Bony fish can be found in waters all around the world, freshwater and saltwater both, unlike cartilagenous fish who are found only in salt waters. Marine bony fish live in all the oceans, from shallow to deep waters, and in both cold and warm temperatures. Their lifespans range from a few months to over years. An extreme example of bony fish adaptation is the Antarctic icefish , which lives in waters so cold that antifreeze proteins circulate through its body to keep it from freezing.
Bony fish also comprise virtually all freshwater species living in lakes, rivers, and streams. Sunfish, bass, catfish, trout, and pike are examples of bony fish, as are the freshwater tropical fish that you see in aquariums.
Other species of bony fish include:. A bony fish's prey depends on the species but may include plankton , crustaceans e. Some species of bony fish are virtual omnivores, eating all manner of animal and plant life. Bony fish behavior varies greatly, depending on the species.
Smaller bony fish swim in schools for protection. Some like the tuna swim continually while others stonefish and flatfish spend most of their time lying on the seafloor. Some such as morays only hunt at night; some like butterfly fishes do so during the day; and others are most active at dawn and dusk. Some bony fish are born sexually mature or become mature shortly after birth; most mature within the first one to five years. The main reproduction mechanism is external fertilization.
During the spawning season, females release hundreds to thousands of eggs in the water, and males release sperm and fertilize the eggs. Not all bony fish do lay eggs: Some are live-bearing. Some are hermaphrodites the same fish has both male and female genitalia , and other bony fish switch genders over time.
Some, like the seahorse, are oviparous, meaning the eggs are fertilized in the parent who feeds them from a yolk sac. Among seahorses, the male carries the offspring until they are born. The first fish-like creatures appeared over million years ago. Bony fish and cartilaginous fish diverged into separate classes about million years ago. Cartilaginous species are sometimes seen as more primitive, and for good reason.
The evolutionary appearance of bony fish eventually led to land-dwelling vertebrates with bony skeletons. And the gill structure of bony fish gill was a feature that would eventually evolve into air-breathing lungs. Bony fishes are therefore a more direct ancestor to humans. Click to see full answer. Also to know is, where do ray finned fish live? Ray - finned fishes live in a wide variety of habitats, including the deep sea, tropical reefs, polar regions, lakes, rivers, ponds and desert springs.
A lung or swim bladder, which helps the body create a balance between sinking and floating by either filling up with or emitting gases such as oxygen. Controlling the volume of this organ helps fish control their depth. Ray - finned Fish Swim Bladders However, in more derived fishes in the group, it serves almost entirely as a buoyancy device. Fish with swim bladders can control the amount of gas in the bladder and thus control their buoyancy.
Most fishes the Actinopterygii , or ray - finned fishes have several bones at the bases of their pectoral fins, and their fins are composed of a set of webbed rays , not muscle- and skin-covered bone. They were aquatic and had scales and fleshy fins.
However, they also had lungs that they used to breathe oxygen. Many fish can also detect the weak electricity given off by other animals in the water. There are fish that eat just about every kind of food. Most of the fish included in the Critter Catalog are predators on smaller fish or invertebrates and a few eat plants. What does actinopterygii mean? Definition of Actinopterygii. What are two examples of living lobe finned fish? Lobe-finned fish are fish that have fleshy bases of their fins.
Most of the fish included in the Critter Catalog are predators on smaller fish or invertebrates and a few eat plants. Freshwater fish are found in ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, or swamps. Marine fish are found in oceans, estuaries, tidal pools or salt marshes. Animal Diversity Web Cybertracker Tools. All rights reserved.
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