Subphylum Urochordata

Subphylum Cephalochordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
The most diverse of all vertebrates
My research on fish

* PhD Program (Oregon State University)

Olfaction in coho salmon

* Post-doctoral fellowship (University of Saskatchewan)

Chemical communication in minnows

 Month: April
Ice thickness: 4 ft
Q: What is a fish??
Jellyfish
Starfish
Cuttlefish
Shellfish
Silverfish
Crayfish

A loosely used word !!

DEFINITION ATTEMPT: Gill-breathing, poikilothermic,
aquatic vertebrate that possesses fins and has skin
usually covered with scales.

Dominant Vertebrate: more species (25,000) than all

other vertebrates combined!!

EXPERTS: Ichthyologists
 Jawless Fishes (Agnatha)

Subphylum Vertebrata

Class Myxini (hagfish)

Hagfish Observations:

Notochord persistant

No paired appendages

No Stomach

Isoosmotic with seawater

Naked skin
 Hagfish

Slime Pores
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/nasty-by-nature-hag-fish-slime.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2EOP3ohnE
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/new-zealand-hagfish-slime-vin

Hagfish
Slime
 enters a dead or dying animal through an orifice or by
digging into the body rasps bits of flesh from its prey.

*
Knotting behavior produces
greater ripping force
Subphylum Vertebrata

CLASS Petromyzontida
(lampreys)
Lamprey Observations

Notochord persistant

No stomach

Naked skin
No paired appendages

Migrate upriver to spawn

Pharyngeal slits (7)

Kidney that regulates water & solutes

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/river-monsters/videos/a-kiss-of-death-lamprey-sucks-jeremys-blood.htm
Cartilaginous Skeleton
 Lamprey Jawed
Hagfish Fish

Bony
Cartilaginous
Fish
Fish
Lamprey Life History

Prolonged larval stage

Both freshwater and marine species

All species migrate up a river to spawn

(marine species: anadromous)

Both parasitic & nonparasitic species

NOTE: Nonparasitic species do not feed as adults. Digestive
system degenerates reproduce & die w/in a few months!!

(or ocean)
(1 3 yr)

Adults
die

(3 - 7(+) yr)
CLASS CHONDRICHTHYS
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Jaws.html
Class Chondrichthys
Subclass Holocephali

Chimeras

ratfish
 Subclass Elasmobranchii
(sharks, skates, rays)

Bodies fusiform or depressed

Ventral mouth
Naked or with placoid scales
Spiral valve
Buoyancy: liver not swim bladder
Isoosmotic to seawater
Internal fertilization
Cartilaginous ENDOskeleton notochord reduced
Mammalian Vertebral Column

*
*
 Snake
Bony
Fish

Class Chondrichythys
All-Cartilage Skeleton (may be variably calcified)
 SHARK
Left pectoral fin

- Pterygiophores

- Ceratotrichia
Nares
Skate Skeleton

Pectoral
Fins
Water
Flow
 SHARK SKIN
Note countershading
naris (s)
nares (pl)
Mammalian tooth

Epidermis

Placoid scales

- are DERMAL

- are modified in the mouth

as teeth

- are homologous to
vertebrate teeth
Shark teeth fossilize cartilaginous skeletons do not
ELECTRORECEPTION

Electrical Field
Detection System

Stephano Lorenzini
(1678)
 Unusual
Read about the sharks surprising manner of osmoregulation
 Boots
Musical instruments
Tablecloth
Bottles of wine
A bulldogs head
Barrel of nails
Fur coat
Porcupine
Lift in the form of buoyancy:

1) Liver = 25% of body mass

80% of liver = low density fats

(e.g., squalene density = 0.86 g/mL)

2) Cartilage is less dense than bone

 Big
Buoyant
Fatty
Liver
 The Bony Fishes

CLASS Sarcopterygii
(lobe-finned fishes)

Common
Ancestor Tetrapods

CLASS Actinopterygii
(ray-finned fishes)
Extant Lobe-finned fish !!
(living fossil)

Fisherman caught
one in 1938

Latimeria
 Devonian Fossils
Eusthenopteron lobe-fined fish from the late
Devonian Period. Note pectoral fin attached to
Acanthostega early Devonian
the skull.
tetrapod Note forelimb bones (not
a strong walker)
Class Sarcopterygii

Lobe-finned fishes include the extant LUNGFISH

(1 species) (4 species)
(1 species)
Neoceratodus forsteri

1st record: 380 mya

 Swim bladder
Gut

Common
Ancestor Lungfish

Lungfish

Origin of
Vertebrate Lungs?
Lungfish
Unbroken Notochord!
(some Vertebra?)
African Lungfish Circulation
Tissues
CLASS Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
All typical bony fish (>25,000 species)
 Diversity
Of
Body Shapes
 Most Fish

Strong vertebral
column upturn
Slight upturn but
external symmetry
No vertebral
column upturn
Variation: Homocercal Tails of Bony Fish
Strongly Modified
Dorsal Fins
Anchoring of Dorsal Fin

body surface

Muscle Tissue
 Soft Rays Hard Rays
e.g., minnow e.g., sunfish

lateral anterior lateral anterior

 Embedded Exposed

Embedded Exposed

Examples: Trout Perch

Minnows Sunfish
Surprise?? Epidermis lies above scales

*
*

Fish Body Wall

Catfishes have a naked skin (no scales)

Super-sensitivity to
dissolved amino acids

10-9 to 10-10 M
1 dot = 100 taste buds
BODY FORM
 Chinook Salmon (cross-section)

Vertical Septum

Horizontal Septum
C
 DRAG
Little Lots

Tuna Mackerel Shark Eel

Fast Slow
Tail Flip Rate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lv51E-q1xU
 Weight-
Specific
Cost
of
Transport
(J/m/kg)

Buoyancy Helps!
Novel Buoyancy
Swim Bladders
- Physostomous connection to gut
- Physoclistous no connection
Low-frequency Hearing in Minnows
 Physoclistous
Swim Bladder

Adjustable Volume
while submerged

Physostomous
Swim Bladder
 No Adjustment

Swim Adjustment
Bladder
Volume

Depth

Swim Swim
Bladder Bladder
Volume Pressure

Depth
Read about lactic acid
production and how blood
responds
Aquatic Respiration
Possibilities
Operculum Gill Arch

Gill
Plankton Filter Feeders
e.g., herring, shad
 1 Liter
O2
1 L water

BAD BAD BADwater

1 L air

O2 N
 Higher Pressure

Low Pressure High Pressure

Lower Pressure
arch

1 2

Water In Water Out

Also: RAM VENTILATION
When to Pump When to RAM?

Mackerel n = 5 Fish

Active
Pumping
Rate
(cycles/sec)

No Pumping
= 100 % RAM
Swimming Speed (m/sec)
Fathead Minnow Lamellae

Filament
RBCs
Physiologys Most Beautiful Principle:
Countercurrent Exchange
 Birds & Mammals: More Area
Air: More Oxygen

Gas
Exchange
Membrane
Area (cm2)

Conclusion: CCE is
super-efficient
Conclusion: CCE is
super-efficient
Fish Blood
The Big Picture

Single Loop
 4 Chambers

Bony Fish Heart

2
1

3
4
Blood Supply to the Heart??

Higher
Vertebrates

Most Fish
Some fish (salmon, tuna, sharks), some
amphibians & reptiles
Warm-blooded Fish??
 Tuna Cross Section

Counter-current
Heat Exchanger
Hydrating
Environment

NH3 NH3

Why NH3?
Desiccating
Environment
 BIG BUSINESS

Bass Tournament
 S
W
I
M
M
I
Relative N
Gill G
Surface
Areas
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y
http://www.nature.com/news/video-fish-
leaps-to-catch-birds-on-the-wing-1.14496