EXTERNAL FEATURES AND INTERNAL ANATOMY
FIGURE 2-15 Modified dorsal fins. A, Sucking disc (remora, Echeneidae) ; B, fishing rod and lure
(angler, Ceratiidae) . ( B based on Jordan and Evermann, 1900.)
Conjunction with the caudal and anal fins in braking. Many species that have dorsal fins extending the length of the back can move by undulating the fin, but some species with short dorsals, such as pipefishes and seahorses, also use the dorsal for locomotion.
Modifications of the dorsal fin (Fig. 2-15) include the sucking disc atop the head of the remoras ( Echeneidae ) that allows them to cling to sharks or to other large fishes and be carried along along as hitchhikers. The lures of anglerfishes (Lophiiformes) are modified dorsal spines. A few species involve a showy dorsal in displays for a variety of social purposes.
In the bichirs (Polypteridae) of Africa, the dorsal is divided into a series of unique finlets consisting of a spine-like structure and a few soft rays each. Mackerel-like fishes often have a series of finlets posterior to the dorsal fin. These consist of detached soft rays, usually branched and set in tough skin.
The anal fin is generally short-based but there are many species with annals exceeding the dorsalin length; some have elongate annals stretching from the anus to the caudal fin, even when the anus is located nearly under the chin, as in the knifefishes (Gymnotidae and Rhamphichthyidae) of South America Flounders (Pleuronectidae) and gouramies (Osphronemidae) are compressifrom fish with long-based annals. Only a relatively few fishes, such as code (Gadidae), have more them one anal fin.Some, such as the jack mackerel (Trachurus), have the anal fin spines separate from the soft rays, forming a small spinous anal. Usually however, if anal fin spines are present, they are located at the