Fish

Bamboo sharks are found in shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. They are small, slow-moving sharks with long tails.

The second largest known fish in the world, the basking shark may look scary, but it’s a harmless filter feeder.

This shark is named for the black tips on its dorsal and caudal (tail) fins. It’s found mainly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, usually around coral reefs.

Named for their steely blue color, this slender shark inhabits the deep waters of the world’s warm oceans.

The bluespotted ray, also called the bluespotted ribbontail ray, is a common sight in the tropical areas of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, usually around coral reefs.

The blue tang is a striking fish in the surgeonfish family, named for its bright blue coloration. Found throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean, it prefers reef habitats.

While it may not have horns, this shark known for its unpredictability and aggressiveness more than lives up to its name.

Catfish are so named because of whisker-like structures on their face, known as barbels. Some species of catfish are among the largest freshwater fish alive today.

These vibrantly patterned reef fish are usually orange and white, and are able to hide among the venomous tentacles of sea anemones. They are found in the Indian and Pacfic Oceans.

The cownose ray is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, and gets its name from their uniquely shaped head that resembles a cow’s snout from above.

Flying fish don’t really fly, but they are capable of propelling themselves out of the water and gliding through the air at speeds of over 35 miles per hour, and distances of over 600 feet.

Frogfish are oddly shaped, stocky marine fish who use camouflage to stalk their prey and hide from predators. They live on rock or coral reefs throughout the world, and can be found in most subtropical and tropical ocean areas.

Goliath grouper are a mostly quiet, mostly gentle behemoth that can be found in rocky shores and in shipwrecks. Once a prized game fish, it is now legal only to catch and release the giants. Divers often find them fascinating and will approach the languid fish as they guard their territories. This usually results only in a few nice pictures and an interesting story, but the fish – which can be four times larger than a human – should be treated with respect and caution.

One of the most feared and misunderstood creatures in all the ocean, the great white shark is one of the top predators of the sea.

Grey reef sharks are one of the most common sharks in Indo-Pacific waters, this shark inhabits reefs, passes and drop-offs. When picture the archetypal “shark”, the image in their heads is usually very similar to the look of the grey reef shark.

There are currently nine recognized species of hammerhead shark alive today, each with a uniquely shaped hammer-like head that gives them their common name.

Koi fish are domesticated Amur carp, which have been specially bred to display a wide range of striking colors and patterns.

While the traditional range of the large mouth bass was the east half of the United States, it is now one of the most widely distributed freshwater fish in the world. This is due to their popularity as game fish and their ability to adapt to many different freshwater environments. The range now includes all of the US, Japan, South Africa, much of Europe, as well as New Zealand and the Philippines. They can be found anywhere from large lakes and rivers to swamps.

Lemon sharks are tropical sharks that enjoy shallow waters such as bays and mangrove swamps. Their yellowish coloration helps them blend into the sandy shallows they call home. Though it is not aggressive toward humans, it should be treated with respect and may attack if provoked. They live in the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of North and South America, as well as the western coast of Africa. They are also found in the Pacific along the coast of Central America and the Gulf of California.

Despite its fearsome name, this shark is harmless to humans. It gets its name not from its ferocity, but from the large spots on its body.

Found throughout the world’s tropical and subtropical oceans, the mahi-mahi’s dazzling colors (and delicious taste) make them popular sport fish.

One of the fastest fish alive, mako sharks are found in offshore ocean environments. The shortfin mako is found worldwide, while the longfin mako prefers warmer environments.

Manta Rays are among the largest species of ray living today. Despite their nickname “devil fish”, they are actually gentle giants that are totally harmless to humans.

The marble ray, or round ribbontail ray, is found throughout the shallower waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. These rays are popular for ecotourism divers, due to their usually docile nature, large size and striking appearance.

Megamouth sharks were only discovered in 1976 and it was purely by accident. A US Navy vessel snagged a large male in its anchor line and the 14-foot specimen was hauled aboard and later preserved for study - although considerable damage had been done before preservation could occur. The deepwater animal was not only found to be a new species, but it also represented an entirely new genus. At the time of their discovery, many people believed that no large shark species were left to be discovered and the megamouth was a shock to the scientific community.

Morays are a family of mostly saltwater (but a few freshwater) species of eels that are found worldwide. One of the largest is the green moray.

Since this is one of the most studied sharks, the main mystery that remains is the origin of its name. There are three theories to what it could be. The first, and most common, is that the shark is named for the sucking sound it makes as it hunts, possibly resembling a nursing baby. The other two theories involve archaic words - ‘nusse’ and ‘hurse’. Nusse refers to catsharks, which is still a term applied to nurse sharks in Caribbean waters, where they are called "tiburon gato". Hurse is an Old English word for sea-floor shark.

The oceanic whitetip shark is a large shark found in the open ocean in warm tropical waters. Despite its name, it is not closely related to the whitetip reef shark. Though both are “requiem” sharks in the family Carcharhinidae, they have little in common in terms of appearance and behavior, other than the white marks on the edges of their fins.

Porbeagle Sharks are a type of mackerel shark, related to the Mako Shark, Great White and Salmon Shark. They live in the colder waters of the north Atlantic and southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the north Pacific Ocean, the Salmon Shark fills a similar ecological role.

Salmon are fishes that are noteworthy for their anadromous life cycle. They are born in fresh water, then they swim to the ocean where they live most of their lives, and then they return to fresh water to breed. Salmon are an important food fish that is heavily farmed.

Salmon Sharks are a type of mackerel shark, related to the Mako Shark and Great White. They live in the colder waters of the northern Pacific Ocean. In the Atlantic Ocean, a similar related shark filling the same ecological role is the Porbeagle.

Though it can grow quite large and has a mouth full of frightfully sharp teeth, the sand tiger shark is actually quite docile and has only rarely ever attacked humans. This shark is quite common in public aquaria.

Sawfish are a family of endangered rays notable for their long snouts, which feature rows of teeth on either side similar to a saw.

Seahorses are unique fish with a distinctive body shape including a horse-like head, a curling prehensile tail, and an upright swimming posture.

The shark ray is a unique species of fish that has features found in both sharks and rays. It is found in the Western Indo-Pacific Ocean.

The silky shark is named for the smooth feel of its skin. This shark is found worldwide in tropical waters.

Stingrays are a type of cartilaginous fish (meaning their skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone), like their relatives, the sharks. They have large pectoral fins that run most of the length of their entire body, giving their bodies a disc or diamond shaped appearance. They have long, whip-like tails armed with a barbed stinger that can deliver a venomous sting to any creatures that threaten the stingray. There are currently around 220 known species.

Thresher sharks are known for their unusually long tails, the top lobe of which can be as long as the rest of the body (nearly half the shark’s total length).

The tiger shark is notorious for its habit of eating just about anything. It gets its name from the striped markings which are most prominent on juvenile sharks.

A relative of the seahorse, the weedy seadragon has protrusions on its body that resemble seaweed, to help it camouflage and hide from predators.

The whale shark is most popularly known for its gigantic size. Despite being called a whale, the whale shark is not a whale at all. The term, whale, in their name is due to the large size that is comparable to cetaceans. They are the biggest fish in the world. Many people are surprised to learn that whale sharks are filter feeders and their diets consist of tiny plankton, shrimp, krill, larvae, small fish, and even some algae. With quite an imposing size, most people are relieved to learn that whale sharks pose no great threat to humans.

The whitetip reef shark is a relatively small species of shark in the family known as requiem sharks (Carcharhinidae), which also includes the bull, tiger, lemon, gray reef, blacktip reef, and blue sharks. This shark is unique among its relatives, with its slender body and blunt snout with tubular nasal flaps.

Zebra sharks were named for the striped patterns found on juvenile sharks. As the shark matures, the stripes transition to black spots, which often cause people to mistake the adults for leopard sharks. Zebra sharks are a type of carpet shark. They are nocturnal feeders and spend a great deal of the daytime hours resting on the floors of tropical oceans in the Indo-Pacific region. Their agile bodies allow them to slip into crevices to chase their prey in in-shore areas like coral beds and sand flats. These sharks are docile and not dangerous to humans.