Osteichthyes

Bony Fish classification

KINGDOM: ANIMALIA
PHYLUM: CHORDATA
SUBPHYLUM: VERTEBRATA
CLASS: OSTEICHTHYES
Class Osteichthyes

 “Bony Fish”
 Skeleton made of
bone
 Thin, flexible scales
Class Osteichthyes

 Operculum – a gill
cover that protects
the gills

 Swim Bladder – a
gas-filled sac above
the stomach allows
for adjustments in
buoyancy
Subclass Dipnoi

 “Lungfish”
 Jaw fused to brain
case
 Caudal, dorsal, and
anal fin connected
 Pectoral fins long
and tubular
 Air breathing organ
attached to
esophogus
Subclass Crossopterygii

 “Coelacanths”
 Cosmoid scale
 Two dorsal fins and
fleshy paired fins with
skeletal elements
 Thought to be extinct
till found
 Sometimes grouped
with lungfish in Subclass
Sarcopterygii
Subclass Actinopterygii

 Ray-finned fishes
 Most familiar fish
 Have fin rays, swim
bladders, and a
symmetrically lobed
caudal fin
 Subclass Actinopterygii

Superorder Holostean Superorder

Superorder Teleostei
Chondrostei
Garpikes Bass
Freshwater Sturgeon
Bowfins Goldfish
Bichirs
Guppies
Paddlefish
Seahorses
Reedfish
Sturgeons
Tuna
Etc.
Superorder Holostean
 Bowfins and gars
 Fin arrangements make
for more efficient
swimmers
 Ossified bones
 Bowfins have many-rayed
dorsal fins and can
breathe air.
 In gars, the tail is still
heterocercal but less so
than in the
chondrosteans
Superorder Chondrostei
 have a partly cartilaginous
skeleton,
 a heterocercal tail, a
spiracle,
 an intestinal spiral valve
 Lack bone
 Sometimes classified with
sharks
 Though more in common
with the teleosts
Superorder Telostei  Including not only torpedo-
shaped fish built for speed,
teleosts can be flattened
vertically or horizontally, be
elongated cylinders or take
specialized shapes as in
anglerfish and seahorses
 Most prolific class
 dominate the seas from
pole to pole and inhabit the
ocean depths, estuaries,
rivers, lakes and even
swamps.
 96% of all fish
 Symmetrical caudal fin
 Spines on fins
Superorder Ostariophysi: Anterior vertebrae
specialized and associated with anterior ribs,
basisphenoid absent, orbitosphenoid present.
carp, loaches, roach, catfish.
Superorder Protacanthopterygii: No spines, adipose fin,
light organs • Barrel eyes (Opisthoproctidae) have
transparent dome, Posterior dorsal and anal fins • No
adipose fin • No pyloric caeca, trout, powan.
Superorder Stenopterygii: Adipose fin present or
absent, some species with both a dorsal and a
ventral adipose fin; swim bladder without duct or
absent entirely; maxilla the dominant bone of the
upper jaw; some species with greatly enlarged,
depressable teeth; anterior vertebrae sometimes
unossified; bristlemouth, anglemouth, dragonfish,
hatchetfish.
Superorder Scopelomorpha,: The most prominent and
widespread of these being the pearl-like photophores
that are arrayed in characteristic patterns over their
bodies. Blackchins and Lanternfishes
Superorder Paracathopterygii: They range in length
from just a few centimeters to roughly 2 meters.
Discrete group largely on the basis of a distinctive
musculature of the jaws, the structure of the caudal
(that is, at the tail end) vertebrae, and the placement
of the pelvic fins. Atlantic cod, grenadier, anglerfish.
Superorder Acanthopterygii: spiny fins, the largest and most
diverse group of fishes; they make up 60% of all fish species.
The name indicates to the presence of spines either in front of
the soft dorsal fin or incorporated into the anterior part of the
dorsal fin or existing as a separate first dorsal fin. The spines
protect them from predators - by increasing their size - and in
some cases are associated with venomous glands.
Acanthopterygians scales are ctenoid with small comblike
projections on the back. flying fish, rock bass, angelfish,
mudskipper, eelpout, seahorses, remora, weever fish, porcupine
fish and cowfish, sunfish, flatfish.
Body shape

1) fusiform
a) torpedo-shaped
b) allows minimal drag while swimming
c) best shape for a pelagic cruise tuna
2) compressed
a) laterally flattened (e.g., butterflyfishes & surgeonfishes)
b) allows for maneuverability in surge environments
c) useful for demersal fishes that hover above the reef
d) exception seen in flatfishes that lie on one side of the
body as benthic fishes
3) elongated or attenuated
a) long body (e.g., trumpetfish, cornetfish, eels)
b) seen in demersal fish that either hover motionless
in the water)
c) seen also in benthic fishes (e.g., eels) that hide in
holes in the reef
4) depressed
a) dorso-ventrally flattened (e.g., frogfishes,
scorpionfishes & gobies)
b) broad ventral surface facilitates resting on the
bottom
c) seen in many benthic fishes
 Body Coloration

1) source of color
a) pigment color - chromatophores for yellows,
reds, oranges, browns, & blacks
b) structural color - iridophores (reflection) &
light refraction for blues, silvers, & rainbows
2) Patterns
a) countershading
1) dark blue or black dorsally, white or silvery
ventrally
2) results in blue water "camouflage“
3) observed most frequently in pelagic cruisers
b) Camouflage
1) matching the background coloration
2) usually involves having irregular dark blotches and
spots
3) typically seen in benthic fishes, especially benthic
ambush predators (e.g., frogfishes, gobies, & many
scorpionfishes)
4) some fishes (e.g., flatfishes) may exhibit rapid color
changes in response to different backgrounds
c) disruptive coloration
1) color pattern breaks up the silhouette of the fish
2) may involve dark bars across the eye and tail
region
3) seen in many demersal fishes such as
butterfly fishes
d) bars and stripes
1) bars are vertical (e.g., manini)
2) stripes are horizontal (e.g., ta'ape)
3) seen frequently in schooling demersal fishes
4) may confuse potential predators by making it
difficult to select individual prey from the school
e) misdirection
1) false eye spots, etc.
2) observed in many demersal butterfly fishes
f) Advertising coloration
1) bright, obvious color patterns
2) possible functions
a) advertising a cleaning station (e.g., cleaner
wrasses)
b) advertising a warning (e.g., nohu)
c) advertising for mates (e.g., male
parrotfishes)

Hawaiian cleaner
wrasse
Nohu
g) mimicry
1) imitating other creatures
2) seen in a few demersal and benthic fishes
3) examples
a) blenny (Aspidontus taeniatus) mimics
cleaner wrasses

b) shortnose wrasse mimics Potter's angel

which sports a defensive spine
h) Uniform red coloration
1) most often observed in deep-dwelling or night
active fishes
2) examples include aweoweo & squirrel fishes
 i) noctural versus diurnal color changes
j) male versus female color differences
k) juvenile versus adult color differences

Stoplight parrotfish Dragon wrasse

Bluehead wrasse
Fish Scales
Scale and caudal fin types
Fish Age and Growth by Scales
 Use growth rings
 Annulus
 3 growth rings
on this scale
 Fish is 3 years
old, going on 4
 3 yr old age class
Fins

 Upper and lower lobes

of Caudal Fin almost
always the same size
 Fin rays – rigid spines
that support a thin
membrane
Caudal Fin Shape
Mouth & Jaws

 Mouth of most bony

fish is terminal or
anterior end

 Overall jaw
movement is more
than that of sharks
with teeth that are
fused to jaw
Feeding

 Most bony fish are

carnivores
 Well developed
teeth used for
capture and
holding
 Roof of mouth, gill
rakers, and pharynx
may have teeth to
help hold
Feeding

 Grazers – fish that

feed primarily on
seaweeds and
other plants

 Some develop
beaks to help
scrape off algae or
pieces of coral
Feeding

 Filter feeders filter

plankton through
their gills

 Tend to be smaller,
schooling fish such
as herrings,
anchovies, and
sardines
Mouth continued`
Mouth

Different shapes and positions

 Superior - mouth oriented up fish often a surface feeder
 Terminal - mouth at anterior end, often a midwater feeder
 Inferior - mouth oriented downward, often a bottom feeder
 Subterminal- mouth underneath fish, bottom feeder
 Protrusible - mouth can alter shape to be more useful in
suction feeding, can be seen in any of the above but less
common among inferior mouths
Mouth adaptations
Terminal
 Placed at the middle/end of the
head
 Chase their food
 Aggressive predators

Inferior
•Down turned
•Feeds on the bottom
•Often scavenges or grazes
Superior Position
 Upturned and near the top
 Typically a predator or strainer
Stomach and Intestines
 Break down (digest) food and absorb nutrients
 Piscivorous (eat other fish) have fairly short intestines because
such food is easy to chemically break down and digest
 Herbivorous (eat plants) require longer intestines because
plant matter is usually tough and fibrous and more difficult to
break down into usable components
Pyloric Caeca

 Organ with fingerlike projections located near the

junction of the stomach and the intestines
 Function is not entirely understood, but it is
known to secrete enzymes that aid in digestion
 May function to absorb digested food, or do both

Vent
Site of waste elimination from the fish’s body
Liver
 Assists in digestion by secreting enzymes that break
down fats
 Also serves as a storage area for fats and carbohydrates
 Important in the destruction of old blood cells and in
maintaining proper blood chemistry, as well as playing a
role in nitrogen (waste) excretion