Whale shark, tuna, catfish, sunfish, Nemichthys and many other representatives of marine fauna in an interesting article.

Among the huge number of fish there are both small and very large representatives. Large species predominate among sharks.

can grow up to fifteen meters in length, and weigh up to twenty tons.

One species of stingray, called the stingray, can grow up to six meters and weigh about four tons. Fishermen were afraid of him, as there were cases when a stingray caught on a hook jumped out of the water and sank the boat.

Beluga

Representatives of giant fish are also found in the seas. This species is the largest fish after sharks and rays. In 1827, the largest beluga in history was caught, its weight was 1440 kilograms. This predatory fish loves to dine on roach and herring, but there have been cases when they hunted larger prey, such as seals. Unfortunately, today there are almost no representatives of this species left.

Tuna


In the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, in the Black and Mediterranean seas, it lives, which reaches a weight of six hundred kilograms and a length of about three meters. Tuna swims vast distances in search of food; it is the only fish species, other than the herring shark, that can maintain a temperature higher than the water temperature. Tuna can reach speeds of up to 75 km/h.

Som

In fresh water, the largest fish is. The catfish that was caught in the Dnieper weighed 336 kilograms.

Arapaima

Slightly smaller than the famous catfish is a fish from South America. The huge scales on its body and tasty meat are valued by the indigenous people.

Moonfish

It can reach about a ton, but its length is not very large - two and a half meters. It looks like a ball, and lives in almost all oceans. Everyone's favorite fish flounder , which is usually not very large. But in the Barents Sea you can find halibut flounder

. This species can weigh from two hundred to three hundred kilograms, and reaches a length of six meters.

Or the herring king, reaches a weight of one hundred kilograms and a length of seven meters. It got its name because it often swims among schools of herring, and on its head there is something resembling a crown. You can also find a large one, two meters long and weighing seventy kilograms. Such large fish are found in the Dnieper.

What about the babies among the fish?

Gudgeon

Everybody knows minnow. But there are smaller fish, for example, stickleback And bitterling.

Fish found in Asia futunio, which is about two centimeters long.

There are also small fish among the gobies. Berg's goby, got its name in honor of the Soviet ichthyologist, does not grow more than two centimeters.

The length of which is eight millimeters. The world's smallest fish lives in the Philippines.

Length is not the only parameter. There is also width. And then it appears crucian carp, the width of which can coincide with the length. Similar fish: Everyone's favorite fish, moon fish.

Discus

The widest fish koskola, she lives in Ceylon, the width can exceed the length of the body, almost three times.

Nemikhthys

The thinnest fish is, lives in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The length of this fish is seventy times its width. If its width is one and a half centimeters, then its length will reach almost two meters!

Such different development of fish is associated with habitat, amount of food, and the presence of predators that prey on these fish.

This is an adult fish Schindleria brevipinguis (photo from news.bbc.co.uk).

Biologists, exploring the waters of the planet, discovered the smallest fish in the world - as many newspapers and Internet sites wrote. At first, Australian and American zoologists discovered the smallest fish, but soon the ichthyological record was updated again. British scientists have found an even smaller representative of the fish kingdom... And this story began back in 1979, when Australian Geoff Leise discovered the first specimen of this fish. Currently, only six specimens of this species are kept in museums around the world and all of them were found at a depth of 15–30 m in the lagoons of the Great Barrier Reef.

And Schindleria brevipinguis - this amazing fish, belongs to the order of perciformes, suborder of gobies, family of Schindleriidae. Before this, the entire family included only two species of Schindleria - small fish with a body length of about 2–2.5 cm, but not record holders. And the record holder for the little one was considered to be the dwarf goby Trimmatom nanus, discovered in the Indian Ocean in 1981, with a body length of up to 10 mm, and before it, the goby from the Philippine lakes, Pandaka pygmaea, growing to a maximum of 11 mm, was considered such. And the tiniest fish can be considered the “child fish” Schindleria brevipinguis, the females of which have a body length of about 7–8 mm, and the males are smaller and grow to a maximum of 6.5–7 mm. This “giant” weighs only about 1 mg!

All Schindleriidae have an interesting feature, which are paedomorphs, i.e. Adults of these fish retain the characteristics of the larval phase of development. And these babies live, as special studies have shown, only from 23 to 60 days.

Crumbs from peat bogs

British ichthyologist Dr. Ralph Britz and Singaporean zoologist Maurice Kuttelat announced a new record discovery: they described a new genus and species of fish for science, Paedocypris progenetica, belonging to the carp family (Cyprinidae). And it lives in the acidic dark waters of the peat swamps of the island of Sumatra. The length of adult females of Paedocypris progenetica reaches 7.9 mm, males - 10.3 mm. Another smallest species of this genus is Paedocypris micromegethes, also found in the peat bogs of Borneo), the females of which have a body length of about 8.8 mm.

It can be assumed that the dwarf size of the “children carp” (that is how the word paedocypris is translated) is associated with their habitat, because larger fish in the swamps practically cannot feed themselves. And these Paedocypris feed only on bottom plankton. The reduction in size could not occur without losses to some internal organs. It turned out that the brain of Paedocypris progenetica is almost devoid of bone protection, and females lay much fewer eggs than related species.

The future for this very fragile fish is not the brightest and most promising - the swamps in Sumatra are gradually being drained, and soon there will be little left of the fish’s habitual habitat. And then the species Paedocypris progenetica will disappear without even having time to get into the Red Book.

“No, I’m smaller and cuter than everyone else...”

At one time, the whole world was circulated by a photograph of a “connected” female and male anglerfish Photocorynus spiniceps, caught in the vicinity of the Philippines. Working with the rich ichthyological collection of the American Scripps Institution of Oceanography Fish Collection, University of California, San Diego, Ted Pietsch found only four specimens of this species. This is despite the use of the institution's largest research fleet in the world (the institute was founded in 1903) and its annual budget of $160 million! But viewing numerous preparations, as well as drawings and photographs made from them, allowed the professor to discover a new sensation, precisely “in terms of size.”

In order to avoid doubts that this is really a male, and not some outgrowth or tumor on the back of a female, scientists conducted a histological analysis of the specimen. It turned out, yes, this is indeed a fully formed adult male, containing numerous sperm. And the previously measured largest discovered males of this species had a length of no more than 7.3 mm. So it is they, and no one else, who are the main contenders for the title of the smallest fish in the blue sub-kingdom of our green planet. It is curious that the number of vertebrae in the mentioned record holders, despite their similar small size, is quite different: anglerfish have 18, and marsh Paedocypris progenetica have from 33 to 35.

Let us summarize the preliminary results. The deep-sea anglerfish Photocorynus spiniceps has the smallest individual individuals (males). The smallest "entire" species is the species Paedocypris progenetica (also the smallest freshwater species). Schindleria brevipinguis has the smallest mass.

Moreover, all these fish are record holders twice – they are also the smallest vertebrates on Earth. The smallest frogs, lizards, hummingbirds and shrews are at least 2–3 times larger.

But the most surprising thing is that in fact there is no sensation at all as a result of all these investigations. Why? But because the record-holder Photocorynus spiniceps Regan was first described 80 years ago by the prominent British ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan (1878–1943), who in 1927–1938. was director of the famous British Museum (British Museum Natural History). That is, it was necessary to write about the sensation then, in 1925, and not now. But what won’t the unscrupulous media do in pursuit of the next sensation? And then explain to schoolchildren and students what’s what. That's what we did here.

Ichthyologist Ralph Britz rightly said in an interview that “the most interesting and important aspect of this study is that all of these organisms, no matter which of them is the smallest, are unusual in many aspects of their biology and deserve more detailed study.” .

Over the past two years, two groups of ichthyologists - Australian-American and British - independently announced that they had found the world's smallest fish. Both times the media, as if nothing had happened, disseminated this information

Over the past two years, two groups of ichthyologists - Australian-American and British - independently announced that they had found the world's smallest fish. Both times, the media, as if nothing had happened, disseminated this information.

The irony of fate, however, is that the real record holder was discovered back in 1925, but in the pursuit of sensation, everyone simply forgot about it. In 2004, Australian ichthyologists announced the discovery of the world's smallest fish, stout infantfish, living in the coral lagoons of the Great Barrier Reef. The length of adult individuals of this species is 7-8 mm. But only a year passed, and everyone conveniently forgot about this discovery.

The other day, British experts announced a new record. The "world's smallest fish" they discovered lives in the peat bogs of Sumatra. The length of an adult female Paedocypris progenetica is 7.9 mm, that is, about the same, if not longer, than that of the Australian record holder. Males are somewhat larger - their dimensions reach 10.3 mm. Since it is hardly possible to confidently decide which of the contenders is smaller, it would be logical to recognize one of them as the champion among marine fish, and the other among freshwater fish.

They probably would have done so if a new record holder had not unexpectedly appeared. It turns out that information about him was published back in March last year. A major review by Professor Ted Pietsch of the University of Washington analyzed sex differences in deep-sea fish. In many species, males and females are strikingly different in shape, and in size they can differ tens of times.

The review contains many amazing drawings and photographs. So they have no competitors in the fight for the title of the smallest fish in the world. The males of Photocorynus spiniceps are also the smallest vertebrates on Earth.

It only remains to add that this species was first described 80 years ago by British ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan.

It turns out that its modern researchers, who recently announced a sensational discovery, were rather inattentive in checking their claims, missing information about both Photocorynus spiniceps and the stout infantfish found by the Australians.

By the way, the Australians claimed that they found their fish back in 1979 and did not announce it for 25 years (!), trying to make sure that their find was unique. At this point one cannot dare to reproach scientists for dishonesty. It would probably be more correct to say that this whole situation speaks of the unenviable state of information support in zoology, even if it is not easy for specialists to find the necessary information. published

Many people mistakenly believe that tiny fish breeds were bred specifically to be kept in aquariums. In fact, the smallest fish in the world populate the wild reservoirs of the planet in large numbers and even serve as an object of fishing for the aborigines. Recent studies by ichthyologists have shown that man still knows too little about the diversity of underwater creatures that live with him on Earth.


The smallest fish in the world populate the planet's wild waters in large numbers

Tiny freshwater fish

One of the smallest fish that lives in freshwater bodies of water and is distinguished not only by its minimum length, but also by its insignificant body weight, is the mystichthys goby, which inhabits the wild reservoirs of the Philippines. Despite the fact that the length of this fish does not exceed 13 millimeters, it is actively consumed by local residents as food. The natives bake cakes from these bulls, which are subsequently dried and can be stored for a very long time.

In the reservoirs of Russia there is also a fish that claims to be one of the smallest fish on Earth. We are talking about a nine-spined stickleback, the maximum length of which is five centimeters. This species has a fairly large population in the waters of the Baltic states and Finland. Stickleback is a commercial object and is used for the manufacture of several types of products:

  • dry animal food;
  • fish oil;
  • for the preparation of medicines.

In addition, stickleback serves as the basis for food supply for more valuable commercial fish species. Some amateur fishermen catch stickleback with a fishing rod and prepare minced fish for cutlets from it. Recently, due to large-scale commercial fishing, the population of this species has decreased significantly.

Babies living in sea waters

The smallest fish in the world that lives in salt water is the dwarf goby. This species is found in the border zone of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The body length of a female bull reaches 9 millimeters. Unlike most other species, the male pygmy goby is slightly smaller than the female.


The pygmy goby is the smallest fish in the world that lives in salt water.

Relatively recently, ichthyologists discovered the presence of this species in the waters surrounding the Shetland Islands, which was a great discovery for scientists. However, this subspecies turned out to be much larger than its Indo-Pacific counterpart. The largest of the studied individuals had a length of 24 millimeters. This small fish is called Gillette's goby and is one of the smallest fish in Europe. Gillett's goby is still quite poorly studied because:

  • has a very small size;
  • has excellent mimicry abilities;
  • found in places with a lot of underwater shelters.

These factors do not make it possible to thoroughly study the behavior of the bull in natural conditions. So far, all that is known for certain is that these creatures live exclusively in those parts of the reservoir where the bottom is abundantly covered with shell rock.

Speaking about miniature sea fish, we cannot ignore the species of goby that lives near the island of Luzon. The name of this species, which does not exceed 13 millimeters in length, is Sinarapan. This fish is of great commercial importance for the islanders, so its numbers are rapidly declining.

The smallest fish in Russian sea waters is the Caspian goby Berg, which is about 2 centimeters long and lives in the Caspian Sea. This species, like the vast majority of other gobies, leads a bottom-dwelling lifestyle. Individual individuals can be found not only in the sea, but also in the lower reaches of rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea:

  • in Volga;
  • in Terek;
  • in Kura;
  • in the Urals.

The ocean and sea depths have not yet been fully explored by man and can hold a lot of secrets and mysteries, so the question of which fish is the smallest in the world still remains open.


Paedocypris progenetica is the smallest fish in the world

The smallest fish on the planet

In the waters of the peat bogs of the island of Sumatra, scientists recently discovered the smallest fish on earth, which was named Paedocypris progenetica. A little later, the same species was found on the island of Borneo. Paedocypris progenetica belongs to one of the distant relatives of the well-known carp. This is a thin transparent creature, at sexual maturity - no larger than an ordinary mosquito. The body of an adult fish reaches a length of 7.9 millimeters, making Paedocypris progenetica one of the smallest invertebrates on the planet.

The skull of Paedocypris progenetica is not fully formed, which makes the fish's brain very vulnerable. The main feature of these fish is the presence of a hard lining in the males in the pelvic girdle. This overlay allows the male to more reliably adhere to the females during the mating period.

The swamps in which this species lives have a unique landscape. Trees that grow directly from the water take root in the soft, peaty soil of the swamp. The depth in some places can reach 5 meters, which is completely unusual for other swamps, where the maximum depths do not exceed one and a half meters. However, the main distinguishing feature is the water acidity level, which can reach 3.

To date Paedocypris progenetica - the smallest fish, known to man. The main threat to the existence of this species is changes in climatic conditions on the planet. Since these fish are very poorly protected from external influences, even a slight change in water temperature can lead to their complete disappearance.

Everyone knows that a whale is a very large animal, but whales are not fish, but mammals. They cannot be called the biggest fish.

But among the fish, there are also large species that even in the name there is a comparison with a whale.

This is a whale shark - the biggest fish. The body length of a whale shark can be up to fifteen meters, its weight can reach 10-12 tons. They are indeed comparable in size to some species of whales - for example, an adult gray whale is approximately the same size. The whale shark, despite its terrifying appearance, is quite harmless and feeds (also like many whales) on small marine organisms -.

Giant fish are not only found among sharks. For example, the beluga, an inhabitant of the Caspian Sea, which comes to spawn in the fresh waters of rivers, can reach nine meters in length and weigh one and a half tons. And the largest freshwater fish is the arapaima, which lives in the Amazon. This “fish” weighs up to 4 centners with a body length of 4.5 meters.

The largest of the bony fishes is the sunfish. The length of her body is about 3 meters. But thanks to its round shape, it weighs up to 2 tons. And here the smallest fish- This is at the same time the smallest of all vertebrates living on Earth. It is called the pandaka goby and lives in lakes in the Philippine Islands. The body length of this tiny creature is only 1 centimeter.

We cannot ignore another record holder among vertebrate animals. Threadfish have an amazing body length to width ratio. A sort of “worm”, up to one and a half meters long, only 2 cm thick. Thus, the length of her body exceeds the width by 75 times!

A few more words about whales. Not all representatives of the group of whales are large in size. Let's say, a piebald dolphin, the Russian name is Commerson's dolphin (dolphins are also representatives of the cetacean order) is not at all large, its body length is 120-150 centimeters, and its weight is 20-30 kilograms. Piebald dolphins live in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South America. And the largest dolphin, the killer whale, is also not impressive in size compared to whales. The length of its body does not exceed 8-9 meters.

Whales and dolphins - and this is also a kind of record - are the only mammals that never go onto land. Walruses, seals and other pinnipeds (mammals that live in the aquatic environment almost constantly), although for a short time, come ashore when the time comes to start procreation.

But whales - unless, having played out, they jump out of the water noisily, and then immediately return to their native element. But once upon a time their ancestors walked on land. What happened, what events forced them to go to sea forever, one can only guess about it.

In the photo, the largest fish in the world is a whale shark, and the smallest fish in the world is a pandaka goby.