There are thousands of fish species across the globe and each one has its unique scientific names. However, the ones here make a special entry that grabs the name of another animal. This sounds too strange right! Could or couldn’t be a precise reason to name them in such matters. But in most cases, the fish species resembles almost like the deriving ones.
So, what are the 10 fish species named from other animals? Let’s check out.
10. Butterflyfish
Butterflyfish is a tropical marine fish that resembles exactly that of a butterfly but only in terms of the body patterns. Also recognized as “bannerfish” or “coralfish”, the butterflyfish resides majorly in reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.
An adult can grow up to 22 cm in length and are brightly colored. To be precise in color composition, a butterflyfish has a bright body with either black, white, blue, red, orange, or yellow shades.
Additionally, due to extreme bright body colors, the butterflyfishes become a major source for aquarium displays. In the marines, they wander at a depth of 18 meters.
9. Buffalofish
Buffalofish is a large freshwater fish, which is also recognized as “buffalo”. The fish species is found primarily in the United States and as well in parts of Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala.
Buffalofish has a flat face with silver scales all over the body. Additionally, the fish can grow up to 4 feet in length, which is known for the largest in North America.
Being so big, it becomes obvious to name them buffalo. They can be found in ponds, rivers, creeks, and lakes. Something fascinating to note that the fish can live up to 112 years making one of the longest living animals beyond 100 years.
8. Lizardfish
Lizardfish is yet another fish that is derived from other animals. The fish species are found in tropical and subtropical water across the globe. They live in a sandy environment and tend to reside at a depth of about 400 meters.
Additionally, the lizardfish are known to camouflage with their environment, which helps them escape from dangers. The head portion resembles exactly that of a lizard as they are cylindrical and slender in shape.
Further, something interesting to note that they have incredibly sharp teeth throughout the mouth including the tongue. Lizardfishes are basically small but some of the specimens may range big that can grow up to 60 cm in length.
7. Seahorse
There goes a sea creature that most of the kids are fond of, the seahorse. The seahorse is a beautiful sea animal that has an upper portion of the body as much comparable to a horse.
Additionally, the seahorse is a variant of marine fish that can be seen throughout the globe. They tend to reside majorly in tropical and temperate saltwater. An adult seahorse grows up to 35.5 cm in length.
The seahorses are accounted for as a highly modified version of pipefish. Further, the fossil specimen of seahorse is “Hippocampus guttulatus” and the term comes from the Greek language.
6. Zebra Shark
Zebra shark is yet another fish species that comes from the name of another animal. The fish species is found majorly in parts of tropical Indo-Pacific.
Additionally, the zebra shark is more likely to be seen in the coral reefs and sandy floors at a depth of about 60 meters. As the name says, the fish species has dark spots on a pale background.
Such a body pattern makes them resemble that of a zebra’s skin. Further, zebra sharks are nocturnal by nature. They tend to rest mostly on the seafloor motionless throughout the day. Furthermore, the fish species is solitary and rarely seen wandering in groups.
5. Bat Ray
A bat that lives inside the waters in the form of a fish, a bat ray. Bat ray resembles exactly in the form of a fish found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Particularly, the bat rays are known to reside between the Oregon coast and the Gulf of California.
Additionally, like other stingrays, the bat rays are venomous too. They consist of a sting in the tail that they use as a defense mechanism when frightened. Further, the venom is not considered a danger for humans. Often, they can be seen in popular marine parks.
Bat rays tend to settle on the ocean floor by digging seafloor up to 20 cm deep. Some of the bat ray specimens have large wingspans and the size can range to a length of 1.8 meters.
4. Frogfish
Oh yeah! There comes the frogfish. Comparably resembling a frog, the frogfish is found in most parts of tropical and subtropical oceans. The fish species has a superpower ability to camouflage with its environment. This helps them keep the predators away.
Additionally, the camouflaging technique as well facilitates them in catching prey with no hassle. Frogfish are basically rapid while catching its prey and is accounted at a rate of 6 milliseconds.
They tend to reside on the ocean floor at a depth of 100 meters. A typical frogfish doesn’t resemble a fish at all. Their appearance is basically stocky and irregular body form. An adult frogfish grows up to 38 cm long.
3. Tigerfish
The Tigerfish! This may sound definitely strange for many of us. Also recognized as “African tigerfish”, the fish species primarily originated from Africa.
Additionally, tigerfishes are considered one of the most dangerous fish species in the world. They are considered lethal predators mostly found in rivers and lakes. The teeth they possess are simply astounding and a single bite can cut apart the prey with no hassle.
One of the most famous tigerfish species is the goliath tigerfish. To date, the largest recorded goliath fish was weighed at a whopping 70 kg. Further, the tigerfishes are greatly aggressive and can possess the exact same attack as that of a piranha. Interesting to note that they are in fact capable of catching birds in flight.
2. Lionfish
While this fish may sound a little weird for some of us, a real lionfish exists. Also recognized as “firefish”, “turkeyfish”, or “butterfly-cod”, the lionfish is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Lionfish can be found in the edges of the corals, reefs, and rocky floors at a depth of 50 meters. Additionally, the lionfish are considered venomous and consist of venomous spiky fin rays.
The option of such spiky fin rays makes them a perfect predator. They tend to hunt actively on small fish and invertebrates. Further, the fish species is basically aggressive and can cause dangers to humans too.
If stung by lionfish, the common symptoms include dizziness, fever, nausea, breathing difficulties, numbness, and headache. In some cases, they can even cause death in humans due to paralysis and heart failure.
1. Catfish
Catfish is a famously known fish species and the reason is quite simply the appearance itself. The name “catfish” was coined after the whiskers seen on the fish’s mouth region.
The whiskers resemble exactly that of a cat. Found in every continent across the globe except Antarctica. Additionally, the catfish are diversified majorly in tropical South America, Asia, and Africa.
Further, they are recognized with multiple other names as “mudcat”, “chuckleheads”, or “polliwogs” in different parts of the Southern United States.
Furthermore, about half of the catfish species across the globe are venomous. They consist of a strong protein produced by the glandular cells that can cause an adult human to hospitalize if stung.