A fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. Most fish are "cold-blooded", or ectothermic, allowing their body temperatures to vary as ambient temperatures change. Fish are abundant in most bodies of water. They can be found in nearly all aquatic environments, from high mountain streams (e.g., char and gudgeon) to the abyssal and even hadal depths of the deepest oceans (e.g., gulpers and angler fish). At 31,500 species, fish exhibit greater species diversity than any other class of vertebrates.
Food prepared from animals classified as fish is also referred to as fish, and is an important human food source. Commercial and subsistence fishers "hunt" fish in wild fisheries (see fishing) or "farm" them in ponds or in cages in the ocean (see aquaculture). They are also caught by recreational fishers and raised by fish keepers, and are exhibited in public aquaria. Fish have had a role in culture through the ages, serving as deities, religious symbols, and as the subjects of art, books and movies.
