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Glossary of Fish Terms
- Adaptation:
- a characteristic of an animal that helps it survive in it's habitat.
- Adipose fin:
- a small fleshy fin along the midline of the back behind the dorsal fin.
- Anadromous:
- migrate to the ocean but spawn in freshwater.
- Anal fin:
- The fin on the belly of a fish directly in front of the tail.
- Axillary process:
- the very small fin attatched to the pelvic fin.
- Barbels:
- slender, flexible projections on the mouth or chin used for touch or taste.
- Benthic invertebrates:
- Aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans and larval insects that inhabit the bottom of a stream or lake.
- Broadcast spawining:
- Spawning where fish release eggs and sperm into currents to drift and settle wherever they fall.
- Caudal fin:
- tail fin.
- Circumpolar distribution:
- Distributed World-wide near one of the poles. In this case, the North Pole.
- Countershaded coloration:
- Animals have dark coloration on their backs to camouflage them against the bottom of a stream or lake, but they have light coloration on their underside to camoflage them against the sky from predators looking up from the bottom of a stream.
- Cryptically colored:
- Has body markings and colorations that camoflauge an organism and make it difficult to see.
- Dorsal fin:
- a fin along the midline of the back, usually midway between the head and tail fin.
- Hybridization:
- interbreeding between two genetically different populations, subspecies, or species.
- Inferior mouth:
- Mouth is on the underside of the head to facilitate feeding from the bottom of a stream or lake.
- Invertebrate:
- an animal without a backbone.
- Lateral line:
- a line of pores along the fish’s side that open into an underlying sensory canal.
- Minnow:
- Although this term is often used to refer to any young fish, it actually refers to a member of a specific family that includes carp, goldfish, shiners, dace, and pikeminnows.
- Natal stream:
- stream in which a fish was born.
- Operculum:
- protective flap that covers the gills.
- Palatine teeth:
- rows of teeth located on bones on either side of the roof of the mouth.
- Parr markings:
- Dark, usually oval-shaped markings on the sides of trout, salmon, and whitefish. These markings are usually found only on smaller fish, especially juveniles.
- Pectoral fins:
- The front-most paired fins found on fishes. Usually found just behind the gills.
- Pelvic fin:
- the fin on the underside of the fish nearest the head.
- Piscivorous
- : A fish that eats other fish.
- Plankton:
- very small organisms (sometimes microscopic) that have no backbone and drift through the water.
- Rays:
- stiff or flexible spines extending through the fins.
- Substrate:
- Rocks, sand, woody debris, leaves, silt, or any other material that makes up the bottom of a stream.
- Spawn
- : to deposit eggs.
- Swim bladder:
- a specialized organ in fish that fills with air and keeps the fish bouyant.
- Terminal mouth:
- mouth located at the end of the head.
- Vermiculations:
- wavy pattern of lines.
- Zooplankton:
- Very small animals that live in the water.
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ECOS is supported by the GK-12 Program of the National Science Foundation.