Brains of this World: Fish

By Tonny Mulder


seabass

By Peter van der Sluijs; Credits; CC BY-SA 4.0


All about fish brains


The phylogeny of fish

All fish belong to the subphylum Vertebrata which for fish can be separated into the jawless fish (Infraphyla: Agnatha, which includes hagfish and lampreys and jawed fish, belonging to the jawed vertibrates (Infraphyla: Gnathostomata).

The jawless fish can be divided into two classes: cartilaginous fish (Chrondrichthyes), which includes rays and sharks and bony fish (Osteichthyes).

The bony fish contain two classes: ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) which include the infraclass Teleostei containing almost 96% of all fish species and the lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) that include oa the coelocanths and lungfishes.

More detailed information can be found here.

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By; Credits; CC


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Adapted from Sharon Highschool Credits; CC BY-SA 3.0

The anatomy of fish

The anatomy of bony fish is represented here

  • Brain [&] spinal cord: Yellow
  • Circulatory system: Red
  • Reproductive system: Pinkish
  • Respiratory system: Grey
  • Digestive system: Green
  • Swim bladder: Orange

More detailed information can be found here.


The Fish Brain

In general all fish brain can be divided into Six sections from anterior to posterior:

  • Olfactory lobe
  • Telencephalon
  • Diencephalon containing the hypothalamus (Hy) and the pituitary gland (Pi)
  • Mesencephalon also know as the optic tectum (OT)
  • Rhombencephalon containing the cerebellum (Ce) and the Medula Oblongata (MO)
  • Spinal cord

More detailed information can be found here.

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Adapted from Sharon Highschool Credits; CC BY-SA 3.0


The fish brains being processed at the moment

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Monkfish brain in situ 

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Mackerel brain

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Sea bass brain

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Red mullet brain

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Small spotted catshark brain


Interesting literature about Fish




Tonny Mulder - University of Amsterdam