Fish are technical creatures more than we ever thought & in recent years studies have shown them, even more, closer to people that enjoy outdoor fishing and continuing to educate themselves on the conservation effort way of thinking because fish have survived over thousands of years using similar senses like smell, sight and hearing that we are born with. Can Fish Touch?
Yes, in addition to using their fins for swimming, many fish use them to sense pressure or textures when making contact with surfaces, recent studies show, it turns out pectoral fins have evolved in some fish species and are as sensitive to touch as the fingertips of humans and other primates.
When we think of freshwater or saltwater fish it doesn’t seem that they could possibly be related to us in certain ways when it comes to built-in survival attributes like senses but then again they have been around this earth for at least as long as we have.
Can Fish Touch
Yes, researcher studies conclude that located just behind the gills of a fish, pectoral fins are a pair of distinctive appendages that correspond to forelimbs in four-legged animals. Usually involved in fish propulsion or balance when swimming, pectoral fins have evolved dramatic functions in certain species.
In addition to using their fins for swimming, many fish use them to sense pressure or textures when making contact with rough or smooth surfaces, as recent studies show, it turns out the fins of some species are as sensitive to touch as the fingertips of humans and other primates.
The pectoral fins allow flying fish to fly and mudskippers to crawl, for example. Numerous studies have explored the biomechanics, evolution, and development of these fins, but little is known about what role they play as a sensory mechanism.
“Like us, fish are able to feel the environment around them with their fins. Touch sensation may allow fish to live in dim environments, using touch to navigate when vision is limited,In addition to using their fins for swimming, many fish use them to sense pressure or textures – and it turns out the fins of some species are as sensitive to touch as the fingertips of humans and other primates.
“We think about primates as kind of special in the sense that we have really exquisite tactile sensitivity, but in fact, animals of all types touch objects in their everyday typical behaviors, including fish,” says Adam Hardy at the University of Chicago.
“There’s a whole host of fishes that live on the bottom of bodies of water and routinely make contact with rough and smooth surfaces,” he says, “The ability to sense how that feel can be really important.”
According to the National Wildlife Federation, fish don’t have ears that we can see, but they are equipped with internal ear parts inside their heads that pick up sound through their body combined with the ability to sense movement under H2O using lateral lines ……………………………………..read more
Can Fish Feel
The sense of feeling for fish also has to do with the lateral line system is a collection of small sensory patches (neuromasts) underneath the scales on the skin, or just under the skin. They can be seen as a line of small pores that runs down the sides of a fish from head to tail.
These pores are not restricted to the lateral line, however, but are also distributed all over the fish, mostly they are located on the head of the fish.
The pores serve to detect pressure changes in the surrounding water. A fish sets up its own pressure wave in the water that is detected by other fish. He also sets up a pressure wave in front of himself, and when he swims near a rock or the wall of the aquarium, these pressure waves are distorted, and changes are quickly detected by the lateral line system, enabling the fish to swerve or to take other suitable action. This ability allows a school of fish to change direction at the same time without bumping one another.
Not all neuromasts, however, come in contact with the water. Some are arranged linearly to form lateral lines to give the fish an actual sense of touch. Nerve endings throughout the skin react to the slightest pressure and change in temperature.
“Fish do feel pain. It’s likely different from what humans feel, but it is still a kind of pain.” At the anatomical level, fish have neurons known as nociceptors, which detect potential harm, such as high temperatures, intense pressure, and caustic chemicals.
Like all other living organisms, fish have survived by acquiring information about their world through the senses:
- Sight
- Smell
- Taste
- Touch
- Hearing
- Lateral Lines-is a set of ultra-sensitive nerve endings that run alongside fish from the gills to the tail used to……………………………….read more
JimGalloway Author/Editor
References:
PetPlace-Understanding your Fish Senses
