: "Pink-wing flying fish" by
http://www.moc.noaa.gov/mt/las/photos2.htm. Licensed under Public Domain via
Wikimedia Commons -
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pink-wing_flying_fish.jpg#/media/File:Pink-wing_flying_fish.jpg
Figure 14: "Jaw of the piranha" by
Andrewself at English Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia
Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaw_of_the_piranha.jpg#/media/File:Jaw_of_the_piranha.jpg
Figure 15: "Arothron meleagris by NPS
1" by NPS photo - Bill Eichenlaub -
http://www.nps.gov/archive/npsa/NPSAfish/fish_pops/tetraodon/puffer04.htm.
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arothron_meleagris_by_NPS_1.jpg#/media/File:Arothron_meleagris_by_NPS_1.jpg
Figure 16: "Stone Fish at AQWA
SMC2006". Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stone_Fish_at_AQWA_SMC2006.jpg#/media/File:Stone_Fish_at_AQWA_SMC2006.jpg
"Abe Vigoda Fish Barney Miller 1977"
by ABC Television - eBay itemphoto frontphoto back. Licensed under Public
Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abe_Vigoda_Fish_Barney_Miller_1977.JPG#/media/File:Abe_Vigoda_Fish_Barney_Miller_1977.JPG
2.png#/media/File:Lampanyctodes_hectoris_(Hector%27s_lanternfish)2.png){kind=link}
_yellow.jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_hystrix_(Spiny_seahorse)_yellow.jpg){kind=link}
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