Page 38 - Fish and Amphibians (Britannica Illustrated Science Library)

34 LIFE IN THE WATER FISH AND AMPHIBIANS 35

Matters of Life and Death They reach
Flying Fish
2
1
heights of up to
19 feet (6 m).
Exocoetidae, or flying fish, are a family of ESCAPE TAKEOFF
o survive, most fish need adaptations to enable them to flee from their ocean fish that includes 52 species grouped When a predator The fish comes to the
appears, the flying fish
surface and elevates
in eight genera. They are found in all the propels itself out of itself as high as it can,
predators or to find food. The European plaice can lie on the ocean floor oceans, especially in warm tropical the water. skipping over the water. 3 GLIDING
T with its flat body. Its ivory color makes it almost invisible. The and subtropical waters. Their most The average gliding distance is
160 feet (50 m), but they can
surprising characteristic is their
flying fish, on the other hand, developed pectoral fins to lift itself unusually large pectoral fins, glide as far as 660 feet (200 m).
up over the surface of the water and flee its enemies. which give them the ability
to fly and glide for
short distances.
These fish cover distances of up to 160 feet (50 m) in the air.
European Plaice
VENTRAL SIDE Flying fish measure from
The European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a flat ANATOMY
remains an ivory 7 to 18 inches
fish with a shape especially designed to allow it to color, devoid of (18 to 45 cm) long. This fish slides over the
remain motionless on the seafloor. It also provides an pigmentation. This water with its hardened
example of mimesis. Its two sides are very different. side rests on the fins, and it can reach
ocean floor.
The top side is pigmented with small red spots speeds up to 40 miles
that camouflage the fish on the seafloor, per hour (65 km/h) for
where it uses its fins to cover itself with as long as 30 seconds.
sand to hide from predators.
This fish has
MOUTH highly developed
The European plaice's entire body EUROPEAN pectoral and
undergoes metamorphosis from its larval PLAICE pelvic fins.
state to adulthood. The mouth, however, Pleuronectes
remains the same. platessa
FLYING FISH
Exocoetus volitans
EYES SPOTS
Both are are useful for
located on the camouflage in the
right side. sand and for hiding
from its predators.
Scorpion Fish
Found in the reefs of the Gulf of Mexico, Scorpaena
plumieri, known commonly as the scorpion fish, has a
brown, spotted body with many appendages that look
like moss between its mouth and its eyes. This fish is
hard to see because its texture and color help it blend
easily into the seafloor. Its dorsal fins have a powerful
Transformation venom, which causes intense pain.
At birth, the European plaice does not have a flat
form but looks like a normal fish. It eats near the
surface and swims using its swim bladder. As time GILLS
The European
goes by, its body becomes flat. The swim bladder plaice breathes
dries up, and the fish sinks to the bottom of the sea. through its gills.
OPERCULUM FIN CAUDAL FIN
The dorsal, anal, and
is the bone that
1 5 days supports the gill caudal fins form a Thin, barely used SCORPION FISH
for swimming.
structure.
0.14 inch (3.5 mm) The vertebrae continuous line Scorpaena plumieri
around the body.
begin to form.
2 10 days
0.15 inch (4 mm)
The pigment cells join
The fold of the fin 45 days to form dark spots.
One eye on each side is forming, and 4
the mouth is 0.43 inch (11 mm)
already open. 3 22 days
45 days 0.31 inch (8 mm) The left eye It no longer
looks to the
moves to the top
The cleft of of the head. right, but
is the amount of time the European plaice takes to the tail upward.
develops.
become a flat fish from a typical streamlined larva.