Do You Know? (Fisheries Facts)
- Blue wheal is the largest animal of the world reaching up to 10 m.
- The oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is the world’s largest teleost, reaching lengths of 8 m to as much as 12 m. Whole specimen are rare.
- Whale shark is the largest fish. Most sharks are harmless- at least
to humans. Nevertheless, 25 species of sharks are known to have attacked
humans, and at least 12 more are suspected of doing so. Three are
particularly dangerous- the great white, tiger and bull sharks.
- Shark jaws display triangular teeth and rows of spears. Each tooth
has even small teeth along its edges. It has been estimated that a tiger
shark may grow and discard 24,000 teeth in a 10 year period!
- The whale shark (Rhiniadon typus) usually feed by staining
plankton from huge mouthfuls of water. It has probably evolved a huge
mouth and lost the large teeth of most other sharks not to avoid
competition with other sharks but as a specialization for plankton
feeding.
- Poison of marine puffer fish is called Tetraodotoxin (TTX) and
freshwater puffer fish’s toxin is called paralytic shellfish poison
(PSP).
- Sea turtles have glands near the eyes that excrete excess ions, which produce salty “tears”.
- Red tide is the blooms of some dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria
(BGA) that discolor the water and produce toxins that, if accumulated in
shellfish, cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in human.
- The Romans often used marine motifs in mosaics used to decorate floors and walls.
- The living coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) is an extant
member of a group thought to be extinct for 65 million years. Discovered
by science in 1938 and restricted to volcanic slopes of the Comoro
Islands, the entire species is believed to number less than 500
individuals and is recognized internationally as endangered.
[[Attribution:bdfish]]
