fish

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fish

General term referring to animals from several evolutionary lines and thus not properly a taxonomic group. The term refers to aquatic animals found in the fresh and salt waters all over the world, characterized by being cold-blooded, living and breathing primarily in the water throughout their lives, possessing gill slits, a notochord or skeletal supporting rod, a dorsal hollow nerve cord, a tail, scales covering the body, and two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. Living species range from the primitive jawless lampreys and hagfishes through the jawed fishes with cartilaginous skeletons such as sharks, skates, and rays to the abundant and diverse bony fishes.

fishes