The main sense organs of fish. Fish angle

Pangasius gained notoriety among the people. However, considered a fish for the poor, it still found its consumer. Due to its cheapness, pangasius is widely used by housewives in preparing a variety of delicious dishes. Let's try to figure out whether fears about this fish are justified, tell us? under what conditions it is grown, where it lives and how not to make a mistake when buying pangasius.

Pangasius - what kind of fish

Pangasius is a freshwater fish of the catfish family. In common parlance - shark catfish. This is due to the sharp shape of the fin, similar to a shark's. The fish lives mainly at the bottom of rivers, has a timid character, and is quite active.

Pangasius is omnivorous. It can feed on both living creatures (small fish, crustaceans, plankton, mollusks) and algae. On farms where pangasius is grown, it is fed with a special granulated feed consisting of fish waste, enriched with minerals and beneficial bioadditives.

Pangasius - habitat

The habitat of fish in natural conditions is freshwater lakes and rivers of Indochina, namely Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand. The two leading rivers in terms of shark catfish population are the Mekong and Chao Phray. These rivers are extremely polluted with household waste, chemical plant effluents, and toxic substances sprayed during the Vietnam War.

Pangasius feels great in an aquarium, so fish lovers really liked it. Due to its cowardly nature, at first the fish rushes from side to side in the aquarium, demolishing everything in its path. She may pretend to be dead or faint. But soon her behavior returns to normal.

Gallery: pangasius fish (25 photos)

Pangasius is grown in special fish farms located in artificial reservoirs of the Mekong River deltas. Despite the fact that the reservoirs are artificial, the water for them is still taken from the Mekong. However, it is cleaned several times, and the condition and purity of the water is strictly monitored.

Pangasius is fed with granulated fish waste and cake. Fish feeding in Vietnam is done manually, not automatically, as, for example, in Chile. Feed is poured into the pond from bags. The bags are loaded onto the raft, the men pull the raft into the middle of the lake and throw the fertilizer into the water with shovels.

After gaining a certain weight, the fish is removed from the reservoir using a special machine and delivered to the workshop. Here, farm workers remove skin, bones and fat from the fish, cut it into fillets, then vacuum-pack and freeze it.

The popularity of pangasius among farmers can be attributed to the fact that pangasius catfish grows extremely quickly. In just two months it can reach 1.5 meters in length and 45 kg in weight.

The fishing industry in Vietnam has long been the basis of the economy. In one of the villages they even erected a monument to pangasius. Vietnam produces a huge amount of fish and sells it for little money. This is why shark catfish is so popular and famous.

Pangasius - harm and benefit

Pangasius does not have a good reputation among most buyers. There is an opinion that this fish is harmful to health and can be poisoned. This is not surprising, because it lives in the Mekong River polluted by chemical waste. It is not clear how it survives in such conditions, because pangassis loves clean water. Even when keeping this fish in an aquarium, the water is constantly filtered.

But we should not forget that fish for sale are grown in special fish farms, where the condition of the water must be strictly controlled, as well as feeding. This applies to self-respecting farms. Many of these enterprises are located on the Mekong River, the fish is grown there and frozen in the same water. When analyzing the composition of shark catfish, a high content of harmful phosphates and the presence of E. coli were revealed. Despite the fact that the fish gains weight quite quickly on its own, its growth is stimulated with special additives, which also will not benefit humans. Therefore, when purchasing, you should inquire where the fish was brought from.

Pangasius is banned in some countries in Europe and America. In 2012, the import of pangasius from some suppliers was banned in Russia; this list is constantly updated. We can hope that Rosselkhoznadzor does its job conscientiously and will not allow poisonous fish to reach our shelves.

But everything is not as scary as it seems at first glance. In a number of European countries, as well as in the USA, pangasius can still be found in shops and supermarkets. The authorities of these countries carefully monitor the quality of imported products and would simply not allow the import of poisonous or low-quality fish.

Despite its notoriety, pangasius is rich in vitamins, trace elements and minerals. Like any fish, it contains fatty acids, amino acids, protein, vitamins B, A, E, K, PP, microelements: potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, calcium. Shark catfish is a low-calorie product containing a lot of easily digestible protein. In addition, this fish contains many antioxidants that slow down the aging process and prevent cancer.

Regular consumption of high-quality pangasius

• improves mood;
• normalizes sleep;
• activates brain function;
• has a positive effect on the organs of vision;
• strengthens the heart muscles;
• prevents stress and depression.

Who is Pangasius harmful to:

• people who are allergic to seafood;
• small children, due to the presence of small bones in the fish;
• people with individual intolerance to pangasius.

How to choose pangasius

If you still decide to buy this product, when choosing, pay attention to its color. If it is red or yellow, this fish is not suitable for food. The red color is due to chemical processing of the product, and the yellow color is due to a lack of nutrients in feeding and a harmful development environment. The color of pangasius should be soft pink, closer to white.

Not only the fish itself can cause harm to the body, but also its improper storage. You should familiarize yourself with the method of freezing shark catfish: it should be written on the packaging that the pangasius was frozen using the shock method. It is better to buy fish in specialized stores or supermarkets, where all products have the appropriate documents and certificates. When buying pangasius on the market, you risk purchasing a low-quality or improperly stored product.

The packaging must be vacuum sealed and indicate the name of the manufacturer on it. You should know that it’s easy to fill fish fillets with water. Unscrupulous manufacturers can increase the percentage of water content in the product to 30%. Therefore, give preference to whole carcasses or steak. The production technology is such that it is impossible to fill a whole carcass and steak with a large amount of liquid.

In addition to vacuum packaging, on the shelves you can find pangasius covered with a thin layer of ice. There is nothing wrong with this; on the contrary, in this form the fish will fully retain its beneficial properties. But you should make sure that the ice layer is not very thick. The seller may specifically use more ice to increase weight.

So, information about pangasius fish is quite contradictory. Whether you are an opponent or a defender of the use of this product in food is up to you personally.

• What kind of fish is sockeye salmon ⇩
• Cautions and contraindications ⇩
• How to deliciously cook sockeye salmon ⇩
• Sockeye salmon under a cheese cap ⇩
• Sockeye salmon on coals ⇩

Sockeye salmon is a representative of the salmon family and belongs to their Pacific species. It also has other names: red or red. The closest relatives of the red salmon are chum salmon, coho salmon, masu salmon, chinook salmon and pink salmon, and more distant salmon.

What kind of fish is sockeye salmon?

The redfish differs from other species of fish of the salmon family in its bright flesh color and excellent taste. This makes it a valuable commercial object and attracts the attention of sport fishing enthusiasts and gourmets. You can find out why sockeye salmon has such qualities and where it gets its beneficial properties from by getting to know it better.

In addition to the migratory form of the redfish, which is called the silverfish, which lives in the vastness of the ocean, there is a residential form - kokanee. The historical formation of this form occurred from a passage, in isolated freshwater lakes of volcanic origin.

They reach a length of up to 30 cm, and weigh only up to 700 g. Kokanee live in the fresh lakes of Kamchatka, Alaska and Hokkaido and do not leave their borders. If there is a sufficient amount of food in the lake, the anadromous form of sockeye salmon can transform into a residential form.

A distinctive feature of the redfish is the numerous gill rakers (more than 30) on the first gill arch.

Characteristic appearance features:

• length up to 80 cm, weight up to 2-3 kg;
• the body is angular, slightly compressed laterally;
• the mouth is medium-sized, slightly elongated;
• the rounded scales are densely spaced and have a silvery color, which turns into darker bluish and greenish shades closer to the top of the body;
• paired fins are well developed, dark brown and black in color;
• belly white;

The popularity of sockeye salmon in Russia is much lower than that of chum salmon and pink salmon, which cannot be said about Canada and the USA. The fact is that its habitat is unevenly distributed along the Pacific coast:

• Alaska - the most numerous populations, the habitat covers the entire coast, starting from the Bering Strait to northern California; occasionally it can be seen on the Arctic side, off the coast of Canada and the Commander Islands;
• Kamchatka - lives on the western and eastern coasts of the island, most numerous in the Ozernaya and Kamchatka rivers, in the Azabachye, Kuril and Dalnee lakes;
• Kuril Islands - the main herd lives on the island of Iturup, namely in Lake Krasivoe;
• Chukotka - distributed in all Chukotka reservoirs from the border of the Kamchatka Territory to the Bering Strait, less often on the Arctic coast in the Chegitun and Amguema rivers;
• Hokkaido - not numerous populations on the northern coast of the island, with passage into cold-water volcanic lakes; The dwarf form of this species is more common;

The geography of its range is explained by the cold-loving nature of the redfish; it selects areas of the ocean where the water temperature does not exceed 2 degrees.

Sockeye salmon is an omnivorous fish with pronounced predatory behavior. The fry's main food is zooplankton, which remains an important part of the diet throughout the red fish's life. Gradually, as they grow older, crustaceans and bottom invertebrates are added to the diet.

Sockeye salmon have a tendency to accumulate carotene. Due to the large amount of this substance in the tissues of the body, the muscles acquire a bright red color. The need for carotene is not isolated only to taste preferences; for the most part, it is caused by a heavy load during spawning.

The feeding period of sockeye salmon lasts 4-5 years, after which the spawning run of sexually mature individuals begins:

• Entry into the rivers begins in mid-May and continues until July.
• The path of the silver fish to the spawning ground is accompanied by great difficulties, overcoming which it sometimes literally crawls along the shallows and sharp stones. This makes it accessible to many predators and an important link in the northern food chain.
• For spawning, lakes with a gravel bottom and springs gushing from the bottom are chosen. Sexually mature individuals are divided into pairs and build a nest, which has a round shape and a depth of up to 30 cm. The construction of the nest is mainly carried out by females, after which they lay eggs in it, and the male fertilizes them with milk. The eggs are sprinkled with small pebbles, as a result the nest resembles a tubercle from the outside.
• The average number of eggs per female is 3-4 thousand. Up to 5 clutches are made at short intervals.
• The fry emerge from the eggs in mid-winter and remain inside the tubercle until March. Most of them go to sea only after reaching a height of 7-12 cm, which happens after a year. Some are delayed for 2 or even 3 years.

Krasnitsa meat consists of proteins and healthy fats. Meat contains all the vitamins necessary for humans: A, D, C, K, E and almost the entire group of B vitamins.

The content of useful elements is no less impressive:

• fluorine,
• magnesium,
• phosphorus,
• copper,
• nickel,
• iron,
• manganese,
• sulfur,
• sodium,
• potassium,
• zinc.

Despite its protein and fat composition, the calorie content of meat is relatively low - only 157 kcal per 100 g.

First of all, Krasnitsa meat is an excellent antioxidant that actively fights harmful toxins. The constant work of antioxidants in the body regulates blood sugar levels and improves the functioning of the nervous system. Sockeye salmon owes this property to the presence of carotene and vitamin C in the meat.

Carotene also stimulates the production of mucus, which envelops the thinnest membranes of human organs, thereby protecting them from keratinization, and the body from many diseases. Thanks to the predominant vitamins in the composition, it is a source of nutrition for nails, hair and skin.

Selective feeding of fish affects the taste of its meat. Rich and rich taste, which has specific notes due to the presence of carotene in its composition. This makes Krasnitsa meat an excellent base for both preparing traditional dishes and exotic fantasies.

Cautions and contraindications

Large amounts of fatty acids are contraindicated for people with diseases of the stomach and intestines, especially ulcers. In case of blood diseases, consultation with a doctor is necessary. You cannot eat red meat if there is an individual allergen in its composition.

Krasnitsa meat can rightfully be considered a gourmet product. It makes excellent balyki and excellent smoked meats especially well, which is facilitated by the fat content of the fish. Sockeye salmon is also good for preparing salads and appetizers, main courses, both fried and steamed.

Famous chefs are always looking for something different from the usual taste. Sockeye salmon meat, with its specific flavor, has become an ingredient for the preparation of many original dishes presented in leading restaurants around the world.

How to deliciously cook sockeye salmon

Krasnitsa dishes will turn out to be of excellent quality if, during their preparation, all of its characteristic properties are taken into account, namely fat content and bright taste. You can follow proven and very easy recipes.

• To prepare balyk, you need a whole fish, from which the head, fins and tail are removed. Cut into 2 parts and remove the spine.
• The resulting halves are sprinkled with coarse salt, at the rate of 80 g per 1 kg of fish. After this, the fish is reunited in its original position and rolled into a waffle towel, tightly tied with twine. The fish is left for 5 days in the refrigerator, this method is called “dry” salting. During this time, the meat dehydrates and the consistency thickens.
• After this, salt crystals are removed from the carcass and wiped with a damp cloth. To add a more piquant taste, you can make slits in the fish and fill them with garlic.
• Next comes the drying process. To do this, the halves are hung on twine and left in this position for 4 days. The appearance of the balyk will improve significantly if it is periodically lubricated with vegetable oil.
• Balyk can be considered ready when, with good compaction, droplets of fat appear on the surface.

Sockeye salmon under a cheese cap

• The cut fillet (1 kg) is cut into equal parts. Squeeze lemon juice onto evenly salted and peppered pieces and add olive oil. The baking dish is also coated with oil. The oven is heated to 220 degrees, put the fish laid out on the dish there and hold for 7 minutes.
• During this time, the “hat” is prepared. Beat 3 egg whites, grate 200 g of cheese and mix the ingredients.
• The egg whites and cheese are evenly spread onto the half-finished pieces and kept in the oven for another 10 minutes.
• The finished dish is served with lemon and dill.

• The fish fillet is cut into cubes, no larger than 3-4 cm. The cubes are laid out in layers in an enamel bowl. Each layer is layered with lemon, garlic, basil and sprinkled with soy sauce. Salt and pepper are added. Marinate for at least 2 hours.
• The degree of proper heating of the grill pan can be determined by spraying water on it; the drops should fly off. The pieces are laid out in a frying pan and pressed to the surface. For the press, you can use any suitable pan lid. The correctness of frying can be judged by the bright stripes on the fish that remain from the relief of the pan.
• Pieces of fish fried on both sides are placed in a sleeve and kept in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees. As a result of this type of preparation, red meat does not lose its beneficial properties; in addition, it is absolutely harmless to the body, due to the absence of frying oils.

Sockeye salmon on coals

Dishes prepared in nature are especially tasty. This can be explained by the amazing air that leads to a healthy appetite and the aroma of natural wood coals.

It is especially pleasant when the cooked food is a hunting trophy. Red has a bright flavor that does not require the presence of complex seasonings, making it ideal for cooking over charcoal.

• Gutted and washed fish are cut into steaks no more than 2 cm thick. Place in a container and mix with onion, lemon and dill. If the fish has just been caught, you can do without salt. Thus, the sockeye salmon is marinated for 30 minutes.
• During this time, the coals are prepared, ensuring the uniformity of the heat emanating from them. The fish placed on the grill is fried for 8 minutes on each side, sprinkling lemon juice on it. The krasnitsa is ready if its color has acquired a pleasant golden hue.

Sockeye salmon is listed in the Red Book. The reason for this was the disappearance of some regional fish populations. Unfavorable factors that threaten the extinction of sockeye salmon populations are ocean pollution, changes in natural habitats and poaching.

• Editorial
• about the project

Sense organs in fish

It cannot be assumed that fish are not endowed with vision, that they do not hear, do not have a sense of smell and touch, and do not feel taste. Pisces have all of the five senses listed above, and they also have the corresponding organs of these senses. In addition, it is believed that fish have a sixth sense associated with the perception of vibrations and flow of water.

The eyes of fish are distinguished by peculiar features corresponding to the living conditions of this group of animals. Fish see only at close range; the average norm for their visibility is considered to be a distance of 1 meter; beyond 10–12 meters the fish see nothing at all. In a dense, low-transparency water environment, and their eyes are more advanced than those of fish, they cannot see far.

Fish that find themselves on the shore do not lose their ability to see. An eel crawls from one body of water to another. Salmon washed ashore directs its movements in such a way as to find itself again in the water element; The pike behaves the same way.

The eyes of the Anableps fish, found in the sea off the coast of Brazil, have a unique structure. The length of this fish is up to 20 centimeters. Its scientific name is “tetrophthalmus,” which in Russian means four eyes. The eyes of Tetrophthalmus are divided into two parts by a horizontal stripe (but there is one lens). This fish usually swims on the surface of the water, the lower halves of the eyes are in the water, and the upper halves are in the air, and the fish can thus see objects both in the water and in the air.

The bulging eyes of the jumper fish also see both in water and in the air. Let's remember the splasher, or shooter, who accurately directs a stream of water at insects sitting on the coastal grass.

Fish that live at great depths, as well as in cave waters, have less perfect eyes, sometimes they have no organ of vision at all.

The lamprey, whose eyes seem so lifeless, responds well to light. I conducted observations of lampreys in the aquariums of the Saratov Biological Station. During the day, lampreys, usually crowded together, hang in the corners of aquariums, and from evening until dawn they rush and even jump out of the water. If you illuminate the aquarium at night, the lampreys begin to gather again and stick to the glass. But here's what's interesting. The lampreys in the aquarium did not react at all to attempts to attract their attention with dark and shiny objects that I rotated in front of the glass. It was possible to bring the lampreys out of their dormant state only by touching their body.

Do fish see colors? This question must be answered in the affirmative. It is no coincidence that anglers hang bunches of bright red threads on their spoons; Fish are also attracted by the shiny, silver or golden color of the spoon. Perches take bait with a red worm more readily than with a white one. Beluga is attracted to the color white. Previously, in the Caspian Sea there was beluga fishing “on kalada”. A piece of white oilcloth in the shape of a triangle was placed on large hooks. It is possible that the beluga mistakes the bait for a white shell and takes it. Such fishing was so intensive that it undermined the reserves of the most valuable sturgeon fish. Therefore, it was strictly prohibited in the Caspian and other seas.

Aquarium fish lovers know that it is possible to train fish to match certain colors.

Fishermen paint their nets in colors that are unnoticeable to fish.

The hearing apparatus in fish is poorly developed, and this gives rise to talk about the deafness of fish. But the fact that the organ of hearing in different species of fish is developed to varying degrees (in lampreys it is simpler, in bony fish it is more complex) indicates the improvement of the organ, and, undoubtedly, there is expediency in this. Pisces have the ability to hear.

Let us turn again to fishing practice. I saw how Koreans fish for pollock in the Sea of ​​Japan. They catch this fish with hooks, without any bait, but they always hang trinkets (metal plates, nails, etc.) above the hooks. A fisherman, sitting in a boat, tugs on such a tackle, and the pollocks flock to the trinkets. Catching fish without trinkets does not bring good luck.

Screaming, knocking, shots above the water disturb the fish, but it is more fair to explain this not so much by the perceptions of the hearing aid, but by the ability of the fish to perceive the oscillatory movements of the water using the lateral line, although the method of catching catfish is “by shred”, by the sound produced by a special (hollowed out) blade and resembling the croaking of a frog, many are inclined to consider it evidence of hearing in fish. Catfish approach this sound and take the fisherman’s hook.

In L.P. Sabaneev’s classic book “Fishes of Russia,” unsurpassed in its fascination, bright pages are devoted to the method of catching catfish by sound. The author does not explain why this sound attracts catfish, but cites the opinion of fishermen that it is similar to the voice of catfish, which seem to cluck at dawn, calling for males, or to the croaking of frogs, which catfish love to feast on. In any case, there is reason to assume that the catfish hears.

In the Amur there is a commercial fish, silver carp, known for being a school fish and jumping out of the water when it makes noise. You will go out on a boat to the places where the silver carp are found, hit the water or the side of the boat with an oar, and the silver carp will not be slow to respond: several fish will immediately jump out of the river noisily, rising 1–2 meters above its surface. Hit it again, and the silver carp will jump out of the water again. They say that there are cases when silver carp jumping out of the water sink the small boats of the Nanais. Once on our boat, a silver carp jumped out of the water and broke the window. This is the effect of sound on silver carp, apparently a very restless (nervous) fish. This fish, almost a meter long, can be caught without a trap.

Pond (domestic) fish come to the sound of a bell.

But there are more convincing facts that speak in favor of hearing in fish. Many fish make their own sounds. In the South China Sea, fishermen have long learned to eavesdrop on fish. The fisherman lowers his head over the side of the boat, plunges it into the water about 20 centimeters and listens to the underwater sounds. Experienced fishermen distinguish fish by their voice. Fish of one species grumble, of another they chirp, of a third they hum, etc. Schools of herring chirp like chicks, sprat make noise like the wind in the forest. Hearers claim that fish of the same species make a different sound when feeding than when migrating.

The fish sea eagle (up to 2 meters long), sea raven and drummer, living off the coast of tropical and subtropical seas (they are also found in the Mediterranean and Black Seas) make peculiar sounds underwater. The large drummer fish (about 1.5 meters long), living in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, received this name for a reason: the sounds it makes resemble the beat of a drum. The scientific name of this fish is “pogonias chromis”, which translated from Greek into Russian means bearded creaker. This fish has small antennae on its chin, and the sound it makes seems to some like a squeak.

Flounder lives in tropical waters and makes a sound reminiscent of a harp or a bell. The Black Sea seacock trigla, similar to a goby, makes an “oo-hrr-oo” sound. The origin of this sound is explained by the friction of the bones of the gill covers against each other. Trigla is also remarkable in that it can move (walk) along the bottom of the sea, using the three rays of the pectoral fins as legs. These same three fins are credited with the role of organs of touch and even organs of taste. Some species of trigla have luminous organs.

Further studies of fish will undoubtedly reveal many other species whose representatives make sounds.

Scientists have sophisticated equipment for marine research. There are devices that allow you to find schools of fish, determine their approximate numbers, etc. An echo sounder has now become a universal device that is used by both research and fishing vessels. Time will pass, and a device will appear that will allow one to perceive and record the sounds of the underwater kingdom, and then no one will be able to claim that eternal silence reigns in the world of fish.

The ability to make and perceive sounds has a certain significance in the life of fish. Just as geese and swans communicate with each other through voice during migration, fish may also signal each other during migration, when they herd to spawn or search for feeding grounds.

The olfactory organs of fish are well developed. In sharks and rays, the nasal openings are located on the underside of the head, in bony fish - on the top, in front of the eyes. The water entering the nasal openings washes the nasal fossa, the walls of which are penetrated by the branches of the olfactory nerve.

The sense of smell plays a significant role in the life of fish. We carried out such an experiment. The blinded burbot's nostrils were closed and food was brought very close, but the fish did not detect it. When the nostrils were opened, the same blind burbot quickly found food, even located 30 centimeters from it. Here's another experience. Different food was placed in the corners of the aquarium, and the fish, using its sense of smell, found the food it needed.

Sharks have a particularly well developed sense of smell. The smell of waste from whale factories attracts them from quite considerable distances. If you damage the olfactory lobes of the brain in a shark's head, it will lose its sense of smell. Sharks are caught with hooks skewered with strong-smelling fried pieces of seal meat.

Feel the fish and taste. If a shark is eager for a fried piece of seal meat or fish, then it recognizes this piece as tasty. The beluga grabs a white oilcloth attached to a hook because he mistakes it for an edible shell. The organs of taste in fish are papillae, buds on the lips and body. If you throw food that is inappropriate for it to a fish, it may grab it in a hurry, but then quickly spit it out.

Fishermen know which fish like which food and prepare the appropriate bait. On the Neva, and in other places, bream is caught well with bait in the form of buckwheat porridge. Ide is caught on soaked peas, catfish on frogs, and so on.

Everyone knows that fish have a sense of touch - all fish instantly react to the lightest touch on their body. You look at a pike sleeping at the bottom of the river, and it seems that it is dead, but as soon as you touch the tail or head with a rod, the pike instantly disappears.

When hunting with a light beam, fish staying near the bottom are clearly visible. The fisherman brings the spear very close to the body of the fish, but it does not detect any alarm until the moment the spear touches it. By the way, it must be said that such hunting is prohibited, and I remembered it only to prove the ability of fish to feel the touch of solid objects on their body and respond to these touches. Fish also use their fins and whiskers to touch.

We have already said that fish also have a sixth, the so-called lateral sense. Fish feel vibrations in the water, the movement of other fish in the neighborhood, and feel approaching objects. This sense allows fish to swim freely both at night and in muddy water.

The main organ of the lateral sense is the lateral line, which in most fish is a series of perforated scales along which runs a canal with sensitive buds located in it. In the lowly developed frilled shark, the lateral line runs in the form of a groove from head to tail; in other sharks, like bony sharks, the groove has turned into a closed channel with pores for communication with the external environment.

The lateral sense organs in some fish larvae are represented by appendages on the body. The picture shows a larva of a common gudgeon, in which the lateral sense organs - in the form of delicate appendages - are located on the head. They disappear with age.

A blinded pike was placed in an aquarium, but thanks to its lateral line, it quickly overtook its prey and swallowed it. When the lateral line was damaged, the pike lost the ability to detect prey.

In some fish, the lateral line is expressed only on the anterior scales. The smelt has several dozen transverse rows of scales on the sides of its body, while the lateral line runs only along 4–15 front scales. In minnows, the lateral line runs intermittently; in some fish it is strongly curved. There are fish that have two, three or even more lateral lines on each side, sometimes they are branched. In a number of fish, the functions of this organ are performed by numerous grooves, tubules, which are located on the head and are a continuation of the lateral line. According to some scientists, the dense network of head sensory canals made the lateral line unnecessary in herrings, and it gradually disappeared in them. An interesting and clear example of the evolution of an organ!

The sensitive tubules on the head are clearly visible if the skin is carefully removed from the head. Water pressure is transmitted to the fish through mucus contained in the lateral line and head canals. It has been proven that sound vibrations are not perceived by the lateral line. The “sixth sense” of fish needs further research.