Anatomy and Biology of Finfish
Teacher
Dr. Saritha S
Category
Core Courses
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Course code (credit) FSRM 1203 (2-1-0)
Program Outcome
PO1: Knowledge enhancement: Enhanced knowledge on concepts, essential facts, basics, principles and theories relating to fishery biology, biodiversity and aquatic environment, aquaculture, fish nutrition, fish physiology, genetics and biotechnology, fish processing, fisheries engineering, fish microbiology, fishery extension, economics, and biostatistics.
PO2: Professional and Entrepreneurial Skill development: Understanding the value and processes of life-long learning and professional enhancement and entrepreneurship development.
PO3: Critical thinking: After identifying the assumptions from the subject, take informed actions to frame the thinking and check out the degree to which these assumptions are accurate and valid, and look at our ideas and decisions (intellectual, organizational, and personal) from different perspectives.
PO4: Problem Solving: solve the problems from concerned disciplines using the knowledge, skills and attitude acquired from various disciplines in fisheries science.
PO5: Environment and Sustainability: Understand the issues of environmental contexts and sustainable development.
PO6: Data Handling and computational skills: Collect, analyze and interpret biological and scientific data for the scientific and farming community with the help of computer-based programmes.
PO7: Communication & Extension Skills: Develop appropriate communication skills for effective transfer of knowledge and technologies through extension activities.
PO8: Team Work: Play effective roles in capture, culture, management, financial and marketing of fish produce.
PO9: Ethics: Application of ethical principles and commitment to professional ethics and responsibilities.
Course Objectives
• To understand the internal and external anatomy of a fish in detail
• To identify the different parts of a fish and describe the function of each part
• To understand the internal organs and their functions
• To study the life forms of fishes with regard to their food and feeding habits, age, and growth followed by reproduction.
• To distinguish the fishes with respect to their feeding habits
Course Outcomes
| CO no. | Course outcome | POs addressed |
| CO-1 | Understand the organismal form, living process and life history events of fishes. | PO1, PO 2
PO5, PO8, PO9 |
| CO-2 | Determine the basic concept of food and feeding habits, age and growth to indicate the events in the life history of fish | PO1, PO 2
PO5, PO8, PO9 |
| CO-3 | Explain the fundamental concepts of physiological process of fish | PO1, PO 2
PO5, PO8, PO9 |
Course Syllabus
Theory
Study of external and internal anatomy of important groups of finfish. Study of oral
region and associated structures. Digestive system and associated digestive glands. Food and
feeding habits of commercially important fishes. Qualitative and quantitative methods of
analysis of gut contents. Circulatory system, respiratory system, nervous system, urino-genital
system, endocrine system, skeletal systems and sensory organs. Reproductive biology –
maturity stages, gonado-somatic index, ponderal index, fecundity, sex ratio and spawning.
Eggs and larval stages and developmental biology. Age and growth determination by direct
and indirect methods. Fish migration - type and significance. Tagging and marking.
Practicals
Study of internal organs – digestive, respiratory, circulatory, urino-genital system,
nervous, skeletal systems and endocrine system. Study of food and feeding habits. Analysis of
gut contents. Estimation of age and growth by direct and indirect methods. Classification of
maturity stages. Estimation of fecundity. Study of developmental stages. Tagging and marking
Eggs and larval stages and developmental biology. Age and growth determination by direct
and indirect methods. Fish migration - type and significance. Tagging and marking.
Reference Books
1. Commercial Sea fishes of India – Talwar and Kicker
2. Inland fishes (Vol 1) -Jhingram and Talwar
3. Inland fishes (Vol 2) -Jhingram and Talwar
4. Fresh water inland fishes of India--- K.C.Jayaraman
Session Plan
Theory (32 session)
Session 1
Internal anatomy of Fin Fish
• Introduction to anatomy
• Functions of different internal organs
• Positions of different internal organs
Session 2
Integument of Fish
• Function skin or Integument
• Histology
• Epidermis
• Dermis and other cells found in skin ( mucus cell, club cell/ giant cell, sacci form cell)
Session 3
Scales of fishes
• Different kinds of scales
• Placoid scales: origin and structure
• Non placoid scales (Cosmoid, Ganoid, cycloid and ctenoid type): Origin and structure
Session 4
Fins of fishes
• Types of fin
• Paired fins and unpaired fins, structure and function of fins
Session 5 & 6
Digestive system and associated digestive glands of teleost
• Structure and function of Mouth, Pharynx, Oesophagus, Stomach, Intestine, Pyloric
caeca, Rectum, Anus.
Session 7 & 8
- Histology of different parts of alimentary canal (Buccopharynx, Oesophagus,
Stomach, Intestine and Rectum)
• Structure and function of Liver, gall bladder and pancrease
• Histology of Alimentary canal
Session 9
Oral region and Associated structures
• Structure and function of Oral region and Associated structures
• Oral adaptation for feeding
• Modifications in the lips, mouth, buccopharynx (types of teeth, dentition pattern, gill
rackers), taste buds and associated structures, oesophagus, stomach and intestine
Session 10 & 11
Food and feeding habits of fish
• Categories of food (Plankton, Nekton, Benthos, Detritus)
• Classification of food based on its importance (Main or basic food, Occasional or
secondary food, Incidental food, Emergency or obligatory food)
• Different categories of fish based on their feeding habits (Depending on food type:
Monophagic, Stenophagic, Euryphagic; Depending on trophic niches: Surface
feeder, column feeder, bottom feeder; Depending on food preference: Herbivore,
Carnivore, Omnivore, plankton feeder)
Major fish feeding types
• Predators
• Grazers
• Strainers
• Food suckers
• Parasites
Session 12
Feeding periodicity and variation in fishes
• Season
• Migratory cycle and reproductive activity
• Amount of food consumed daily, quantity of food and size of fish
• Food and feeding habits of some commercially important fin fishes
Session 14
Gut content analysis in fishes
• Limitations of gut content analysis
• Separation of gut content
• Feeding Intensity.
Methods of Gut content analysis
• Qualitative method
• Quantitative method: Numerical methods (Occurrence method, Number method,
• Dominance method and Point method), Volumetric method (volume displacement
• method, eye estimation method and Point method) and gravimetric method.
• Indices of gut content analysis
Session 15 & 16
Respiratory system in fishes
• Gills as the major site for gas exchange
• Structure of gills
• Holobranch and hemi branch
• Gill arch
• Gill racker
• Gill filament (Primary gill lamellae)
• Gill lamellae (secondary gill lamellae)
• Pseudobranch
Other organs involved in respiration
• Skin
• Alimentary canal
• Air bladder
• Buccopharynx
• Accessory respiratory organs
• Gas bladder or Air bladder
• Physostomus and Physoclistus fish
Session 17 & 18
Circulatory System of teleost
• Introduction
• Heart of a teleost: Structure and function of different parts
• Modifications in different species
• Working of the teleostean: afferent branchial vessels, efferent branchial vessels,
dorsal aorta and its branches, variations in different species with respect to arterial
system
• Venous system in fish
• Circulatory system of Scoliodon
• Structure of heart
• Difference between teleostean and elasmobranch heart
Session 19 & 20
Nervous system in fishes
• Cerebrospinal nervous system
• Brain
• Spinal cord
• Structure of Brain: Prosencephalon (Telencephalon and diencephalon),
mesencephalon (optic lobe) and Rhombencephalon(metencephalon and
myelencephalon)
• Structure of spinal cord
• Peripheral nervous system
• Spinal nerves
Session 21 & 22
Urino-genetial system
• Excretory System
• Structure and histology of kidney
• Types of kidney (Type I, II, III, IV and V)
• Structure and function of nephron
• Difference between nephron of fresh water and marine fishes
Urino genital system
Session 19
Session 23 & 24
Reproduction in Fishes
• Types of reproduction
• Sexual characters in fishes
• Sexual dimorphism
• Sexual differentiation in fish
Male Reproductive system
• Structure and histology of testes
• Spermatogenesis
• Spermiogenesis
• Structure of sperm
Female Reproductive System
reproductive system
Session 25
Endocrine system
• Pituitary gland: Location, structure and function
• Thyroid gland: Location, structure and function
• Interregnal plan: Location, structure and function
• Chromaffin tissue: Location, structure and function
• Corpscles of stannous: Location, structure and function
• Ultimobranchial gland: Location, structure and function
• Pineal organ: Location, structure and function
• Urophysis: Location, structure and function
Endocrine system
Session 26
Skeletal system:
Axial skeleton
• Vertebral column
• Skull
Vertebral column
• Complex vertebrae
• Typical trunk vertebrae
• Pre caudal
• Caudal vertebrae
• Urostyle
• Ribs
• Skull
• Neuro cranium: Occipital region, otic region, orbitotemporal region, nasal or
• ethmoidal region
• Appendicular skeleton
• Pectoral girdle
• Pelvic girdle
• Skeleton of median fins
Session 27
Sensory System in fishes
• Introduction
• Nares
• Eyes
• Skin organs
• Inner ear
• Lateral line system
sensory system pdf
Session 28
Reproduction in Fishes
Maturity stages of testes (Testicular cycle)
• Early immature / resting phase
• Late immature phase
• Maturing phase
• Mature phase
• Spent phase
Maturity stages of ovary (ovarian cycle)
• Immature phase
• Early maturing phase
• Advanced maturing phase
• Mature/ pre spawning phase
• Spawning phase
• Spent phase
Session 29
17 Fecundity
• Definition
• Methods of estimation of fecundity (Gravimetric method and Volumetric method
• Sex Ratio
• Mating
• Spawning
• Ovulation
• Fertilization
Types of egg
Embryonic and larval development
• Cleavage
• Morula
• Blastula
• Gastrula
• Organogenesis
Larval and post larval development
Reproductive strategy
Session 30
Growth in fishes
• Definition
• Growth curve
• Growth rate of fishes
• Absolute growth
• Relative growth
• Linear growth characteristics and growth model (Von Bertalanffy growth function)
• Determination of age
• Length frequency method: Advantages and disadvantages
• Recovery of marked fish
• Interpretation of the layers that are laid down in using hard parts of fish body
(Scales, Opercular bones, Otoliths, vertebrae)
Session 31
Fish migration
• What is migration
• Types of migration
• Reasons
• Singinificance of migration
Fish migration - type and significance
Session 32
<Marking and tagging
Purpose of marking and tagging
Group marking techniques in fishes
Individual marking techniques
• Internal marking technique (Passive integrated transponder tags)
• External marking technique (t - bar tags, plastic tipped dart tags, stainless steel head
dart tags, body cavity tags, self locking "cinch-up" loop tags, plastic head intramuscular
tags - game fish tag, polyethylene streamer tags & glue-on shellfish tags)
Information to be printed on tags
• Release information
• Recapture information
Necessary qualities of a tag
Marking_Techniques_in_Fishes
Session (16 Practical)
Session 2, 3 & 4
Practical : Dissection of a bony fish to study different internal organs
Session 5 & 6
Practical: Dissection of a bony fish to study digestive system
Digestive system
Session 7 & 8
Oral region and Associated structures
• Structure and function of Oral region and Associated structures
• Oral adaptation for feeding
• Modifications in the lips, mouth, buccopharynx (types of teeth, dentition pattern, gill
rackers), taste buds and associated structures, oesophagus, stomach and intestine
Session 9 & 10
Practical: Qualitative and Quantitative analysis of Gut contents
Session 11 & 12
Practical: Dissection of a bony fish to study the respiratory system
Session 14
Practical: Dissection of a bony fish to study the circulatory system
Question bank
Assignments
Contents revised
Course outcome- Program outcome mapping
| PO1 | PO2 | P03 | P04 | P05 | P06 | P07 | P08 | P09 | |
| CO1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| CO2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| CO3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Avg of CO-PO affinity levels | 2.33 | 3.00 | 2.33 | 2.00 | 3.00 |
Our Main Teachers
Saritha S is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Fisheries Resource Management, School of Fisheries, CUTM, Paralakhemundi Campus from May 2022 onwards. She completed her Ph.D. in Fisheries Resource Management from ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai. M.F.Sc. (Master of Fisheries Science) in Fisheries Resource Management from the College of fisheries, Mangalore, and B.F.Sc. (Bachelor of Fisheries Science) from Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, Kerala. She qualified for ASRB ICAR-NET in Fisheries Resource Management discipline in 2016. she was Awarded UGC-Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for pursuing Ph.D. in 2014. Received University Gold Medal and H.P.C. Shetty Gold Medal for having secured the Highest Grade Point Average in Master of Fisheries Science in Fisheries Resources and Management for the Academic year 2013-14.
Assistant Professor, PhD School of Fisheries Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) Paralakhemundi- 761211 Odisha, INDIA Mobile: +91 6238 514615 Email: amrutha.gopan@cutm.ac.in ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS Ph.D. in Fish Nutrition and Feed Technology(2020) from Central Institute of Fisheries Education(CIFE-ICAR), Mumbai M.F.Sc.(Master of Fisheries Science) in Fish Nutrition and Feed Technology (2015) from Central Institute […]