Five little-known facts about fish

Fish is a creature that lives in the water, breathes through the gills, has a spine, fins and a two-chamber heart. It would seem that more about them? But in fact, these are amazing creatures, the size of which varies from tiny creatures that would fit on nails, to monsters the size of a ship. They can sleep with open eyes and eat without teeth. We offer you five interesting, but little-known facts about our water neighbors.

The most common fish in the world you've ever seen

If you think that the most common fish is tuna, flounder or goldfish, try guessing again. Fish, which is most often found on the planet, people just almost never meet. Why? Because this creature is very small, it is inventively disguised and lives at a depth of 200 to 450 meters. We are talking about acupuncture, fish of the genus Cyclothone.

These small fish rarely grow more than 8 centimeters and consist mainly of mouth and fins. They drift with sea currents, unable to resist them. But igloroths have an unusual element of camouflage: two rows of photophores, or light-emitting organs on the abdomen, which hide these fish from predators. By the way, even shrimps prey on iglorots! You can imagine how small it is.

The biggest fish is not more dangerous than a kitten

The largest fish in the marine world is the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), which lives in semi-tropical and warm temperate waters around the world, reaches a length of more than 20 meters and weighs about 40 tons. Due to its size, giant dull head and color, the whale shark looks like a creepy monster that you should stay away from.

But in reality, whale sharks are quite harmless and so obedient that they even allow people to ride on their backs. They do not attack prey with sharp teeth, but filter the water, drawing it in, like a huge vacuum cleaner. Accordingly, their diet is not made up by gape surfers, but tiny plankton, small fish, crustaceans, and squid.

The smallest fish in the world - a male parasite

The answer to the question which fish can be considered the smallest in the world has long been the subject of scientific debate. In 2006, an article was published in the prestigious scientific journal of the Royal Society of Great Britain, which talked about the discovery of a tiny fish from the genus Paedocypris, which lives in the marshes of Sumatra and has a length of only 7.8 millimeters. Soon after, other scientists entered into a polemic with the authors of the article, reminding them of another even smaller fish, which has already been described in the scientific literature. This is Schindleria brevipinguis, a coral ray-finned fish that lives in two areas of the Great Barrier Reef. Its length is only 7 millimeters.

But the champion was a male species of Panamanian photocorin (Photocorynus spiniceps), found in the Philippines, with a length of about 6 millimeters. At the same time, females of this species are ten times larger - up to 7 centimeters, and males spend their whole life parasitizing on them, clinging to their spouse. She takes care of movement and food, and the male simply holds on tightly, enjoys the fruits of her labors and generally has a good time. One word is a parasite.

Fish have taste buds on fins and tails.

Unlike humans, fish do not have three-dimensional vision because their eyes are on opposite sides of the head. But what they lack in binocular vision is compensated by the extremely sharp, interconnected senses of smell and taste, which they rely on to perceive the environment.

The smell helps some fish to find a safe place to lay their eggs. Migrating salmon can recognize the smell of their home stream. Sharks, eels and salmon also have such finely tuned olfactory sockets (organs that detect odors) that they can sense a chemical level equal to one billionth of all the substances in the water around them.

The ability to taste in fish is also well developed. Many species have taste buds not only in the tongue, but also on the fins, muzzle, and tail. They are actually capable of tasting food before it enters the mouth. The most sophisticated taste recognition system is possessed by catfish. They are literally covered from head to tail with taste buds, which allows them to catch food even in muddy, dirty water.