Boarfish Information

Boarfish are marine spiny-fined fish that belong to the order Perciformes.  Fish designated with this name actually occur in two different families: Caproidae and Pentacerotidae.  It should be noted that the majority of boarfish exist within the Caproidae family, while the family Pentacerotidae consists of fish mostly referred to as armorheads.  The Caproidae family contains…

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Cardinalfish Information

Cardinalfish belong to the family Apogonidae.  There are over 200 different species of cardinalfish, with at least 66 nominal genera and 32 valid genera.  There are two major subfamilies.  The majority of cardinalfish are part of the Apologoninae subfamily, while the remaining few belong to the Pseudaminae family.  The fish may be freshwater, brackish or…

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Dolphin Information

Dolphins are marine mammals belonging to the infraorder Cetacea.  These cetaceans are part of the family of toothed whales that also includes orcas and pilot whales.  Dolphins can be found worldwide in the shallow seas of continental shelves.  The oceanic dolphins belong to the Delphinidae family, but there are species of brackish and freshwater dolphins…

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Dartfish Information

Dartfish are a species of fish belonging to the family Microdesmidae.  They are a saltwater species that share a strong resemblance with gobies and blennies.  Classification for dartfish species has changed over the years.  The fire dartfish, also known as a firefish, was originally classified as a blenny or goby prior to 1986.  Dartfish originate…

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Chromis Information

Chromis fish belong to the family Pomacentridae.  They are specifically a genus of damselfish.  Like all damselfish, chromis are strictly a saltwater species.  Chromis originated from the Indo-Pacific Ocean and can be found near places sure as the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and the Philippines.  Some species have also been observed in the…

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Basslet Information

Basslet fish belong to the family Grammatidae.  These saltwater fish are sometimes referred to as dottybacks, grammas or Anthias.  They are native to the western Atlantic Ocean, but they have also been spotted in other places like Indonesia.  This is a small species of fish that reaches no more than 4 inches at most in…

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Iguana Information

Iguanas are reptiles belonging to the Iguanidae family.  There are at least 8 genera and 35 different species of iguana, and the marine iguana goes by the genus and species Amblyrhynchus cristatus.  Marine iguanas are believed to have evolved from land iguanas nearly 4.5 million years ago.  There are at least six similar subspecies of…

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Seahorse Information

Seahorses are a type of fish belonging to the genus Hippocampus.  In ancient Greek, the name translates to “horse/sea monster.”  There are believed to be at least 54 different species of seahorses.  However, due to the seahorse’s ability to change its color patterns and shape to camouflage itself, there has been a lot of difficulty…

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Nudibranch Information

Nudibranchs are a type of invertebrate species belonging to the Gastropoda class.  They are carnivorous bottom-dwellers and shell-less mollusks belonging to the same family as sea slugs.  Nudibranchs are primarily a saltwater species that can be found in all oceans from the intertidal zone to the deep ocean.  They do seem to prefer shallow tropical…

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Tang Information

Tangs belong to the family Acanthuridae.  A purely saltwater fish at least 50 million years old, the name is interchangeable at times with surgeonfish and doctorfish species.  Fish labeled as tangs appear to more often have a sharper, pointier nose than a fish labeled as a surgeonfish.  All tang species are laterally compressed with a…

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Surgeonfish Information

Surgeonfish belong to the family Acanthuridae.  There are at least 75 different species of surgeonfish, some of which are referred to as tang, doctorfish or unicornfish.  They have been around for more than 50 million years.  Surgeonfish only inhabit marine waters, but can be found in all tropical and subtropical seas with the exception of…

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Triggerfish Information

Triggerfish belong to the family Balistidae.  Consisting of at least 40 different species, some of these carnivorous fish can grow up to 3.3 feet in length.  They’re found only in tropical and subtropical oceans, as opposed to freshwater.  The largest numbers are found in the Indo-Pacific, and their preferred habit is shallow waters along coral…

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Hawkfish Information

Hawkfish belong to the family Cirrhitidae.  There are at least 33 different species of hawkfish, all of which live solely in marine waters.  They live in tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean.  Most species reside in the Indo-Pacific, while at least two species are recorded to have originated from the eastern and…

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Bream Information

There are a variety of fish referred to as bream fish, but not all of them are as closely related to each other as most species.  Therefore, it is difficult to give a specific class, order or family that bream fall into.  This also means there are both freshwater and marine species.  Sunfish, bluegill and…

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Lionfish Information

Lionfish belong to the Pterois genus.  Other common names for lionfish include fire fish, zebrafish, and turkey fish, and there are currently 8 recognized species of lionfish from the Pacific region.  Strictly a marine species, lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific, but they are now found in the Atlantic where they are considered an invasive…

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Cuttlefish Information

Cuttlefish are marine cephalopods belonging to the order Sephioidea.  There are at least 120 different species of cuttlefish, and the modern cuttlefish first appeared somewhere around 21 million years ago.  They get their name from their thick internal calcified shell known as a cuttlebone.  This cuttlebone assists with buoyancy by filling and emptying its various…

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Barracuda Information

Barracuda fish belong to the Sphyraenidae family.  Consisting of more than 20 different species, Barracuda’s are predatory fish with long slim bodies, small scales, two separated dorsal fins, a jutting lower jaw and a large mouth with razor sharp teeth.  Their body is tapered at the ends and thicker in the middle.  Most species have…

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Trumpetfish Information

Trumpetfish belong to the Aulostomidae family and the Aulostomus genus.  Strictly a marine fish, there are three species within the family: the Atlantic trumpetfish, the Atlantic cornetfish and the Chinese trumpetfish.  They’re found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific oceans.  They live in seagrass beds or among coral…

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Bannerfish Information

Bannerfish belong to the genus Heniochus.  They are a type of butterflyfish, making them part of the Chaetodontidae family.   There are at least eight known species of bannerfish: pennant coralfish (or longfin bannerfish), threeband pennantfish, false moorish idol (or schooling bannerfish), Red Sea bannerfish, masked bannerfish, phantom bannerfish, singular bannerfish, and horned bannerfish.  All species…

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Blenny Information

Blenny fish are part of the order Perciformes and the suborder Blenniodei.  “True blennies” exist within six different families of the suborder.  Blennies in the Blenniidae family include combtomb and scaleless blennies.  The Chaenopsidae family has flag and tube blennies.  The Clinidae family has kelpfishes and scaled blennies.  The Dactyloscopidae has sand stargazers.  The Labrisomidae…

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Sea Turtle Information

Sea turtles are reptiles that belong to the order Testudines.  Seven different species of sea turtle exist today.  Sea turtles have been around for at least 110 million years.  Unlike tortoises, the shell of a sea turtle is more streamlined for swimming through the water, and they cannot retract their legs or neck into their…

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Manta Information

Manta rays belong to the Mobulidae family.  They are elasmobranchs, cartilaginous fish, related to sharks and skates.  Their common name “manta” is also their genus name.  There are two species of manta ray, the giant manta ray (Manta birostris) and the smaller reef manta ray (Manta alfredi).  Both rays have a diamond-shaped body, long pectoral…

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Anthias Information

Anthias are part of the Serranidae family, more specifically the subfamily Anthiinae.  Within the subfamily, there are at least 17 different genera and 170 different species of anthias.  The species can be found in all tropical oceans and seas.  Divers may also refer to them as reeffish, wreckfish, or jewelfish.  They mainly feed off of…

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Whale Information

Whales are mammals that belong in the Cetacea order, alongside dolphins and porpoises.  There are two sub-orders of whales: baleen and toothed whales.  The baleen whales get the name from the comb-link fringe on their upper jaw.  This fringe, called baleen, is designed for filtering plankton and other small fish and crustaceans that may pass…

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Angelfish Information

Angelfish belong to the order Perciformes, and marine angelfish in particular belong in the Pomacanthidae family.  There are at least 7 genera and 86 species of marine angelfish in this family.  Freshwater angelfish belong in the same order, but in the Cichlidae family instead.  Freshwater angelfish are found in South America in places like the…

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Eel Information

Eels are teleost fish that belong to the order Anguilliformes.  Over 800 species of eels exist, some of which are classified as the more common freshwater eel, and others as marine eels.  The two types of marine eels are Moray eels and Conger eels.  The most apparent characteristic of eels is their elongated body.  Both…

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Anemonefish Information

Anemonefish, otherwise known as clownfish, belong to the Pomacentridae family.  More specifically, they’re part of the genus Amphiprion.  Consisting of at least 30 different species, the most notable aspect of anemonefish is their association with large sea anemones.  The stinging cells, known as nematocysts, of sea anemones are fatal to most fish that come in…

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Seal Information

Seals are semi-aquatic mammals belonging to the Pinnipedia family.  With more than 33 different species, these carnivorous pinnipeds include walruses, eared seals such as sea lions and furred seals, and earless seals such as elephant seals.  While seals may differ in size and color, all seals have a streamlined body with four fins that are…

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Shark Information

Sharks are part of the Class Chondrichthyes.  They are a cartilaginous fish, so their skeleton is made up completely of a tissue lighter and more flexible than bone known as cartilage.  Currently, there are more than 500 known species.  Sharks are a prime example of evolutionary dominance, considering they have been around for at least…

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Parrotfish Information

Parrotfish belong to the family Scaridae. At least 80 species have been identified, and all of the world’s oceans are known to hold some species of parrotfish around tropical reefs. They can live up to 7 years and grow to be anywhere between 1 to 4 feet in length. They are protogynous hermaphrodites, which means…

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Snapper Information

Snappers belong to the order Perciformes in the Lutjanidae family. There are at least 17 different genera and 112 different species of snapper fish. Snappers are mainly a marine fish, rarely being found in estuaries. They will enter freshwater to feed though. More of a tropical and subtropical fish, many species are found in the…

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Grouper Information

All Groupers fall under the family Serranidae, and the order Perciformes. They’re categorized in either of two genera, Epinephelus or Mycteroperca. Groupers are often recognized for their large mouth and heavy body. Their colors are usually dull tones of greens and browns, but there are a few with some more boldly colored bright patterns. The…

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Frogfish Information

Frogfish are any members of the anglerfish family, Antennariidae, and the teleost order Lophiiformes.  There are at least 46 known species of Frogfish.  A rather complex design, this fish comes in a variety of color and color patterns.  Some distinguishing features include a large, anterodorsally directed mouth with more or less 2-4 rows of small,…

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Butterflyfish Information

Butterflyfish belong in the Actinopterygii Class like most fish, and the Family Chaetodontidae. The name Butterflyfish may reference the wide variety of colors and patterns they come in, as well as the occasional spot near the tail end of the fish resembling an eye. Like actual butterflies, this fake eye serves as a way to…

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Jellyfish Information

Jellyfish are a free-swimming marine invertebrate belonging to the scientific phylum Cnidaria.  The term comes from the Greek word for “sea nettle.”  Species that share this phylum include corals, sea anemones, and hydroids.  All Cnidarians contain stinging cells known as cnidocytes, which fire a structure known as a nematocyst.  This nematocyst contains a toxin that…

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Pufferfish Information

Pufferfish belong to the family Tetradontidae and the order Tetradonitformes.  There are at least 200 known species of Pufferfish.  Pufferfish and Blowfish are one and the same, but Pufferfish are not to be confused with the Porcupine Fish or Balloon Fish of the family Diodontidae.  Pufferfish contain a beak like formation of four teeth, and…

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Nurse Shark Information

Nurse Sharks, The Original Bottom Feeder Nurse sharks are commonly found in shallow, sub-tropical and tropical waters. Their range is from Rhode Island to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Indo-Pacific in Philippines and the Caribbean Sea. Rarely are they found north of Cape Hatteras. They frequently dwell on rocky and coral reefs, and…

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