You are here: Home / Archives for Marine Science / Vertebrates / Fish

Everybody do the ‘Stingray Shuffle’

May 10, 2011 by 1 Comment

Staying safe at the beach this summer can mean more than just applying liberal amounts of sunscreen. If you are going to be visiting the southeastern United States you may want to try the ‘stingray shuffle’ to avoid a venomous injection from a stingray.  A stingray’s main defense is it’s barb which they arc up over their backs and strike in a manner similar to scorpions. Stingrays are docile creatures and do not want to use this defense tactic. Since stingrays are found mostly on the ocean floor it is best to drag your feet lightly and do the ‘sting ray shuffle’ to warn stingrays that you are approaching. If you do get jabbed, hot water can help in the short term. But it is best to seek professional medical attention.

Here is a video from the National Geographic YouTube Channel to teach you some more about stingrays.

Bookmark and Share

Filed Under: Fish, People, Skates and Rays Tagged With:

It’s a Great White Expedition!

April 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This is some footage from the series Shark Men from the National Geographic Channel. These scientists are under the gun to get a great white shark back in the water alive while still gathering all the pertinent data. AMAZING!

Filed Under: Fish, Sharks Tagged With:

It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: Y for Yellowfin Tuna

February 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Yellowfin tuna are the most commercially sought after of all tunas. They have a football shaped body and can reach up to 450 pounds. Which is very impressive since they can also swim up to 30 miles per hour. Yellowfin tuna prefer to swim in schools in all temperate oceans. They prefer to eat fish any fish smaller than themselves and their biggest predator tend to be sharks.

Image (c) ilovebluesea.com

Filed Under: Bony Fishes, Fish, Sharks Tagged With: , ,

It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: R for Remora

February 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Remora refers to any member of a group of fish that can attach themselves to other fishes (usually sharks) or ships by way of a suction disk on the top of their head.They typically eat anything that falls from the sharks mouth. Do the lyrics from the Jimmy Buffet song, Fins, make sense now?

“But now she feels like a remora,
’cause the school’s still close at hand.
Just behind the reef are the big white teeth
of the sharks that can swim on the land.”

Enjoy this video from a scuba diver that was mistaken for a shark as two juvenile remoras try to attach themselves to him. I added the video so you can get a really good sense of the suction discs on the top of their heads.

Filed Under: Fish, Sharks

It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: O for Operculum

February 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Operculum is the hard scalelike cover of the gills of bony fishes. Cartilaginous fishes (such as sharks, skates and rays) all lack a gill cover.

Image (c) www.webs.lander.ed

Filed Under: Bony Fishes, Fish, Sharks, Skates and Rays

It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: A for Agnatha

February 1, 2011 by 1 Comment

So we all agree the month of February can be a little slow and dreary. But, I am here to prove contrary. Sit back and relax with a Bloody Mary and have BCS entertain you (well, at least in theory). Welcome to the month of A, B, Seas! For each day in February there will be a marine science related term (including person, place, or thing) defined in only the way BCS knows how … with concise style, grace, and humor.

Mountain Brook Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon greeleyi)

Image via Wikipedia

Here we begin with the letter A.

Agnatha is a class of primitive fish including the hagfish and lampreys (pictured). Agnatha is Greek for “no jaws”. Members of this class all suction or filter feeders.

To add a little more to the lesson, here is the mnemonic device I use for remembering how to classify plants and animals: King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.

Related Articles
Filed Under: Fish Tagged With: , ,

8 reasons to kick your heels about eels

January 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
American eel (Anguilla rostrata)

Image by Charles & Clint via Flickr

In no particular order here are some interesting (and exciting) facts about eels. In college I built some eels ladders for a stream in southern New Jersey so these little critters do have a special place in my professional heart.

  1. Moray eels have the ability to tie their bodies in knots and use this to gain leverage when tearing food.
  2. Electric eels are not true eels at all. They are knifefish. There are about 800 species of true eels.
  3. Eels can swim forward, as well as backward.
  4. Some eels travel up to 4,000 miles to breed, a trip taking up to seven months. It is believed that eels do not eat during this long journey. Instead, they use their body fat and muscle tissue for nutrients. The Sargasso Sea is the mating area that eels from all over Europe and North America swim to to mate and lay eggs. After the eel larvae hatch, they then make the long swim back to North America and Europe. The eel is termed catadromous because of its journey from freshwater to the depths of the ocean to spawn.
  5. Eels start life as transparent larva (leptocephal) and remain in that state for 6 to 12 months. During this time they can float thousands of miles through the open seas. After the larval phase, they become elvers and although not sexually mature, they look more like an adult eel.
  6. Eels resemble snakes but actually do have fins. The dorsal and anal fins are fused together that form a single ridge along their elongated body.
  7. Eel blood is toxic to humans and other mammals, but the cooking procedure and human digestive process destroy its toxic protein which is good since they are a popular food in Japan and China.
  8. You can fish for eels with any kind of cut bait. American eels (pictured) are a popular bait for crabbing and fishing.
Filed Under: Fish Tagged With: , , ,

What is bycatch?

January 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Bycatch is a term used to classify the incidental fish, mammals, birds, sea turtles or invertebrates that may be caught while targeting other species in a fishery. One of the biggest victims of these unintentional catches are the black-footed albatross. They frequently swallow bait attached to the lines of long-line fishing boats. At least 300,000 sea birds are killed by long line fishing each year.

Filed Under: Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles Tagged With: , ,

What is the fastest fish in the sea?

October 26, 2010 by 3 Comments

The world’s fastest fish is the Indo-Pacific sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus. This sport fish can swim up to 68 miles per hour by standards (a cheetah can run up to 70 miles per hour).  Check out this incredible video from PBS which aired in August of 2010. Marine biologist, Rick Rosenthal, witnesses a rare moment of a sailfish feeding at night. You’ll also see a baby sailfish drawn into the light by Rick’s flashlight. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Bony Fishes, Fish Tagged With: ,

National Hagfish Day is October 20th

October 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

You may not know it, but, tomorrow is National Hagfish Day. The day was created to draw attention and appreciation of all marine animals and plants. So please do not forget to appreciate not only the charismatic bottlenose dolphin, but, also the not-so-charismatic hagfish, sea cucumbers and horseshoe crabs.

Here is a little bit of background information on the hagfish.

The hagfish was thought to be a jawless lamprey when first discovered in Norway in 1747. This cartilaginous fish has no jaw, scales or fins and lives in temperate regions in the southern and northern hemispheres. When a hagfish is born it is born with both female and male reproductive organs. They often change from male to female by seasons. The over 70 species belong to the family “Myxinidae”. The prefix myxi- means slime and relates to the animals ability to produce a slime as a form of defense.

Another interesting fact is that the hagfish is practically blind as it has its eyes located under its slimy skin.

Filed Under: Fish Tagged With: