Types of Fish

Fish are aquatic creatures found throughout the globe. There are about 28,000 species of fish. Read on to know more about types of fish.

Fish are the oldest vertebrates of the world. The first fish is supposed to be found about 500 million years ago. These are the aquatic vertebrates, typically ectothermic (cold-blooded). Their body is covered with scales and provided with two sets of paired fins and many unpaired fins. Most fish have a bony skeleton, except rays and sharks have cartilaginous skeleton. Fish breathe using the gills, which perform an exchange of gases between the fish’s blood and water. Most fish feed on small plants, while some fish such as shark feed on other fish.

There is a huge variety of fish, differing in size, shape and color. Their sizes highly range from 8 mm long stout infant fish to 16 m whale shark. There are over 28,000 known species of fish found throughout the world. Out of them, almost 27,000 species include bony fish. Remaining 970 species include rays, sharks and chimeras and 108 lampreys and hag fishes. Fish are found in all types of water bodies all over the globe. Fish can be kept in an aquarium as the pets or used to prepare wonderful recipes.

Types of Fish

There are various types of fish, depending upon their habitats and characteristics. Some major types of fish are freshwater fish, tropical fish, marine fish, cold water fish, aquarium fish, etc.