The wonderful Glass Octopus. Living at depths of around 3000 ft and only being about a foot long, these strange little creatures are rarely seen by scientists.
The body shape of a fish can tell you a lot about it! It can tell you where they like to hang out, how they hunt, what they eat, and more!
Let's use the Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) as an example!
Based off the rounded caudal fin (the "tail"), this fish is not a very fast swimmer
Having the dorsal fin and anal fin right near the end of the fish's body suggests it is an ambush predator
The flat head suggests it hunts at the surface
The upturned, large mouth suggests it catches its prey from below
Arowana are ambush predators that hunt at the surface!
They don't need to go very far very fast, hence the rounded caudal fin (which is the slowest moving fin)
Having posterior dorsal and anal fins are a common trait amongst ambush predator
They primarily hunt at the surface! They will sit near the surface and grab small fish, bugs, crustaceans, and even occasionally a bird!
4. Fish that catch their prey from below sometimes do it via suction. They'll open their large mouth, and as the water gets sucked in, so does anything in the water. And the larger the mouth, more water will more quickly fill into the mouth, catching larger and faster prey
There are four types of fish scales!
Cycloid scales are thin, overlap, and flexible. They're found on primitive teleosts (like minnows and carp).
Ctenoid scales have small, backwards pointed scales (known as cterns) make the fish more hydrodynamic and faster. They're found on Advanced Ctenoids (like perch and sunfish).
Ganoid scales are thick, diamond-shaped, and mostly non-overlapping. They're found on Chondrostei (like sturgeons and paddlefish).
Placoid scales are spikey and tooth-like with nerves. These are found on Chondrichthyes (like sharks and rays).
Ichthyology Notes 3/?
There are three morphologies of dorsal fins: nearly divided, continuous, and clearly divided.
Ichthyology Notes 1/?
I'd love some lemon shark facts π
Lemon Shark or Negaprion brevirostris
They get their name from their yellowish brown coloring. Lemon sharks, unlike the lone-shark stereotype, enjoy hanging out in groups! They even have preferred individuals to hang out with!
Lemon sharks are also one of the most well-understood shark species and this is because they do well in captivity. Additionally, most of our knowledge of shark physiology and biology stems from studies of lemon sharks!
Unfortunately, this species is nearly threatened; this is mostly due to overfishing. They're not only caught as bycatch, but are a target for some fisheries. Their meat, skin, and squalene are used for human consumption. It's estimated that between 70-90% of shark squalene harvested each year is used in cosmetics. (Make sure to do your research before buying makeup). To harvest the amount of squalene used for our consumption, almost 3 million sharks are killed every year. But there's a great new alternative source that's gaining traction: olives!
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