Fish Characteristics

Broadly speaking, fish are a very particular group of animals that tend to have very few characteristics with other types of specimens such as mammals or vertebrates. Without exaggeration, fish are one of the most numerous animals on the planet, as well as the most difficult to identify due to the place where they live. As if that were not enough, these animals are very important for human consumption since they provide a large amount of nutrients that other species give to a lesser extent. It is because of this that they are indispensable for the economic development of many regions of the world.

Fish characteristics:

1. The main characteristic of fish is that they are aquatic and vertebrate, that is, they live in water and have bones (which are commonly known as spines).
2. Generally, fish are eclothermic species, which means that they necessarily need external sources to produce heat and energy.
3. Generally, fish have their body covered with scales which protect them. Also, most of them have fins that allow them to move through the water.
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4. They have gills, which are one of their most important elements since with them they can breathe capturing the oxygen found in the water.
5. Fish can live in both fresh and salt water, so we can find them in rivers, lakes or in the sea.
6. The species of fish that are known to this day are usually divided into different classes or types, which are: agnate or jawless fish, among which we can mention lampreys; chondrichthyans or cartilaginous fishes such as sharks and rays and osteíctios or bony fishes, which in turn are divided into actinopterygii and sarcopterygii.
7. The branch of zoology, a science that studies animals, which is responsible for studying fish is called ichthyology.