Britannica Dictionary definition of FISH: a cold-blooded animal that lives in water, breathes with gills, and usually has fins and scales.
We recently read an article about an Indian man who won kudos from Leonardo DiCaprio for discovering a new species of fish.
In short, a man in the southern Indian state of Kerala was taking a bath when he spotted “a red thread in the bucket”. He scooped it up and found that the “thread” was moving. Putting it into a glass jar, he contacted a local college professor. Eventually the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies identified the new species.
The new species was named the Pathala Eel Loach. Pathala is a Sanskrit word which means “below the feet”, a reference to the fish’s subterranean nature since the small, snake-like species lives in aquifers – large layers of permeable rock and sediments that hold groundwater.
DiCaprio – a long time environmental campaigner – posted a picture on his Instagram page praising the discovery. “The wild is all around us and sometimes all it takes to discover a new species is going about a normal day,” DiCaprio said. The discovery showed “how citizen science” was the “key for researchers to study these unknown, underground ecosystems”.
And this got us to thinking about fish in a bucket and elsewhere. Strange, newly discovered fish at first, but this, of course, lead our thoughts in other fish-related directions. So, grab your fins and let’s just dive right in.
The Juan Deriba Killfish
Found in a tiny area of Bolivia, this newly identified species leaps out of water to evade predators, and others of its own kind. The fish’s short, savage existence begins when rains arrive in the Bolivian forest. Thousands of fish emerge from eggs that were buried in sunbaked soil as it becomes an ephemeral, muddy puddle only a couple inches deep. Rampant cannibalism and fighting quickly thins their numbers. In response to this aggression, the fish will leap out of the water, sometimes hiding on the topside of water plants – for hours on end. So, you might say that the Juan Deriba Killfish is a fish out of water by choice.
The bottom of the ocean is a tremendously inhospitable place to live. It’s dark, it’s cold, and the pressure is unfathomable (pun intended). But there are creatures down there that are simply wonderous. Here’s a few that we found pretty fascinating which were photographed during a recent 35-day expedition sponsored by the Australian government’s science agency CSIRO, to the deep seas (up to six kilometers or nearly 20,000 feet) surrounding a new marine park in the Indian Ocean.
We’ll begin with the most unfortunately named Bony-Eared Assfish
Growing to a length of 37.5 centimeters (14.8 inches), the bony-eared assfish is what’s known as a cusk-eel and has the smallest brain-to-body ratio of all vertebrates. As you might have guessed, it was the name that drew us to this fish. First off, fish don’t have ears – bony or otherwise. And as for the ass part of it, the best explanation we could find was that it stems from the Greek words ‘akanthos’ (spine) and ‘onos’ (cod-like fish). So, the literal translation would be ‘cod-like fish armed with spines’, however, in Ancient Greek ‘onos’ also means ass or donkey. So, apparently someone figured “assfish” sounded better. And maybe because of its small brain, it didn’t object. We just wish that this particular species had been discovered by our favorite British research ship, Boaty McBoatface!
The Highfin Lizardfish grow to about 38-60 centimeters (15-23 inches) long.
Looking like something out of a Tim Burton movie, these big-toothed, sex-switching, stealth-attacking predators hover near the top of the deep-sea food chain. They’re an ambush, apex predator meaning they’ll eat just about anything that crosses their path, including other deep-sea lizardfish. Being hermaphrodites, they’re also not picky when it comes to finding a mate which saves the time of having to wait for a partner of the opposite sex to hopefully swim by. Anyone will do.
The Tripod Spiderfish
can grow up to 35.5 centimeters (14 inches) and weigh up to 1 kilogram (2 lbs). Known as stilt walkers (their scientific name literally means “deep, feathery one who walks on stilts”), they remain mostly motionless on the abyssal plain on their extremely long (up to 1 meter or 3 feet) pelvic and caudal fins. These guys/gals are simultaneous hermaphrodites, which means they possess both male and female reproductive organs. Which means that, in its solitary environment, if it can’t find a mate, it can continue the survival of the species all by itself.
We’re big fans of the Batfish
Both because we like to think that Batman keeps a collection of them in a tank in the bat cave, but also because it has to be one of the strangest looking fish in the world, looking more like some bizarre primordial animal than just your average, everyday fish. They don’t swim well, but rather push themselves along the sea floor with their fins. There are around 60 different types of Batfish including the very aptly named Red-Lipped Batfish
Pelican Eels, also known as the “Gulper Eels”, can live up to 85 years.
They’re most distinctive feature is their enormous mouth which is, proportionally, much bigger than their bodies. (with these two features - of age and big mouths - could they be the missing link between average people and politicians?? Science might want to investigate this.) Their long tails end in a light-producing organ called a photomore which glows pink and will sometimes flash red to lure prey. When male Pelican Eels start looking for a mate, they begin to lose their teeth and researchers believe that they die soon after mating.
And speaking of eels, did you know that some people paid their rent with eels in Medieval England?
Well, they did. Medieval land users were required to pay rent to the landowner each year, and in many cases, these rents were paid “in kind.” This means that they weren’t paid in coins, but rather with goods, such as chickens, eggs, and, yes, eels. The first recorded rent payment made with eels was in 700. By the time of the Domesday Book survey in 1086, a massive land survey conducted in England after William the Conqueror seized the island, we see evidence for more than half a million eels being paid in rent in England every year.
In the late 19th and the early 20th century salmon, catfish, and trout used to travel by train around the United States in their own private “Fish Cars”.
These Fish Cars were equipped with large tanks filled with cool, aerated water, providing a suitable habitat for live fish. They played a crucial role in supporting the nation’s fishing industry and ensuring a steady supply of fresh fish to markets and consumers. Over 50 years the U.S. government commissioned 10 of these Fish Cars, each more advanced than the last. When “Fish Car No. 10” rolled off the line in 1929, it came with its own generator and space for as many as half a million, one-inch-long fish.
This 81-foot behemoth joined a fleet that had transported more than 72 billion fish more than 2 million miles.
For those fish that live closer to the surface, in the Netherlands they’ve installed “fish doorbells” to help them get around.
The city of Utrecht is brimming with locks and canals. Working with the water management and flood control administrations, they’ve created an underwater webcam and interactive “Fish Doorbell”. People watch the webcam and, when they see a fish getting stuck in a lock when migrating, they can ring a doorbell on the website and the boat lock manager opens the lock and the fish swims through. In its first spring season in March of 2021, the Fish Doorbell was rung than 100,000 times by people from around the world. https://visdeurbel.nl/over-de-visdeurbel/
Finally, after all this talk about fish you knew that, eventually we’d have to wind this up with a thought or two about sushi. And it’s not all yellowtail and toro. Here’s a few that we’ll be you’ve never tried.
Funazushi
is a fermented sushi made from a goldfish subspecies called funa. It’s fermented in salt and rice for a year, the repacked and left to ferment for another four years!
Shirako Sushi
Anybody who eats sushi probably eats the female reproductive organs of fish every day. Roe, or fish eggs, are a common topping for nigiri. However, unless you are Japanese you probably haven’t had the male reproductive organs of fish on your sushi. Shirako is cod milt, or to put it more bluntly - sperm.
Kani Miso
Kani Miso isn’t actually miso, but it is named as such because of how similar this bizarre food looks to miso paste. Kani miso is actually crab guts, and you can find it as a topping in gunkan maki sushi. And when we say guts, we really mean guts. Kani miso is any part of the crab that’s left over other than the meat, so kani miso is actually intestines, pancreas and even brain.
Sea Squirt Sushi
Sea squirt, aka sea cucumber or sea pineapple, has to be one of the most bizarre seafoods in the world. You can find it in Japan, but this raw delicacy is more common in Korea. In Japan it’s called Hoya, and it has a very weird taste that takes a lot of getting used to. It is often described as tasting like iodine.
And, even though it’s not a fish we’re throwing in Kit Kat Sushi,
just as a salute to its creativity. When a new Kit Kat shop opened in Tokyo, to celebrate the grand opening of the store they created a special promotion of Kit Kat sushi. The Kit Kat was place on a Rice Krispie treat and it looked surprisingly like actual sushi. There was raspberry flavor which looked like tuna, a mascarpone cheese flavor which looked like uni, and pumpkin pudding that looked like tamago.
What’s your favorite sushi? Did we miss any strange fish that you’re particularly fond of? Do you have a fish tank? Tell us about it in the comments below or in our Food section in our Forums.
Now I know these things. Thanks.