Pictures of Fishes

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Great White Shark
The great white shark, largest of the strictly carnivorous sharks, is found in tropical and temperate oceans and seas worldwide. Great white sharks use hearing, smell, sight, taste, touch, and electrical perception to locate food.




Hammerhead Shark
The hammerhead shark, distinguished by the lateral expansion of the head into a hammer-shaped structure, is perhaps the most easily recognized shark. The great hammerhead roams tropical and subtropical seas feeding on stingrays, bony fish, and invertebrates. In this photo the hammerhead’s eye is visible at the tip of the hammer-shaped head structure.

Hi-Hat Drumfish
This drumfish’s vivid black and white stripes, while popular with aquarium owners, do little to attract other drumfish. Instead, potential mates swimming out of visible range detect the fish’s far-reaching “knocking” and “drumming” noises, vibrations produced by tightening the muscles of the swim bladder. This tropical Atlantic species gets its name from its tall dorsal fin.





Malawi Blue Cichlid
The Malawi blue cichlid is found in Lake Malawi (also called Lake Nyasa) in eastern Africa. It engages in an elaborate courtship and afterwards provides extensive care for the developing eggs and newly hatched fry. The Malawi blue cichlid, along with dozens of other species of brilliantly colored cichlids from the great lakes of eastern Africa, is prized as an aquarium fish.





Minnow Family
The dace (top) and the chub (bottom) are members of the minnow family. Ranging across North America and Eurasia, the minnow family represents the most important group of freshwater forage fish. All minnows lack teeth in the upper and lower jaws. When a minnow is eaten or injured by a predator, the fish releases a substance into the water, warning other minnows of the danger.




Mosaic Moray Eel
Moray eels inhabit tropical seas where they stalk prey from hidden spots, such as holes in coral reefs. Their cavernous mouths, powerful jaws, and needle-sharp teeth enable eels to capture and eat their prey, mainly other fish and mollusks.







Mudskipper
The fish known as the mudskipper can propel itself over land by moving its pectoral fins. Mudskippers can remain out of water for several days by breathing air trapped in highly vascularized cavities in the mouth and gill chambers. They use this special ability to feed on the rich supply of crustaceans present in the mud of mangrove swamps and estuaries. Mudskippers inhabit the tropical coastal regions in the Indian and Pacific oceans.




Pacific Hagfish
The Pacific hagfish belongs to a group of fish known as the agnathans, considered the most primitive of the living fish. The hagfish, which is blind, lacks true jaws and instead has a sucking disc capable of attaching to the sides of larger fishes. Following attachment, the hagfish drills a small hole into the side of the host fish with its tongue and draws out the body fluids and blood. The hagfish also lacks scales and a sympathetic nervous system.

Panther Grouper
The panther grouper, so named because of its spotted appearance, is a member of the grouper family. This fish has a remarkably large mouth cavity and is able to eat sizeable prey, including fish and invertebrates. Although the color pattern seems quite conspicuous against a light-colored background, it makes the panther grouper inconspicuous against the vibrant background of the coral reef.



Piranha
There are at least two dozen species of South American tropical rain forest fish that are grouped together under the name of piranha. Ranging in size from under 15 cm (6 in) to nearly 60 cm (24 in), the piranha is perhaps the most feared of all fish in the rain forest due to the razor-sharp teeth along the leading edge of both jaws. Although some species are strictly carnivorous, not all are considered dangerous to man.

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