Petty, Introduction to Fishes

Acknowledgement

Introduction to Fishes: Basic Anatomy and Physiology

Denise Petty, DVM pettyd@ufl.edu

Dr. Daryl Parkyn, Research Assistant Professor, UF Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

Platos Remark on Fishes

Plato was said to consider fish as senseless beingswhich have received the most remote habitations as a punishment for their extreme ignorance

What is a Fish?
A fish is a vertebrate that possesses a cranium, is aquatic throughout its life, and relies mainly on gills for gas exchange and lack fully formed limbs
Exception: mudskippers (Gobiidae)

http://www.earthisland.org/map/Images/mudskipper.jpg

http://www.digimorph.org/specimens/Necturus_maculosus/mudpuppy.jpg

Fishes
Of 45,000 vertebrate species, almost half are fishes More than 500 million years of evolution, adaptive radiation of fish has resulted in incredible diversity of structure and function

Size
Large as whale shark (12.1 m) or Small as some gobies (0.008 m)

http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/SmallFish.asp

http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/about/communications/backgro unders/images20030615/whale-shark-cc4-200306-480.jpg

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Shape
Streamlined cruisers Shaped for camouflage on ocean floor
http://www.naturalsciences.org/education/deepse a/images/flounder.jpg

Fish Fins
Dorsal

Pectoral Pelvic Anal

Caudal

http://www.lib.noaa.gov/docaqua/presentations/hubbsseaworld_files/ images/Image34.png

http://www.stanford.edu/~bhackett/nautilus-200508/pages/flounder.html

Catfishes, Characins, others

Dorsal Adipose http://fishbase.com/images/species/Hyani_u1.jpg

Pectoral Pelvic Anal

Caudal

http://fishbase.com/images/species/Icfur_u0.jpg

Other Fishes

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/Descript/LargemouthBass/lbass.JPG

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Why are Fins Important?

Assist in locating coelom
Look for the anal fin; the anus is located just in front

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/img/Apteronotus_al bifrons_4.jpg

http://fishbase.com/images/species/Heacu_u2.jpg

http://fishbase.com/images/species/Atspa_u1.jpg

Reproduction
No other class of vertebrates has as many strategies of repro as fish Mouthbrooders Cave spawners Substrate spawners Bubblenest builders Egg scatterers

Fertilization: External & Internal

External fertilization more common Internal fertilization occurs in
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/c/colemanr/gifs/Hilber_Sam_im ages/Convicts_Spawning.jpg http://www.scotcat.com/articles/syno03.jpg

Sharks, rays, skates Poeciliids (mollies, guppies, platys)

Anal fin of male is modified into a gonopodium

Anableps Some others

http://tribbles-place.asarianintl.org/Graphics/fish/bubble-nest.png

http://www.aslo.org/photopost/data/508/151tagged_bassmed.jpg

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Mosquito fish Gambusia, a Poeciliid

Male

Respiration
Which came first, lungs or gas bladder?

Female

http://fishbase.com/images/thumbnails/jpg/tn_Gahol_f0.jpg

Respiration, Primitive and Not So Primitive Fishes

Lungfish Bichirs Gar, bowfin Snakehead Air breathing catfishes
http://fishbase.org/images/species/Clbat_u2.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/chappleby/index.html

http://fishbase.org/images/species/Poorn_u2.gif
http://fishbase.org/images/species/Chasi_u1.jpg

Respiration, Advanced Fishes

Gills Special modifications

http://www.scientificart.com/GIF%20files/Veterinary/fishgill.jpg

http://www.oup.co.uk/images/oxed/children/yoes/natu re/fishgills.jpg

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Respiration, Modifications
Labyrinth organ in the anabantids
Betta

Respiration in Larval Fish

Skin is more important than the gills (cutaneous respiration)

http://pbskids.org/backyardjungle/files.php/206563_discov ery_f.jpg

Gourami
http://www.geocities.com/dchiayee/labyrinth.jp g
http://fishbase.org/images/species/Trtri_u2.jpg

Physostomous Teleost Gar, Bowfin

Erythrinus (characiformes)

Neoceratodus (Australian lungfish)

Polypterus, Erpetoichthys (bichirs) Protopterus, Lepidosiren (African and South American lungfishes Tetrapods

From: Graham, Air-Breathing Fishes

Gas Bladder (AKA swim bladder, air bladder)

Physostomous

Physoclistous

From: Bonds Biology of Fishes, 3rd. Ed.

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Gas Bladders - Presence

Gas Bladders - Absence

http://fishbase.org/images/species/Stcas_u0.jpg

Circulation and the Heart

Circulation in a Bony Fish

From: Bonds Biology of Fishes, 3rd. Ed.

From: Bonds Biology of Fishes, 3rd. Ed.

Gastrointestinal Tract
Stomach
Not present in cyprinids (danios, barbs, rasboras, goldfish, koi)

Why Is My Fish Thin?

Water quality Infectious disease Foreign body

Pyloric cecae
Present in centrarchids, salmonids, tetras, marine angels, perch

Intestine
Varies in length depending on diet (carnivores vs. herbivores)

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Kidneys
Fish are only vertebrates with kidneys able to produce urine by glomerular and aglomerular means
Glomerulus intertwined group of capillaries, filters out waste products

Anterior vs. posterior kidney

Posterior kidney has primary renal function Anterior kidney - primary hematopoiesis occurs here

In some fishes, two kidneys are fused

Hematopoiesis occurs in anterior portion

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Nephron
Renal corpuscle = glomerulus

A Little Fish Physiology

Osmoregulation
Maintain electrolytes, etc. while living in a hypotonic or hypertonic environment

Freshwater fishes
Hyperosmotic to their environment

Marine fishes
Hypo-osmotic to their environment
From: Bonds Biology of Fishes, 3rd. Ed.

Freshwater Fish

Marine Fish

From: Bonds Biology of Fishes, 3rd. Ed.

From: Bonds Biology of Fishes, 3rd. Ed.

Are fish cold blooded?

Warm-blooded vs. cold-blooded: solely based on body
temperature (some cold-blooded animals have blood that is warmer than their environment

Exceptions:
Albacore tuna can maintain body temp 12oC higher than ambient temp. Countercurrent circulation

Homeotherm vs. poikilotherm: Divides animals based on whether body temp is constant or variable (changing with environmental temperature) Some poikilotherms maintain constant body temp Endotherm vs. ectotherm Endotherm: internal source of heat Ectotherm: external source of heat

Marlins and billfish have a modified eye muscle that generates heat Some fishes have modified fin muscles that generate heat

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Questions?

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