BIOE 127 (Ichthyology) Midterm – Summer 2015

Name:

2) What are morphometrics? a. Linear measurements of morphological characteristics such as eye width b. A combination of counts and measurements of morphological characteristics c. Counts of morphological characteristics such as fin rays and dorsal spines d. A genetic method of phylogenetic reconstruction

4) What is a monophyletic assemblage? a. an ancestor and all its descendants b. a natural assemblage c. a clade d. all of the above

5) About of fish species occur in fresh water (fresh water species). a. 96% b. 77% c. 58% d. 41% e. 1%

6) Chondrichthyes are characterized by all of the following except: a. skull with no sutures b. high urea concentration in the blood c. a calcified but not ossified skeleton d. serially replaced teeth e. all of the above

1 7) Which chondrichthyes group contains the fewest species? a. Rays & skates b. Sharks c. Chimaeras d. Sturgeons

10) Which non-teleost bony fish is the sole surviving species (or soul survivor if you prefer) of its order? a. Coelacanth b. Alligator gar c. Bowfin d. Reedfish

11) Which taxonomic group is sister to all vertebrates? (hint: embrace your inner lancelet!) a. Cephalochordates b. Urochordates c. Craniata d. Ostracoderms e. Myxinomorphs

12) All chordates have at some point in their development. a. a notochord b. eyes c. vertebrae d. a brain case

2 Name:

14) Neopterygiian fishes are characterized by a. having fin rays equal in numbers to their supports in dorsal and anal fins b. intestines with spiral valves c. fin rays more numerous than their basal supports d. fin rays less numerous than their basal supports

15) Traits that evolve due to convergent evolution are a. synapomorphies b. homoplasies c. rare d. characteristic of a monophyletic assemblage

16) Sturgeons (Acipenseridae) populations worldwide are in decline, which is in some part due to aspects of their natural history that make them vulnerable to human perturbations. All of the following are characteristics of sturgeons except a. Distribution restricted to northern hemisphere b. Short lived animals c. Spawn in fresh water d. Some species produce highly valuable roe (eggs) e. Mostly cartilaginous

17) Anotophysi fishes lack what trait that is characteristic of otophysi fishes? a. Pterygiophores b. Schrekstoff c. Weberian apparatus d. Retractor dorsalis

19) Several fossil fishes taxa have armored bodies. Their disappearance shows that a. Their armor was effective against predators. Once predators disappeared, the armor was shed b. That strategy held until morphologies with higher fitness evolved c. Storing rare chemicals in armors was useless d. Random chance eliminated these species

20) Shared morphological characteristics in Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika cichlids result from a. parallel evolution b. convergent evolution c. punctuated equilibrium d. stabilizing selection

22) Leptocephalus larvae is a synapomorphy of a. Teleostei b. Otocephla

3 c. Osteoglossomorpha d. Elopomorpha

23) Which of the following statements is true of Clupeomorpha (anchovies, anchoveta, sardines, herrings, etc.)? a. Anterior end of swim bladder enters the skull b. They are almost all open water schooling fishes c. Represent a commercially important group of fishes d. They can detect low frequency sounds through vibrations of their swim bladder e. All of the above is true

24) As discussed in class, is the most species rich order of fishes. a. Perciformes b. Cypriniformes c. Siluriformes d. Characiformes e. Scorpaeniformes

4 Name:

25) Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) are comprised of three subclasses: Cladistia, Chondrostei, and Neopterygii. (True or False?) a. True b. False

26) If someone handed you a freshwater fish from South America, statistically speaking, what would be your best guess as to what superorder it belongs in? a. Ostariophysi b. Clupeomorpha c. Percomorpha d. Acanthopterygii e. Paracanthopterygii

27) Which of the following is not true regarding coelacanths: a. possess intracranial joint b. lineage thought to be extinct for 65 million years c. highest diversity within the lineage was ~215 mybp d. extant species possess primitive lung e. fin motion analogous to tetrapod movement

28) The most derived order of fishes on the planet is and includes pufferfishes, mola mola, and filefishes. a. Pleuronectiformes b. Perciformes c. Tetraodontiformes d. Cypriniformes

29) Which body type is the best suited for moving in and out of tight places and soft bottoms? a. Fusiform b. Elongated, eel-like bodies c. Depressed (dorsal-ventrally compressed) d. Ovate, deep bodied

30) Which fin(s) has/have been modified in clingfishes that allows them to cling to rocks? a. Caudal fin b. Pelvic fin c. Pectoral fin d. All of the above e. b & c

5 31) Placoid scales are homologous to what structure in vertebrates? a. Feathers b. Teeth c. Keratin nails d. Dermal tissue

32) The beautiful and amazing surfperches (as well as the about alright wrasses) use their pectoral fins as their main mode of propulsion. This swimming mode is called a. Anguilliform b. Carangiform c. Labriform d. Tetraodontiform e. Gymnotiform

33) Who developed the cladistical method with a desire to correctly group ancestors and all their descendants? a. Charles Darwin b. Alfred Russel Wallace c. David Quammen d. Willi Hennig e. Peter Artedius

34) Which of the following statements is true of freshwater bony fishes? a. They loose water through their gills b. They gain solutes by diffusion across their skin c. They gain water through their gills d. Salts passively diffuse into their gill tissue from surrounding freshwater

35) These extant, jawless fishes are scavengers and predators of the deep. They are “lazy” osmoregulators and are isosmotic relative to their environment. a. Lampreys b. Conodonts c. Hagfishes d. Lancelets e. Placoderms

6 Name:

Fill in the blank (1pt each):

39 38 40 37 36

43 44 41

42 45

Label body parts (1 point each)

36. 41.

37. 42.

38. 43.

39. 44.

40. 45.

Phylogeny Fill in the blanks (1pt each)

46. 48. 47.

7 49. 53. 50. 54. 51. 55. 52. Fill in the blank (1pt for each blank):

56) Name two of the three modes of reproduction (i.e., how embryos develop) we discussed in Chondrichthyes.

Oviparous, viviparous, ovoviviparous

57) Name two of the seven largest fish families (scientific family names end –idae)

b. Cyprinidae, Gobiidae, Cichlidae, Characidae, Loricaridae, Nemacheillidae, Labridae

58) While fishing off the Santa Cruz wharf you and your lab partner land a massive California halibut (Pleuronectiformes). You’re stoked as you just scored some delicious fish tacos and a skull for your Ichthyology project! Being that you’re an inquisitive biologist, you exam the very small scales imbedded in the skin of the animal under a microscope (which you have at home). After a thorough investigation, you find two scale types that are characteristic of more derived fishes. What are they?

A: ctenoid and cycloid

59) The Need for Speed is a new feature length film starring Keanu Reeves as an FBI agent chasing resourceful cartels in the Caribbean who are using sailfish and yellow

8 Name: fin tuna as drug mules. By duct taping the drugs to the fishes, the cartels are distorting both the width and external smoothness of the fishes. What two types of drag will they be altering?

b. inertial or pressure & viscous or frictional

60) Which clade of fishes is characterized by enamel on their teeth and fins with a central bony axis with muscles within the fins?

sarcopterygians

61) The anglerfishes’ lure for catching prey and the remora’ suction disk are examples of modified fins. Dorsal fin

62) The taxonomic group we call fishes are rendered paraphyletic by

. tetrapods

63) This fish’s morphology is best adapted for ventilating its gills via respiration. suction

64) Physoclistus and physostomous gas bladders may share some features in common but only physostomous gas bladders retain the

, a connection to the gut. Pneumatic duct

Short Answer (observe sentence limits!!! You’ll lose points for going over!)

65) Little Johnny is an enthusiastic aquarist who just bought three lungfishes, which are all from different continents. He has already set up a nice 135 gallon aquarium with plenty of hiding places, live planted lilies, and a glass top. Johnny filled the aquarium to the tippy top leaving no room for air. After putting his new fishes into their home, little Johnny goes surfing and then eats a jelly doughnut while watching a movie. When he finishes watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he finds that two of the lungfishes are dead.

Which continent is the living lungfish likely from? (1 pt)

Australia

Name a continent that one the dead lungfishes came from? (1 pt)

South America or Africa

Why did the two lungfishes likely die? (2 pts – one sentence at most) They are obligate air breathers and drown without access to air.

66) The rete mirabile or “wonder net” is a looping bundle of venous and arterial capillaries. What kind of exchange does the rete mirabile set up? In class we discussed two physiological examples that rely on the rete mirabile. Name one and describe what the wonder net does in that example. (4pts – no more than five sentences). Gas gland Endothermic organs/body parts

Sets up a counter current exchange. In gas gland, allows for acid environment to be concentrated and retained at the gas gland to encourage gases to come out of solution and diffuse into the gas bladder. In endothermic animals, allows for heat to be retained in endothermic regions/body parts/whole body.

67) Elasmobranchs are cartilaginous fishes that include sharks and rays. In class we discussed three physical characteristics that often distinguish sharks from rays. Discuss two of these. Be sure to distinguish which group has what characteristic. (3 pts – No more than 4 sentences)

10 Name:

Placement of gill slits (lateral on sharks, ventral on rays) Relatively large spiracles on rays vs sharks Pectoral fins extend to sides of head in rays vs sharks

68) Many pelagic elasmobranchs, such as whale and basking sharks, achieve near neutral buoyancy via chemical methods. Briefly describe how they do this and describe an advantage and disadvantage to this approach (4pts - no more than five sentences).

Rely on fatty, low density liver, which makes up 30% of their body weight in pelagic animals and cartilaginous skeleton.

Advantage: Allows for quick changes in depth Can use fats for energy to metabolize in lean times Once established, energetically efficient

Disadvantages: Energetically costly to build up fatty liver Hunted for fatty livers..

(may be more use your judgement).