LAB 2

LAB 2: TROUT DISSECTION & FISH CLASSIFICATION + ECOMORPHOLOGY

Bony Fish (Trout) Dissection

Rainbow trout – a bony fish native to the northern hemisphere

Now that you have been introduced to the comparative anatomy of jawless, cartilaginous and
bony fishes, you will explore in greater detail the anatomy of a bony fish (trout). The trout is
fresh (frozen upon capture and thawed), which will allow for a greater understanding and
visibility of the internal structures, including colour and texture of organs. Carefully read the
instructions below to ensure that you consider all aspects of the internal and external
characteristics of the trout while viewing the prepared dissection video. Use the space on the
following pages to sketch trout characteristics (external, internal) and their relative positions to
one another or to make notes.

Swim
Bladder

Stomach
Liver

1. Study the external anatomy. The trout’s skin is covered in mucus, what is its function?
Observe the trout’s scales – what do they tell you about the trout’s usual swimming
habits? Consider the body morphology, colouration and spot patterns. What might
their functions be? Then, observe the lateral line – be sure to know its function.
2. Examine the different fins: dorsal, adipose, pectoral, pelvic, anal, and caudal. Which of
these fins are paired? Which one is vestigial? Is the caudal fin heterocercal or
homocercal? In locomotion, what are the functions of the different fins (examine the
placement of fins and note their range of movement).
3. Note the bony rays that support the fins.
4. Trout have rather large eyes – observe how they rotate in their sockets. What does this
tell you about the foraging habits of trout? 
5. Examine the trout’s nostrils. Many trout populations are migratory, and these species
have large olfactory lobes-can you speculate why?

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6. Observe the lateral line: you should see a pigmented stripe marking the location of
the lateral line sense organs, which contain hair cells for detecting water movement.

7. With the mouth open, observe the vomerine teeth on the roof of the mouth. What do
you think their function is?
8. With the trout on its side, look at the operculum; then once it is lifted and cut away,
observe the gill arches. Each gill is supported by a bony gill arch, with the spiny gill
rakers projecting forward. The gill rakers protect the gills and prevent prey items from
escaping through the gill area when the fish is trying to swallow them. The gill arches
can be extracted by cutting the upper and lower attachments. Examine the gill rakers.
These are the bony projections along the inside curve of the gill arches. Also observe the
large surface area of the gill filaments.  Note that each the of gill filaments contain
many lamellae. The fish’s blood must flow through the gills to become oxygenated, so
the gills are filled with blood vessels. The heart is located just behind the gills, but it
won’t be visible until the body is cut open.
9. Using a scalpel and/or scissors, the main coelomic cavity is cut open by making a mid-
ventral incision from the vent forward to just behind the head. Note that the cut passes
through several layers of tissue: skin, muscle, and the peritoneum, a smooth membrane
lining the inside of the body cavity. One side of the body wall is then removed, more
easily exposing the internal organs. Note how all of the internal organs are positioned.
First look for the stomach/intestines.
10. Then look for the swim bladder. The swim bladder is a large light-colored structure near
the dorsal side of the body cavity and is located below the kidneys. It is easy to find if
filled with gas, but easy to miss if it is empty. Bony fish can adjust their buoyancy by
putting gas into the swim bladder. The most abundant gas in the swim bladder is
oxygen, which is released from the blood in the gas gland. The gas gland generates lactic
acid, acidifying the blood in the gas gland and causing it to release its oxygen. This gland
is accompanied by a specialized countercurrent to maintain the incredibly strong
gradient of oxygen partial pressure between the swim bladder and the blood. The
kidneys are long, thin, dark in colour and located under the vertebral column. Review
your notes from the comparative anatomy of different fishes to understand the function
of these organs in bony fishes. Remember that fish kidneys do not create a strong
osmotic gradient, which is why fish do not produce hyperosmotic urine. Most of the
nitrogenous waste is secreted by the gills, not the kidneys. Urine produced by the kidney
enters the urinary bladder, which exits into the vent.
11. Examine the reproductive organs (a.k.a. gonads). Male sperm ducts will be a white or
orange tissue near the intestines. Ovaries and oocytes or eggs may be noticeable in
females. 
12. Examine the digestive tract, from the mouth to the esophagus, and en route to the
stomach. The digestive tract of fish is roughly similar to that of mammals. Food passes
from the mouth down the esophagus to the stomach. You should be able to see pyloric
ceca, which function as accessory digestive glands (mammals lack these). Look closely at
the stomach. The pyloris, where partially digested chyme exits the stomach, is not at
the posterior end; it's closer to the anterior. You'll see small blood vessels at the

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posterior end of the stomach, but that's not where the chyme goes. Look for the pyloric
ceca to find the beginning of the intestine. You may find remnants of food in the
stomach. What is the function of the pyloric ceca?
13. Lift the stomach to see the spleen (a reddish organ near the end of the cardiac stomach)
14. See the liver in front of the stomach, as well as the gall bladder, a mass of darker tissue
on the liver. Finish by locating the heart, found closer to the trout’s mouth and just
behind the gills. The heart's entire output goes to the gills first, after which the
oxygenated blood is sent to the rest of the body. After you've examined the other
organs, cut away more of the surrounding tissues to observe the heart in your hands. At
first it may look like a dark blob: he firm, rubbery part is the ventricle, which pumps
blood. The softer part is the atrium, which collects blood under lower pressure prior to
pumping. Blood from the ventricle is pumped directly into the gills. In fish, the blood is
pumped just once as it makes its way through the gills and systemic circulation. 

SPACE FOR BONY FISH DISSECTION NOTES

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Classification + Ecomorphology of Quebec Freshwater Fishes

Part 1. Classification. Familiarize yourself with how to use a dichotomous key to correctly
identify unknown species of vertebrates – in this case, common Quebec freshwater fishes that
are found within a 200km radius of Montreal. Dichotomous keys consist of a series of “either
or” choices (i.e. two choices) that lead the user to the correct name of a given species. They are
commonly used by scientists in a variety of fields (including vertebrate biologists) to identify
unknown specimens. Refer to the provided PDF for the specimen diagrams for the 18 species
you are to identify. Please note that the species are number 1-18, but there is a mistake in the
key for species #15 so you will not need to identify it.

Feature Go to/Species
1a. Caudal fin is homocercal 2
1b. Caudal fin is heterocercal Lake sturgeon
2a. Body noticeably covered with scales 3
2b. Scales not covering body, too small to be seen, or very small 13
3a. Dorsal fin: single 4
3b. Dorsal fins: two or more, joined or separated 7
4a. Front edge of dorsal fin far back on body; mouth large, jaw hinge back of eye 5
4b. Front edge of dorsal fin about midway between head and tail; mouth not
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large, hinge in front of eye
5a. Dark lines forming netted design on body: fins not spotted Chain Pickerel
5b. Body covered with yellowish or white spots; fins spotted Northern Pike
6a. Mouth turned downward: barbels absent; dorsal fin not elongated White Sucker
6b. Mouth not turned downward: barbels present; dorsal fin elongated Common Carp
7a. Two dorsal fins separated, the anterior spiny and the posterior soft 8
7b. Two dorsal fins united, forming an anterior spiny portion and a posterior soft
9
portion
8a. Top of head concave, forming a hump in front of dorsal fin; dark vertical bars
Yellow Perch
on body
8b. Top of head not concave, body sloping to dorsal fin and not forming a hump;
Walleye
dark blotches on body
9a. Body > 3X as long as broad 10
9b. Body < 3X as long as broad 11
10a. Hinge of jaws behind the eye Largemouth bass
10b. Hinge of jaws below the eye Smallmouth bass
11a. Mouth large, and/or hinge below or behind eye; > 10 dorsal spines Rock bass
11b. Mouth small, hinge in front of eye; ≤ 10 dorsal spines 12
12a. Dark spots forming broad vertical bars on sides, Red/orange earspot on
Pumpkinseed
operculum
12b. Black earspot on operculum Bluegill
13a. Body much elongated and snakelike: dorsal, caudal, and anal fins
American eel
continuous

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13b. Body not elongated and snakelike: dorsal, caudal, and anal fins separate;
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adipose fin present
14a. Barbels growing from lips to top of head 15
14b. Barbels lacking 16
15a. Caudal fin deeply forked; head tapering Channel catfish
15b. Caudal fin slightly rounded or indented but not forked: head blunt Brown bullhead
16a. Back and caudal fin dark spotted: horizontal band along sides Rainbow trout
16b. Back covered with vermiculations (usually yellowish-greenish): caudal fin
not spotted; fins edged with white; red spots with blue halos along the sides of Brook trout
the body

Specimen # Species name

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
16 (skip 15)
17
18

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LAB 2: CLASSIFICATION + ECOMORPHOLOGY OF QUEBEC FRESHWATER FISHES

Part 2 – Ecomorphology. Ecomorphology refers to the study of the relationship between the
morphology of a species/population/individual and its ecology, in terms of, among other things,
what habitat it lives in and what food sources it consumes. Now that you have identified a
number of fish species that are found locally, the purpose of this part of the station is to link
species differences in morphology with their ecology in nature.

Consider body morphology in relation to locomotion. In the lectures, we discussed how fish
must overcome the drag of the water to swim. Although the swim bladder is important in
generating vertical lift, lateral movement of the caudal fin is away from the centre of gravity,
creating drag. Fishes have adopted a number of different swimming modes to overcome such
drag. For example, fishes that carry out extensive, long-distance migrations or that undergo
long periods of sustained swimming in moving waters are usually highly streamlined, with very
small or no scales and dorso-ventrally narrow caudal peduncle regions, and/or forked caudal
fins. Others are elongate in form and increase the frequency of body undulations to travel long
distances. Conversely, fishes that lead a more sedentary existence or that live in habitats with a
lot of habitat cover and structure (e.g. fallen trees, large boulders, aquatic plants) often have a
more robust (deeper) body form, shorter, thicker caudal peduncles, and make more use of
paired fins for manoeuvring.

Now consider body morphology in relation to trophic ecology. The evolution of protrusible jaws
in Teleost fishes is thought to be a key attribute favouring their diversification into a number of
specialized niches. Species that are predominantly planktivores or insectivores generally have
small jaws. Species that are benthivores (feed on bottom-dwelling organisms, detritus, carrion)
often have modified jaws that are sub-terminal or form a sucker-like disc. Conversely, species
that are generalists (consume everything from insects to fish) often have larger mouths; the
gape of the jaws usually dictates the maximum prey size that these fish can consume. Species
that are piscivores often have long or large jaws lined with razor sharp teeth to grasp prey.
Trophic ecology, in term, can affect body morphology related to locomotion. For instance,
piscivores must use quick bursts of powerful swimming to surprise and grasp prey.
Consequently, these fishes either have large, posteriorly-placed dorsal fins and caudal fins with
large surfaces, or a more robust body form - such features maximize the efficiency of burst
swimming.

Based on these considerations, answer the following questions about the species of Quebec
freshwater fishes that you identified in Part 1 of this station.

List an example of a planktivorous fish. What external features of morphology is this based on?
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CLASSIFICATION + ECOMORPHOLOGY OF QUEBEC FRESHWATER FISHES

List two examples of benthivorous fishes. Do these species differ in any features?
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List an example of a piscivorous species. What external features is this based on?
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What species do you think uses frequent undulations as a primary source for locomotion?
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List two species that likely undertake extensive migrations. What external features is this based
on?
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What might be the feeding/locomotory mode of:

Largemouth bass _______________________________________________

Bluegill _____________________________________________________
Catfish _____________________________________________________

There are two species of catfish present: channel catfish and brown bullhead. They have similar
trophic ecology, but what does their external morphology tell you about what kind of habitats
they inhabit?
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What are some challenges, if any, to interpreting the habits of a species from external
morphology alone?
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