VPP 322: Aquatic Animal Diseases, Health Care and Management (1+1)

VERTEBRATE AQUATIC ANIMALS

Vertebrate aquatic animals include fishes which are the most numerous of the vertebrates, or animals with backbones. Fishes are classified into three major groups based on their evolutionary developments namely,

• Primitive fishes - Jaws are absent and their mouth look like holes with armoured body. Eg. Lampreys and Hag fishes

Lamprey mouth	Armoured body

• Cartilaginous fishes – The skeletons of these fishes are made of cartilage and they lack gill cover. Instead they have gill slits. Eg. Sharks, Rays

Shark	Ray	Gill slits

• True bony fishes – Jaws are present and the skeletons of these fishes are made of bones, with or without scales on their body (catfishes). Eg. Tuna, Salmon, gold fish.

Catfish	Gold fish

Source: mygoldfishcare.com(Gold fish)

Salmon	Tuna

Source: fishing.com (Salmon), sustainablesushy.net(Tuna)