#bony fish

Out of the Blue: How Animals Evolved from Prehistoric Seas

Devonian period (419 to 359 mya): the age of fish! Bony fish, jawless fish, placoderms, sharks, etc.

By Elizabeth Shreeve and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon

This is a juvenile mola mola, or ocean sunfish, the largest species of bony fish. It comes to most people’s surprise that such a large adult animal produces such small and vulnerable offspring (when first hatched they are a mere 2mm), but they also produce around 300 million eggs, their fecundity surpassing all other vertebrates on earth! This particular youngster was spit up by another fish that was caught, and had already passed away. (Credit to @derin.goya.fishing on Instagram)

Indian & Pacific Oceans//Conservation Status Unknown//Bony Fish//image source

Fun Fact: Garden eels feed on passing plankton. It is very rare for one to completely leave its burrow.