Lecture1 Fishclassificationand

thepropertiesofwater
 Introduction

Fish Fishes
Introduction
Whatisafish
'What is a fish'??WeallusethetermFishregularly
We all use the term Fish regularly
butthetermfishisnotanaturalgroupofanimals
in the way the terms Reptiles or Birds are
inthewaythetermsReptilesorBirdsare.
Whenscientistsarrangelivingthingsintogroupsforclassificationtheytrytomakethe
classificationsystemtheyuserepresenttheactualrelationshipsbetweenthoselivingthings
andnotjustgroupthingsthatlooksimilar.

Simply,alllivingthingsaredividedupintoaseriesofclassificationsdelineatedas:
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus and species (but you get sub and super
Kingdom,Phylum,Class,Order,Family,Genusandspecies(butyougetsubandsuper
versionsofalltheseclassifications).

Themorecategoriesthattwoorganismssharethemorecloselytheyarerelated.

Theterm'Fish'doesnotfitintoanyofthesecategories.Thisisbecauseitisageneralterm
notascientificone.
 Modern Systematics
ModernSystematics
Pleisiomorphy an ancestral or primitive character
Apomorphy a derived or specialised character.
Synapomorphy trait that is shared by two or more taxa and their most recent
ancestor

Cladistics uses synapomorphies to construct a cladogram

 Archosauria
A
expanndedpneumatic
sinuseesintheirskulls

Itisnotaboutlooks
Thetermfish isactuallyusedtodescribeany
p p y
animalthatispartoftheSubphylum
VertebratabutisnotamemberoftheClasses
p p
Amphibia,Reptilia,Aves(Birds)orMammalia.
TheSubphylumVertebrata
Class CommonName
Myxini Hagfish(Fish)
Cephalspidomorphi Lampreys(Fish)
SharksandRays
Chondrichthyes
etc.(Fish)
TroutandSalmon
Osteichthyes
etc.(Fish)
Amphibia Amphibians
Reptilia Snakes,Turtlesetc.
Aves Birds
Mammalia Cats,CowsandPeople
Threeextant(stilllivingandantonymofextinct)groupsoffishes:

1. Jawlessfishes(onlyvertebrateswithoutjaws)
1 Jawless fishes (only vertebrates without jaws)
2. Jawedcartilagenous fishes(skeletonispredominantlycartilage)
3. Jawedbonyfishes(skeletonispredominantlybone)
All classifications have two SUPERCLASSES with the number of CLASSES differing between them.
Note : SUBCLASS is also known as an ORDER

Classification after Nelson (1994)

Nelson, J.S. (1994). Fishes of the World (3rd ed.). J. Wiley and Sons, Canada.
Bold denotes not found in Africa

PHYLUM Chordata: possess a notochord (slim and flexible rod that supports the body) at some point in their lives
SUBPHYLUM Vertebrata: possess vertebral column of backbone.
SUPERCLASS Agnatha: Jawless vertebrates (all are fish) .
SUPERCLASS Gnathostomata: Vertebrates with jaws, including fish.
CLASS Chondrichthyes: cartilagenous fish
SUBCLASS Elasmobranchii: slitlike gill openings.
SUBCLASS Holocephali: Chimaera (ratfish).
CLASS Actinopterygii: ray-finned fishes
SUBCLASS Chondrostei: primative ray-finned fish: sturgeons, paddlefish, bichirs.
SUBCLASS Neopterygii:
p yg modern ray-finned
y fish: g
gars,, bowfins
DIVISION Teleostei: advanced neopterygians.
CLASS Sarcopterygii: fleshy-finned fishes and tetrapods.
SUBCLASS Coelacanthimorpha: coelacanths
SUBCLASS Dipnoi: lungfishes
SUBCLASS Tetrapoda

NOTE the absence of the CLASS Osteichthyes this has been condensed into the Actinopterygii
Synapomorphies to construct a cladogram vertebrates including fishes

(Jawed vertebrates)
(Lobe finned fish and tetrapods)
 Binomialnomenclature
Binomialnomenclature: atwonamesystemfor
writingscientificnames.Thegenus
iti i tifi Th nameiswritten
i itt
first(alwaysCapitalized).
p
Thespecies nameiswrittensecond(nevercapitalized).
( p )
Bothwordsareitalicizedorunderlined.
"Formal"scientificnamesshouldhaveathirdpart,the
authority.Theauthorityisnotitalicizedorunderlined.
th it Th th it i t it li i d d li d
AnexampleisArgyrosomus coronus(Griffithsand
Heemstra 1995)
Theauthoritycanbewrittenasanabbreviationofthe
lastnameofthepersonresponsiblefornamingthe
organism.
organism
 Describing species
Describingspecies
ExcerptfromBurchellsworkdescribing
Cl i gariepinus
Clarias i i
Modernsystematics ismorecomplicated
YYouneedtocomparethenewspecieswiththetypesof
d h i ih h f
itsclosestrelative(museums).
diagnosedifferences(morphologicalormolecular),developa
keyforidentification.
Namethenewspecies(etymology)
Describeoccurrenceandecology
Describe occurrence and ecology
Describethematerialexamined
 ANATOMY OF FISHES
ANATOMYOFFISHES
Thereareroughly28000knownspeciesof
fish today but many more are being described
fishtodaybutmanymorearebeingdescribed
everyyear.
Withinthose28000speciesthereishuge
Within those 28 000 species there is huge
variationinmorphology
Butwhichfactorscontroltheshapethatafishtakes?

Manyfactorsareinvolvedbutperhapsthemostimportantis
Many factors are involved but perhaps the most important is
wherethefishlives WATER

Anyunderstandingoffishesandtheiranatomyrequiressome
understandingofthismedium

Waterimposesorrelaxesconstraintsonbasicphysiological,
morphologicalandecologicaldevelopments. whatdoImean
whenIsaythat?Givemesomeexamples.
h I h ? Gi l
 Water is the common medium
Wateristhecommonmedium
Fish
Fisheat,liveandreproduceinH
eat live and reproduce in H2O
Thesehabitatsareofteninterconnected
seaestuaryfreshwater
f h
Theycanbecomeisolated canleadtohigh
diversity
 It provides stability and predictability
Itprovidesstabilityandpredictability
Stableandconstant(butdependsonsizeandSA:VR)
T
Temperatureisbuffered
i b ff d
Supportsfood
Allowsexternalfertilization

www.reefresiliance.org
 Universalsolvent
Complexmixofgases,saltsandminerals
Absorbedthroughgillsandeventhroughskin
Absorbed through gills and even through skin
WaterhaslowO2 saturationgillshavetobe
efficient to extracting it
efficienttoextractingit.
Thereispassivediffusionacrossmembranes
i
inandoutoffishfromfreshwaterand
d t f fi h f f h t d
saltwater thereforeplacesconstraints fish
needtoosmoregulate.
dt l t
 Density
Itis800Xdenserthanair!(caused
development of streamlining) most are a
developmentofstreamlining)mostarea
torpedoshape
HighlyviscoustoobjectswithHighSA:VR
Highly viscous to objects with High SA:VR
Providesbouyancy support(ifthereis
additionalairoroilinthebody)
dd l l h b d ) fishdont
f hd
needlargeheavybonestocounteractgravity

www.safmc.net
 Incompressibility
AirisaliquidasisH20.Movementofafluidthereforecancreatelift
H20isalmostnoncompressible>dragandturbulence
Sensorysystemscandetectimmediatepressurechanges>lateral
line
Laterallinehighlydevelopedinfishesinhabitingturbidwater
Lateral line highly developed in fishes inhabiting turbid water
 Incompressibility
NB
NBforfeedingandbreathing
for feeding and breathing
Suction(extensionofmouthandoperculum)canbe
createdusingapipetteeffect(SEAHORSES)
Breathingintermsoframmingwateracrossgills
Incompressibilityallowsforhearing>otolithsinmiddle
ear and Weberian apparatus
earandWeberian
Each10mindepth=1atm thereforeatgreaterdepths
highpressurerequireslesscalcificationinskeletonand
g p q
reducedneedforbouyancy
 Productivity and diversity
Productivityanddiversity
Lowlightpenetrability
Low light penetrability
>1000mthereisnolight
productivityisrestrictedtoeuphotic
productivity is restricted to euphotic zone
Stronghorizontaldistributionoffishes
ContinentalshelfhashighdiversityBUTlow
C ti t l h lf h hi h di it BUT l
abundance
ENDlecture1