What's in a name?

return to Question 5

looking at common names, all of these are considered to be fish....     cuttlefish angelfish   dogfish crayfish     jellyfish starfish         To many, the word 'fish' is synonymous with animals that live in the sea. From the view of those who want fish to have meaning as a group name, it is widely applied to vertebrates that 'breathe', at least in part, through internal gills. This excludes birds, reptiles, and mammals - like whales, dolphins and seals. However in looking at the big picture, from an evolutionary standpoint, mammals, birds and reptiles are nothing more than highly successful fishes that have left the watery environment!