Dwarf fish and giant fish. Chordates. vertebrates. fish. fish giants and dwarfs Dwarfs and giants of cartilaginous fish

These huge fish can be found in the depths of the sea - although you would not wish to meet them, perhaps, to anyone.
A Cambodian comes face to face with a giant barb fish on the Tonle Sap River near Phnom Penh.

Fishermen from Kmbodia catch about 9 adult giant barbs on Tonle Sap every year, making this region one of the last places on earth to see these spectacular freshwater fish.

A man swims in an aquarium with an adult giant arapaima in Manaus, Brazil. This giant is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Some individuals reach a length of more than 3 meters and weigh over 180 kg. In recent years, due to intensive hunting, Arapaim have become rare throughout the world.

Tourists walk past stuffed paddlefish on display at the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute in Jingzhou, China. This endangered species lives in the Yangtze River in China and is a contender for the title of the largest freshwater fish in the world.

A pair of sturgeons swim in the aquarium in Beijing, China. 5-meter fish up to half a ton in weight are also among the largest freshwater and largest sturgeons on Earth.

A boy poses with a giant barb on the Tonle Sap River. The largest barb ever caught by fishermen on this river reached 3 meters in length.

Man holding a newborn giant stingray

Giant rays like this one are found in the Mekong River in Cambodia.

A Cambodian and a giant catfish on the Tonle Sap River. Fishermen caught this specimen, which weighed about 230 kg, as by-catch in a stationary mesh bag. He was later released.

In the class of fish, as in other classes of animals, vertebrates and invertebrates, there are species characterized by different sizes. Among the fish there are real dwarfs and monstrous giants.

In the Philippine Islands, between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, there is a tiny lake goby mystichthys, whose length is 1-1.5 centimeters. This goby is found in large flocks. The inhabitants of the islands catch it and eat it. The mystichthys goby is considered the smallest animal of all vertebrates in the world.

There are dwarf fish in European waters, in particular in Soviet ones. In the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas, Berg's goby is found, the length of which barely reaches three centimeters. This is the smallest vertebrate animal within the USSR. In the figure, the goby is shown almost 5 times enlarged.

In our waters, marine and fresh, there are many fish 5–10 centimeters in size. Baikal goby stone sculpin usually has a length of 8 centimeters, and only occasionally come across specimens up to 14 centimeters long. This fish most of the time swims among the stones, here it feeds, and here it breeds.

Small size and stickleback fish. It is very abundant in lakes, rivers and brackish coastal areas of the seas. The Aral nine-spined stickleback is only 5–6 centimeters long. There are so many sticklebacks in our water bodies that it could become a commercial fish. In Finland and other Baltic countries, stickleback is caught and processed to produce fat for technical purposes and flour for livestock and poultry feed.

Some herrings, minnows, bleaks, verkhovka, gudgeon, plucked fish, etc. should also be attributed to small fish species. Pinchovka got its Russian name for the sharp thorns located near the eyes; With these spines, the fish is quite sensitively pricked (pinched).

In stories about animals, large individuals are of particular interest. We are surprised by the large size of fish, and we try to learn more about their life.

Some cartilaginous fish, sharks should be recognized as real giants. In the northern regions of the Atlantic Ocean, and partly in the Barents Sea, there is a gigantic shark. Its length is over 15 meters. Despite such a gigantic size, this shark is reputed to be a rather peaceful animal. It feeds mainly on small fish and other small marine organisms, but on occasion it also eats the corpses of large marine animals, even whales. When hunting for a gigantic shark, accidents can occur, since it has such great strength that it can break the boat with tail blows.

Even larger sharks are found in tropical seas.

There are also giants among our sturgeon (cartilaginous fish). Fishermen caught beluga weighing more than one and a half tons. Belugas weighing one ton and are currently no exception.

With strong winds from the south, the water in the coastal sections of the Volga rises so much that it floods large expanses of the delta. These shallow waters are visited by fish, including beluga. With a rapid decline in water, clumsy beluga sometimes remain in drying lowlands. Once I was an eyewitness of how a happy Astrakhan with what is called with his bare hands took a live beluga, weighing more than 500 kilograms, in which there was a lot of top quality caviar, almost on land.

Amur beluga - Kaluga weigh over a ton. At the sight of such giants, one is surprised not so much by the length of their body as by their weight.

Sturgeon and stellate sturgeon are also large fish. The Baltic Sea sturgeon reaches the largest size; its weight is up to 160 kilograms. There are cases when sturgeons were caught weighing up to 280 kilograms with a body length of three and a half meters.

In June 1930, a female sturgeon 265 centimeters long and weighing 128 kilograms was caught in the southern part of Lake Ladoga. A rare specimen was skinned and transferred to the Zoological Museum of the Academy of Sciences (in Leningrad) for making a stuffed animal. The Ladoga fishermen informed us that another large sturgeon was caught in the Volkhov Bay almost at the same time - a male, somewhat smaller than the female. This fact is worth mentioning: it can be assumed that a pair of sturgeon was heading to the Volkhov River for spawning. The fishermen, who did not want to miss such prey, did not think that these fish could give more than a million fry (sturgeons). I will also talk about the Baltic sturgeon in other parts of the book, this fish is worth taking special care of.

One of the largest bony fish, the arapaima, lives in the rivers of tropical America. Its length is up to 4 meters, weight 150-200 kilograms. They hunt it with rods and arrows. Arapaima meat is considered delicious.

Aral catfish often weighs up to 2 centners. Even larger catfish (up to 3 centners) come across in the Dnieper. The Caspian catfish weighs over 160 kilograms. The longest catfish is 5 meters.

You have probably heard about the huge pikes weighing 50-80 kilograms, hunting for waterfowl and animals caught in the water. In the stories, the pike is represented as a greedy freshwater shark. There is a lot of fantastic in this, but a lot of it is fair. Indeed, occasionally there are pikes weighing about 50 kilograms and more than 1.5 meters long.

In the Amur, among the cyprinids, which are considered to be medium-sized fish, there are specimens reaching two meters in length and 40 kilograms in weight.

The well-known cod of the North Atlantic usually has a body length of 50–70 centimeters and a weight of 4–7 kilograms. But in 1940, a cod 169 centimeters long and weighing 40 kilograms was caught in the Barents Sea.

Who would have guessed that among the herring fish, which we consider small, there are also giants! Such is the Atlantic tarpoon. Its length is up to 2 meters, weight is up to 50 kilograms. This fish is found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, sometimes it enters rivers. Commercial fishermen and angler athletes also hunt for tarpoons. Who is not flattered to fish out such a "herring"! Interestingly, when this fish is dragged out of the water, it performs such a trick - it jumps with a hook to a height of 2-3 meters above the water.

Take a look at the picture. What a monster the hammerhead shark looks like! The Russian name of this animal is consistent with the shape of its body. Hammerhead fish, reaching a length of 3-4 meters, is considered one of the most terrible ocean predators, dangerous to humans. The hammerhead fish is found in tropical seas, but it is also found off the coast of Europe, keeping mainly near the bottom.

Dwarf fish and giant fish

In the class of fish, as in other classes of animals, vertebrates and invertebrates, there are species characterized by different sizes. Among the fish there are real dwarfs and monstrous giants.

In stories about animals, large individuals are of particular interest. We are surprised by the large size of fish, and we try to learn more about their life.

Even larger sharks are found in tropical seas.

There are also giants among our sturgeon (cartilaginous fish). Fishermen caught beluga weighing more than one and a half tons. Belugas weighing one ton and are currently no exception.

Amur beluga - Kaluga weigh over a ton. At the sight of such giants, one is surprised not so much by the length of their body as by their weight.

Aral catfish often weighs up to 2 centners. Even larger catfish (up to 3 centners) come across in the Dnieper. The Caspian catfish weighs over 160 kilograms. The longest catfish is 5 meters.

In the Amur, among the cyprinids, which are considered to be medium-sized fish, there are specimens reaching two meters in length and 40 kilograms in weight.

Take a look at the picture. What a monster the hammerhead shark looks like! The Russian name of this animal is consistent with the shape of its body. Hammerhead fish, reaching a length of 3-4 meters, is considered one of the most terrible ocean predators, dangerous to humans. The hammerhead fish is found in tropical seas, but is also found off the coast of Europe, keeping mainly near the bottom.

There are especially many giants among sharks. There are among them "fish" up to 20 meters long and weighing up to 30 tons. The largest of the sharks is the whale shark. One liver of this shark weighs over a ton. She has such a mouth that she could swallow a man like a pill. Fortunately, this is a completely harmless fish. It feeds mainly on plankton. Most often, the whale shark is found in the warm waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Slightly smaller than the giant whale shark. It is 15 meters long and up to 20 tons in weight. The giant shark is also a peaceful fish. It feeds on plankton, mollusks and only occasionally tiny fish. Lives in the Atlantic Ocean, mainly in its northern part.

A large shark is polar, its length is 8-9 meters. This is a real predator. She attacks big fish and even seals. In the Barents Sea, polar sharks are caught on huge hooks tied to a cable and baited with pieces of seal meat. The liver of these sharks is especially valued; excellent medical fish oil is rendered from it.

In ancient prehistoric times, there were sharks, in comparison with which modern ones look like dwarfs. The fossil shark karharo-don was of enormous size. It is believed that its length exceeded 30 meters, and 7-8 people could freely accommodate in its mouth.

There are giants among stingrays. The manta ray lives in the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. It often reaches a length of 6 meters, and its weight exceeds four tons. Fishermen call the manta the sea devil. And not in vain. There are cases when a huge stingray, caught on a hook, jumped out of the water and, falling into a boat with fishermen, drowned it.

Recently, our whalers, while hunting whales in the waters of the southern hemisphere, harpooned a sea stingray of rare size. His skin alone weighed 500 kilograms. It was sent to the Zoological Museum of Moscow University.

But not only in the vastness of the oceans there are giant fish. Let's take a look at the Caspian Sea. Everyone knows the Caspian beluga. After sharks and gigantic rays, this is the largest fish. In 1926, a beluga weighing 1228 kilograms was caught near the Biryuchaya Spit, one caviar in it turned out to be 246 kilos, but in 1827 a beluga weighing 1440 kilograms was caught - the largest ever caught.

Beluga is also a predatory fish. It feeds on roach and herring, but sometimes large fish and young seals are found in its stomach. They hunt the beluga with nets, but they also catch it with ropes and even on a piece of white oilcloth wrapped around a hook.

Almost the same size is reached by the closest Amur relative of the beluga, kaluga, a thunderstorm of Far Eastern salmon.

In the warm waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, tuna is found. This is a large fish, more than 3 meters long and weighing up to 600 kilograms. Tuna is famous for its tender and fatty meat: according to some, it resembles pork, according to others, chicken. Tuna is sometimes even called sea chicken. Our fishermen fish for tuna off the western coast of Africa. They catch this fish with long lines - in tiers or on a fishing rod, putting a sardine on the hook. Tunas are also caught on the track, using a rubber squid or an artificial fish with a hook masked with feathers as bait.

Z fishermen pick up a school of tuna, and live sardines fly into the water. To delay the approaching tuna, mechanics use spray devices - artificial rain imitates the game of sardines. Tunas begin to hunt, and at this time the fishermen cast their lines. _ Fishing bears little resemblance to sports fishing: a big hook, a heavy-duty line, a swing of the rod - and a huge fish, whizzing through the air, plops down on the deck behind the angler's back.

Of the freshwater fish, the largest is our European catfish. Once I managed to see a catfish weighing 21 pounds (336 kilograms), he was caught in the Dnieper near Smolensk.

The freshwater fish of South America arapaima is slightly inferior in size to catfish. Each scale is almost the size of a saucer for jam. Arapaima meat is highly valued by the local population. They hunt for it with a spear or a gun, less often they catch it with a bait.

The moon-fish reaches almost a ton, although it does not exceed 2.5 meters in length. This is a "stump fish. They usually say about them: what is along, then across. Moon-fish can be found in all oceans.

Everyone knows flat as a plate fish flounder. Usually for lunch, the hostess buys 2-3 fish. But there are flounders and more impressive! The halibut flounder is found in the Barents Sea. One adult halibut can serve as a meal for at least 500 people. After all, such a flounder weighs 200 or even 300 kilograms, and its length is 4-6 meters. Not every store will fit such a “fish” in its entirety!

The belt-fish, or, as it is also called, the oar king, looks completely different. The body of this fish is ribbon-like, it weighs about 100 kilograms and reaches a length of 6-7 meters. The homeland of the belt-fish is the Atlantic and Indian oceans. She is called the herring king because she often moves along with a school of herring, and on her head she has a corolla resembling a crown.

V.Sabunaev, "Entertaining ichthyology"

Fish live in mountain streams, full-flowing rivers and lakes, in the oceans, off the coast and at great depths. The variety of these chordate aquatic animals is great in appearance, size and lifestyle. About 20,000 species of fish are known, of which about 1,400 species live within the Russian Federation.

Among the fish there are giants and dwarfs. The largest living fish is the whale shark, its body is up to 15 m long. Individual specimens of whale sharks can be even larger - up to 20 m long or even more. The mass of a shark 11-12 m long reaches 12-14 tons. The whale shark has a powerful body, a relatively small head with tiny eyes, and a crescent-shaped tail fin.

The whale shark was known only to sailors for a long time. For the first time, zoologists met this giant in 1828, when a whale shark 4.5 m long was harpooned off the coast of South Africa.

The whale shark lives in all oceans except the Arctic. It is especially common near the Philippine Islands, Southern California and near Cuba. She prefers to swim in the surface layers of water. Apparently, this is due to her way of eating. There are many stories about the whale shark, often embellished with fiction about a terrible sea monster. In fact, this timid animal is not at all dangerous to humans. Scuba divers approach her, touch her with their hands and even sit on top of her.

The shark feeds on small fish, crustaceans and squid. It reproduces by laying eggs enclosed in horn capsules.

The real giants also include a giant shark with a maximum body length of up to 15 and a mass of up to 9 tons, which is somewhat smaller than only the whale shark.

Slowly swimming near the surface of the water, the giant shark filters about 1500 m 3 of water per hour. The stomach of a giant shark is large and can hold about a ton of food, consisting mainly of planktonic crustaceans.

For humans, the giant shark is safe. However, there are many cases of attacks on humans by other sharks - tiger, white, blue, sand, hammerhead sharks and some others.

Real giants are also found among stingrays. In tropical waters, a manta ray often lives up to 6 m long, and weighing up to 4 tons. There are cases when a harpooned stingray jumped out of the water and, having fallen on a boat with fishermen, drowned it. Once, Soviet whalers caught a sea stingray of rare size: its skin weighed 500 kg. She was taken to the Zoological Museum of Moscow University.

Although modern sharks are usually large animals, their ancestors, who lived more than 60 million years ago, were even larger (judging by the fossil remains). The fossil shark carcharadon had a huge size. It is believed that her body was more than 30 m long, and several people could fit in her mouth.

And what giant fish live in fresh waters?

In the Amazon and other South American rivers, a very large arapaima fish is found, according to some data - up to 2.4 m long and weighing up to 90 kg, and according to others - up to 4.6 m long and weighing 200 kg. However, in recent years, arapaima longer than 2 m is a rarity. By the time of breeding, she swims to shallow places with clear water and a sandy bottom.

Here, with the help of fins, arapaima digs a small hole and throws eggs there. For 5 years, it grows up to 1.5 m long. It is caught with a bait or killed with arrows from a bow. The hunt of local residents for such a giant is always very lively and requires strength and skill.

Ordinary, or European, catfish, inhabiting the rivers of Europe and Asia (except for those flowing into the Arctic Ocean), is up to 5 m long and weighs up to 300 kg. Catfish does not avoid brackish water, feeds in the estuaries of the Dnieper, in the Azov, Aral and Caspian Seas, but spawns in fresh waters.

In the Caspian, Black and Azov seas there is a huge migratory beluga fish. At the age of 15 years, it can be up to 4.2 m long, and weighing up to 1 ton. There were beluga whales up to Amy and weighing up to 2 tons.

Beluga is a long-lived fish, reaching a hundred years of age. She spawns in rivers. In the sea, the beluga feeds mainly on fish (gobies, herring, sprats).

Interestingly, the beluga forms hybrid forms with other sturgeons. Under the guidance of Professor Nikolai Ivanovich Nikolyukin, with the help of artificial insemination, viable hybrids of the beluga crossed with the sterlet have recently been obtained. The hybrid was named "bes-ter" - from the initial syllables of the names of these two fish. Such hybrids began to be grown in the pond farm - Donryb-combine. Now this fish is grown in Ukraine, Georgia, near Moscow, Belarus, the Baltic States and Central Asia.

The smallest fish in the world is the pondaka goby, which lives in rivers and lakes only on the island of Luzon (Philippine archipelago) and is 7.5 - 11 mm long. This goby is the smallest animal on Earth of all vertebrates. (Calculate how many times the goby is smaller than the whale shark.) He is very prolific. Despite the insignificant size of this fish, the local population catches gobies and eats them.