MSC Biology of Fishes at NEAq
Week 3: B. Classes of Fishes Lamprey Chondrichthyes Osteichthyes
3 classes of vertebrates = jawless, cartilaginous, bony
Class Chondrichthyes = “cartilaginous fishes” Week 3 vertebrae skeleton cartilage no bone jaws paired fins
Distinguishing CharactersProcesses skeleton fins fin rays scales jaws teeth heart intestine respiration regulation sensory reception reproduction
skeleton
fins
ceratotrichia fin rays dermal origin branching, segmentation no branching, no segmentation lepidotrichia epidermal origin
s/b ceratotrichia text error in 5 th edition (p. 257) bonus point
PLACOID scales enamel/dentine enamel/bone = teeth
dermal Figure 2.3 epidermal and dermal
Speedo Fastskin designed by 10x Olympic medalist Gary Hall, Jr placoid scales
jaws and teeth tiger shark
Chondrichthyes jaw loosely connected
Jaw
teeth Chondrichthyes embedded, replaced
serially replaced ~30,000 teeth avg./life modified scales
great white Carcharodon carcharius tooth height ~ body length
Carcharodon C. megalodonC. carcharius megatooth great white ~6 cm ~17 cm
1:100 ratio tooth enamel height (cm) ≈ total body length (m) megatooth shark Miocene 16 to 1.6 MYA
jaw reconstruction of extinct megatooth shark Carcharadon megalodon 1909 (3x too large) recent SI estimate
Carcharodon megalodon mechanical megatooth “Bruce” Amityville, New England by Peter Benchley, 1974
heart pericardium:rigidsoft
intestine
Distinguishing CharactersProcesses skeleton fins fin rays scales jaws teeth heart intestine respiration regulation sensory reception reproduction
Respiration spiracles eyes electroreceptors nares 5 gill slits (6, 7)
great white shark gill arch ~ gill slit
ram ventilation
Regulation: ions retain nitrogen waste = [seawater]
OsteichthyesChondrichthyesBirds Nitrogen waste:
lipid-filled liver 1/3 of body wt 90% oil = buoyancy at any pressure = food reserve Regulation: buoyancy
Sensory Systems spiracles eyes electroreceptors nares 5 gill slits (6, 7)
photoreception tapetum lucidum (choroid layer) color vision lens muscles
chemoreception 1 drop of blood in Olympic-size pool most sensitive to proteins
mechanoreception low frequency sounds
electroreception Stefano Lorenzini Italy, 1678 AC muscle DC wounding
perpendicular forces
sexually dimorphic male female Reproduction cloaca anal and urogenital opening
myxopterygia
internal fertilization
embryo development external internal nutrient sources yolk placenta eggs embryos no larval stage
oviparity eggs develop external ~40%
“live” ovoviviparity eggs develop internal
viviparity young develops internal
life history strategy large size long life late maturity infrequent mating long gestation few large young