Ratfish

How long can a Ratfish live?

How long can a Ratfish live?
  1. Do ratfish teeth stop growing?
  2. How old is the ratfish?
  3. How big do ratfish get?
  4. What do ratfish eat?
  5. How many gill slits do spotted ratfish have?
  6. What does Ratfish look like?
  7. Are Ratfish sharks?
  8. Can you eat Ratfish?
  9. Does a ratfish have a swim bladder?
  10. What do Ratfish do?
  11. Is Ratfish a bony fish?
  12. How long ago did fish develop?
  13. Is Dogfish a fish?
  14. Which group do Ratfish fit into?
  15. How do you catch dogfish in Puget Sound?

Do ratfish teeth stop growing?

The tooth has a wide base at which new tooth tissue is continuously formed, allowing it to grow throughout the life of the animal.

How old is the ratfish?

The fossil, named in 1986, is nothing more than the brainpan of a 280 million year-old fish.

How big do ratfish get?

The maximum reported size of the spotted ratfish is 23.6 inches (60 cm) total length and 14.2 inches (36 cm) body length. Males reach maturity at 7.3-7.9 inches (18.5-20.0 cm) body length and females reach maturity at 9.4-9.8 inches (24-25 cm) body length.

What do ratfish eat?

The spotted ratfish is a generalist predator and eats a variety of invertebrates and fishes associated with the seafloor. These include crabs, clams, and other hard-shelled prey, and the spotted ratfish has strong tooth plates, used to break apart these animals.

How many gill slits do spotted ratfish have?

shark with six gill slits on each side of the head; also the only species with a single dorsal fin. Dentition Lower jaw with 6 comb- shaped teeth. Coloration Dark gray to brown dorsally; light gray to white ventrally. Body shape Stout, with broad, rounded head.

What does Ratfish look like?

Spotted ratfish have a rabbit-like head, a protruding snout, and a body that tapers toward the narrow tail that is almost half the overall length of the fish. Their skin is smooth and scaleless. Triangular pectoral fins are large and well-developed. There are large spines in front of the dorsal fin.

Are Ratfish sharks?

Ratfish are members of the oldest order of fishes alive today. They are distant relatives of sharks—so distant, and so much older, that they could be called unsharks. The oddly beautiful spotted ratfish gets its unlovely name from the tapering tail that accounts for half its body length.

Can you eat Ratfish?

While it is often caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries, the spotted ratfish is edible but not tasty: its flesh is described on FishBase as bland with an unpleasant aftertaste. The spotted ratfish has a venemous spine that can cause painful wounds.

Does a ratfish have a swim bladder?

Members of the class Chondrichthyes ("cartilage-fish") include the sharks, skates, rays, and ratfish. ... Chondrichthyes lack swim bladders, have spiral valve intestines, exhibit internal fertilization, and posses 5-7 gill arches (most have 5).

What do Ratfish do?

The spotted ratfish swims slowly above the seafloor in search of food. ... Besides these, the spotted ratfish also feeds on shrimp, worms, small fish, small crustaceans, and sea stars. Species known to prey on the spotted ratfish include soupfin sharks, dogfish sharks, Pacific halibut, pinnipeds, and pigeon guillemots.

Is Ratfish a bony fish?

The spotted ratfish has characteristics of both bony fish and cartilaginous fish. It is known to be a "missing link" between bony fish and sharks.

How long ago did fish develop?

While there's an abundance of fish fossils from about 420 million years ago, the ancient fossil record gets scarce farther back at about 480 million years ago, when fish are believed to have first appeared.

Is Dogfish a fish?

dogfish, (order Squaliformes), any of several small sharks making up an order of chondrichthyian fishes composed of the families Centrophoridae (gulper sharks), Dalatiidae, Echinorhinidae, Etmopteridae, Oxynotidae, Somniosidae, and Squalidae. In North America the name is also used for a freshwater fish, the bowfin.

Which group do Ratfish fit into?

ratfish, any of certain sharks of the chimaera (q.v.) group.

How do you catch dogfish in Puget Sound?

Spiny dogfish can be taken with light tackle in the vicinity of the bottom over mud and sandy bottoms. They often occur in schools and tend to aggregate around prey, such as herring.

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