INTRODUCTION

Fish that have skeletons consisting of hard rubber-like cartilage rather than bone are members
of the class Chondrichthyes . These are the sharks and rays. All of the bony fish are members
of the class Osteichthyes . Fish are vertebrates, meaning they have a backbone. All fish have
fins and most have scales (with a few exceptions, like catfish which do not). Fish are cold
blooded animals that lay eggs and are well suited for living in water. Learn about the
different fish adaptations below that allow a fish to survive in water ( Fish anatomy, 2008).
OBJECTIVE:
1) To observe the external and internal anatomy of a fish
2) To determine the sex of a fish using internal anatomy
3) To understand the relationship between fish form, function, and diversity.

METHODOLOGY
EXTERNAL ANATOMY
1. The surface of both the tilapia and shark specimens was touched.
2. The colour pattern of the specimens has been observed.
3. A scale of tilapia was pulled and a piece of the shark skin has been removed by using
scalpel.
4.The general shape of the tilapia and shark was observed.
5.The mouth and jaw type of both shark and tilapia was observed and compared.
6. Lateral drawing of the tilapia and shark was drawn and labelled.

INTERNAL ANATOMY
For tilapia:
1. The scissors was inserted carefully through the belly just in front of the anal opening. A
shallow cut forward to the throat was made. The scissors was used to cut off the side of the
fish.
2. The internal anatomy was drawn and the stomach, intestines, air bladder, gall bladder,
kidney, spleen, testes/ ovaries, pyloric caeca, liver, gills, heart, and any other structures was
labelled.
3. The sex of the fish was determined by looking for the gonads.
4.The operculum was lifted and cut away at base to expose the gills. The gills was removed
by cutting upper and lower attachment of the arches. The gill arches, rakers and filaments
was identified and drawn.

For shark:
1. The shark was placed on its backside ( ventral side up).
2.Next on the left side of the shark, the pelvic fin to the pectoral fin was cut with a scalpel.
3. Then, the shark was cut across from the pelvic fin and the pectoral fin. This flap of the
sharks skin was then pulled up to expose the internal organs. Liver, stomach, intestines,
pancreas, spleen, vas deferens, and rectal gland was identified.
4. Figure 1 was labelled with the correct terms.
5. The heart and gills of the shark was looked. The heart was drawn, the atrium and ventricle
of the heart was identified.
6. The liver was cut out and the lobes found in the liver was listed down.
7. The stomach contents of the shark was looked.

DISCUSSION

3.

To ascend, a fish must reduce its overall density by increasing its volume without

significantly increasing its mass. Most fish do this with something called a swim bladder. A
swim bladder is just an expandable sac, like a human lungs. To reduce its overall density, a
fish fills the bladder with oxygen collected from the surrounding water via the gills. When the
bladder is filled with this oxygen gas, the fish has a greater volume, but its weight is not
greatly increased. When the bladder is expanded, it displaces more water and so experiences
a greater force of buoyancy. When the bladder is completely inflated, the fish has maximum
volume and is pushed to the surface. When the bladder is completely deflated, the fish has
minimum volume and sinks to the ocean floor. To stay at a particular level, a fish fills its
bladder to the point at which it displaces a volume of water that weighs what the fish weighs.
In this case, the forces of buoyancy and gravity cancel each other out, and the fish stays at
that level.
If the seawater fish was placed in freshwater, most fish, they would die. But some, like eels
and salmon, can move freely between the two at certain stages of their lives. To do this they
have special mechanisms of excretion and absorption of salt and water.

4. Determining the age of fish is of importance to biologists for scientific reasons. A common
method used is to examine a fish's scales. The cold-blooded metabolism of fish restricts their
growth to certain times of the year, which is reflected in their scales' appearance. This method
of determining age is safe for the fish, and the scales that are removed will regenerate after a
short period of time.

5. Human inner ear have similar function to the lateral line of a fish.

CONCLUSION
1. The external and internal anatomy of a fish are observed.
2.The sex of a fish using is determined by using internal anatomy.
3.The relationship between fish form, function and diversity are fully understood.

REFERENCES

1. Tilapia, an Introduction (. Biology teaching resources by D G Mackean)

http://www.biology-resources.com/fish-tilapia-01.htm
2. J. Wendell Burger, Walter N. Hess .Function of the Rectal Gland in the Spiny Dogfish.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2014.
3. Fish Anatomy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2014.
http://www.versaquatics.com/fishanatomy.htm
4. Michael, J. (n.d.). Differences between sharks and bony fish: More than just the skeleton.
http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/biology/differences-between-sharks-andbony-fish-more-than-just-a-skeleton/.

ANIMAL ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY

(BIO 3603)
SEM 1 2014/2015

NAME

: AHMAD ANWAR SAUQIE BINTI MOHD GHANI

MATRIC NO

: UK 30512

NO PRACTICAL: 4
PROGRAM

: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE