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Comment below about the special adaptations of the FYWBIYCBAF (fish you would be if you could be a fish).
The Nile Puffer (Globe fish), Tetraodon lineatus, has a number of very interesting adaptations.
ReplyDeleteThey lack ribs; hence their musculature is not anchored, like in other fish. They also have a very flexible spine. Most intriguing is the fact that they possess a multi-pleated stomach and a throat valve that can completely seal of this stomach. As a result of all the above features, puffer fishes can quickly form a near-sphere with the diameter of their nose to caudal peduncle length!
It is obvious, then, that puffers cannot swim as most fish do by curving and flexing their bodies. Instead, they mostly swim slowly by means of their pectoral fins, with steering and stability provided by the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. They lack pelvic fins altogether, the cost of their special adaptation (inflation)! Their swimming is so finely controlled that puffer can rotate around an object of interest while directly facing it head-on - a very rare behavior in fish.
They can also use the caudal fin for rapid propulsion through the water. Do not be fooled by that somewhat blimp-like body; some puffers, can swim with surprising speed!