Outside Fish Parts

Body Shape By looking at the overall shape of a fish, you can get an idea of where they live within the aquatic environment, how they swim and what they typically eat

Surface swimmers Fish that live at the surface usually have a flattened back and an upturned mouth.

Open water/ slow movers Fish that live in open water have round bodies very compressed side to side. Cast almost no shadow, invisible in the water Turn fast – live in groups Mouths for eating tiny plankton or filtering water

Bottom fish Two forms of fish Bottom that eat down Bottom that eat up Mouth direction and eyes tells you what it is eating

Bottom fish – eat down Round bodies that are bottom oriented but able to swim along it They are mostly bottom feeders – some eat live things, some just the waste. The teeth would let you know “hide” by being sand/rock colored and tend to move slow to “sniff” around and not attract attention. Tend to have small eyes

Bottom fish – eat up Flattened bodies Face is orientated up Sharp teeth Hide and “strike” up at things.

Fast swimming, open water In fast moving waters a slender, torpedo shape is better Speed to run down prey. Except for shark they tend to swallow whole, no teeth

In and around “structure” General “all around” function. Fat and Wide Bodies “generallist” Mouth and teeth could tell you what they eat. Colored like what they live around

Lie and wait, hide and lunge Like “in structure”, but more specialized for lunging out at things. All tail power focused posterior, like an arrow! Not good long distance swimmers.

Eel-like body This long body shape is perfect for moving through small spaces: especially holes and caves But it is a poor swimmer in open water Type of mouth and teeth would tell you what it eats.

Mouth types tell you where it eats

Superior Mouth Points up Feeds at the surface Often paired with a flat back

Terminal Mouth Located at the end of the body Usually feeds midwater “Normal” mouth Eat things in front of them

Inferior Mouth Located ventrally Usually bottom feeders Often accompanied by barbels Used for locating food

Teeth tell you WHAT it eats: NO teeth or tiny “sandpaper” teeth = swallow whole, teeth just keep it in Flat blunt =crushing something’s shell Sharp but broad teeth = chipping things off Carnivore teeth = meat Feathery teeth = filtering tiny plankton/algae/etc.

Caudal Fin: Tail, tells us how it swims. The caudal fin, or tail, is used for propulsion, or movement, in most fish species.

Lunate Tails Fishes with lunate are strong, fast swimmers. They are capable of swimming for long periods of time

Forked Tails Fish that spend a lot of time swimming often have forked tails, but they are not as fast as the “lunate” tails.

Truncate and Rounded Tails Fishes with truncate or rounded caudal fins are usually strong, slow swimmers. Fishes that live near the reef often have this type of tail because it aids in maneuverability. Rounded

Heterocercal Tail A tail with a long upper lobe and a shorter lower lobe Common in Sharks Provides more thrust on top of fin than bottom, helps keep sharks up in the water.

Eel-like Tail The propulsive force for a fish with this type of tail begins in the trunk of the body and moves as a wave down through the tail. This shape is great for fitting into holes and tunnels.

Tarpon Megalops atlanticus

Yellow Tail Snapper Ocyurus chrysurus

Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrhinchus

Long Nose Gar Lepisosteus osseus http://rol.freenet.columbus.oh.us/aquatic_long.gif

Rock fish

Sheepshead (convict fish)

Yellowfin Tuna Thunnus albacares

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus

Flat head (yellow) Catfish

Majestic Angelfish Pomacanthus navarchus

Juvenile Tiger Shark Galeocerdo cuvier http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/TigerShark/juvenile.JPG

Ocellated Moray Eel Gymnothorax saxicola

Parrot fish