What are gill flaps?
The operculum is a hard, plate-like, bony flap that covers the gills of a bony fish (superclass: Osteichthyes). It protects the gills and also serves a role respiration. Fish can acquire dissolved oxygen through pumping water over their gills by opening and closing their jaws and opercula.
What are gill covers called?
operculum
The operculum is a series of bones found in bony fish and chimaeras that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding.
What are fish gills covered by?
gill cover (operculum) A hard but flexible cover which, in bony fish, forms the outer wall of the gill chamber. It protects the gills and also plays a major role in the pumping mechanism that regulates the continuous flow of water over them.
What is the bony flap over the gills of a fish called?
The operculum is a bony flap of skin over their gills that protects the gills. It opens and closes to help bony fish breathe when they are not swimming. Bony fish have scales, and most species have a fusiform body design.
What is the difference between sharks and bony fish?
While bony fishes have one gill opening on each side of its body, sharks have five to seven. The gills of bony fishes are also hidden behind flaps that open and close, whereas sharks have exposed gill slits.
What kind of gill flap does a fish have?
Gills of unspecified fish. Underneath the operculum or flap that covers the gills of fish, you can see both the gill rakers (white comb-like structure) and the attached gill filaments (red fringe).
What kind of fish has a black flap on its head?
Covered gills – Typical fish cover their gills with a flap called an operculum, leaving one opening at the flap on each side of the fish’s head. Bluegill has a distinctive “black ear flap” on its operculum. Are those actually “ear flaps”? Photographer – TBA. Get permission.
How are the gills of a fish covered?
Gills can be covered with flaps, hidden under slits, or carried externally. Take a look at the external appearance of the gills and then take a closer look at the frilly gills themselves. Covered gills – Typical fish cover their gills with a flap called an operculum, leaving one opening at the flap on each side of the fish’s head.
Where are the gill rakers located on a fish?
Underneath the operculum or flap that covers the gills of fish, you can see both the gill rakers (white comb-like structure) and the attached gill filaments (red fringe). Both of these are attached to the bony structure of the fish by the bony gill arch that is hidden in this image.