Wrasses
The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them less than long, although the largest, the humphead wrasse, can measure up to . They are efficient carnivores, feeding on a wide range of small invertebrates. Many smaller wrasses follow the feeding trails of larger fish, picking up invertebrates disturbed by their passing. Juveniles of some representatives of the genera ''Bodianus'', ''Epibulus'', ''Cirrhilabrus'', ''Oxycheilinus'', and ''Paracheilinus'' hide among the tentacles of the free-living mushroom corals & ''Heliofungia actiniformis''. The word "wrasse" comes from the Cornish word ''wragh'', a lenited form of ''gwragh'', meaning an old woman or hag, via Cornish dialect ''wrath''. It is related to the Welsh ''gwrach'' and Breton ''gwrac'h''. Distribution Most wrasses inhabit the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Moon Wrasse
The moon wrasse (''Thalassoma lunare'') also known as the crescent wrasse or lyretail wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is an inhabitant of coral reefs and surrounding areas at depths from . Moon wrasses are carnivorous and tend to prey on fish eggs and small sea-floor dwelling invertebrates. This species can reach in total length. It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can also be found in the aquarium trade. The juvenile is blue on the lower half of its body, with a black spot in the middle of the dorsal fin and a black blotch on the caudal fin base. As it matures, the spot turns into a yellow crescent, hence the name. The body is green, with prominently marked scales. Coloration of the head ranges from blue to magenta, with a broken checkerboard pattern. Moon wrasses are active fish, said to be moving all day long. They are also territorial, nipping, chasing, and otherwise harassing fish th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Humphead Wrasse
The humphead wrasse (''Cheilinus undulatus'') is a large species of wrasse mainly found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Māori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleon fish, Napoleonfish, ''so mei'' 蘇眉 (Cantonese), ''mameng'' (Filipino), and ''merer'' in the Pohnpeian language of the Caroline Islands. Description The humphead wrasse is the largest living member of the family Labridae. Males, typically larger than females, are capable of reaching up to 2 meters and weighing up to 180 kg, but the average length is a little less than 1 meter. Females rarely grow larger than one meter. This species can be easily identified by its large size, thick lips, two black lines behind its eyes, and the hump on the foreheads of larger adults. Its color can vary between dull blue-green to more vibrant shades of green and purplish-blue. Adults are usually observed living singly, but are also seen in male/female pairs and in small groups. Habitat The hum ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sex Change In Animals
Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, a sequential hermaphrodite produces eggs (female gametes) and sperm (male gametes) at different stages in life. Species that can undergo these changes from one sex to another do so as a normal event within their reproductive cycle that is usually cued by either social structure or the achievement of a certain age or size. In animals, the different types of change are male to female (protandry or protandrous hermaphroditism), female to male (protogyny or protogynous hermaphroditism), bidirectional (serial or bidirectional hermaphroditism). Both protogynous and protandrous hermaphroditism allow the organism to switch between functional male and functional female. Bidirectional hermaphrodites have the capacity for sex change in either directi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fish Jaw
Most bony fishes have two sets of jaws made mainly of bone. The primary oral jaws open and close the mouth, and a second set of pharyngeal jaws are positioned at the back of the throat. The oral jaws are used to capture and manipulate prey by biting and crushing. The pharyngeal jaws, so-called because they are positioned within the pharynx, are used to further process the food and move it from the mouth to the stomach. Cartilaginous fishes, such as sharks and rays, have one set of oral jaws made mainly of cartilage. They do not have pharyngeal jaws. Generally jaws are articulated and oppose vertically, comprising an upper jaw and a lower jaw and can bear numerous ordered teeth. Cartilaginous fishes grow multiple sets ''(polyphyodont)'' and replace teeth as they wear by moving new teeth laterally from the medial jaw surface in a conveyor-belt fashion. Teeth are replaced multiple times also in most bony fishes, but unlike cartilaginous fishes, the new tooth erupts only after the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ballan Wrasse
The ballan wrasse (''Labrus bergylta'') is a species of marine ray finned fish from the family Labridae, the wrasses. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, where it inhabits rocky areas. Like many wrasse species, it is a protogynous hermaphrodite—all fish start life as females, and some dominant fish later become males. It is used as a food fish in some areas and it is also finding use as a cleaner fish in the aquaculture of Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') in northwestern Europe. Description The ballan wrasse is a large, heavy bodied wrasse with a relatively deep body and large head. It has a smallish mouth which is surrounded by thick, fleshy, rather wrinkled lips, and the jaws are armed with a single row of robust teeth which are sharp and pointed in young fish but blunter and more worn in older fish. It has a long dorsal fin which has 18–21 spines in its anterior portion and 9–13 branched rays in the rear part. The anal fin is markedly shorter and has three spines. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soft Rays
Fish anatomy is the study of the form or morphology of fish. It can be contrasted with fish physiology, which is the study of how the component parts of fish function together in the living fish. In practice, fish anatomy and fish physiology complement each other, the former dealing with the structure of a fish, its organs or component parts and how they are put together, such as might be observed on the dissecting table or under the microscope, and the latter dealing with how those components function together in living fish. The anatomy of fish is often shaped by the physical characteristics of water, the medium in which fish live. Water is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs more light than air does. The body of a fish is divided into a head, trunk and tail, although the divisions between the three are not always externally visible. The skeleton, which forms the support structure inside the fish, is either made of cartilage ( ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paracheilinus
''Paracheilinus'' is a genus of flasher wrasses, native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Species There are currently 20 recognized species in this genus: * '' Paracheilinus alfiani'' G. R. Allen, Erdmann & Yusmalinda, 2016 * '' Paracheilinus angulatus'' J. E. Randall & Lubbock, 1981 (Angular flasherwrasse) * '' Paracheilinus attenuatus'' J. E. Randall, 1999 * '' Paracheilinus bellae'' J. E. Randall, 1988 (Bell's flasherwrasse) * '' Paracheilinus carpenteri'' J. E. Randall & Lubbock, 1981 (Pink flasherwrasse) * '' Paracheilinus cyaneus'' Kuiter & G. R. Allen, 1999 (Blue flasherwrasse) * '' Paracheilinus filamentosus'' G. R. Allen, 1974 (Filamentous flasherwrasse) * '' Paracheilinus flavianalis'' Kuiter & G. R. Allen, 1999 (Yellow-fin flasherwrasse) * '' Paracheilinus hemitaeniatus'' J. E. Randall & Harmelin-Vivien, 1977 * '' Paracheilinus lineopunctatus'' J. E. Randall & Lubbock, 1981 (Spot-lined flasherwrasse) * '' Paracheilinus mccoskeri'' J. E. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Breton Language
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of the insular branch instead of the continental grouping. Breton was brought from Great Britain to Armorica (the ancient name for the coastal region that includes the Brittany peninsula) by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages, making it an Insular Celtic language. Breton is most closely related to Cornish, another Southwestern Brittonic language. Welsh and the extinct Cumbric, both Western Brittonic languages, are more distantly related. Having declined from more than one million speakers around 1950 to about 200,000 in the first decade of the 21st century, Breton is classified as "severely endangered" by the UNESCO '' Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger''. However, the number of children attending bilingual classes rose 33 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Biomechanics
Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of biophysics. In 2022, computational mechanics goes far beyond pure mechanics, and involves other physical actions: chemistry, heat and mass transfer, electric and magnetic stimuli and many others. Etymology The word "biomechanics" (1899) and the related "biomechanical" (1856) come from the Ancient Greek βίος ''bios'' "life" and μηχανική, ''mēchanikē'' "mechanics", to refer to the study of the mechanical principles of living organisms, particularly their movement and structure. Subfields Biofluid mechanics Biological fluid mechanics, or biofluid mechanics, is the study of both gas and liquid fluid flows in or around biological organisms. An often studied liquid biofluid problem is that of blood flow in the human card ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sexually Dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, colour, markings, or behavioural or cognitive traits. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is ''monomorphism'', which is when both biological sexes are phenotypically indistinguishable from each other. Overview Ornamentation and coloration Common and easily identified types of dimorphism consist of ornamentation and coloration, though not always apparent. A difference in coloration of sexes within a given species is called sexual dichromatism, which is commonly seen in many species of birds and reptiles. Sexual selection leads to the exaggerated d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dorsal Fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through convergent evolution they have independently evolved external superficial fish-like body plans adapted to their marine environments, including most numerously fish, but also mammals such as cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), and even extinct ancient marine reptiles such as various known species of ichthyosaurs. Most species have only one dorsal fin, but some have two or three. Wildlife biologists often use the distinctive nicks and wear patterns which develop on the dorsal fins of large cetaceans to identify individuals in the field. The bony or cartilaginous bones that support the base of the dorsal fin in fish are called ''pterygiophores''. Functions The main purpose of the dorsal fin is to stabilize the animal against rollin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |