Fish respiration primarily involves branchial gills supported by pharyngeal arches. Each gill arch bears filaments further divided into lamellae containing dense capillary networks. Water flows unidirectionally, driven by buccal-opercular pumping in osteichthyans or ram ventilation, counter to blood flow within lamellae, maximizing oxygen extraction via countercurrent exchange with efficiency exceeding 80%. Lungs are present only in dipnoan lungfishes for air breathing, skin respiration minor, tracheae characteristic of insects. Such branchial adaptation supports active swimming, reflecting aq
Ref:
NCERT Class 11 Biology, Chapter 4: Pisces – Gills; Campbell Biology, 12th ed., Chapter 42, Gills