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Diversity of fish

Fish species categorized by various characteristics

Fish are very diverse animals and can be categorised in many ways. Although most fish species have probably been discovered and described, about 250 new ones are still discovered every year. According to FishBase about 34,800 species of fish had been described as of February 2022, which is more than the combined total of all other vertebrate species: mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds.

Fish species diversity is roughly divided equally between marine (oceanic) and freshwater ecosystems. Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific constitute the centre of diversity for marine fishes, whereas continental freshwater fishes are most diverse in large river basins of tropical rainforests, especially the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong basins. More than 5,600 fish species inhabit Neotropical freshwaters alone, such that Neotropical fishes represent about 10% of all vertebrate species on the Earth. Exceptionally rich sites in the Amazon basin, such as Cantão State Park, can contain more freshwater fish species than occur in all of Europe.

By taxonomy

Fish systematics is the formal description and organisation of fish taxa into systems. It is complex and still evolving. Controversies over "arcane, but important, details of classification are still quietly raging".

The term "fish" describes any non-tetrapod chordate, (i.e., an animal with a backbone), that has gills throughout life and has limbs, if any, in the shape of fins. Unlike groupings such as birds or mammals, fish are paraphyletic, since the tetrapod clade is within the clade of lobe-finned fishes. Tree of life web project - Chordates.

Jawless fish

Jawless fish were the earliest fish to evolve. There is current debate over whether these are really fish at all. They have no jaw, no scales, no paired fins, and no bony skeleton. Their skin is smooth and soft to the touch, and they are very flexible. Instead of a jaw, they possess an oral sucker. They use this to fasten onto other fish, and then use their rasp-like teeth to grind through their host's skin into the viscera. Jawless fish inhabit both fresh and salt water environments. Some are anadromous, moving between both fresh and salt water habitats.

Extant jawless fish are either lamprey or hagfish. Juvenile lamprey feed by sucking up mud containing micro-organisms and organic debris. The lamprey has well-developed eyes, while the hagfish has only primitive eyespots. The hagfish coats itself and carcasses it finds with noxious slime to deter predators, and periodically ties itself into a knot to scrape the slime off. It is the only invertebrate fish and the only animal which has a skull but no vertebral column.

Image:Sea Lamprey fish.jpg|Lampreys attached to a lake trout Image:Boca de lamprea.1 - Aquarium Finisterrae.JPG|Mouth of a sea lamprey File:Pacific_hagfish_Myxine.jpg|Pacific hagfish resting on bottom at 280 m

Cartilaginous fish

Cartilaginous fish have a cartilaginous skeleton. However, their ancestors were bony animals, and were the first fish to develop paired fins. Cartilaginous fish don't have swim bladders. Their skin is covered in placoid scales (dermal denticles) that are as rough as sandpaper. Because cartilaginous fish do not have bone marrow, the spleen and special tissue around the gonads produces red blood cells. Their tails can be asymmetric, with the upper lobe longer than the lower lobe. Some cartilaginous fishes possess an organ called a Leydig's organ which also produces red blood cells.

There are over 980 species of cartilaginous fish. They include sharks, rays and chimaera.

File:Tiger shark.png|Tiger shark File:Whale shark tofo mozambique 2007.jpg|Whale shark File:Pastinachus_sephen_Day.jpg|Stingray File:Callorhinchus callorhynchus.JPG|This elephant fish is a chimaera

Bony fish

Bony fish include the lobe-finned fish and the ray finned fish. The lobe-finned fish is the class of fleshy finned fishes, consisting of lungfish and coelacanths. They are bony fish with fleshy, lobed paired fins, which are joined to the body by a single bone. These fins evolved into the legs of the first tetrapod land vertebrates, amphibians. Ray finned fishes are so-called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines ("rays").

There are three types of ray finned fishes: the chondrosteans, holosteans, and teleosts. The chondrosteans and holosteans are among the earlier fish to evolve, and share characteristics with both teleosts and sharks. In comparison with the other chondrosteans, the holosteans are closer to the teleosts and further from sharks.

File:Barramunda.jpg|Lungfish can breathe in air as well as water File:Coelacanth1.JPG|Model of a coelacanth, thought until 1938 to be extinct. They are deep blue. File:Sturgeon2.jpg|This Atlantic sturgeon is a chondrostean File:Amia calva1.jpg|This bowfin is a holostean

Teleosts

Teleosts are the most advanced or "modern" fishes. They are overwhelmingly the dominant class of fishes (or for that matter, vertebrates) with nearly 30,000 species, covering about 96 per cent of all extant fish species. They are ubiquitous throughout fresh water and marine environments from the deep sea to the highest mountain streams. Included are nearly all the important commercial and recreational fishes.

Teleosts have a movable maxilla and premaxilla and corresponding modifications in the jaw musculature. These modifications make it possible for teleosts to protrude their jaws outwards from the mouth.{{cite book

File:Swordfish (PSF).png|Swordfish are teleosts File:Rose fish.jpg|Rose fish are also teleosts File:Anguilla japonica 1856.jpg|Eels are teleosts too Image:Hippocampus.jpg|So are seahorses

By habitat

Habitat	Area	Volume	Depth	Species	Fish biomass	million km2	million cu km	(mean)	count	per cent	million tonnes
Saltwater	361	1370.8	3.8 km	18,000	58	800–2,000
Freshwater	1.5	0.13	87 m	13,000	41

Fish can also be demersal or pelagic. Demersal fish live on or near the bottom of oceans and lakes, while pelagic fish inhabit the water column away from the bottom. Habitats can also be vertically stratified. Epipelagic fish occupy sunlit waters down to 200 m, mesopelagic fish occupying deeper twilight waters down to 1000 m, and bathypelagic fish inhabiting the cold and pitch black depths below.

Most oceanic species (78 per cent, or 44 per cent of all fish species), live near the shoreline. These coastal fish live on or above the relatively shallow continental shelf. Only 13 per cent of all fish species live in the open ocean, off the shelf. Of these, 1 per cent are epipelagic, 5 per cent are pelagic, and 7 per cent are deep water.

Fish are found in nearly all natural aquatic environments. Most fish, whether by species count or abundance, live in warmer environments with relatively stable temperatures. However, some species survive temperatures up to 44.6 C, while others cope with colder waters; there are over 200 finfish species south of the Antarctic Convergence. Some fish species tolerate salinities over 10 per cent. |}

triassic}}"	Habitat	Abyssobrotula galatheae
pupfish	*Thermichthys
hollisi*	Sargassum frogfish
[[File:Abyssobrotula galatheae.jpg	140px]]	The world's deepest living fish, Abyssobrotula galatheae, a species of cusk eel, lives in the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of 8372 m. Due to the extreme pressure, this appears to be around the theoretical maximum depth possible for fish.
[[File:Barbatula barbatula.jpg	140px]]	At the other extreme, the Tibetan stone loach lives at altitudes over 5200 m in the Himalayas.
[[File:Prionace glauca.jpg	140px]]	Some marine pelagic fish range over vast areas, such as the blue shark that lives in all oceans.
[[File:Mexican Tetra as Blind Cave Fish.jpg	140px]]	Other fish are confined to single, small living spaces, such as the blind cave fish in North America.
[[File:Death Valley Pupfish.jpg	140px]]	Equally isolated desert pupfish, like the Death Valley pupfish (pictured), live in small desert spring systems in Mexico and the southwest United States.
[[File:Champagne vent white smokers.jpg	140px]]	The bythitid vent fish Thermichthys hollisi lives around thermal vents 2400 m deep.
[[File:Histrio histrio by A. H. Baldwin.jpg	140px]]	The highly camouflaged sargassum frogfish lives in drifting sargassum seaweed. It has adapted fins which can grab strands of sargassum, enabling it to climb through the seaweed. It avoids threats from larger predator fish by climbing out of water onto the surface of a seaweed mat, where it can survive for some time.

By life span

Some of the shortest-lived species are gobies, which are small coral reef–dwelling fish. Some of the longest-lived are rockfish.

jurassic}}"	Life
span	Seven-figure pygmy goby	Ram cichlid	Rougheye rockfish	Orange
roughy	Koi	Atlantic tarpon	Green sturgeon	Australian lungfish	Greenland shark
[[File:Gobidon okinawae1.jpg	140px]]	{{externalimage	float=right	width=200px	image1=[World's shortest lived fish](http://eol.org/pages/213269/overview)
[[File:Schmetterlingsbuntbarsch.jpg	140px]]	Short lived fish have particular value in genetic studies on aging. In particular, the ram cichlid is used in laboratory studies because of its ease of breeding and predictable aging pattern.
[[File:Red rockfish.jpg	140px]]	Some of the longest living fishes are rockfish. The longest lived fish is the 205 years reported for the rougheye rockfish, Sebastes aleutianus (pictured). This fish is found offshore in the North Pacific at 25 - and exhibits negligible senescence.
[[File:orange roughy.png	140px]]	The orange roughy may be the longest lived commercial fish, with a maximum reported age of 149 years.
[[File:Koi mit Zierfischfutter.JPG	140px]]	There are stories about Japanese koi goldfish passed from generation to generation for 300 years. Scientists are sceptical. Counting growth lines on the scales of fish confined to ponds or bowls is unreliable, since they lay down extra lines. The maximum reliably reported age for a goldfish is 41 years.
[[File:Tarpon.jpg	140px]]	One of the longest living sport fish is the Atlantic tarpon, with a reported age of 55 years.
[[File:Acipenser medirostris.jpg	140px]]	Some of the longest living fish are living fossils, such as the green sturgeon. This species is among the longest-living species found in freshwater, with a reported age of 60 years. They are also among the largest fish species found in freshwater, with a maximum reported length of 2.5 m and a maximum reported weight of 159 kg.
[[File:Barramunda.jpg	140px]]	genus = Neoceratodus	species = forsteri	month = July	year = 2009}}
[[File:Somniosus microcephalus okeanos.jpg	140px]]	last1=Nielsen	first1=Julius	last2=Hedeholm	first2=Rasmus B.	last3=Heinemeier	first3=Jan	last4=Bushnell	first4=Peter G.	last5=Christiansen	first5=Jørgen S.	last6=Olsen	first6=Jesper	last7=Ramsey	first7=Christopher Bronk	last8=Brill	first8=Richard W.	last9=Simon	first9=Malene	last10=Steffensen	first10=Kirstine F.	last11=Steffensen	first11=John F.	title=Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus)	journal=Science	volume=353	issue=6300	pages=702–4	year=2016	doi=10.1126/science.aaf1703	pmid=27516602	bibcode=2016Sci...353..702N	s2cid=206647043	url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6c040460-9519-4720-9669-9911bdd03b09	hdl=2022/26597	hdl-access=free}}

By size

carboniferous}}"	Size	Paedocypris progenetica	Photocorynus spiniceps	Stout infantfish	Sinarapan
[[File:Paedocypris progenetica 001.jpg	110px]]	{{externalimage	float=right	width=160px	image1=[World's smallest fish](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/25/1138066832112.html)
[[File:Photocorynus spiniceps.jpg	140px]]	Male individuals of the anglerfish species Photocorynus spiniceps are 6.2–7.3 mm long at maturity, and thus could be claimed as an even smaller species. However, these males do not survive on their own merit, only by sexual parasitism on the larger female.
	The stout infantfish, a type of goby, is the second smallest known fish. Females grow to a length of {{convert	8.4	mm	7	mm}}.
[[File:Sinarapan, Mistichthys luzonensis Smith, 1902 by P. Bravo.jpg	140px]]	According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the sinarapan, also a goby, is the world's smallest commercially harvested fish. Found in the Philippines, they have an average length of 12.5 mm, and are threatened by overfishing.
[[File:Whale shark Georgia aquarium.jpg	140px]]	The largest fish is the whale shark. It is a slow-moving, filter-feeding shark with a maximum published length of 20 m and a maximum weight of 34 t. Whale sharks can live up to 70 years and are a vulnerable fish.
[[File:Sunfish.jpg	80px]]	The ocean sunfish is the heaviest bony fish. It can weigh up to 2300 kg. It is found in all warm and temperate oceans.
[[File:King of herrings.png	110px]]	The king of herrings is the longest bony fish. Its total length can reach 11 m, and it can weigh up to 272 kg. It is a rarely seen oarfish, found in all the world's oceans at depths of between 20 m and 1000 m.
[[File:AquatottoGifu mekonoonamazu.jpg	110px]]	The largest recorded freshwater fish is a Mekong giant catfish caught in 2010, weighing 293 kg. The Mekong giant catfish is critically endangered.

By breeding behavior

paleogene}}"	Breeding	Grouper
[[File:Georgia Aquarium - Giant Grouper.jpg	140px]]	Female groupers change their sex to male if no male is available. Grouper are protogynous hermaphrodites, who school in harems of three to fifteen females. When no male is available, the most aggressive and largest females change their sex to male.
[[File:Opsanus beta 1.jpg	140px]]	Male toadfish "sing" at up to 100 decibels with their swim bladders to attract mates.
[[File:Hamol u0.gif	140px]]	atrophies]] into nothing more than a pair of gonads. This extreme sexual dimorphism ensures that, when the female is ready to spawn, she has a mate immediately available.
[[File:Hammerhead shark.jpg	140px]]	Some sharks such as hammerheads are able to breed parthenogenetically, a type of asexual reproduction where the growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization.

By brooding behavior

norian}}"	Brooding	Chain catshark
[[File:chain catshark.png	140px]]	The chain catshark is oviparous, laying its eggs to hatch in the water.
[[File:White shark.jpg	140px]]	The great white shark is ovoviviparous, gestating eggs in the uterus for 11 months before giving birth.
[[File:Hammerhead shark.jpg	140px]]	The scalloped hammerhead is viviparous, bearing its young after nourishing hatchlings internally.
[[File:Cyphotilapia frontosa mouthbrooding.jpg	80px]]	The female Cyphotilapia frontosa mouthbroods its fry. The fry can be seen looking out of her mouth.
[[File:Longsnout Seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) (3149753448).jpg	140px]]	Seahorse males practice pouch-brooding similar to kangaroos. When seahorses mate, the female deposits her eggs into a special pouch on the male's belly. The pouch seals shut while he nurtures the developing eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the pouch opens and the male goes into labour.

By feeding behaviour

{{externalimage	float=right	width=230px	image1=[Video of a slingjaw wrasse catching prey by protruding its jaw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDU4CQWXaNY&feature=channel_page)	image2=[Video of a red bay snook catching prey by suction feeding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbGILi8p5Y8&feature=rec-LGOUT-real_rn-HM)

cambrian}}"	Feeding	Anglerfish
[[File:Bufoceratias.jpg	140px]]	Anglerfish are lie-in-wait ambush predators. The first spine of their dorsal fin has been modified so it can be used like a fishing line with a lure at the end. Most anglerfish, like the one pictured, live in the darkness of the deep sea and have a bioluminescent lure.
[[File:Archerfish (PSF).png	140px]]	Archerfish prey on land-based insects and other small animals by shooting them down with water droplets from their specialized mouths. Archerfish are remarkably accurate; adults almost always hit the target on the first shot. They can bring down arthropods such as grasshoppers, spiders and butterflies on a branch of an overhanging tree 3 m above the water's surface. This is partially due to good eyesight, but also due to their ability to compensate for light refraction when aiming.
[[File:Titan Triggerfish.jpg	140px]]	Triggerfish also use jets of water to uncover sand dollars buried in sand or overturn sea urchins.
[[File:Osteoglossum bicirrhosum.JPG	140px]]	Other fish have developed extreme specializations. Silver arowana, also called monkey fish, can leap two meters out of the water to capture prey. They usually swim near the surface of the water waiting for potential prey. Their main diet consists of crustaceans, insects, smaller fishes and other animals that float on the water surface, for which its draw-bridge-like mouth is exclusively adapted for feeding. The remains of small birds, bats, and snakes have also been found in their stomachs.
[[File:cookiecutter damage.jpg	140px]]	The cookiecutter shark is a small dogfish which derives its name from the way it removes small circular plugs, looking as though cut with a cookie cutter, from the flesh and skin of cetaceans and larger fish, including other sharks. The cookiecutter attaches to its larger prey with its suctorial lips, and then protrudes its teeth to remove a symmetrical scoop of flesh. Pictured is a pomfret with bite wounds from a cookiecutter shark.
[[File:Striped bass FWS 1.jpg	140px]]	Striped bass eat smaller fish.
[[File:Chinese algae eater.jpg	140px]]	Chinese algae eaters are kept in aquaria to control algae.
[[File:Pomocanthus imperator.jpg	140px]]	The Emperor angelfish feeds on coral sponges.
[[File:Herringramkils.jpg	140px]]	Schooling herrings ram feed on copepods.
[[File:Mangrovejack.jpg	140px]]	The mangrove jack eats crustaceans.
[[File:Puffer Fish DSC01257.JPG	140px]]	Many puffer fish species crush the shells of molluscs.
[[File:Bucktoothed Tetra.jpg	140px]]	The bucktoothed tetra eats scales off other fishes (lepidophagy) and molluscs.
[[File:Mulloidichthys flavolineatus at cleaning station.jpg	140px]]	These two small wrasses are cleaner fish, which eat parasites off other fish.
[[File:Manta alfredi at a ‘cleaning station’ - journal.pone.0046170.g002B.png	140px]]	A reef manta ray at a cleaning station, maintaining a near stationary position atop a coral patch for several minutes while being cleaned by cleaner fishes.
[[File:Doctor fish2.jpg	140px]]	Doctor fish nibbling on the diseased skin of patients. Doctor fish (nibble fish) live and breed in the outdoor pools of some Turkish spas, where they feed on the skin of patients with psoriasis. The fish are like cleaner fish in that they only consume the affected and dead areas of the skin, leaving the healthy skin to recover.

By vision

bashkirian}}"	Vision	Four-eyed fish
[[File:Vierauge.jpg	140px]]	The four-eyed fish feeds at the surface of the water with eyes that allow it to see above and below the surface at the same time. Four-eyed fish have two specially-adapted eyes which are raised above the top of their head. The eyes are divided in two different parts, and the fish floats at the water surface with only the lower half of each eye underwater. The two halves are divided by a band of tissue and the eye has two pupils, connected by part of the iris. The upper half of the eye is adapted for vision in air, while the lower half is adapted for vision in water. The lens of the eye also changes in thickness top to bottom to account for the difference in the refractive indices of air versus water. Their diet mostly consists of the terrestrial insects which are available at the surface, where they spend most of their time.
[[File:Dascyllus reticulatus (Reticulated dascyllus).jpg	140px]]	The two stripe damselfish, Dascyllus reticulatus, has ultraviolet-reflecting colouration which they appear to use as an alarm signal to other fish of their species. Predatory species cannot see this if their vision is not sensitive to ultraviolet. There is further evidence for this view that some fish use ultraviolet as a "high-fidelity secret communication channel hidden from predators", while yet other species use ultraviolet to make social or sexual signals.
[[File:Opisthoproctus soleatus.png	140px]]	Barreleyes are a family of small, unusual-looking mesopelagic fishes, named for their barrel-shaped, tubular, telescopic eyes which are generally directed upwards to detect the silhouettes of available prey.
[[File:Photoblepharonpalpebratum.JPG	140px]]	Flashlight fish use a retroreflector behind the retina and photophores to detect eyeshine in other fish.

By shape

Boxfishes have heavily armoured plate-like scales fused into a solid, triangular, boxlike carapace, from which the fins, tail, eyes and mouth protrude. Because of this heavy armour, boxfish move slowly, but few other fish are able to eat the adults.

File:Humpback Turretfish - Tetrosomus gibbosus 2.jpg|The humpback turretfish is a boxfish with an armoured triangular shaped body File:Leafy Sea Dragon SA.jpg|The leafy sea dragon is camouflaged to look like floating seaweed

By locomotion

famennian}}"	Loco-
motion	Dwarf seahorse	Atlantic bluefin tuna	Indo-Pacific sailfish	Shortfin mako	Wahoo	Flying fish	Climbing perches	Mudskipper	Handfish	Tripod fish
[[File:Hippocampuszosterae.jpg	140px]]	The slowest-moving fishes are the sea horses. The slowest of these, the tiny dwarf seahorse, has a sprint speed of one inch per minute.
[[File:Bluefin-big.jpg	140px]]	The Atlantic bluefin tuna is capable of sustained high speed cruising, and maintains high muscle temperatures so it can cruise in relatively cold waters.
[[File:Istiophorus_platypterus.jpg	140px]]	[[File:Maind u0.gif	140px	right]]
[[File:Isurus oxyrinchus.jpg	140px]]	{{ external media	float = right	width = 200px	video1 = [What makes mako sharks fast?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5fo19s4aAc) National Geographic
[[File:Acanthocybium solandri.png	140px]]	The wahoo is perhaps the fastest fish for its size, attaining a speed of 19 lengths per second, reaching 78 km/h.
[[File:Pink-wing flying fish.jpg	140px]]	[[File:Sailfin flyingfish.jpg	140px	right]]
[[File:AnabasLyd.jpg	140px]]	Climbing perches are a family of fishes which have the ability to climb out of water and "walk" short distances. As labyrinth fishes, they possess a labyrinth organ, a structure in the fish's head which allows it to breathe atmospheric oxygen. Their method of terrestrial locomotion uses the gill plates as supports, and the fish pushes itself using its fins and tail.
[[File:Periophthalmus gracilis.jpg	140px]]	{{ external media	float = right	width = 200px	video1 = [Mudskippers: The Fish That Walk on Land](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAQuoH_fOWM) BBC Earth
[[File:Brachionichthys hirsutus RLS.jpg	140px]]	{{ external media	float = right	width = 200px	video1 = [Fish that walk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN9Rc5DrOzw) CSIRO
[[File:Bathypterois grallator 1.jpg	140px]]	{{ external media	float = right	width = 200px	video1 = [Fish that perch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR81yxWQYuM) Okeanos Explorer ROV

By toxicity

Toxic fish produce strong poisons in their bodies. Both poisonous fish and venomous fish contain toxins, but deliver them differently.

middle Permian}}"	Toxicity	Puffer fish	Spotted trunkfish	Giant moray	Reef stonefish
[[File:tetraodon-hispidus.jpg	140px]]	The puffer fish is the most poisonous fish in the world. It is the second most poisonous vertebrate after the golden dart frog. It paralyzes the diaphragm muscles of human victims, who can die from suffocation. In Japan, skilled chefs use parts of a closely related species, the blowfish, to create a delicacy called "fugu", including just enough toxin for that "special flavour".
[[File:Lactophrys bicaudalis.jpg	100px]]	The spotted trunkfish, a reef fish, secretes a colourless ciguatera toxin from glands on its skin when touched. The toxin is only dangerous when ingested, so the fish poses no immediate risk to human divers. However, predators as large as nurse sharks can die from eating a trunkfish.
[[File:G.Javanicus8.jpg	100px]]	The giant moray is a reef fish at the top of the food chain. Like many other apex reef fish, it is likely to cause ciguatera poisoning if eaten. Outbreaks of ciguatera poisoning in the 11th to 15th centuries from large, carnivorous reef fish, caused by harmful algal blooms, could be a reason why Polynesians migrated to Easter Island, New Zealand, and possibly Hawaii.
[[File:Synanceia verrucosa.jpg	80px]]	genus=Synanceja	species=verrucosa	year=2009	month=July}} It has a remarkable ability to camouflage itself amongst rocks. It is an ambush predator that sits on the bottom waiting for prey to approach. Instead of swimming away if disturbed, it erects the 13 venomous spines along its back. For defense, it can shoot venom from each or all of these spines. Each spine is like a hypodermic needle, delivering the venom from two sacs attached to the spine. The stonefish has control over whether to shoot its venom, and does so when provoked or frightened. The venom results in severe pain, paralysis and tissue death, and can be fatal if not treated. Despite its formidable defenses, stonefish have predators. Some bottom feeding rays and sharks with crushing teeth feed on them, as does the Stokes's sea snake.
[[File:Pterois volitans Manado-e edit.jpg	140px]]	Head on view of the lionfish, a venomous coral reef fish (pictured). Unlike stonefish, a lionfish can release venom only if something strikes its spines. Although not native to the U.S. coast, lionfish have appeared around Florida and have spread up the coast to New York. They are attractive aquarium fish, sometimes used to stock ponds, and may have been washed into the sea during a hurricane. Lionfish can aggressively dart at scuba divers and attempt to puncture their facemask with their venomous spines.
[[File:Uranoscopus sulphureus.jpg	140px]]	The stargazer, Uranoscopus sulphureus. The stargazer buries itself and can deliver electric shocks as well as venom. It is a delicacy in some cultures (cooking destroys the venom), and can be found for sale in some fish markets with the electric organ removed. They have been called "the meanest things in creation".
[[File:Stringray's sting.jpg	140px]]	Stingrays can sting with their stinger (pictured). Such envenomations can occur to people who wade in shallow water and tread on them. This can be avoided by shuffling through the sand or stamping on the bottom, as the rays detect this and swim away. The stinger usually breaks off in the wound. It is barbed, so it can easily penetrate but cannot be easily removed. The stinger causes local trauma from the cut itself, pain and swelling from the venom, and possible later infection from bacteria. Occasionally, severed arteries or death can result.

By human use

[[File:Moofushi Kandu fish.jpg	thumb	right	[[Predator fish]] size up schooling [[forage fish]]]]

Human
use	Yellowfin tuna	Anchovy	Atlantic cod	Alaska pollock	Koi
[[File:Yellowfin tuna nurp.jpg	140px]]	Yellowfin tuna are now being fished as a replacement for the depleted southern bluefin tuna.
[[File:Anchovy closeup.jpg	140px]]	These schooling anchovy are forage fish.
[[File:atlantic cod.jpg	140px]]	Atlantic cod fisheries have collapsed.
[[File:Walleye pollock.jpg	140px]]	The Alaska pollock has been described as "the largest remaining source of palatable fish in the world".
[[File:Goldfish2.cropped.jpg	140px]]	Koi (and goldfish) have been kept in decorative ponds for centuries in China and Japan.

Other

paleogene}}"	Other	Bony-eared assfish	Elephantnose fish	Hallucinogenic fish	Nopoli rockclimbing goby
[[File:Acanthonus armatus.jpg	140px]]	genus=Acanthonus	species=armatus	year=2014	month=January}} has the smallest ratio of all known vertebrates.
[[File:Gnathonemus petersii.jpg	140px]]	At the other extreme, the elephantnose fish, an African freshwater fish, has an exceptionally large brain-to-body weight ratio. These fish have the largest brain-to-body oxygen consumption ratio of all known vertebrates.
[[File:Sarpa salpa .jpg	140px]]	The hallucinogenic dream fish, Sarpa salpa, a species of bream recognizable by the golden stripes running the length of its body, can induce LSD-like hallucinations if it is eaten. These widely distributed coastal fish became a recreational drug during the Roman Empire, and are called "the fish that make dreams" in Arabic. Other hallucinogenic fish are Siganus spinus, called "the fish that inebriates" in Reunion Island, and Mulloidichthys samoensis, called "the chief of ghosts" in Hawaii.
[[File:Sicyopterus stimpsoni00.gif	140px]]	The Nopoli rockclimbing goby uses its mouth to climb waterfalls by inching up rocks like a caterpillar, using its mouth as a sucker together with another sucker on its stomach. When the fish is young, it undergoes a radical transformation when it moves from saltwater to a freshwater stream. The mouth migrates over a period of two days from the front of its head to its chin. This allows the fish to feed by scraping algae from rocks. Pictured is the goby before and after the transformation.
[[File:Candiru.png	140px]]	Smaller species of vampire fish, native to the Amazon River, have an alleged tendency to burrow into and parasitise the human urethra. However, despite ethnological reports dating back to the late 19th century, the first documented case of the removal of a vampire fish from a human urethra did not occur until 1997, and even that incident has remained a matter of controversy.

Notes

References

{{cite book
{{cite book
{{cite book
Weis, Judith S (2011) Do Fish Sleep?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Fishes Rutgers University Press. .

References

{{FishBase. (2009)
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