Sweetfish or Ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) is found in freshwater rivers in both Japan and Taiwan. This fish grows to about one foot in length. The first dorsal fin is quite large, and the second dorsal fin is very small. The large mouth extends back beyond the eye. This is a very pouplar food fish in the Orient. In older times, cormorants were used to capture these fish. A ring was placed around the bird's neck to prevent the cormorant from swallowing the fish.

Sweetfish family (Plecoglossidae) contains the well known and highly valued sweetfish. Some scientists place this is in the salmon family while others place this with the smelts.

Salmon Group, Order Salmoniformes, is found worldwide in oceans. It is also found in freshwater in many places in North America. A great number of the large game and sport fish are found in this order.

Bony fish, Class Teleostomi, are a class of chordates that include the majority of fish-like animals found on earth. They are characterized by a bony jaw and a bony skeleton. They are found in both fresh and marine waters.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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