Other fish
Seahorses, pufferfish, anglerfish, gobies, flying fish and the rest. 77 fish on EveryFish so far.
Many fish do not fit the familiar groups. Seahorses and pipefish, pufferfish and ocean sunfish, anglerfish, flying fish, oarfish, mudskippers, gobies, archerfish and lizardfish each belong to their own branches of the fish family tree. Among them are some of the strangest shapes and records in the animal world, from the heaviest bony fish to some of the smallest vertebrates known.
Record breakers
The ocean sunfish and its relatives are the heaviest bony fish: a bumphead sunfish found off the Azores in 2021 weighed about 2,700 kg. The giant oarfish is the longest bony fish, reaching around 8 metres. At the other end, Paedocypris progenetica, a tiny carp of Indonesian peat swamps, matures at under 8 mm. Seahorses are unusual in that males carry the eggs in a pouch and give birth.
Odd fish, familiar names
Pufferfish blow themselves up with water and carry a deadly poison, yet are eaten as fugu in Japan. Flying fish glide above the waves on wide pectoral fins. Archerfish of mangroves shoot down insects with jets of water. The Bombay duck, bombil, of India's west coast is a lizardfish, a soft, toothy fish eaten fresh or dried. Anglerfish of the deep sea fish for prey with a glowing lure.
Famous other fish
Still to be written: Ocean sunfish, Leafy seadragon, Hippocampus kuda, Takifugu rubripes, Bombay duck, Banded archerfish.
Further reading
WorldCommon fangtooth
A small, black deep-sea fish with large fangs found worldwide.Other · Open ocean · 1833
🇸🇷 Suriname and 2 moreRedeye piranha
A large freshwater fish from South America with a rhombus-shaped body and red eyes.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMexican tetra
A freshwater characin with surface and blind cave forms, studied for evolutionary biology.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United StatesDelta smelt
A tiny, endangered fish native to California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1963
🇺🇸 United StatesNorthern cavefish
A blind fish living in caves of Kentucky and IndianaOther · Rivers and lakes
🇨🇺 CubaCuban gar
Large tropical freshwater predator native to western Cuba.Other · Rivers and lakes
WorldThree-spined stickleback
Small northern fish known for rapid evolution and complex breeding.Other · Rivers and lakes
WorldNinespine stickleback
Small freshwater fish with variable spines found across the Northern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreHoplias aimara
A large freshwater predator from South America known for its size and mercury accumulation.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1846
WorldDeepsea lizardfish
A deep-ocean predator with a flattened head and large eyes found in tropical seas worldwide.Other · Deep sea · 1878
WorldGlasshead barreleye
Deep-sea fish with mirror-based eyesOther · Open ocean
WorldBarreleye
Deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and a light-producing anusOther · Open ocean
WorldHumpback anglerfish
Deep-sea black seadevil with a glowing lureOther · Open ocean · 1863
WorldSloane's viperfish
Deep-sea dragonfish with huge teeth and light organsOther · Open ocean · 1801
WorldBlack swallower
Deep-sea fish that eats prey larger than itselfOther · Open ocean
WorldPacific blackdragon
Deep-sea fish with light-absorbing skin and a glowing chin lure.Other · Open ocean
WorldTripod fish
Deep-sea fish that stands on elongated finsOther · Open ocean
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese rice fish
Small freshwater fish native to Japan and a key model organism.Other · Rivers and lakes
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Common fangtooth: Brian Suda, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Redeye piranha: Torox, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mexican tetra: User:Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Delta smelt: Peterson, B. Moose / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
- Cuban gar: Poleta33, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Three-spined stickleback: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ninespine stickleback: Piet Spaans, Public domain, source
- Hoplias aimara: Lars Simonsen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Deepsea lizardfish: Bideault, Public domain, source
- Glasshead barreleye: Adrian Flynn, CC BY 1.0, source
- Barreleye: S. Johnsen (Duke Uni.) for courtesy of photos, J. Hlidberg for courtes, CC BY 4.0, source
- Oarfish: Sandstein, CC BY 3.0, source
- Humpback anglerfish: Emőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sloane's viperfish: Gervais et Boulart, Public domain, source
- Black swallower: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Pacific blackdragon: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tripod fish: null, CC BY 4.0, source
- Japanese rice fish: NOZO, CC BY 3.0, source