Fishes

Fishes show a startling variety of body forms and behaviours.

Updated

13/10/21

Fish and their families

Fishes have a range of body sizes from the massive whale shark down to the smallest fish under a centimetre in length. Despite this diversity, all fish have a backbone or a notochord, and all breathe using gills. Worldwide there are over 32,000 described species of fish, with over 4,400 from Australia.

Fish are classified into two groups: cartilaginous fish or bony fish. Cartilaginous fish are characterised by their bones made of cartilage, this include sharks and rays. The majority of fish are considered bony fish, it is a much more diverse group with over 28,000 species. Bony fish include the Mackerel tuna and Eastern Australian salmon.

The Australian Museum Ichthyology Collection contains specimens of many of the species listed in the fact sheets.

Keywords: Family: Order:

Parts, dissection and identification

Dissection of a Blue Mackerel

The dissection of a Blue Mackerel, Scomber australasicus.

Fishes

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Skeleton of a Nile Perch from Norman, 1947

Parts of a fish

About the anatomy of fishes and identifying a fish to family.

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Scales of a Thorny Tinselfish, <i>Grammicolepis brachiusculus</i>

Fish scales

A fish scale is a fish scale, right? Think again. There are a number of types of fish scales and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

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Skull and pectoral girdle of a Striped Sea-bass.

Fish bones

Fishes come in such an amazing variety of shapes and sizes. Because of this, there is no 'typical' fish skeleton.

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Larval Fishes

This site is designed to assist in the identification of fish larvae from temperate Australia, in particular NSW. It provides taxonomic descriptions of fish larvae and reference material for temperate fish species.

Taxonomy

Glossary of fish terms

This page lists many of the terms used throughout the site.

Macourus rupestris illustration - banner

Frequently asked questions about fishes

Australian Museum staff are frequently asked questions about fishes. The FAQ list gives the answers to some of those questions.

Ichthyology

Learn about our collection and research of fishes; including bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes such as sharks and rays.

Fishes
Sharks
Sting Rays

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Australasian Fishes project

Building up an extensive ‘image library’ that can be used to identify fishes, to map their distributions, to investigate changes in growth and other issues.

Fish Section visitors

Every year many scientists visit the Australian Museum Research Institute Ichthyology department for their research.

Fish Fieldwork

Expeditions and fieldwork of the Ichthyology team

Journals & Publications

Since 1851 we have published the results of studies (derived from our collections or research) that lead to a better understanding of nature and cultures in the Australian Region.

Scientific journals
Staff publications
Museum publications

Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI)

AMRI brings together scientific expertise and world-class research infrastructure to increase our knowledge of the world around us and inform environmental decision-making for a better future.

Biodiversity & geodiversity
Collections-based research

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Deep sea fishes image gallery

People often think of deepsea fishes as having large teeth and light organs. Some deepsea fishes, like the fish in 'Finding Nemo' are indeed like that, but others are very different. This gallery shows just a few of them.

A deepsea anglerfish, <i>Bufoceratias wedli</i>

Angler fish in the Ichthyology collection

Interesting fish images

This gallery contains a small selection of interesting images that have been recently added to the site. The images have been sent from a wonderful community of keen divers, snorkelers, anglers, aquarists and fish enthusiasts. Thank you one and all!