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Did You Know? • That the Sand Tiger Shark is not able to close its mouth, because of its long and sharp teeth.- That the Great White Shark, which can be more than 6 metres long and weight more than 2 tons, only has a brain at the size of a thumb.- That 30 species of sharks are known to have attacked humans.- That the Nurse Shark sucks meat out of shells and it crushes lobsters on the ocean bed.
Monday 4/16 • Objective: Learn about marine fishes and the class chondrichthyes, and their physical characteristics. • Agenda: • Begin shark notes
Marine Fishes Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata
Characteristics • Backbone • Bilateral symmetry • Endoskeleton • Fish-simplest & oldest of all living vertebrates (Fossils date back to 400 million years ago) • Most abundant-over 22,000 species of fish in world • 58% are marine
class Agnatha Most primitive No jaws- feed by suction Jawless Fishes
class Chondrichthyes (Con-dric-thees) Sharks, rays, skates, & ratfishes Skeleton is made of cartilage Lighter & more flexible than bone Cartilaginous Fishes
Mouth is ventral (underneath head) • Sandpaper like skin • May have well developed teeth • Constantly are replaced
Movement • Fins more rigid than bony fish • Rely on pectoral fins to “lift” them in order to prevent sinking (no air bladder) • Large, oily liver that increases buoyancy • Streamline body shape – moves quickly b/c of large muscles in the caudal fin. • Asymmetric caudal fin improves stability
Sharks • Smallest = pygmy shark (25cm) • Largest = whale shark (15 meters)! These are filter feeders. • Bottom dwellers = nurse & leopard • Most aggressive = Great White • Other dangerous sharks = Tiger and Hammerhead
Sensory • Sensitive receptors to detect stimuli: Lateral Line organ • Hair-like sensors that pick up sound vibrations up to ½ km away • Ampullae of Lorenzini in the snout – senses electric fields generated by the muscles of potential prey. • 2/3 of the sharks brain is devoted to sense and smell
Did You Know? • The flying fish is capable of continuing its flight, they have been recorded stretching out their flights with consecutive glides spanning distances up to 1,312 feet (400 meters).
Tuesday 4/17 • Objective: I will learn about bony fish • Agenda: • Bony fish notes • Fish Food Group: if you have a digital copy of your guided notes I can print them for you, but I need it tomorrow • Homework: None
Reproduction • Internal fertilization • Male sharks = Claspers that hold onto female for transfer of sperm into reproductive tract. • Some (mostly aggressive) have internal development and live births (viviparous) - -hammerheads • Some start predation early by devouring their siblings before they hatch! • Other sharks and skates have external development – develop in a black, leathery case called a “mermaids purse” – take over a year to develop. (oviparous)
Whale Shark- largest fish in existence
Bull Sharks Very Aggressive Fresh and Saltwater
Sharks must swim to force water over their gills • If caught in nets they will drown • Some exceptions: nurse sharks- gills can contain enough oxygen w/o swimming
Bony Fishes • class Osteichthyes (Osti-ich-thees) • Skeleton partially bone • Have an operculum-gill cover to protect gills • Caudal fin usually same size (top & bottom)
Bony fish have fin rays vs. cartilaginous fins & a swim bladder Sunfish-largest Bony fish 1996, Japan 9.6 ft long
Biology of Fishes • Study of fishes: Ichthyology • Body Shape • Directly related to lifestyle • Fast swimmers=streamlined • Coral reef fish=laterally compressed
Laterally compressed-at beginning of life one eye on each side then migrates to same side • Elongated bodies fit into rocks & other narrow spaces • Truncate, short-
Countercurrent exchange Heat exchange: legs of birds, bodyheating of fish such as Tuna and Mako shark
Fins • Pairs = Pectoral & Pelvic • Single = Dorsal, Anal & Symmetric Caudal (have air bladder for stability) • Skin – slimy mucus coating acts as a barrier against infection and friction
1st Dorsal Fin 2nd Dorsal Fin Caudal Fin Pectoral Fin Anal Fin Pelvic Fin
S.T.A.R • 1. What type of skeleton do cartilaginous fish have? • 2. What type of symmetry do marine fishes have? • 3. What type of reproduction do sharks have? • 4. What adaptation do male sharks and rays have to aid in reproduction? • 5. Answer questions 1-4 on page. 5-66