There are two main types of fish: cartilaginous fish and bony fish. This pinfish is a bony fish. Sharks & rays, by contrast, are cartilaginous fish.
Image of fish was made by coloring a rubber stamp with markers, then stamping it on white paper. This rubber stamp was made by Fred B. Mullett, who sells an extraordinary number of highly realistic images of ocean creatures & plants, all printed with the Japanese gyotaku technique. Fred says his cats are the best-fed in the country, because he uses nontoxic inks and gives all his leftover fish to his cats.
Wow...what a fishy lesson, Fi. Today I am on fish feeding duty (my friend is in Italy) and I will now look at the little swimmers in an educated light!
ReplyDeleteCool! Just remember that the pinfish is just an example. Some fish have duplicate parts, like more than one dorsal fin, or paired pelvic &/or anal fins. And the pectoral fins of sharks are down at the bottom of their bodies, instead of sticking out from the side. Some fish use those fins for balance and steering only, with only the tail fin for locomotion; others flap them like wings to add to what the tail is doing, side to side.
DeleteAlso: many bony fish, like that pinfish, have one or two large dark spots to fool predators into thinking those spots are their eyes, so that the predator will lunge at the big spot, allowing its would-be prey to evade capture.
DeleteGreat collages, and a great education in fishes, Fi!
ReplyDeleteI followed your link on Gyotaku, and it reminded me of this book by Eleanor Morgan, which I got from her exhibition at the Grant Museum of Zoology a while back, called "How To Rub a Fish" which tells you exactly that, ie how to take a rubbing from a fish!
Some pics of her workshop sessions here:
http://www.eleanormorgan.com/How-to-rub-a-fish