Bowfin
Bowfin | |
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Bowfin in aquarium | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Clade: | Halecomorphi |
Order: | Amiiformes |
Family: | Amiidae |
Genus: | Amia |
Species: | A. calva
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Binomial name | |
Amia calva Linnaeus, 1766
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Synonyms[3][4] | |
Species
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The bowfin (Amia calva) is a bony fish, native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique. It is regarded as a
Bowfins are demersal freshwater piscivores, commonly found throughout much of the eastern United States,[2] and in southern Ontario and Quebec. Fossil deposits indicate Amiiformes were once widespread in both freshwater and marine environments across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Now, their range is limited to much of the eastern United States and adjacent southern Canada, including the drainage basins of the Mississippi River, Great Lakes, and various rivers exiting in the Eastern Seaboard or Gulf of Mexico. Their preferred habitat includes vegetated sloughs, lowland rivers and lakes, swamps, and backwater areas; they are also occasionally found in brackish water. They are stalking, ambush predators known to move into the shallows at night to prey on fish and aquatic invertebrates such as crawfish, mollusks, and aquatic insects.
Like gars, bowfin are bimodal breathers—they have the capacity to breathe both water and air. Their
Morphology
The typical length of a bowfin is 50 cm (20 in);[7] females typically grow to 65–70 cm (26–28 in), males to 50–65 cm (20–26 in).[8] They can reach 109 cm (43 in) in length, and weigh 9.75 kg (21.5 lb).[9] Young of the year typically grow to 13–23 cm (5.1–9.1 in) by October.[10] Females tend to grow larger than males.[11][12]
The body of the bowfin is elongated and cylindrical, with the sides and back
The skull of the bowfin is made of two layers of skull, the dermatocranium and the chondrocranium. The chondrocranium layer cannot be seen because it is located below the dermal bones. The bowfin skull is made up of 28 fused bones, which compose the dermatocranium. The roof of the mouth is made up of three bones, the ectopterygoid, the palantine, and the vomer. They have two sets of teeth, including one set of larger sharp teeth coming out of the mandibular and premaxillary bones to grasp and control the prey. The other set of teeth, located posteriorly and connected to the hyomandibular bone, is made up of pharyngeal tooth patches, which are used for sorting out nutrients and grinding down larger pieces of food. [18][19][20] Another three bones make up the lower jaw: the dentary, the angular, and the surangular. The cranial surface of the skull is made up of the nasals, the antorbital, the lacrimal, the parietal, the intertemporal, the post parietal, the supratemporal, the extra scapular, the post temporal, and the opercular. The entirety of the skull is attached to the girdle through another set of bones. [21]
Bowfin are often referred to as "
Fish similar in appearance
The
Bowfin body-shape evolution and development
The first fish lacked jaws and used negative pressure to suck their food in through their mouths. The jaw in the bowfin is a result of their evolutionary need to be able to catch and eat bigger and more nutritious prey. As a result of being able to gather more nutrients, Bowfin are able to live a more active lifestyle. The jaw of a bowfin has several adaptations. The maxilla and premaxilla are fused and the posterior chondrocranium articulates with the vertebra which allows the jaw freedom to rotate. The suspensorium includes several bones and articulates with the snout, brain case, and the mandible. When the jaw opens epaxial muscles lift the chondrocranium, which is attached to the upper jaw, while adductor muscles act to close the lower jaw. This ability to open and close the jaw helps the bowfin to be an active predator that can catch bigger prey and digest them.[34]
The vertebral column in bowfin is ossified and in comparison to earlier fish, the centra are the major support for the body, whereas in earlier fish the notochord was the main form of support. In bowfin neural spines and ribs also increase in prominence, an evolutionary aspect that helps provide additional support and stabilize unpaired fins. The evolution of the vertebral column allows the bowfin to withstand lateral bending that puts the column under compression without breaking. This, in turn, allows the bowfin to have more controlled and powerful movements, in comparison to fish that had only a notochord. The bowfin has a rounded heterocercal tail that resembles a homocercal tail. This type of tail gives the body a streamlined shape which allows the bowfin to improve its swimming ability by reducing drag. These types of tails are common in fish with gas bladders, because the bladder supplies the fish with natural buoyancy.[34]
The bowfin is a member of
Physiology
Bowfin are
Bowfin blood can adapt to warm, acidic waters.[10] The fish becomes inactive in waters below 10 °C (50 °F);[10] at this temperature they breathe almost no air; however, with increasing temperature their air breathing increases.[7] Their preferred temperature range is between 12–26 °C (54–79 °F), with 18 °C (64 °F) the temperature of maximum activity.[41] Air breathing is at a maximum in the range 18.4–29.6 °C (65.1–85.3 °F). Bowfin do not use central chemoreceptor regulation for respiration control. Experiments manipulating the oxygen content, carbon dioxide content, and pH of bowfin extradural fluid did not affect breathing rate, heart rate, or blood pressure pointing to a lack of central chemoreceptor regulation.[42] Instead, bowfin respiratory patterns respond to water oxygen content and water temperature, as water temperatures play a role in oxygen content. In the lab, bowfin showed an increase in the breathing rate when the temperatures were raised above 10°C.[43] Bowfin also showed an increase in breathing rate when exposed to lower oxygen levels in the water.[44]
Herpetologist W. T. Neill reported in 1950 that he unearthed a bowfin aestivating (in a dormant state) in a chamber 4 inches (10 cm) below the ground surface, 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter, .25 miles (0.4 km) from a river. It was further noted that flood levels had previously reached the area, and receded. It is not unusual for riverine species like bowfin to move into backwaters with flood currents, and become trapped when water levels recede.[7][45][46][47] While aestivation is anecdotally documented by multiple researchers, laboratory experiments have suggested instead that bowfin are physiologically incapable of surviving more than three to five days of air exposure. However, no field manipulation has been performed.[48][49] Regardless of the lack of evidence confirming the bowfin's ability to aestivate, it has been noted that bowfin can survive prolonged conditions of exposure to air because they have the ability to breathe air. Their gill filaments and lamellae are rigid in structure which helps prevent the lamellae from collapsing and aids gas exchange even during air exposure.[50]
Evolution and phylogeny
Competing
The extant ray-finned fish of the subclass Actinopterygii include 42 orders, 431 families and over 23,000 species.
Infraclass Neopterygii
Neopterygians are the second major occurrence in the evolution of ray-finned fish and today include the majority of modern bony fish.[56] They are distinguished from their earlier ancestors by major changes to the jaws, shape of the skull, and tail. They are divided into three divisions:
- Division 1. Order Lepisosteiformes – the relict gars which include extant species of gars that first appeared in the Cretaceous.
- Division 2. Order Triassic period.
- Division 3. Division Teleostei – the bony fish we are familiar with today.[58]
Species
The following is a species list[citation needed]
- †Amia depressa Marsh 1871
- †Amia dictyocephala Cope 1875
- †Amia elegans Leidy 1873
- †Amia exilis Lambe 1908
- †Amia fragosa (Jordan 1927)
- †Amia godai Yabumoto & Grande 2013
- †Amia gracilis Leidy 1873
- †Amia lewesiensis Mantell 1822
- †Amia macrospondyla Cope 1891
- †Amia media Leidy 1873
- †Amia morini Priem 1911
- †Amia newberriana Marsh 1871
- †Amia selwyniana Ami 1891
- †Amia uintaensis Leidy 1873
- †Amia whiteavesiana Cope 1891
- †Amia pattersoni
- †Amia scutata Cope 1875
- Amia calva Linnaeus 1766 (Bowfin)
- Amia ocellicauda Todd 1837 (Eyetail bowfin)[5]
Genome evolution
The bowfin
Feeding behavior
Bowfin are stalking, ambush predators that customarily move into the shallows at night to prey on fish, and aquatic invertebrates such as crawfish, mollusks, and aquatic insects.
Distribution and habitat
Fossil deposits indicate amiiforms included freshwater and marine species that were once widely distributed in North America, South America, Eurasia and Africa.[63] Today, bowfin (Amia calva) are the only remaining species in the order Amiiformes; they are demersal freshwater piscivores, and their range is restricted to freshwater environments in North America, including much of the eastern United States and adjacent southern Canada from the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain drainage of southern Ontario and Quebec westward around the Great Lakes in southern Ontario into Minnesota.[1][64]
Historically, their distribution in North America included the drainage basins of the Mississippi River from Quebec to northern Minnesota, the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes, including Georgian Bay, Lake Nipissing and Simcoe, Ontario, south to the Gulf of Mexico; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain from the Susquehanna River drainage in southeastern Pennsylvania to the Colorado River in Texas.[7][64][65]
Stocking
Research from the late 1800s to the 1980s suggests a trend of intentional stockings of non-indigenous fish into ponds, lakes and rivers in the United States. At that time, little was known about environmental impacts, or long-term effects of new species establishment and spread as a result of "fish rescue and transfer" efforts, or the importance of nongame fish to the ecological balance of aquatic ecosystems.[66] Introductions of bowfin to areas they were considered a non-indigenous species included various lakes, rivers and drainages in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.[64] Many of the introductions were intentional stockings; however, there is no way to positively determine distribution resulting from flood transfers, or other inadvertent migrations. Bowfin are typically piscivorous, but as an introduced species are capable of being voracious predators that pose a threat to native fish and their prey.[64][67]
Preferred habitat
Bowfin prefer vegetated sloughs, lowland rivers and lakes, swamps, backwater areas, and are occasionally found in brackish water. They are well camouflaged, and not easy to spot in slow water with abundant vegetation. They often seek shelter under roots, and submerged logs.[61][68][69] Oxygen-poor environments can be tolerated because of their ability to breathe air.[61]
Life cycle
Bowfin spawn in the spring or early summer, typically between April and June, more commonly at night[41][61] in abundantly vegetated, clear shallow water in weed beds over sand bars, and also under stumps, logs, and bushes.[70] Optimum temperatures for nesting and spawning range between 16–19 °C (61–66 °F).[12] The males construct circular nests in fibrous root mats, clearing away leaves and stems. Depending on the density of surrounding vegetation there may be a tunnel-like entrance at one side.[70] The diameter of the nests commonly range between 39–91 cm (15–36 in),[12] at a water depth of 61–92 cm (24–36 in).[41]
During spawning season, the fins and underside of male bowfin often change in color to a bright lime green.[71] The courtship/spawning sequence lasts one to three hours, and can repeat up to five times.[41] Courtship begins when a female approaches the nest. The ritual consists of intermittent nose bites, nudges, and chasing behavior by the male until the female becomes receptive,[12] at which time the pair lie side by side in the nest. She deposits her eggs while he shakes his fins in a vibratory movement, and releases his milt for fertilization to occur.[12] A male often has eggs from more than one female in his nest, and a single female often spawns in several nests.[15]
Females vacate the nest after spawning,[41] leaving the male behind to protect the eggs during the eight to ten days of incubation.[16][70][72] A nest may contain 2,000 to 5,000 eggs, possibly more.[68] Fecundity is usually related to size of the fish, so it isn't unusual for the roe of a large gravid female to contain over 55,000 eggs.[41][61] Bowfin eggs are adhesive, and will attach to aquatic vegetation, roots, gravel, and sand.[41] After hatching, larval bowfin do not swim actively in search of food. During the seven to nine days required for yolk-sac absorption, they attach to vegetation by means of an adhesive organ on their snout, and remain protected by the parent male bowfin.[68] Bowfin aggressively protect their spawn from the first day of incubation to a month or so after the eggs have hatched.[68] When the fry are able to swim and forage on their own, they will form a school and leave the nest accompanied by the parent male bowfin who slowly circles them to prevent separation.[70]
Bowfin reach sexually maturity at two to three years of age.[61] They can live up to 33 years in the wild,[6] and 30 years in captivity.[16][70] Bowfin may live decades at adult size.[6]
Diseases
A common
Bowfin with liver cancer and with fatal leukemia have been reported.[10]
Utilization
As a sport fish, bowfin are not considered desirable to many anglers. They were once considered a nuisance fish by anglers and early biologists who believed the bowfin's predatory nature was harmful to sport fish populations. As a result, efforts were taken to reduce their numbers.[73] Research has since proven otherwise, and that knowledge together with a better understanding of maintaining overall balance of ecosystems, regulations were introduced to help protect and maintain viable populations of bowfin.[73] Bowfin are strong fighters, a prized trait in game fish. However, they do have a jaw full of sharp teeth which requires careful handling. The current tackle record is 21.5 lb (9.8 kg)[8][65][74]
Bowfin were once considered to have little commercial value because of its poor-tasting meat which has been referred to as "soft, bland-tasting and of poor texture".
Accumulation of toxic substances
In some areas of the United States where aquatic environments have tested positive for elevated levels of
See also
References
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Schultz, Ken (15 December 2010). Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Freshwater Fish. John Wiley & Sons. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-118-03987-8.
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Further reading
- McCormick, Catherine A. (1981). "Central Projects of the lateral line and eight nerves in the bowfin,Amia Calva" (PDF). The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 197 (1): 1–15. S2CID 8836961.
- Conlon, J.M.; Youson, J.H.; Whittaker, J. (1991). "Structure and receptor-binding activity of insulin from a holostean fish, the bowfin:Amia Calva". Biochem. J. 276 (Pt 1): 261–264. PMID 2039477.
- Nguyen, T. M.; Mommsen, T. P.; Mims, S. M.; Conlon, J. M. (1994). "Characterization of insulins and proglucagon-derived peptides from a phylogenetically ancient fish, the paddlefish: Polyodon spathula". Biochem. J. 300 (2): 339–345. PMID 8002937.
- Conlon, J. M.; Youson, J. H.; Mommsen, T. P. (1993). "Structure and biological activity of glucagon and glucagon-like peptide from a primitive bony fish, the bowfin: Amia calva.". Biochem. J. 295 (3): 857–861. PMID 8240302.
- Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2011-05-17.