Yes, it's time to sail the boat towards the Atlantic, I want to take a break by going Sea-diving. Don't be amazed though I have this special love for aquatic fauna especially Pisces. But before we go, let's enrich ourselves about fishes beyond the ones we see on a daily basis - Catfish, tilapia and the likes. What really got my attention about Sea creatures was a lecture on Aquaculture and its management, so let’s dive…
An Aquatic habitat is piece of land covered with water and it comprises of rivers, streams and other water bodies. But today, my attention is drifted to PISCES.
Let's begin with formalities.
"Pisces is the scientific name for Fishes and they can be classified based on their habitats. Freshwater, Sea or Marine water and Brackish water accordingly.
Freshwater as the name fresh implies is a habitat that has less than 0.05 percent of salt. Examples are not far-fetched because we have them all around; they include rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. Examples of Freshwater fishes include Salmon, goldfish and eels (we’d be coming back to that shortly). Sea water or Marine water is an aquatic habitat that has 20 to 35% percent salinity- i.e it has high salinity. Example of Pisces in this habitat includes Blue whale, dolphin, jellyfish and many more. Lastly, Brackish water is the mixture of both freshwater and seawater. It contains higher percentage of salt than fresh water but a lesser amount of salt than seawater. Example of fishes includes Dragon and Snake Fish.
To begin with,
I was shocked when a lecturer mentioned "ELECTROPHORUS ELECTRICUS" - truly electrical if you'd agree. It's popularly known as ELECTRIC EEL (I’m sure you don't wanna touch!!!). They belong to FRESHWATER habitat but somehow looks like Snake. Majorly, they are found in South America or muddy water. Some features got me interested, let's watch this video:
Watch this video on how Electric eel leaps to shock predator
Their body contains organs that generate electricity up to 600 volts and the most amazing face is their males create laying nest from their saliva for the females. Fascinating, isn't it? Just because they are called Electric eels doesn't mean they are actually eels but they actually are Knifefish. Their electric ability helps in navigation and in feeling the presence of other animals because they have a weak sight.
Another exciting fact is their ability to catch prey on air e.g birds and finally they kill preys by curling around them to increase electric charge.
P.S: Multiple jolts from an Electric eel can kill a human, so I better get going.
ClownFish (Anemone Fish)
You probably might find the name rather funny, isn't it?
They are found in Sea, lagoon or the Red Sea. But haven't you seen them in AQUARIUMS? That's right; they can also be used as pets and comes in different colors (the choice is yours). Their distinguishing feature is that they are all born as male but they have the ability to change Sex i.e. become a female (without transgender? Wow!!!).
But, once a clown fish turns into a female, it stays like that forever -irreversible.
Finally, they rule in hierarchy with the largest fish (number one) as a female followed by a large male with the others as males. So **when the largest fish (female) dies, the large male takes over (turns into a female) and the hierarchy continues. A Clown fish can but survive without Sea anemone.
Ain’t you interested in this specie? You can read more here .
You can also check out the movie "FINDING NEMO"
We're just getting started...
Next is GUPPY AND MOLLY
They also are fishes who earned my respect fortnight. Brackish water is their habitat but Guppy and Molly are two different breeds with the same Genus "Poecilia". Because of their peaceful personality, they are AQUARIUM PETS.
Their special feature, the females of Mollies can store spermatozoa in them for a period of 3 months while Guppies can store theirs forever in the absence of males. The two breeds can also mate. Finally, they give birth to their offspring live without the need of hatching eggs unlike other fishes.
We're here to meet BOTHUS MANCUS
They are popularly called PEACOCK FLOUNDER or FLOWERY FLOUNDER because of their spots. Before reading about this fish, I knew about Chameleon and their camouflage abilities but good news is that they can also camouflage. Their eyes are high like radar and it is capable of moving with ease towards different angles - their eyes can view multiple places at a go. They are found in shallow water bodies.
They can pick up the color of their surroundings and fast as eight seconds, but without their eyes it is a problem.
SAW FISH - Heartbeat detector
Run as much as you can, but a saw fish would detect even the faintest heartbeat. They belong to the Family Pristidae and are referred to as CARPENTER SHARKS because of their long transverse teeth - a saw. It grows up to a length of 7 meter. They can be found only in Brackish habitat and relax, “they don't hurt human, unless they are being attacked” (I wonder where I could have hidden if they do).
Their saw varies according to age, specie or sex. They prefer shallow waters or can be raised in an aquarium.
Sawfish by J. Patrick Fischer licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
In the absence of males, the females can reproduce themselves through PARTHENOGENESIS.
ONOCORHYNCHUS NERKA is the specie I just met
Don’t be scared by the name up there, we call it SOCKEYE SALMON and I bet most people who consumes fish enjoys this one. They are also called RED SALMON and can be found in freshwater habitat but some can be found in Oceans. They live in hierarchies within their colonies and are aggressive towards each other especially the male.
They are very nutritious containing essential vitamins, fat and calories. Their distinct ability is “they use magnetic field on earth to find their way home” without GPS (they obviously don’t know what that means, do they?). No matter how long they stay in captivity, once they find their way back into the ocean they head back home. This is made possible by combining 2 magnetic fields by comparing the intensity, inclination and angle of their position with the earth itself but most of all their parents pass on knowledge of their origin to them in birth. Once they get back to their natal stream, they spawn and die.
Lastly, PLANARIAN
Just like “Wolverine in X-Men” this sea creature can easily regenerate any part of its body when cut. They belong to the family Planariidae and can be found in both Salt and Freshwater (Ponds and rivers). They use photoreceptors to move about.
Planarian by Pavel Kirillov licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Did you know? It is possible for a Planarian to generate two heads.
Watch this video on
Planaria Regeneration
What would you do if you could re generate any part of your body?
CONCLUSION
This is the future staring at us. These fishes have DNA capbilties that can bring about a whole new world and changes we seek via Fictional movies. There is a whole lot of world beyond the normal breeds of fishes we have around us. These are awesome creatures and as my lecturer mentioned about them in fishery class, I couldn’t help but fall in love with their personality. You might consider building an aquarium and keeping most of the harmless species or those who best fit your choice. But for now, it’s time I go sea-diving in the Atlantics. See you!
REFERENCES
National Geography
MNN
Live Science
Salmon Fish
Mentalfloss
Fishes
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