Ichthyology is the branch of zoological sciences devoted to the systematic study of fishes, encompassing their taxonomy, phylogeny, morphology, physiology, development, behavior, ecology, and biogeography. It addresses both extant and extinct fish lineages, integrating molecular and morphological data to resolve evolutionary relationships and classification. Ichthyological research underpins understanding of aquatic ecosystem structure and function, population dynamics, and species responses to environmental change. It provides critical foundations for fisheries science, conservation biology, and environmental monitoring by characterizing species diversity, life histories, habitat requirements, and patterns of endemism, as well as identifying indicators of ecosystem health and anthropogenic impact in marine, brackish, and freshwater systems.
One of the enduring ichthyological mysteries is how migratory fish know when it is time to move from their winter to summer habitats. The ability to tell when the seasons are changing is crucial for a wide range of major ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 22, 2025
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Fossilized fish ear stones—known as otoliths—can reveal far more than previously thought. In a recent study, a team of paleontologists from the University of Vienna demonstrated that a refined electron microscopy technique ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 16, 2025
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When saltwater fish long ago evolved to live in fresh water, many of them also evolved a more sophisticated hearing system, including middle ear bones similar to those in humans.
Evolution
Oct 2, 2025
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Researchers from FishEye Collaborative, a conservation-technology nonprofit, Cornell University, and Aalto University have developed a new tool that combines underwater sound recording and 360° video to pinpoint the sounds ...
Ecology
Sep 26, 2025
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203
A team led by University of Georgia ecologists documented two new species of black bass, Bartram's bass and Altamaha bass, in a new paper.
Plants & Animals
Sep 19, 2025
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133
Volunteers are swimming in the sea to help science conserve some of the world's rarest fish. Scuba divers and snorkelers are among those helping to identify endangered species, such as giant guitarfishes, whip-stingrays and ...
Ecology
Sep 9, 2025
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83
MBARI's advanced underwater technology is revealing the remarkable species that thrive in the deep sea. In 2019, MBARI researchers encountered an unfamiliar pink snailfish swimming just above the seafloor. New research from ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 8, 2025
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Experts have uncovered the earliest known example of a fish with extra teeth deep inside its mouth—a 310-million-year-old fossilized ray-finned fish that evolved a unique way of devouring prey.
Evolution
Sep 3, 2025
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167
Small, colorless, and blind, amblyopsid cavefishes inhabit subterranean waters throughout the eastern United States. In a new study, Yale researchers reveal insights into just how these distinctive cave dwellers evolved—and ...
Evolution
Aug 27, 2025
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31
Marine biologists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography have released a new database of size parameters for 1,308 species of Pacific coral reef fishes, advancing scientists' understanding of fish health and ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 27, 2025
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