fish id project preston estes

Title: Saltwater Fishes Species #: 1

Common Name: Great White Shark

Scientific Name: Carcharodon carcharias

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata

Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Lamniformes

Family: Lamnidae

Geography / Habitat: Great white sharks live in almost all coastal and offshore waters which have water

temperature between 12 and 24 °C (54 and 75 °F). They tend to concentrate in the waters off of the United States,

South Africa, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and the Mediterranean.

Life Strategy: Their social behaior is very mysterious. They can be loners or live in a

small grouped dominated by a female hierarchy.

Food / Feed Strategy: Great Whites are carnivorous animals that use several senses to hunt their prey,

including excellent sense of smell, and like all sharks they posses

Ampullae of Lorenzini. This allows them to detect the voltage of electricity given of every time their prey moves or

their heart beats. In fact they are so sensitive that they can detect even one billionth of a volt. The shark’s bite force

is over 18,000 newtons, and it can swim at speeds of up to 30mph. They are one of the few sharks that to spy-hop,

put their head above the water in order to spot potential prey above the water’s surface. They are known to jump

clear out of the water when catching their prey. They like eat large fish, sea mammals, and sea birds.

Body Form or Style: Fusiform

Swim / Locomotion Style: Thunniform

Mouth Position: Hit-and-Run with the ability to extend jaws out.

Citation: "Great white shark." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 16 N. Web. 9 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_shark>.


Common Name: The Great HammerHead

Scientific Name: Sphyrna mokarran


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Carcharhiniformes

Family: Sphyrnidae

Geography / Habitat: The great hammerhead likes to swim in warm and relatively

warm water along the coastlines. The great hammerhead can be found in tropical and

sub-tropical waters worldwide.

Life Strategy: The great hammerhead migrates seasonally to cooler waters during the

summer. They give live birth, up to twenty pups. They can travel in large groups.

Food / Feed Strategy: Uses its great sense of smell to track its prey. It eats fish, ray, other

sharks,squid, octopi, ans crusraceans. It can kill rays by pinning them down with its “hammer”

while biting its wings. Only the great hammerhead shark is dangerous to humans.

Body Form or Style: Fusiform with a hammer shaped head.


Mouth Position: Hit-and-Run

Citation: . "Hammerhead shark." Enchanted Learning. N.p., 2010. Web. 9 Mar 2012.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Hammerhead.shtml

http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01316/Images/uw_hammerheads_02.jp


Common Name: Whale Shark

Scientific Name: Rhincodon typus


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Orectolobiformes

Family: Rhincodontidae

Geography / Habitat: Whale sharks live in warm water both along the coast and in the open seas. They

spend most of their time near the surface. They live near the equator world wide,

except the Mediterranean Sea.

Life Strategy: They are sexually mature at thirty years and give live birth to pups two feet long.

They can live to be 100 to 150 years old. They are soiltary animals, groups are rare.

Food / Feed Strategy: The whale shark is a filter feeder that sieves small animals from the

water. It swims with its mouth open filtering



Mouth Position: FiIter-feeders with gill rakers.

Citation: . "Whale sharks." All about Sharks. N.p., 2011. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Whaleshark.shtml>.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chondrichthyes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orectolobiformes


Common Name: Tiger Shark

Scientific Name: Galeocerdo cuvier



Family: Carcharhinidae

Geography / Habitat: Tiger sharks go from the surface to 1,200ft. They swim in

tropical waters worldwide and in some temperate seas. They can inhabit both the

shoreline and open waters.

Life Strategy: They are solitary, except during mating. They can give live birth from anywhere

between 10-82 pups. The pups are two feet long and completely independent. They can grow to

be an average of twenty feet.

Food / Feed Strategy: Tiger sharks will eat fish, sea mammals, sea birds, other sharks,

and anything else that they can catch alive. They also eat garbage




Citation: C., Jenanda. "Enchanted Learning." Tiger shark. enchanted learning, n.d. Web. 11 Mar

2012. <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Tigershark.shtml>.

Title: Saltwater / Marine Fishes Species #: 5

Common Name: Bull Shark

Scientific Name: Carcharhinus leucas




Geography / Habitat: The bull shark is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans and

seas along the coastlines. It also has the ability lo live in fresh water rivers and lakes

for short periods of time.

Life Strategy: They are highly aggressive, and can adjust body salt content to adapt to fresh

water. They are very common and live near the surface of the water, resulting in many attacks

on humans. They will eat anything they can catch including garbage. They give birth to live

young. The pups tend to live in protected river mouths and briny water. This shark was behind

the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 that became the inspiration for Jaws.

Food / Feed Strategy: Bull sharks mainly eat bony fish and other sharks (including smaller bull

sharks), but they will also eat mammals, birds, turtles, and occasionally humans. They tend to

use the bump and bite technique to attack their prey.




Citation: . "Bull Shark." Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 6-12. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_shark>.


Common Name: Short Finned Mako

Scientific Name: Isurus oxyrinchus



Family: Lamnidae

Geography / Habitat: The shortfin mako inhabits offshore temperate and tropical seas

worldwide and up to depths of 150 m, normally far from land though occasionally closer to

shore, around islands or inlets. It is seldom found in waters colder than 16 °C (61 °F).

Life Strategy: They can grow up to 12ft long and weigh half a ton. They are the fastest

swimming shark, reaching speeds up to 60mph, and can jump 24 feet out of the water. They will

migrate 1550 miles seasonally. They have live pups. They cannot survive in captivity,

the longest captive lasted five days.

Food / Feed Strategy: The shortfin mako feeds mainly upon bony fishes, but it may also eat

other sharks, porpoises, sea turtles, and seabirds. It often sneaks up on prey without them

knowing until it’s too late. There have been attacks on humans.




Citation: . "Shortfin mako shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isurus_oxyrinchus>.


Common Name: Longfin Mako

Scientific Name: Isurus paucus



Family: Lamnidae

Geography / Habitat: The longfin mako shark has a worldwide distribution in tropical and

warm-temperate oceans, but it is not know to what extent because of the confusion with its

cousin, the shortfin mako. An inhabitant of the open ocean, the longfin mako generally remains

in the upper mesopelagic zone during the day and ascends into the epipelagic zone at night

Life Strategy: They can grow up to 15ft long. They are not a fast swimming shark, unlike their

cousins the shortfin mako and the great white shark. They have live pups. They cannot

survive in captivity. Although, there are no reported attacks on humans because of

their sharp knife like teeth they are extremely dangerous.

Food / Feed Strategy: They eat schooling bony fishes and cephalopods. There have been no

reported attacks on humans.




Citation: . "Longfin mako shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longfin_mako>.


Common Name: Oceanic White Tip

Scientific Name: Carcharhinus longimanus




Geography / Habitat: They are found worldwide between 45 degrees north and 43 degrees

south latitude in deep water. They prefer offshore, deep ocean areas.

Life Strategy: Often responds to and gathers around sinking ships. Known to eat the dead,

dying, injured, and healthy victims of such disasters. This species is known to be

responsible for the worst shark attacks in history; the U.S.S. Indianapolis attacks in 1954.

Around 600 people were eaten. They will follow ships, earning the name “sea dogs”. They are

slow moving and live at the top of the water column.

Food / Feed Strategy: They will aggressively hunt down prey, and will return if deterred when

the opportunity arises. They will gather, stalk, and attack shipwreck victims.




Citation: "Oceanic Whitetip shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/oceanic_whitetip >.


Common Name: Blacktip Reef Shark

Scientific Name: Carcharhinus melanopterus




Geography / Habitat: The blacktip reef shark is found throughout near shore waters of the

tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific. Most of the time found swimming above reefs. Prefers

water only a few meters deep, but can move into shallow waters. Has been reported in brackish

estuaries and lakes in Madagascar and freshwater environments in Malaysia.

Life Strategy: Can move into freshwater for short periods of time. May be alone or in social

aggregations. They tend to continuously patrol their reefs in the search of food. They are fast

and mobile.

Food / Feed Strategy: Its diet mainly consists of mullets, groupers, grunters, jacks, mojarras,

wrasses, and surgeonfish. They have been seen herding their prey next to the shore to make it

easier to eat.




Citation: "Blacktip reef shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/blacktip_reef >.


Common Name: LEMON SHARK

Scientific Name: Negaprion brevirostris




Geography / Habitat: The lemon shark is found mainly along the subtropical and tropical parts

of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America, and around Pacific islands. They

state at moderate debts.

Life Strategy: They can travel in groups. They give birth to around 36 pups at a time. Remoras

often accompany them. Adults can reach ten feet long.

Food / Feed Strategy: It eats mostly fish (including other sharks), but will also eats

mollusks and crustaceans.




Citation: "Lemon Shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lemont>.


Common Name: THRESHER SHARK

Scientific Name: Alopias vulpinus



Family: Alopiidae

Geography / Habitat: The thresher shark lives from the surface to a depth of about

1,150 feet. It lives in open tropical and temperate waters, including the eastern and

western Atlantic, the central Pacific, and the Indo-west Pacific.

Life Strategy: The eggs hatch in the womb. The preborn pups then eat the weaker ones. The

pups are three feet when they are born. They are fast swimmers and often jump out of the water.

Food / Feed Strategy: The Thresher eats squid and fish, corralling them with its elongated tail,

stunning them with slaps from it, and catching them with its very sharp (but small) teeth.




Citation: "Thresher shark”Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/thresher>


Common Name: BONNETHEAD SHARK

Scientific Name: Sphyrna tiburo



Family: Sphyrnidae

Geography / Habitat: They are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean, in the surf zone, reefs, on sandy bottoms and in estuaries.

Life Strategy: They are very shy and timid sharks. Large schools of Bonnethead sharks

migrate to warm water in the winter and cooler water in the summer. Females give

live birth to 10 fourteen-inch pups.

Food / Feed Strategy: They like to eat hard shelled crustaceans and soft bodied fish, and they

have two types of teeth to help them hunt both down.




Citation: "bonnethead shark” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bonnethead>


Common Name: Broadnose Sevengill Shark

Scientific Name: Notorynchus cepedianus


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Hexanchiformes

Family: Hexanchidae

Geography / Habitat: The Broadnose Sevengill shark lives in temperate waters down to

about 450 ft. It’s found in the south Atlantic, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They

are widespread geographically but are few in numbers.

Life Strategy: The broadnose sevengill grows to be up to roughly 10 ft long. These sharks bear live

young in shallow bays. Females have litters of up to 80 live-born pups. The pups are

about 16-18 inches long.

Food / Feed Strategy: These aggressive sharks eat fish (including other sharks, rays,

and bony fish), seals, and scavenged prey (including fish caught in gill nets and

human corpses).




Citation: “Broadnose Sevengill Shark” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/broadnose_sevengill>


Common Name: Goblin Shark

Scientific Name: Mitsukurina owstoni



Family: Mitsukurinidae

Geography / Habitat: The Goblin shark is a bottom-dweller found in depths of about

3,940 feet (1,200 m) in the western Pacific, the western Indian Ocean and the western

and eastern Atlantic.

Life Strategy: Shark's primarily use their sense of smell followed by their sensing of

electric charges. The shark's other senses, like sensing changes in water pressure,

eyesight, and hearing, are less important. Not much else is known.

Food / Feed Strategy: The Goblin shark eats fish (both large and small), including

other sharks and rays. They also eat squid and crustaceans.




Citation: “Goblin Shark” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/goblin>


Common Name: PORBEAGLE SHARK

Scientific Name: Lamna nasus



Family: Lamnidae

Geography / Habitat: The porbeagle feed on fish (mostly mackerel, squid, cod, hake,

flounder and other bottom-dwelling fish) with its long, sharp teeth.

Life Strategy: They are very fast swimmers. They pose a danger to humans because of their

sharp teeth. They are warm-blooded and keep themselves at a warmer temperature than their

surroundings.

Food / Feed Strategy: Porbeagles feed on fish (mostly mackerel, squid, cod, hake,

flounder and other bottom-dwelling fish) with its long, sharp teeth.




Citation: “PORBEAGLE SHARK” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/porbeagle>


Common Name: SPINY DOGFISH

Scientific Name: Squalus acanthias


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Squaliformes

Family: Squalidae

Geography / Habitat: The spiny dogfish shark stays in water that is between 45°F -

59°F. It will venture into brackish waters. Dogfish are mostly bottom-dwellers,

dwelling in depths from the surface down to 2,400 feet.

Life Strategy: They give live birth to 21 pups. Their spines are poisonous. Their gestation

period last to over 2 years, longer than any other vertebrate. They can live to be 100 years old.

Food / Feed Strategy: It eats mostly fish (including other sharks), but also eats squid

and octopus.




Citation: "Spiny Dogfish” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spiny_dogfish>


Common Name: BLUNTNOSE SIXGILL SHARK

Scientific Name: Hexanchus griseues


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Hexanchiformes

Family: Hexanchidae

Geography / Habitat: They typically live at depths around 300ft, but they can migrate to the

surface at night and return before dawn. They are found around coasts throughout the world.

Life Strategy: The pups hatch inside the mother and then she gives birth to 22 to 108 pups.

There might be a high mortality rate among the pups. Little else is known about thus shark.

Food / Feed Strategy: They like to eat mollusks, crustaceans, agnathans, and the occasional

hake.




Citation: "Bluntnose sixgill shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bluntnose_sixgill>


Common Name: GALAPAGOS SHARK

Scientific Name: Carcharhinus galapagensis




Geography / Habitat: Galapagos sharks live in warm waters. They are pelagic (live in

open oceans) at depths ranging from 16-200 feet (5-60 m). The Galapagos shark is

found in tropical seas near islands.

Life Strategy: Mothers give birth to 6-12 pups that swim to shallow waters to avoid being eaten

by adults. They are highly aggressive. Galapagos sharks usually swim in schools.

Food / Feed Strategy: Their diet includes bottom-dwelling squid, fish, and octopus.




Citation: "Galapagos shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Galapagos >.


Common Name: Blue Shark

Scientific Name: Prionace glauca




Geography / Habitat: Blue sharks are pelagic; they are found in open waters, and like

most pelagic sharks, they are found worldwide.

Life Strategy: They give birth to live pups, 4 to 135. The larger the mother the more pups she

has. They often form schools of all male or all female sharks of the same size.

Food / Feed Strategy: The teeth are pointed and serrated; this enables the shark to catch

slippery squid and fish, the mainstay of its diet.




Citation: Col, Jeananda. "Blue Shark." Enchanted Learning. N.p., 1997. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Blueshark.shtml>.


Common Name: NURSE SHARK

Scientific Name: Ginglymostoma cirratum


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Orectolobiformes

Family: Ginglymostomatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is found in reefs and channels at one meter deep. It may be found in

subtropical and tropical water on the continental and insular shelves.

Life Strategy: Nurse sharks are nocturnal. They spend the day in large inactive groups of up to

40 individuals hidden submerged ledges or in crevices within the reef. They prefer specific

resting sites and will return to them after each night’s hunt. Nurse sharks are able ro respire

while stationary by pumping through their mouths and out their gills.

Food / Feed Strategy: Nurse sharks’ diet consists primarily of crustaceans, mollusks, tunicates,

sea snakes, and other fish, particularly stingrays. They may take advantage of dormant fish that

are normally to fast for them to catch, but they are limited by the small size of their mouths.




Citation: "Nurse Shark." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nurse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nurse

Title: Marine Fish Species #: 21

Common Name: Southern Stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis americana


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Myliobatiformes

Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is typically found in tropical and subtropical waters on the Western

Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey to Brazil.

Life Strategy: It has a large barb on its tail that is serrated and covered in venomous mucus.

The barb is used for self-defense. They are ovoviviparous and the female may mate with more

than one male.

Food / Feed Strategy: They are opportunistic foragers. They will feed on crustaceans. They

flap their wing like appendages to expose their prey.

Body Form or Style: Depressiform

Swim / Locomotion Style: rajiform

Mouth Position: subterminal

Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_stingray

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_stingray


Common Name: Atlantic Stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis sabina



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean from Chesapeake Bay to the

Gulf of Mexico. It can be found in freshwater rivers such as the Mississippi River.

Life Strategy: The teeth are rounded, with a flat, blunt edge. During mating season the males

may grow sharp cusps. The whip like tail has a spine that is replaces annually.

Food / Feed Strategy: They usually feed on benthic invertebrates. They eat facing the current

so the sediment is washed away.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_stingray


Common Name: Lesser Electric Ray

Scientific Name: Narcine bancroftii


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Torpediniformes

Family: Narcinidae

Geography / Habitat: This species is found in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the coastal waters of

the western Atlantic Ocean from northeastern Brazil to North Carolina.

Life Strategy: This species is nocturnal. It remains motionless during the daytime, and forages

for food in the substrate at night

Food / Feed Strategy: They usually feed mainly on polychaete annelids. They also eat juvenile

snake eels, sea anemones, small bony fish and various crustaceans.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_electric_ray


Common Name: Sigill Stingray

Scientific Name: Hexatrygon bickelli



Family: Hexatrygonidae

Geography / Habitat: The sixgill stingray is widely distributed in the Indian and Pacific

Oceans, from the east coast of South Africa off Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred; often over

soft bottom substrates.

Life Strategy: Very little is known about these fish. The ampullae of Lorenzini are well-

developed, helping them hunt their prey. Their reproduction is ovoviviparous; one female

examined contained three term fetuses.

Food / Feed Strategy: They have very low mineralization in their bodies preventing them from

eating hard-shelled bodies. They eat benthic crustaceans.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexatrygonidae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexatrygonidae


Common Name: Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

Scientific Name: Manta birostris


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Rajiformes

Family: Mobulidae

Geography / Habitat: They are circumglobal and are typically found in tropical and subtropical

waters, and can also be found in temperate waters, often in deep waters.

Life Strategy: They tend to constantly move through the depths, always migrating. They are

rarely seen in the wild and very little is known about them. It is the largest ray in the world.

Copulation occurs near the surface, and usually on a full moon. After mating the eggs hatch in

the mother who later gives live birth. They are very hard to keep in aquariums. Only four

worldwide have been successful at keeping them, including the Georgia Aquarium who has three

manta rays.

Food / Feed Strategy: Mantas feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like that they strain from the

water passing through their mouths and out of their gills as they swim. They catch their prey on

gill rakers, flat plates of russet-colored spongy tissue spanning spaces between the manta's gill

bars. An average-sized manta is estimated to consume 44–66 lb of plankton per day.



Mouth Position: fiIter-feeder

Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Oceanic_Manta_Ray


Common Name: Reef Manta Ray

Scientific Name: Manta alfredi


Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Rajiformes

Family: Mobulidae

Geography / Habitat: Reef Manta Rays are most found in Coral reefs especially the Great Barrier Reef.

Life Strategy: It is the second largest ray in the world. Copulation occurs near the surface, and

usually on a full moon. After mating the eggs hatch in the mother who later gives live birth.

They are very hard to keep in aquariums. Only four worldwide have been successful at keeping

them, including the Georgia Aquarium who has three manta rays. It is not a rare sight to see

them jump out of the water, where they seem to glide through the air.

Food / Feed Strategy: Mantas feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like that they strain from

the water passing through their mouths and out of their gills as they swim. They catch their prey

on gill rakers, flat plates of russet-colored spongy tissue spanning spaces between the manta's gill

bars. An average-sized manta is estimated to consume 44–66 lb of plankton per day. They may

do flips in water in order to catch the plankton that they missed on the first pass.



Mouth Position: fiIter-feeders

Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reef_Manta_Ray

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reef_Manta_Ray


Common Name: Butterfly Ray

Scientific Name: Gymnura marmorata



Family: Gymnuridae

Geography / Habitat: It is found Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and the United States. Its

natural habitats are shallow seas, subtidal aquatic beds, coral reefs, estuarine waters, intertidal

marshes, and coastal saline lagoons.

Life Strategy: They give oviparous birth. They can reach the size of 4 feet.

Food / Feed Strategy: They prey on fish and invertebrates, more specifically: bony fish,

benthic copepods, crabs, shrimps, prawns, and bivalves.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnura_marmorata


Common Name: Porcupine ray

Scientific Name: Urogymnus asperrimus



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is found all along the continental periphery of the Indian Ocean, from

South Africa to the Arabian Peninsula to Southeast Asia to Ningaloo Reef off western Australia,

including Madagascar. It inhabits sandy flats, coral rubble, and seagrass beds, often near reefs,

and also enters brackish water.

Life Strategy: Unlike other stingrays it does not possess a stinger, but instead has large hearts

shaped dermal denicles covering its body. It uses these as a mode of self-defense from predators.

They can often be found lying still in groups.

Food / Feed Strategy: Its diet consists primarily of sipunculids, polychaete worms, crustaceans,

and bony fishes. When feeding, it plows deeply into the bottom, expelling excess sediment from

its spiracles in a plume visible from a long distance away.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine_ra


Common Name: Spotted eagle ray

Scientific Name: Aetobatus narinari



Family: Myliobatidae

Geography / Habitat: It can be found globally in tropical regions, including the Gulf of

Mexico, Hawaii, off the coast of West Africa, the Indian Ocean, Oceania, and on both coasts of

the Americas at depths down to about 80 meters.

Life Strategy: The rays are most commonly seen alone, but occasionally swim in groups. Rays

are ovoviviparous. They are very dangerous carrying several venomous barbs on its tail. They

are known to jump out of the water, and this behavior has been known to result in accidents and

fatalities when they sometimes collide with boats and their passengers.

Food / Feed Strategy: Spotted eagle ray preys mainly upon bivalves, shrimps, crabs, whelks,

and other benthic infauna. They feed on mollusks and crustaceans, particularly malacostracans.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_eagle_ray


Common Name: Blotched fantail ray

Scientific Name: Taeniura meyeni



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is found throughout the nearshore waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific,

as well as off islands in the eastern Pacific. It is a bottom-dwelling inhabitant of lagoons,

estuaries, and reefs, generally at a depth of 20–60 m.

Life Strategy: They are nocturnal. It is aplacental viviparous; up to seven pups are born at a

time

Food / Feed Strategy: They tend to prey on small, benthic mollusks, crustaceans, and bony

fishes.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blotched_fantail_ray


Common Name: Deepwater stingray

Scientific Name: Plesiobatis daviesi



Family: Plesiobatidae

Geography / Habitat: Records of the deepwater stingray come from a number of locations

scattered widely in the Indo-Pacific: KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and Mozambique, the Gulf

of Mannar, the northern Andaman Islands, the South China Sea, the Ryukyu Islands and the

Kyushu-Palau Ridge, northwestern Australia from the Rowley Shoals to Shark Bay, northeastern

Australia from Townsville to Wooli, New Caledonia, and Hawaii.

Life Strategy: It is probably aplacental viviparous, with the mother supplying her gestating

young with histotroph.

Food / Feed Strategy: They prey on crustaceans, cephalopods, and bony fishes, and the

deepwater stingray may hunt both on the sea floor and well above it in open water.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesiobatidae


Common Name: Yellow shovelnose stingaree

Scientific Name: Trygonoptera galba



Family: Trygonoptera

Geography / Habitat: The yellow shovelnose stingaree inhabits a relatively narrow zone of the

outer continental shelf between 100–210 m (330–690 ft) deep, stretching off Western Australia

from Shark Bay to at least the Houtman Abrolhos, and probably to Perth.

Life Strategy: It is presumably viviparous like other stingrays. Newborns probably measure

around 16 cm long; males reach sexual maturity at 33–36 cm long.

Food / Feed Strategy: Like other rays, they primarily feed on small fish and crustaceans.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trygonoptera_galba


Common Name: Colares stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis colarensis



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is native to the shallow brackish waters of the Amazon River estuary

in northern Brazil.

Life Strategy: A fairly large species, males and females attain disk widths of 63 cm and 91 cm

respectively. Females give birth to 1–4 young, possibly annually.

Food / Feed Strategy: They tend to feed on small crustaceans.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colares_stingray


Common Name: Sharpnose stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis acutirostra



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is found off southern Japan and in the East China Sea at a depth of 53–

142 m.

Life Strategy: There is a row of 30 tubercles along the midline of the back, and another row

of 16 tubercles in front of the spine that is used for defense against its predators.

Food / Feed Strategy: It prefers to eat benthic fish and crustaceans.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_acutirostra


Common Name: Red stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis akajei



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: Red stingrays are found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean off Japan,

Korea, and China, and possibly elsewhere. It primarily inhabits shallow, sandy habitats close to

shore, and has been known to enter brackish water.

Life Strategy: Reproduction is aplacental viviparous, with females giving birth to 1 or up to 10

pups at a time.

Food / Feed Strategy: It feeds mainly on crustaceans and bony fishes, the red stingray plays a key ecological role as an apex predator in its environment.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_akajei


Common Name: Bennett's stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis bennetti



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: Its range is somewhat uncertain due to confusion with other species.

It is a bottom-dweller that occurs in the coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific region, from

India, through Indochina, to southern China, Japan, and perhaps the Philippines; it seems

to be most common in the northwestern Pacific.

Life Strategy: It is aplacental viviparous like other stingrays. This stingray is very rare

and as such little else is known about this ray.

Food / Feed Strategy: It preys on fish.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_bennetti


Common Name: Short-tail stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis brevicaudata



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It occurs off southern Africa, typically offshore at a depth of 180–480 m,

and off southern Australia and New Zealand, from the intertidal zone to a depth of 156 m.

Life Strategy: This ray species is viviparous, with the developing embryos sustained by

histotroph produced by the mother; the litter size is 6–10. The short-tail stingray is not aggressive

but is capable of inflicting a potentially lethal wound with its long, venomous sting.

Food / Feed Strategy: The diet of the short-tail stingray consists of invertebrates and bony

fishes, including burrowing and midwater species.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_brevicaudata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_brevicaudata


Common Name: Roughtail stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis centroura



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is found in coastal waters of the northwestern, eastern, and

southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Life Strategy: It is viviparous, with the embryos receiving nourishment initially from yolk, and

later from histotroph produced by the mother. In the northwestern Atlantic, females bear an

annual litter of 4–6 young in fall and early winter, after a gestation period of 9–11 months

Food / Feed Strategy: The roughtail stingray is a generalist predator that feeds on a variety of

benthic invertebrates and bony fishes.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_centroura


Common Name: Blue stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis chrysonota



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: Blue stingrays are found in found in the southeast Atlantic Ocean around

South Africa to Mozambique, from the surface to 100 m.

Life Strategy: The blue stingray is ovoviviparous, 1 to 5 young being born in summer after a 9

month gestation.

Food / Feed Strategy: Blue stingrays prey on fish and crustaceans.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_chrysonota


Common Name: Diamond stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis dipterura



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: It is found in the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean from

southern California to northern Chile, and around the Galápagos and Hawaiian Islands.

Life Strategy: This species is aplacental viviparous: once the embryos exhaust their yolk supply,

they are nourished by histotroph produced by the mother. Females bear 1–4 pups every summer

in estuaries.

Food / Feed Strategy: When searching for food, diamond stingrays may form groups of up to

hundreds of individuals. It is most active at night and preys mainly on burrowing invertebrates

and small bony fishes, which are extracted from the bottom via suction or digging.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_dipterura


Common Name: Estuary stingray

Scientific Name: Dasyatis fluviorum



Family: Dasyatidae

Geography / Habitat: This species is found in eastern Australia, it typically inhabits shallow,

mangrove-lined tidal rivers, estuaries, and bays in southern Queensland and New South Wales.

Life Strategy: It is aplacental viviparous, with the unborn young sustained to term by

maternal histotroph.

Food / Feed Strategy: While the estuary stingray has gained infamy for consuming farmed

shellfish such as oysters, it mainly feeds on crustaceans and polychaete worms.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_fluviorum

Title: Freshwater Fishes Species #: 81

Common Name: Black Molly

Scientific Name: Poecilia sphenops


Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cyprinodontiformes

Family: Poeciliidae

Geography / Habitat: They inhabit fresh water streams and coastal brackish and marine waters

of Mexico.

Life Strategy: They will give live birth to many live babies at one time and several times a year.

They live in fresh water but can stay in brackish water. They can live in large groups, ussualy 4

females to 1 male.

Food / Feed Strategy: They like brine shrimp as fry, and as they get older they will eat fresh

vegetables, algae, and larger shrimp.

Body Form or Style: Compressiform

Swim / Locomotion Style: Compressiform

Mouth Position: Supraterminal

Citation:

"Black molly." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/black_molly>.


Common Name: Sailfin Molly

Scientific Name: Poecilia latipinna



Family: Poeciliidae

Geography / Habitat: They inhabit fresh water streams and coastal brackish and marine waters

from Mexico to North Carolina.



females to 1 male. They live short lives, males typically live only just over one year.

Food / Feed Strategy: They like to eat algae and mosquito larvae.




Citation:

"Sailfin molly." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailfin_molly>.


Common Name: Yucatan molly

Scientific Name: Poecilia velifera



Family: Poeciliidae

Geography / Habitat: They inhabit the Yucatan peninsula.



females to 1 male. They live short lives, males typically live only just over one year.

Food / Feed Strategy: They like to eat algae and mosquito larvae.




Citation:

"Yucatan molly." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukatan_molly>.


Common Name: Endler's livebearer

Scientific Name: Poecilia wingei



Family: Poeciliidae

Geography / Habitat: They are to native to the Paria Peninsula, Venezuela

Life Strategy: They give live birth every 23 days, and up to 30 fry can be born at a time. They

are rare and near extinction in the wild.

Food / Feed Strategy: They like to eat small plants, fry, and worms.




Citation:

"Endlers live bearer." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endlers_live_bearer>.


Common Name: Guppy

Scientific Name: Poecilia reticulata



Family: Poeciliidae

Geography / Habitat: Guppies are native to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Brazil, Guyana,

the Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela

Life Strategy: Males and females are different colors. Females will have 2-50 fry every 28

days.

Food / Feed Strategy: They tend to eat algae, mosquito larvae, and their own fry.




Citation:

"guppy." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/guppy>.


Common Name: Adonis Tetra

Scientific Name: Lepidarchus adonis


Class: Actinopterygii Order: Characiformes

Family: Alestida

Geography / Habitat: The Adonis Tetra is native to the western (Atlantic) coast of Africa. It is

found in Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Côte d'Ivoire. They like an area with dense vegetation and

slightly acidic water.

Life Strategy: They are among the smallest of the tetra family, in fact they are one of the

smallest aquarium fish, only growing to 2.1cm long. They prefer to be in schools of six or more,

any less they could become stressed.

Food / Feed Strategy: In the wild they will eat brine shrimp, plankton, and daphnia.




Citation: "Adonis Tetra." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonis_Tetra>.


Common Name: African Longfin Tetra

Scientific Name: Brycinus longipinnis



Family: Alestidae

Geography / Habitat: It is native to the western coastal regions of Africa from Senegal in the

north to Angola in the south. It lives in both the big rivers and the small tributaries and even little

streams.

Life Strategy: African longfin will grow to at least 5 inches, although it is essentially a

freshwater fish, it will live in partially saline esturine waters.

Food / Feed Strategy: This fish will eat vegetable matter, insect larvae, crustaceans and some

algae.




Citation:

"African Longfin Tetra." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Longfin_Tetra>.


Common Name: Bleeding Heart Tetra

Scientific Name: Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma



Family: Alestidae

Geography / Habitat: The bleeding heart tetra can be naturally be found in the Upper Amazon

Basin. They like many plants in their environment. They like warm partly acidic water.

Life Strategy: They naturally don’t live longer than five years. The females are brighter than

the males, and possess longer dorsal fins. In captivity it can be difficult to get them to lay eggs.

They get along with other tetras and community fish.

Food / Feed Strategy: They tend to eat vegetative growth, such as algae, and small crustations

as well as insects.




Citation:

"Bleeding Heart Tetra." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Heart_Tetra>.


Common Name: Black neon tetra

Scientific Name: Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi



Family: Characidae

Geography / Habitat: It is native to the Paraguay basin of southern Brazil. It likes clean

slightly acidic water with a dark substrate and many plants.

Life Strategy: They will only feed from the surface of the water. Females have a bigger body

than the males. The females will lay hundreds of eggs that stick to plants. The adults may eat the

newly hatched fry.

Food / Feed Strategy: Black neon tetras can be fed a variety of foods, including flake, frozen

and freeze dried food; small live foods like worms and brine shrimp bring out the fish's colour.




Citation:

"Black Neon Tetra." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blak_Neon_Tetra>.


Common Name: Neon Tetra

Scientific Name: Paracheirodon innesi



Family: Paracheirodon

Geography / Habitat: It is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern

Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil.

Life Strategy: They can often get Neon Tetra Disease or Pleistophora from infected materials.

It is 100% fatal. They breed in dark areas. The eggs are sinsetive to light and can be harmed by

it. The fry will hatch after 24 hours.

Food / Feed Strategy: In an aquarium it is best to feed them small flakes, blood worms, ans

sinking pellets.




Citation:

"Neon Tetra." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Tetra>


Common Name: Glowlight Tetra

Scientific Name: Hemigrammus erythrozonus



Family: Hemigrammus

Geography / Habitat: In the wild the glowlight tetra can be found in the tropical waters of

Essequibo River, Guyana, South America.

Life Strategy: They prefer to be in shoals. They tend to swim in smaller groups when a

potential predator is present and swim freely when comfortable.

Food / Feed Strategy: It is an omnivore. In aquariums they eat small live, frozen and dry foods

and flake foods.




Citation: "Glowlight Tetra." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glowlight_Tetra>.


Common Name: Pengiun Tetra

Scientific Name: Thayeria boehlkei



Family: Characidae

Geography / Habitat: It is native to the Paraguay basin of southern Brazil. It likes clean

slightly acidic water with a dark substrate and many plants.

Life Strategy: They will only feed from the surface of the water. Females have a bigger body

than the males. The females will lay hundreds of eggs that stick to plants. The adults may eat the

newly hatched fry.

Food / Feed Strategy: Black neon tetras can be fed a variety of foods, including flake, frozen

and freeze dried food; small live foods like worms and brine shrimp bring out the fish's colour.




Citation: "Pengiun Tetra." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pengiun_Tetra>.


Common Name: Long-tailed river stingray

Scientific Name: Plesiotrygon iwamae



Family: Potamotrygonidae

Geography / Habitat: They are native to northern, central and eastern South America,

living in rivers that drain into the Caribbean, and into the Atlantic as far south as the Río

de la Plata in Argentina. They are specific to one river basin.

Life Strategy: This species is aplacental viviparous.

Food / Feed Strategy: Their prey includes worms, crustaceans, mollusks, and small bottom

fish.




Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesiotrygon_iwamae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesiotrygon_iwamae

Title: Marine Invertebrates Species #: 101

Common Name: Sea Wasp Box Jellyfish

Scientific Name: Chironex fleckeri

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria

Class: Cubozoa Order: Chirodropida

Family: Chirodropidae

Geography / Habitat: It can be found in coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea north to

the Philippines and Vietnam

Life Strategy: Its bell grows to about the size of a basketball, and trails four clusters of 15

tentacles trailing from each of the four corners of the bell. It has one of the most deadly venoms

in the animal kingdom. A small amount can be fatal, but most sting victims die from drowning

after being stung from spasms and cardiac arrest resulting from the sting. The sea wasp is a free

swimmer and can move on its own.

Food / Feed Strategy: They use their tentacles to capture prawns and small fish.

Body Form or Style: Medusa

Swim / Locomotion Style: Pulses of the bell

Mouth Position: Under the bell.

Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_wasp

Title: Marine Invertebrates Species #: 102

Common Name: Giant Squid

Scientific Name: Architeuthis physeteris

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Cephalopoda Order: Teuthida

Family: Architeuthidae

Geography / Habitat: Giant squid are very widespread, occurring in all of the world's deep

oceans. Specimens are rare in tropical and polar latitudes.

Life Strategy: Little is known about the reproductive cycle of giant squid. They are thought to

reach sexual maturity at about three years old; males reach sexual maturity at a smaller size than

females. Females produce large quantities of eggs. They are rarely seen alive, but the dead are

known to wash up on beaches and be caught in trawlers. They are the favorite food of sperm

whales. They may have been the inspiration behind the mythical kraken.

Food / Feed Strategy: Recent studies show giant squid feed on deep-sea fish and other squid

species. They catch prey using the two tentacles, gripping it with serrated sucker rings on the

ends. Then they bring it toward the powerful beak, and shred it with the radula before it reaches

the esophagus. They are believed to be solitary hunters, as only individual giant squid have been

caught in fishing nets

\

Body Form or Style:

Swim / Locomotion Style:

Mouth Position:

Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid

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