Queens Of Ocean: Fishes

Hooked, cooked or kept as pets, fishes have always been an integral part of our life. Fishes are considered as one of the unique creatures they are also one of the largest and most diverse categories in vertebrates. Surviving in the depth of water bodies all across the earth, they are one of the amazing and fascinating animals. They come in all shapes and sizes and are taken as good luck for having as pets. Here are some of the interesting facts about fish worth knowing:

• The word "halibut" termed as “holy flatfish" as it was only eaten on holy days.
• Most of the fishes reproduce by laying eggs, though some fish give birth to living babies known as pups.
• Lungfish is one of the species that can live away from water for several years. It releases a mucus cocoon and hides itself under the unbaked earth. It inhales air with its lung through a built-in breathing tube that leads to the surface. A lungfish bear both gills and a lung.
• Some of the fish, such as the great white shark, can raise their own body temperature. This helps them to hunt prey even in cold water.
• The one of the oldest known fish age was an Australian lungfish. In 2003, it was still alive and was well even at 65 years old.
• Fishes use a variety of low-pitched sounds to deliver messages to each other. They can moan, grunt, croak, boom, hiss and wail. They rattle their bones and can gnash their teeth. Even fishes do not have vocal chords. They are able to use other parts of body to make noises.
• Inside water fishes form schools having millions of fish. They use their eyes and something called a lateral line to hold their places in the fish school. The lateral line is a row of pores running along the fish’s sides from head to the tail. Special hairs in the pores sense changes in water pressure from the movements of other fish or predators.
• Starfish are neither a fish nor are jellyfish.
• Since the jaw of fish is not attached to its skull, many fishes can shoot their mouths forward like a spring to catch their prey.
• Sharks are the only fish that have eyelids among all the fishes.
• Fish have sleep-like periods where they have lowered response to stimuli, slowed physical activity, and reduced metabolism but they do not share the same changes in brain waves as humans do while sleeping.
• Most of the fish have taste buds all over their body.
• An estimated one third of male fishes in British waters are changing sex due to pollution in human sewage. This is one of the serious problems.
• Saltwater fish require drinking more water than freshwater fish. Since seawater is saltier than the liquids in a fish’s body, water inside the fish is regularly flowing out. If they didn’t drink to replace the lost water, saltwater fish would dry itself like prunes.
• The oldest fishhook ever found dates back is about 42,000 years ago.
• Most of the fish have little salt in them. Sharks, however, have meat as salty as the ocean they survive in.
• Most brands of lipstick have fish scales in them.
• Most fish use colours to camouflage themselves or to protect themselves and their territory. Some fish also have the best possible eyesight for their habitat and can certainly witness you peering at them in a fish tank.

By: Saksham Gupta

Content: https://www.factretriever.com/fun-fish-facts