Portal:Fish/Did you know/Archive/Nomination

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?

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  ...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"?

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  ...that GloFish is a trademarked brand of genetically modified (GM) fluorescent zebrafish with bright red, green, and orange fluorescent color. It is the first genetically modified animal to become publicly available as a pet?

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  ...that about 20 of the Lake Tanganyika's cichlid species use abandoned shells for safety and breeding. They are known as the shell dwellers?

January 2007

• ...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?

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• File:Microgobius gulosus1.jpg
  ...that the gobies, fishes of the family Gobiidae, is one of the largest families of vertebrate, with more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera?

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• File:Bagre marinus (line art).jpg
  ...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?

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  ...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

• File:Surimi crab sticks.jpg
  ...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?

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• File:Tizil u0.gif
  ...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?

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  ...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?

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  ...that the Devil's Hole pupfish, Cyprinodon diabolis, is an endangered species native to Devil's Hole, a geothermal (92°F), aquifer-fed desert pool of Nevada with a population of only 36 adults (as of May 2006)?

March 2007

• File:Panaque.JPG
  ...that the armoured catfishes of the genus Panaque are notable for being among the very few vertebrates that feed extensively on wood?

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  ... 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?

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  ...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?

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  ...that carp was the subject of the first text on aquaculture, Fan Lee's "Treatise on Pisciculture," written in 473 BCE.?

April 2007

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  ...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.

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• File:Bellator egretta.jpg
  ...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?

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  ...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?

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• File:ScatophagusArgus.png
  ...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"?

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• File:Rhodeus sericeus.jpg
  ...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

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  ...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?

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• File:Oncorhynchus mykiss.jpg
  ...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?

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  ...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?

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• File:Conger eel.jpg
  ...that the conger cuddling is a traditional event in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, in which a dead conger eel is thrown at members of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)?

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• File:Cardinal tetra2 crop.jpg
  ...that the cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a tiny freshwater characin fish, outnumbers all the other aquarium fishes in terms of numbers of specimens exported form the Amazon region each year?

June 2007

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  ...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.

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  ...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

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• File:Leedsichthys Liopleurodon.jpg
  ...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?

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  ...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"?

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  ...that the male toadfish, trying to attract females, "sing" so loudly that they have disrupted people on houseboats?

July 2007

• File:Platydoras costatus 2 (Piotr Kuczynski).jpg
  ...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?

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  ...that in the 'loaves and fishes' Bible story, tilapia is the fish Jesus is purported to have multiplied to feed 5000?

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  ...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.

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• ...that the Lionchu, a fancy breed of goldfish, is originated from Thailand?

August 2007

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  ...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"?

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• File:Dallia pectoralis (line art).jpg
  ...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?

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• File:Predator marvin.jpg
  ...that the blood parrot cichlid is an aquarium hybrid cichlid with a beak-shaped mouth, an abnormal spine, and an occasionally missing caudal fin?

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December 2007

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  ...that studies of the inshore marine fish small-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?

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March 2009

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  ...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?

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  ...that the king of herrings (Regalecus glesne), an oarfish of the family Regalecidae, is the world's longest bony fish with a length of 41 feet (12 m)?

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• ...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?

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