Fishes

Vocabulary list

A carnivore /ˈkɑrnɪvɔər/ meaning 'meat eater' - an organism an organism whose diet consists mainly or exclusively of animal tissue

A herbivore - an animal that eats plant material

A parasite - a small animal that lives on or inside another animal and gets its food from it

A scavenger - an animal that consums the dead animal and plant material

cartilage /ˈkɑrtɨlɨdʒ/ - a flexible connective tissue in animals

A cartilaginous fish (chondrichthy) – a fish whose skeleton composed entirely of cartilage (sharks, rays and skates)

fin rays - fins being webs of skin supported by bony spines ("rays")

 

Lampreys and hagfishes are jawless fishes. Their bodies are supported by a notochord. They do not have true teeth or jaws. They are parasites and scavengers.

The cartilaginous fishes (class Chondrichthyes) include sharks, rays, and skates.

All members of this group of fishes have a skeleton made of cartilage. Most also have toothlike scales covering their skin.

Body fishes (class Osteichthyes) have skeletons made of bone. Almost all bony fishes belong to the group known as the ray-finned fishes. Their fins have thin, bony spines that are joined together by a thin layer of skin.

Answer the questions:

What is the feeding behavior for jawless fish?

What does the term “scavenger” mean?

Name fishes of the class Chondrichthyes.

What group do the ray-finned fishes belong to?

What types of fishes according to their feeding behavior do you know?