Hooked, cooked, or as pets, fish have always been an integral part of human life. One of the unique creatures, fishes, comprise one of the largest and most diverse categories in vertebrates. Living in the depth of water bodies all across the earth, they truly are amazing, intriguing and fascinating animals. They come in all shapes, colors, and sizes and are considered a good luck charm for having as pets. Here are some of the interesting facts about fish worth knowing:
image: imcphoto.net
1. The oldest inhabitors on Earth
Fishes have been present on Earth for the last 450 million years. They were present long before the Dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Source: peteducation.com, image: Flickr
2. The lipsticks connection!
Well, ladies, give thanks to the fishes as your precious component of makeup, the lipsticks, contain fish scale which contributes to your sassy look.
Source: facts.randomhistory.com. image: scottsutton.net
3. Fishes have taste buds all over their body
Did you know that fishes have the ability to taste without even opening their mouth?
This truly is amazing.
Source: factslides.com, image: Flickr
4. Fishes are counter shaded
To be less visible in the water, most fishes are counter shaded. They are darker on top, lighter or silver on their sides and brightest on their bellies.
Source: smithsonianscience.si.edu,image: Flickr
5. Lots of Fishy things!
Fishes are found in more species than all the other species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals combined. There are approximately 32,000 different kinds of fishes.
Source: sanctuaries.noaa.gov, image: wikimedia.org
6. Special fish radar helps in navigation
Fishes have a special sense organ, the lateral line which is like radar and helps fishes to navigate in dark or murky water.
Source: peteducation.com, image: Flickr
7. Fishes can apparently change sex
Some fishes are known to change their sex during their life. That is purely strange, isn’t it?
Source: factslides.com, image: Flickr
8. Some fishes need to swim continuously
Sharks and some other fishes do not possess air bladder which helps them to keep afloat. Therefore, they must keep swimming continuously or rest on the bottom.
Source: sanctuaries.noaa.gov
9. Fishes have great senses
Fishes are supposed to have an excellent sense of touch, taste and sight. Some even have a good sense of hearing and smell. And what is more intriguing is that fish can feel pain and experience stress just like other mammals and birds.
Source: kidskonnect.com, image: Flickr
10. Fishes can drown
It would be weird to say that fishes can drown, but that can happen. If there is not enough oxygen dissolved in the water, they can be drowned.
Source: quora.com
11. Fishes cannot Chew
Fishes could suffocate and die if they tried to chew because chewing would interfere with their passing of water over their gills.
Source: randomhistory.com. image: Flickr
12. Deadly Puffer Fish
A special kind of fish, Puffer fish, contains enough poison to kill 30 people. The toxin found in this fish is 1200 times deadlier than the Cyanide.
Source: factslides.com, image: wikimedia.org
13. Fishes make lot of noises even without vocal cords
Fishes make a lot of noises to convey their messages. Even though they don’t have vocal cords, they use other parts to moan, grunt, boom, hiss, creak, shriek and wail.
Source: randomhistory.com. image: Flickr
14. Rain of Fish
A curious event of “RAIN OF FISH” occurs every year in the city Yoro in Honduras where hundreds of fishes rain from the sky.
Source: Wikipedia. image: schwartzhonduras.weebly.com
15. A fish can change its sex!
In a recent research, it was found out that about one-third of male fishes in British rivers are changing sex due to sewage and pollution in the rivers.
Source: factslides.com, image: i.ytimg.com
16. A fish that can live without water!
Lungfish can live without water for several days. It can survive on land because it has both gills and a lung. It takes in air with its lung through a tube (called breathing tube) that leads to the surface.
source: britannica.com, image: icdn.hu
17. Some fishes are not fish!
Though their names suggest that they are fish, they don’t belong to the fish family and the reason is that they don’t possess the required features to be the fish. Fish have bones, gills, and scales while the Starfish and Jellyfish don’t have bones, gills, and scales.
source: toxicm16.imascientist.org.uk, image: hearthsong.com
18. A fish can beat your car!
If you proud on your car-speed then hold for a moment as the Sailfish can beat your car. the Indo-Pacific Sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, is considered world’s fastest fish with an average speed of 110 km/hr.
source: thetravelalmanac.com
19. Now, the slowest fish!
Seahorses move so slowly that one can barely notice and that’s the feature, which makes them the slowest fish in the world.
source: factretriever.com
20. “Fish” and “Fishes” are two different things!
We use the term ‘Fish’ when we refer to only one species of fish like 10 Shark are 10 fish while the term ‘Fishes’ is used when we refer more than one species like 10 Shark, 2 Salmon, and 4 Trout are 16 fishes.
source: factretriever.com
