Fishes

There are about 28,000 existing species of fish, and they are placed in five different classes. The classes are commonly referred to as hagfish, lampreys, cartilaginous fish, ray-finned fish, and lobe-finned fish.

Fish range in size from the 14m whale shark to the 7mm long stout infantfish. Fish can be found in almost all large bodies of water in salt, or brackish, or fresh water, at depths from just below the surface to several thousand meters. The classification in fishes in Australia follows the Australian Faunal Directory.