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This is the archives for "Did you know..." section in
the fish portal.
'"Did you know..."'
December 2006
...that
tuna and some species of
sharks are
warm-blooded, and able to raise their body temperature significantly above that of the ambient water surrounding them?
...that
Ichthys is a
symbol resembling a
fish, used by early
Christians as a secret symbol and is now known colloquially as the "Jesus fish." Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ, Greek for fish) is an
acronym to "Jesus Christ God's Son is Saviour"?
...that
the Little Mermaid statue of
Copenhagen, a popular target of
vandalism, has had its arm and head sawn off, painted a red bra, draped in a
burka, blasted off its rock possibly with dynamite, and attached to a
dildo?
...that the
ariid catfish are an unusual group of
catfish that live primarily in the
sea, in contrast to the majority of catfish families which are strictly
freshwater?
...that the
Tsukiji fish market, located in central
Tokyo, is the biggest
wholesale fish and
seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind?
February 2007
...that
crab sticks is a type of processed sea food made of
surimi, or finely pulverized white
fish flesh such as the Alaska
pollock, that has been shaped and cured to vaguely resemble
snow crab legs?
...that some species of
tilapia are sometimes called St. Peter's fish from the account in the
Christian Bible about
Peter catching a fish that carried a shekel coin in its mouth?
...that the
lateral line, a faint line running lengthwise down each side of the body of a fish, is a
sense organ used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water?
... that
remoras have been used for catching sea
turtles: when a turtle is sighted the remora with rope attached to its tail is released from the boat; it usually heads directly for the turtle and fastens itself to the turtle's shell, and then both remora and turtle are hauled in?
...that
guppy, one of the most popular aquarium fishes, was named after
Robert John Lechmere Guppy (1836-1916) who discovered this tiny fish in
Trinidad in 1866?
...that
carp was the subject of the first text on
aquaculture, Fan Lee's "Treatise on Pisciculture," written in 473 BCE.?
April 2007
...that the
brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) is important as a
clan symbol of the
Ojibwe group of
Native Americans? In their tradition the bullhead came out of the sea to form the original clans.
...that the
sea robins, bottom-feeding
scorpaeniform fishes in the family Triglidae, get their name from their large
pectoral fins, which, when swimming, open and close like a bird's wings in flight?
...that the
mudskippers,
goby fishes of the subfamily
Oxudercinae, are quite active when out of water, feeding and interacting with one another, as well as defending their
territories?
...that
Scatophagidae, a family of
perciform scavenging fishes commonly known as "scats," have their name derived from
Greek words skatos meaning "feces" and phagein meaning "eat"?
...that the
bitterling, a small
fish of the
carp family, parasitizes freshwater
mussels as an essential part of its reproductive system, by laying eggs inside them.?
May 2007
...that a popular
Chinese lyric circulating two thousand years ago relates how a man far away from home sent back to his wife a pair of
carps, in which when the wife opened the fish to cook was found a silk strip that carried a love note?
...that there are two forms of
rainbow trout; the freshwater form and the "steelhead" form which spend 1 to 2 years maturing in salt water then return to fresh water to reproduce?
...that
blood of
icefishes is transparent because they have no
hemoglobin and/or only defunct
erythrocytes. Their metabolism relies only on the
oxygen dissolved in the liquid blood, which is believed to be absorbed directly through the skin from the water?
...that the
cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a tiny
freshwatercharacinfish, outnumbers all the other aquarium fishes in terms of numbers of specimens exported form the Amazon region each year?
June 2007
...that in the boxing manga and anime Fighting Spirit, the character Tatsuya Kimura keeps an
arowana as a pet? The fish's jumping behavior inspires him to develop a new boxing technique.
...that the
Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) is the Betta species most commonly known to
aquarium hobbyists, it is often but imprecisely sold simply as "betta" (as a
common name). The name "betta" can, however, also refer to any of the nearly 50 other members of the
genus
...that Leedsichthys problematicus, an extinct
bony fish related to the
bowfin, could have grown to around 16–22 m (54–72 ft) long, making it the largest
fish to have ever existed?
...that the
Chinook salmon, depending on the timing of adult entry into fresh water, are typically divided into "spring chinook", "summer chinook", and "fall chinook"?
...that the male
toadfish, trying to attract females, "sing" so loudly that they have disrupted people on houseboats?
July 2007
...that the
doradid catfishes are sometimes called "talking catfish" because of their ability to produce sound by moving their pectoral spine or vibrating their swim bladder?
...that in the 'loaves and fishes' Bible story,
tilapia is the fish Jesus is purported to have multiplied to feed 5000?
...that in the 17th century, the
Roman Catholic Church ruled that the
beaver was a
fish for purposes of dietary law? Therefore, the general prohibition on the consumption of
meat on Fridays during
Lent does not apply to beaver meat.
...that the
Banggai cardinal (Pterapogon kauderni) was recently denied protection under
CITES because the fish can be captive-bred and "it appears that a listing in Appendix II is not necessary and, on the contrary, could be counterproductive as favouring illegal activities"?
...that the
Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis) is able to safely weather water temperatures at 0C for extended periods, and in lab tests has been able to survive being super-cooled to temperatures as cold as -20C so long as it is kept free of ice crystals?
...that the
blood parrot cichlid is an aquarium hybrid
cichlid with a beak-shaped mouth, an abnormal spine, and an occasionally missing caudal fin?
December 2007
...that studies of the
inshoremarinefishsmall-scale whiting(Sillago parvisquamis, ) suggest the female starts life smaller than the male, but grows faster and is larger than the male within two years?
March 2009
...that the Loricariidae or the suckermouth catfish from Central and South America is the largest
family of
catfish, with almost 700 species and new species being described each year?
...that the
yoyo loach (Botia almorhae) from India and Pakistan is named for their black and white patterns, which often can be seen to spell "yoyo" especially in younger specimens?