Fishes are among the most familiar of animals; yet most people, paradoxically, know little about them. Fishing has more devotees than any other sport; commercial fishing is a $6-billion industry in the United States alone. Yet, of the billions of fishes that inhabit the waters of the earth—from puddles to ocean depths—our knowledge is limited. Only in recent years has the science of ichthyology, or the study of fish life, made important strides in learning more about how fishes live, how they adapt themselves to their watery environments, and how they use their senses.

(In this VIEW-MASTER packet we follow the scientific practice of using the plural form "fishes" to mean varieties or species, and the plural form "fish" in referring to individuals.)

 Fishes are fantastic in their variety. They live in the blackness of the ocean depths; on the surface; in rivers and small brooks; among coral reefs and along sandy beaches; in muddy bays and stagnant pools. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some fishes breathe air as well as water; some can walk or fly as well as swim. There are some 30,000 species in all.

 The following stereo pictures were photographed at the Steinhart Aquarium, San Francisco: Reel 1: Pictures 1, 2,6,7. Reel 2: Pictures 1, 2,3,4, 5,7. Reel 3: Pictures 3, 4, 5

. Life in the water has imposed on fishes their general shape and their ways of getting around. They breathe water by passing it through their gills, which extract the oxygen. Most fishes have fins, which give them stability and help them to move and steer themselves. The typical fish has two sets of paired fins; the pectorals, just behind the gills, and the pelvics, usually farther back. On top is the dorsal fin, which may be subdivided into a spiny and a soft part.

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