how to cold- read a fish. what is a fish, anyway? vertebrates backbone cns with brain bilateral...
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How to Cold-Read a Fish
What is a fish, anyway?
VertebratesBackboneCNS with brainBilateral
symmetrySexual
reproduction
Fishes have:JawsGillsPaired finsScales (usually) Cold-blood
(almost always)Fish vs. Fishes
How to memorize 25,000 fish…Don’t memorize…read
themTake clues from:
Body shapeFinsMouthSensesColor/patternsHabitat
Fins on the football
Fusiform
Paired finsPectoral finsPelvic fins
Unpaired finsDorsalAnalCaudal
Modified fins
Fish senseEyes
SizePosition
Nostrils/naresPositionShape
OtherBarbelsLateral line
Fish mouths Mouth position
Point up – surface food and oxygen
Point down – prey on or near the bottom
Point forward – AKA terminal, chase food
Size and shape Inside
Teeth – all over Rakers – filtering
Staying out of trouble Armor Spines Skin color
Countershading Disruptive coloration Cryptic coloration Silver and red Imitation
Schooling
Eco-shapes
Rover predatorsFusiform, terminal
mouth, forked tail, evenly placed fins
Lie-in-wait predatorsFins far back
Surface-orientedUpturned mouth,
large eyes, dorsal back
Eco-shapes Bottom fish – flat,
camouflaged Rovers – goatfish Clingers – sculpins,
clingfishes Flatfishes Rattails
Deep-bodied Smooshed, pecs, small
mouth, large eyes, spines
Eel-like - eely
Habitat is context Individual adaptations
may only make sense in the context of a fish’s habitat
Specific challenges
How to cold-read a fish Body shape
Fusiform Flattened Eel-like Deep-bodied
Fins Tail shape Pectoral fins Dorsal/anal fins Modified fins Spines?
Senses Eyes Nostrils/nares Barbels
Mouth Position Size and shape
Skin color Silvery/counter-
shaded Cryptic/disruptive Eyespots, etc.
Tell me about this fish
What about me?
Me?
What about me?
And us?
Curveballs
Phantasmagoric Fish StoriesIt’s all about resource partitioningExtreme specialization leads to…
Freaks!
Freaky feeders
Archer fishArawanaDusky damselAngler fishesGulper eelsElectric fishesCichlidsVege piranhas
Bizarre sex stories The mile-high club
Splash tetra Lonely and loving it
Functional hermaphrodites Lancets, tripods
Transvestites and transsexuals Sneaker males Changing with age,
population composition Omega males
Deep sea anglers Amazon Molly
We could go on World’s smallest
vertebrate Ice-fishes
Anti-freeze in blood
Rivulines Eggs to adults in 4
weeks, dead in a year
Elephant fishes Huge brains (3%)
Tarpon can drown
Walking catfish Swimmer’s surprise Swamp eels
Can live out of water for up to 6 months
Telescope/tripod Flying fish
30 sec, 1m high, 200m
Four-eyed fish Pearlfish